I wish I could curl up and live under a blanket of Olivie Blake’s writing.

This is a story about the violence of knowing.

This was a glorious sequel. The writing was beautiful & dramatic- just like the cast! The dynamics were able to develop more, and somehow despite being stuck in time, Libby is still such a presence. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book.

Thank you so much @macmillan.audio & @netgalley for the audio copy 🖤

I loved the narrators, I love this story and I was not disappointed!

Full cast audiobooks are my favorite because it feels like I’m watching it and that each narrator is the character!

The Atlas Paradox might just be the most hyped release of the entire year. I was pretty excited going into it and it mostly delivered. The dark academia and fantasy vibes are still there. So are the morally grey characters and the interpersonal conflicts. But somehow, for me, round two wasn’t quite as engaging as the first book.

It might have a bit to do with the fact that a few of the characters are spread out across space. This leads to several smaller conflicts, but nothing feels as urgent. It wasn’t bad, just different.

The characters also evolve/devolve to some degree in this book. Some of them find strength and learn to use their talents and others sort of mope around. I thought that for the most part the characterization worked, but there were a couple of times that I felt frustrated by character changes.

All in all, I think this is a solid enough continuation of The Atlas Six series. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is it still worth reading? Yes.

Audiobook/Fantasy/Unabridged: Wow, wow, and wow! I love this series! (Take note that I did not read a book, so if I misspell names, it's just me guessing the spelling).
I was listening to Book 1 from Chirpaudio when book 2 came up on Netgalley,. When the big twist happened with Esra, I had to take a detour to B&N to read the interlude several chapters back! I was so enamored with book 1 that I felt like I won the lottery when I was picked by Netgalley to listen to book 2.
This is a new adult book and I am much older. The books may read different, but the audiobook by multiple narrators is awesome.
I love the six main characters as well as the sub-characters. Each has their own voice and personality. The author really does a great job relating each personality. I love the author's take on the each character's superpower because, for the most part, they are string theory level. There are many twists and turns.
It did take me a while to realize that the setting is in a world where mortals know about Meadians. I went through the whole first book and up to the chapter about Beylin to realize the Median society was public, just not open to all.
Do I recommend it. Of course, and I've already suggested it to friends. I cannot wait until book three, but I know it will be a while.

I really tried to love it. I really did. But I cannot get behind the voice actors on this one. The story itself is going great but I'm turned off by the voice actors fake accents and stuff and it's just not working for me. I'll move over to the print option to finish up the read.

The Atlas Paradox by Olivia Blake 4/5

Diving straight into the sequence we have six of the most powerful magicians back in action. In Atlas Paradox Libby is trapped and the remaining five magicans must set out and continue with buisness but her lack of appearance leaves them on edge.

Transitioning from Atlas Six to Atlas Paradox the character growth is phantastic and the all the different narators for the audiobook truly put a voice to the images I had in my head for them. They brought the characters to life with each different voice. All the tones, attitudes, frustration, you can hear it in their voices. Great narators really can make or break a story and they did not disappoint.

The Atlas Paradox was a great listen, I think the readers will truly enjoy this continuance.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC.

I’m sorry, I just cannot get into this book. I did listened up to the 25% mark, and that’s the farthest I could get because I was just BORED out of my mind. The narrators were great and honestly loved how they brought the characters to life, but the story itself couldn’t grasp my attention. I feel like absolutely nothing happened in that first quarter of the book besides characters talking to themselves. No thank you. I can’t read that.

Absolutely loved this book! The build up was 100% worth it and I can’t wait to read what happens next. Blake made so many connections that wove through the story seamlessly and it was so fun to see what happened next! Highly recommend!

The six most powerful magicians are back in The Atlas Paradox. With Libby trapped, the other five must continue on with business as usual, but they feel her loss like a phantom limb. While she searches for a way out of her prison, she must decide what she's capable of along the way. All the while, Parisa grows more and more suspicious of Atlas's machinations. Tristan is being dour, Reina even more so. And Callum is casually drinking and being a menace, just the way we like him.

