I really enjoyed The Atlas Six and was eager to see the continuation of the story. This, however, felt more like a filler than an honest to goodness sequel. Lots of unresolved issues, and I was hoping for more closure with some of the characters. We still will get a copy for our collection though, as I think it is going to come down to a monumental conclusion!

This was a great follow-up to the first book the Atlas Six. Some of the plot points from the first book were resolved but The Atlas Paradox set itself up for a third book in the series.

The Atlas Six had a real momentum to it. There were stakes, and interesting plot points, and even character development. This book, however, reads like filler. I am still looking forward to the third book to see where the story goes next, but it doesn't really feel like it went... anywhere...? in this book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge, and Olivie Blake for the eGalley of this novel.

If you loved The Atlas Six, you're going to have a blast with The Atlas Paradox. The characterizations of our (anti)heroes are deepened, the intrigue further-snarled, and the plot forward-driven.

Blake's writing is dense and can be slow/crowded for some, but TAP is a step towards fluidity and action from the tedium that sometimes bogged down TA6.

While some have had a hard time with the first part of the book being a bit of an information dump/recap of the previous one, I found it helpful personally for myself as I've got awful book memory and trying to remember all the details from the first book can be a bit tough when reading series. To add to others' thoughts, there are parts that are slow and I found myself also wanting the storyline to pick up some and get a move on. But character descriptions are once again great, and the world that Blake has continued to build on and develop is complex and interesting. My only other complaint was that I went into this book thinking that this would ultimately be a duology, but that seems to not be the case. I'll look forward to the next one!

Doesn’t work as a stand alone so we won’t be actively purchasing for our libraries. Beginning was a backstory dump. I already cared about the characters and thought after how much I loved book 1 this would be a slam dunk but I was really bored and with the “where is Libby” without any of her flair brought in. The story just fell flat.for me and it didn’t maintain my interest or inspire me to care about any of the characters. Stopped at 20%.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC.

Atlas’s newest group of Alexandrian Society initiates have made it past their first year having cut the group down to the required five and begin their year of independent study before they set off to change the world. The whereabouts of Libby Rhodes still remain unknown and it seems most of the five are comfortable not looking but, what they never expected was just how the higher powers they work with/for would account for her disappearance. With the added POV of new characters and the promotion of a few old ones, Blake takes us into a world that may not be at all what it seems.
I love Olivie Blake and I love the world that she has created in this series. I read The Atlas Six about a year ago and it was one of my favorite reads of last year. I haven’t delved much into dark academia as a genre but I am a fan of magical worlds who happens to be near the age of the main protagonists. That being said, this novel did not disappoint. What I love most about Blake’s portrayal of these characters is I understand them and their motives to such an extent their actions (though sometimes incredibly sinister and cruel) don’t surprise me.
In their independent study, the initiates only get up to more trouble than the first book. Blake was able to restructure the group dynamics through the “loss” of one of the main characters and the alliances are as shocking as they could be. Again, I think Olivia Blake handles the multiple POV’s well as the insights that come with the varying character perspectives actually work to inform the situation and further develop the characters. (Personally, I hate reading multiple POV if the purpose is just to recap a situation already thoroughly discussed just for the sake of it.)
These books are very academic and include a lot of references to concepts in topics such as physics and philosophy but I don’t feel it’s a chore seeing them explained as the characters tie everything together for the reader eventually. In this sense, again, it helps that though the initiates are medeians of different specialties their research tends to overlap making every contribution useful to any resolution.
This book did what I thought impossible and it made Callum tolerable to me. More than tolerable, he was actually so cheeky most of the time he was sometimes the most likable person in the room. His decision to actually take action this time and to actually TRY to interact with the other initiates gave him the breadth that I felt he missed in the first book for me (though I do get it was intentional).
I will say there are some topics touched on in this book that I’m not sure of the intended message. As a character, I was very interested in Belen but her last appearance was rather abrupt and I’m not certain what to take from her presence in the novel. Also, the conversation surrounding who gets to wield the knowledge held in the library was reoccurring but never seemed to get anywhere. I get it’s a complex subject but the characters themselves seem to be certain where they stand but not certain enough on the why. As this is obviously an overarching theme throughout the series I don’t expect a concrete explanation but since it has been mentioned since the first book I expected to know more now than before I read this book and I don’t think I do. The inclusion of chapters from Belen and Gideon’s perspective inform this curiosity more but I don’t feel nearly satisfied.

Very enjoyable! A lot of our students have been requesting this title for book club and it is something that would work great in that environment.

A worthy sequel to the Atlas Six, which follows the characters from the previous book as they cope with the traumatic events of the foiled ritual and disappearance of one of their own. Some great character work, stunning revelations, and deep drama make this an easy recommendation to fans of the first book (with one small reservation).

