This book was so intriguing! I loved all the nerd talk and the discussion on time travel. It was a great pallet cleanser from the normal high fantasy that I read. Parisa was a top character for me, which might be controversial BUT she was Persian who flips between French and Farsi. As someone who grew up in a home with those languages, I was easily drawn to her.

I am completely team Libby and Nico but also team Libby and Tristian. I love them all and loved their characters. It is important to note that this book is extremely character driven. There is quite literally next to no plot. Honestly nothing really happened until the last 30 pages. That was where it was disappointing to me. I am hoping book two has more plot. What was revealed in the last few chapters I was not expecting. I really enjoyed this section of the book.

Sequels are hard. You have to win back the audience that was captivated with the first book and keep them coming on their toes. The sequel gives you time to spend fleshing out relationships and characters - to give them more dimension and to make them come alive for the reader again.

Blake’s <i>The Atlas Paradox</i> did not do any of those things. The first half of the novel literally read like stereo instructions. I was <b>so. bored. </b> The characters, who learn a bit more about {thanks to a stunt that literally served no purpose}, suddenly are all flat and boring. Their individual storylines are for lack of a better term - uninspired and boring. Time has no bearing (in one plane!) and MONTHS go by in the blink of an eye. Most of what happens in the first 60% of the novel had no bearing on the rest if the novel - at all.

Now, the book <b>finally</b> picks up its snails pace and the action is in FULL swing. For the last 10 percent. To end with a haltingly fast moment that literally felt like a scene from "Back to the Future".

I was so psyched going into this, it sounded incredibly exciting and mysterious, and the characters seemed so intriguing. Sadly, I was a little disappointed. The reason this book ended up being a 3-star read for me was mostly the lack of drive it had. The plot felt very weak and the characters were good at talking and not very good at doing, which made for a very little engaging or compelling story. Indeed, the mystery it was supposed to contain evaded me for most of the story. It wasn’t bad enough to make me want to stop reading, but it didn’t provide any encouragement to keep reading either.

The writing was also full of telling instead of showing, which I despise in books. I want to experience for myself how powerful and magical these characters are, instead it just kept being stated that they were. There was a distinct lack of action to this story, and it was mostly filled with deep thoughts about life and the human condition. The characters were also very arrogant and difficult to grasp, because while it was stated that they all had good reasons to want to be initiated into the Society, some of them never actually showed us this reason. I understand that this book lays the groundwork for the next two books in the series, but I still wished it stood a little stronger on its own.

When it comes to the things I did like, I wanna mention both the moral grayness of the characters and the ending of the book. I loved how complex the characters were in that none of them are truly good or bad, they are all in the gray-zone of morality. I also think the ending definitely made the book a lot more exciting! It gave a much-needed lift to the pace and the action. It made me hungry for the sequel, which means it did its job well! So all in all, this book was disappointing mostly due to the high level of praise and hype it had received, when indeed it felt more like a long prequel to whatever action is to come in book two. I still recommend it to those interested in the story, it is worth the read! But if you’re looking for a mindblowing experience, this might not be it.

I really liked this book. I think that it was the perfect mix of fantasy and sci-fi which is always great when it comes to an adult audience. There was also quite a bit of theology involved which quite tickled my grey cells. I also really liked how the characters were people from across different age groups and as such the dynamics and the way they communicated with each other was just plain interacted was really fun to read. Apart from the variety in their age groups these people essentially all came from different backgrounds; some of them were working insidiously whereas some were students who have just recently graduated. Some have given up conventional or expected careers or ways of living and are instead just living and enjoying life according to their own terms. It was really interesting to see the difference in their live, in relation to sociological aspects as well. Lastly, what I think has done really well was how the author made sure to make the characters very realistic, that is, they were all very multilayered and complex and unlikable as well, which is really interesting. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I do recommend you pick it up and give it a try for yourself

Six people are thrown together for an opportunity they cannot pass up - the chance to live and study at the mythical Alexandrian Library. However, only the best may stay and there are more secrets than they know..

I love a good multiple POV, especially when you get fixated on one character. Callum never grew on me, but the others definitely did. I kept switching ‘ships to the point where I ship them all now.

Libby is the “average” one, overlooked and anxious. How many of us see themselves in her, despite how annoying she is? Nico - the loyal friend. Callum - the rich boy. Reina - the broody one. And the mysterious Tristan and Parisa.

Some complain about the lack of “anything happening” in this one, but I feel that’s the point. This book focuses on its character interactions and the reflections of everyone. It showcases people growing in a new environment and the way people mesh themselves into each others’ lives.