This installment took all the themes and ethical quandaries from The Atlas Six and dove deeper into them, forcing the readers to think critically about them. Each character had their own struggles and flaws to face while still needing to continue the research required by the archives. Readers will find it incredibly satisfying how all these seemingly unrelated topics and issues mesh together.

All the different voices used for this audiobook really brought the story to life. Each character had their own tones and attitudes that came through in a way that doesn't always happen in books told from a third person POV.

Where readers may struggle is just how wordy the book is. Because it's a very philosophical take on magic, with six (and then some) main characters, there is a lot of time spent on internal monologue. While our magicians do interact with each other, most of their conversations are fleeting, leaving them to digest the information alone. This is even more true because several of the characters don't need words to communicate at all.

Overall, I rated The Atlas Paradox 4.5 out of 5 stars. Readers will enjoy it if they allow themselves to become fully immersed in the world Olivie Blake has created and keep their googler on hand to look up all the physics and philosophy references.

The Atlas Paradox was a perfect sequel to the Atlas Six. I love the characters and felt like this book set up the 3rd book. I liked the multiple points of view, as it kept me interested and was propulsive.

I thought The Atlas Six was complex but for me this was even more hard to follow. Yes, there are a lot of POVs, back and forth, time that has passed, things people have done in the meantime, plans they are thinking about. It was, for me, a bit hard to follow it all even if in the end I did and liked how everything came together and how the book ended leaving spaces and questions that will be answered in the third book.
I am a romance lover. I devour romance books with happy endings and characters that meet, fall in love and live together happily ever after. So I might have been a bit, not unhappy, but not utterly involved in all the push and pull of the characters' crush/romance/whatever situations. But I am curious to see if some of them will 1) still be alive by the end of it, and 2) if they will find a bit of happiness with one another. There's a glimpse, but I don't trust it, not with these kinds of books.
The complexity intrigued me and intrigues me still so I'm looking forward to read the next book!

I really enjoyed the first book, and this second book started off alright, but my impression of it as the audiobook went on was that it felt rambly and unfocused and I quickly lost interest in it as a result, which is disappointing.

This unfortunately felt like a stepping stone between book 1 & 3. It did set up for the next book to be great and hopefully action-packed, but this one fell flat for me.

I do LOVE these characters but I almost feel like I know too much about them. I understood the character analysis of the first book since it was the introduction to so many characters. However, this sequel was just as character based with little to no plot to back it up. Not to mention that every character seemed to be in a bad mood throughout the entire book.

The added character POVs really made a single threw line plot difficult because of time jumps and differing opinions. It felt like not a single characters' motivations were clear except, maybe, when they were trying to find Libby.

Overall, disappointed with this sequel but I will still pick up the next because I see a lot of potential with the overall Atlas story.

*Thank you McMillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!*

I'm still not quite sure yet what I think about this book, but I know I liked, and maybe even loved, it. Honestly, it will probably take a re-read for me to completely understand my feelings about it, but I have enough thoughts to at least write a semi-coherent mini review (hopefully). This book had quite a different vibe from the first one. The tension of impending murder was gone, and the group dynamic I loved in The Atlas Six was fractured by the loss of Libby. However, these changes led to some unexpected alliances and allowed for a deeper dive into the inner world of the characters and the mysteries of the library. I loved the additions to the world-building and the increased focus on the science, mythology, and ethics associated with the power of the characters. The mind games intensified despite being more isolated, and each of the characters changed quite a bit in ways I didn't expect as a result. My favorite characters in this one were Tristan, Reina, and Libby. They experienced a lot of growth, and I was happy Reina got more focus because I find her and her power fascinating. I'm not going to say any more than that because of spoilers. The book also had a lot to say about power (and those who wield it) and provided interesting commentary on activism. Despite living for every second I got to spend with these morally dubious disasters, some things about the book were a bit disappointing. It definitely suffered from second book syndrome. Outside of Libby's story arc, there wasn't much of a plot. The rest of the characters were sort of adrift, and most of the book was just them having conversations about their powers and theories, which I loved but I'm sure some others won't. The Atlas and Ezra conflict felt a bit underdeveloped, and I really would have liked to see more time spent with Ezra and the Forum to get to know their operation better. On the bright side, this book did position all the characters for an exciting finale in the next one. Most importantly, I am still convinced that Callum and Tristan are endgame. They are perfect for each other in a messed up way, and I will die on this hill. lol. Was this book perfect? No. Will everyone who loved the first one love this one too? Probably not. If you love dark academia vibes and delving into the minds and relationships of morally ambiguous characters on a power trip, you will probably enjoy this book. The audio with the full cast did a wonderful job of bringing them and their personalities to life in a really engaging way. I enjoyed it despite its flaws and rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Atlas Paradox picks up soon after the explosive ending that was The Atlas Six. Nobody quite knows where Libby is, but Nico, Reina, Parisa, Tristan, and Callum follow through with their initiation.