The only real thing I found to complain about was that the Atlas Paradox was a little slow in some places despite the incredible amount of things happening in the book. You've got people locked in the past, characters struggling with their powers and motivations, and deep intrigues that left me excited for the next book in the series, but from time to time I found myself urging the book to go faster. It might be that too many things are happening, or that people in the story get caught up exploring magical theory for just a bit long, but I felt that something was keeping me from fully engaging with the story throughout the entirety of my time with it.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the sequel to a personal favorite book before its pubication date. Now for my thoughts: the plot was good and I loved revisiting the setting but it felt dragged. There was a timeframe of a good hundred pages where I was like, "is this really necessary?" While I do suspect it is because it will be a trilogy (instead of what I thought would be a duology), it was still a fun read!

his book was nothing short of phenomenal. One of my first notes is "babygirl doesn't like soup," and it sets the tone for the whole book; it's less serious than TA6 while still managing to be just as academic. It reminds me of my college honors' courses, where the first one was incredibly difficult to "weed out" the people who really wanted to be here; TA6 was compelling and academic and mysterious, and if readers could get through that and, moreover, enjoy it, then TAP is little treat after little treat.

The dynamic between every character shifts entirely in such a gripping way and new relationships form where old ones hang on by a thread. I've said before that Libby is the main character of TA6, and so many of the relationships form and/or evolve with her as a red thread, tying everyone together. In TAP, almost the exact opposite is true; it's the absence of Libby that affects the relationships in unexpected ways.

This book is also entirely more romantic than the first. While romance is by no means the underlying theme or plot, almost every POV contained rich scenes that hinted at romantic connections that were either slowly forming or were already burning brightly. I can't say that I didn't absolutely adore it all.

Blake's writing requires and deserves thought and time. I think that rushing through her stories can result in skipping over some of the most interesting and unique aspects of her prose, which, in my opinion, is her incredible weaving of academia and science with magic.

That said, I really don't think that much happened in this book AT ALL. In the entire thing, there are only about three events that come to mind as being Big. If you're looking for a plot-driven action-packed magic novel, this probably isn't the one for you, but if you're reading this one, and loved the tone, pacing, and character development of the first book, you will NOT be disappointed. I truly cannot stop thinking about this book, and the End? was one of the most captivating moments in the whole book.

I was bored throughout the majority of this book. It definitely redeemed itself at the end so I do want to read the final book in the trilogy but this felt entirely like a filler book. I think this was meant to be a duology but then Tor bought it and asked her to make it a trilogy. I don't know if that's true at all but that's what it felt like while I was reading. There was so little plot in this story, even less than the first book in my opinion. It suddenly appeared at the end but I feel like we could have cut out the first 75% and just started from that last 25%. I'm really bummed because I enjoyed the first book so much but if you were on the fence over whether or not you want to continue with the series, I wouldn't recommend it until the series is complete.

Very good follow-up to the first book, Atlas Six. I was impressed by the ethical and social commentary. The characters were further developed and were shown to be complex. The "butterfly effect" is in full force. One decision, made with good intentions, ripples outward like a wave in a pool. Although I am not aware of an announcement of a third title in the series, I am seriously looking forward to it!
The Atlas Six was a great fantasy. The Atlas Paradox is not only a great story, but would make a fun book discussion.
Thank you NetGalley!

#TheAtlasParadox #NetGalley

Oh my! This sequel was everything. It was a little slow in parts, but overall was a great read. I need to know what happens next. I love the mix of magic, morality, and knowledge. Each character is perfectly developed.

This book is the sequel to the Atlas Six. Although I thought it was a duology, it will be at least a trilogy. I did very much enjoy the first book and was looking forward to continuing with the characters in their second year in the Society.

I felt like there was a lot of jumping around, and I’m not sure how much action actually moves forward in these many pages. I did find it slow but overall I guess interesting because I kept reading it and focusing to find out more.

It will be hard to judge this book until we get then next one. How do the choices of the characters in this book actually affect them? We are very much in the middle period. Time will tell how it all turns out. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Okay but Olivie Blake does certainly know how to leave you wanting more. I didn't like this sequel as much as the first book. Weirdly, even though there are many POV chapters from almost all of the major characters, I felt like I understood them even less than I did in the first book. Motivations were unclear to me, and there also felt like a lot of magical theorizing and I just kind of got lost in the sauce. Maybe there was too much academia for me in this dark academia novel? The characters are meant to be doing independent studies as members of the second year cohort but I couldn't exactly tell you what anyone was studying for that? I will certainly read the next one because the ending here was really strong, but I wasn't as engrossed in the story as I was with the Atlas Six.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor books for the Advanced Readers Copy, I just finished Atlas Six and you saved me a couple months of agony.