The ending was a bit predictable once it got going, but I’m still here for it. I can’t wait to see what book 2 brings.

I get the hype for this book- I do quite like Olivie Blake. She’s a skilled writer and young readers love her books. This didn’t quite do it for me, however. I couldn’t really get into the story!

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. Those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation.

Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated.
If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive.
Most of them.

The writing of this book is, unarguably, immaculate. The language is colourful, the ideas presented daring. You simply cannot fault it.

It was enough to carry me through the first half of this book, but then the following became more and more obvious to me:

What is missing here is any type of dramatic arc, any sense of story progression. There seems an awful lot of talk - mind you in a wonderful dark academia setting - but an awfully negligible amount of action.

The characters barely grew. They were all extremely annoying. The author did too much stating that the characters were powerful, but not really showing. The characters all hated each other and barely interacted. Nothing really happened for a year?

The author also tried to give the characters this weird lofty opinions of themselves and make them serious, but it was just ridiculous.

This started out great! the characters was charming and witty and had great energy that they brought into the story. However towards the middle I grew weary of where it was heading, I was expecting the story to pick up and give us more plot and action which unfortunately I wasn't getting enough of. Eventually I had to put this book down at the moment and intend to pick it up back again when I get the mood since I heard it's a series! which interests me a lot.

This book is so intellectual i had to pay attention very well while reading and so i feel like i put a lot of effort in (sorry if i am dumb) but there was not a whole lot of reward. The ending was not satisfying, even if there is a book two coming it wasn’t quite enough of that dramatic cliff hanger but it did not tie up like any ? loose ends. Another review I read said it is like an itch you can’t scratch and that was a perfect description. i do want to read the next installment though.

I can see the allure with this one though sadly, I struggled twice to finish this and failed both times. While the premise was intriguing and I liked the alternating POVs, after that initial spark very little happens at all until the end. It became and felt tedious and pretentious while little character development occurs.

Without any action, without much character growth, the story feels like it has no where to go and nothing to say. The ending was certainly a cliffhanger that makes me want to read the next book, but I do desperately hope there’s more plot wise to keep the action going.

I was beyond excited to read this book - it felt as if it had everything that would appeal to me. It didn't.

What it did have was characters that I disliked immensely. If they would have been a little more likable the book would have been more enjoyable. The plot was fine, I just didn't care about any of them and hoped for a quick ending.

It gets great reviews, so could have surely been me.

A dark academia novel that begins a planned trilogy and is a viral BookTok sensation has a lot of hype going for it and a lot of expectations to fulfill. In fantastical, magic-based stories everything hinges on how fully realized the alternate universe is to the reader and Olivie Blake’s debut does a serviceable job of doing that, but the focus is really on the six chosen magicians, their actions, motivations and interpersonal relationships.

I couldn't figure out if I liked this for awhile. I think it definitely ended stronger than it started, and I think a lot of that had to do with Blake successfully taking the characters from tropes to well thought out and developed individuals. She pulled this off well, and I will for sure be reading the sequel.

this was a very enjoyable read, it took me ages to finally get the courage to read it because the hype train made me nervous but here i am finally saying: it was amazing! and i’m so freaking ready for the sequel!!!!

An absolutely great dark academia book. I didn’t even realize I enjoyed this genre so much until reading The Atlas Six.
The pacing was good, the build up was great, the character growth was perfect.
It left me wanting more and I will definitely be reading the second book.

The Atlas Six filled the dark academia hole in my life. I was instantly sold on the concept and I really enjoyed most of the characters (there were two who didn't exactly land for me-- I found Tristan and Callum to be slightly interchangeable at times, despite their different powers and motivations). I stalled out a bit in the middle but once we started learning more about the Alexandrian society, I became much more interested to see where the story goes next. I will definitely pick up the sequel!

As a friend so perfectly put it, "this book is everything ‘a deadly education’ wishes it could be." The magic system is cool, the characters even more so. Though slow at many points, I felt like it was just right in keeping with the spellbinding feel of the whole story. Can't wait to see what's next!

Interesting.

This book is art. It's written with such flair, skill, beauty that you can't stop reading even when you want to. I NEEDED answers, and NEEDED to continue this journey.

The characters are diverse and have growth throughout. It's hard to decided wether you love or hate each one. Sometimes I did both, simultaneously.

I figured out the "bad guys" early on and very little was a surprise to me. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5.

Will definitely read the next book.

I LOVED this book during the first half! It was beautifully written, engaging, and the character development is masterful!! However, somewhere past the halfway point, I just lost interest. I wanted more action and plot. It got redundant and a bit boring. I actually had to put it down, and I plan on finishing it another time.