I loved this book, it is filled with so much emotional tension and such witty lines. Olivie once again delivers on superb form of narrative style. Like seriously, I laughed out loud multiple times.

Callum really came into his own in this book, his character development was one of my favorite things. In fact all of the characters really have to look inside themselves while trying to fill that gap that Libby leaves behind, no one is even remotely similar to who they were before Libby disappeared. Libby herself also grows a lot as a character, and meets a really interesting side character in her travels. I can’t wait to see what kind of spitfire Libby is in the next book.

My only complaint with these books is all the things that go unsaid, or the realizations that take place off screen. All the interpersonal drama between Libby, Tristan, Nico, and Gideon, like I think I just need them all to get drunk one night and have some heart to hearts about the things they’ve seen and the shit they’ve been through. Put all the emotional feels on the table, please and thank you. My heart can’t handle the tiptoeing around the emotional stuff anymore.

Thank you Olivie for once again delivering an amazing book, I can’t wait to see how all this reaches its peak in the next book.

Holy shit. How does Olivie Blake write these books?!? They are so freaking good, and this one has again left things on a cliffhanger and I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

This book basically left off right where The Atlas Six ended and it was so good. We got a lot more perspectives this time, which could have been annoying, except that they were all people I was curious about from the first book. Mostly Gideon and Ezra. New characters were introduced and I'm curious to see if they continue on to the third book.

To be honest, I could have done without Reina in this book. She really is my least favourite of the POV characters and I don't really know what she was trying to do throughout this entire book. Maybe it will make sense in the third book?

I really loved all of the explorations of physics (basic level physics) happening again in this one. It's interesting how one thing seemed to be happening throughout the book, but then something completely different happened, very similarly to the first book.

I really liked how all of the relationships between characters developed. Over the course of the two books we have covered two years in their lives, which is quite significant, and I liked how the dynamics of the group changed in the second year. I'm SO happy that Gideon had more of a voice in this book, as I think he's now my favourite character. Also, the last chapter was just UGH! But also YES!

With The Atlas Six I definitely felt like I was being manipulated the entire time I was reading it, which I think was quite a feat. To know, as the reader, that I am being manipulated by these fictional characters and to be entirely fine with it. I don't think I felt it quite as much with this second book, but it was definitely still there. As each of the characters are manipulating each other, you're also being drawn into it, because you're only seeing what they want you to see, even when you're getting different POVs. I love it.

I feel like I just want to kind of flail around about how good this is, without really knowing what to specifically say about it, because I don't want to spoil it. It's just so incredibly good. It's also a really unique story, where it's kind of fantasy, but also sci-fi, but also a thriller because you truly don't know what the fuck is going on for most of the time. Even the characters I could do without (Reina, Parisa), I would put up with just to get more of the others. I feel like the other characters (Callum,Tristan, Nico, Gideon, Libby) have a lot more going on and a lot more ability to make big changes, and I cannot wait to read more about them.

As a slight caveat: Gideon grew up in the foster system in Nova Scotia, and uh, we don't really have bears here. I mean, we do, but I've lived here, in a rural area, for 15 years and never seen one. Also, I am really curious is Blake is going to actually do anything with the fact that she's made Gideon Acadian? Like, it feels very specific to say that he's from Cape Breton and is Acadian (meaning he's from one of 2 towns), but then to not doing anything with it.

I had such high hopes for this! I read the Atlas Six so quickly and rapturously. The tension, the in depth character first writing. The hard science! I came to this book expecting more of the same. It was somehow softer? I felt like the writing style had a bit of a fog to it comparatively.

The six weren't just separated, but scrambled up. The plot moved along, but everytime the time moved was mentioned I was surprised. I wanted to hear more from their year spent isolated. I wanted to know, definitively, what characters were actually up to, but it felt like it was always just a bit outside my grasp. Knowing their motivations felt harder. The first book made me feel clever and enjoy learning more about these complex characters, but this felt more like someone handwaved and said, "well, you know" instead of elaborating.

I'm ravenous for the next book. I enjoyed this, but it definitely took longer to get through and I felt it.

I raced to finish this book as soon as I received this ARC and I adore these characters! Gideon and Nico continue to be my favorites, so that has not changed since The Atlas Six and I am ridiculously invested in them. Olivie Blake continues to keep me on my toes with all the twists and turns (and time traveling????). I did find that the Atlas Paradox dragged a little compared to the first book, and suffered a bit from Second Book syndrome- in that I didn't find that it didn't stand well on its own.

While I had fun reading Atlas Paradox, I was left wanting more- more answers, more action and a more decisive conclusion- even a small one in comparison to the overall plot and I found that a little bit lacking. I will hand it to Blake though, I will definitely be coming back for the third novel in this trilogy. For anyone looking for compelling, morally grey characters and character-driven dark academia, I think the Atlas Paradox is still a solid part of its series.