After initiation, the characters move around and pursue their interests of study, all with different goals in mind. Some of the five grow closer, while others fall apart.

Meanwhile, Libby is fuming over Ezra's betrayal as she finds herself in an unexpected place.

It's difficult to write an adequate review for The Atlas Paradox without spoiling major plot points, but I think the easiest way to go about this is to say that sequels are tough. I liked the direction this book took quite a lot because it brought about new dynamics and new stakes. I enjoyed the direction Libby's sublot took, and I found myself sympathizing with the characters far more than I did when I read the first book.

It's not the perfect book, but I had a good time reading it. I look forward to seeing how the story progresses in the next installment.

I listened to an ARC of the audiobook while reading along and it truly made the experience that much more enjoyable for me. All of the narrators are phenomenal at capturing the essence of their characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an e-ARC and digital audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I adore these kinds of books, that deal with humanity and complexed relationships, morally gray characters and long-winded narrations. The Atlas Six (and Paradox, of course) has all of that, so, naturally, I loved it.

Olivie Blake has such a unique way of writing that’s both clinical and painfully human. Compared to the first, The Atlas Paradox feels very human. Whereas the first book could be read as everyone’s driving force being power and ambition, this felt more of study introspection and emotions. If one of your complaints about the book was the characters being unlikable, I think this’ll be a better experience for you. I found myself liking characters I hadn’t in the first book, and loving characters I liked (looking at you Callum Nova).

The best part of the series, so far, for me is the relationships between the characters. In this one, we see “strange alliances form”, though to me, they made a lot of sense. I need to discuss — at LENGTH — the relationship between Callum and Tristan. Especially their big blow out. I want to dissect that scene piece and piece. It was insanely powerful. For the majority, the characters seem stranded. Or suspended. They’re trying to find their place, it seems. Which made for an interesting experience as a reader.

It’s slow. More seldom. But equally fascinating as the first. The last fifty or so pages really make up for the pacing, especially in that last chapter (if you know you know). I plan to read this again and again in perpetration and excitement for the finale installment.

About the audiobook:
Love audiobooks with multiple readers. I really enjoyed them all except for Parisa’s, unfortunately. As much as I understood the choices made, I couldn't take her VA’s vocal fry mixed with her slow speech. I also need to point out that some narrators voiced Nico with a Spanish accent, and others didn’t. I wish there was continuity between the readers on how other characters will sound in their voice.

I would still recommend the audiobook despite the problems I felt, but maybe have a physical/e-copy on hand for Parisa’s chapters.

This one was just okay for me. I really enjoyed The Atlas Six but I read it in January. This may be a me problem but it was difficult to remember what happened in the first book. I feel like I spent the first 25% of this one trying to figure out what happened and remembering who everyone was.

This one was also MUCH slower paced than Atlas Six. That also made it difficult for me.

I did enjoy the different narrators for different POVs. That was helpful in keeping each POV straight. And the narrators gave a pretty good performance. Especially the narrator who read Peresa’s POV.

I found this book to have many of the same problems as the first in the series only this time they were much more noticeable. Though the cast of narrators did a truly exceptional job, they couldn’t disguise the fact that Blake simply doe not know how to make the middle of her books interesting, I found myself frequently losing interest in the second half to the point that I almost dnf’d, and whole the beginning and end have plenty of good things about them, in the end it’s too little too late, a no from me.

This book left me reeling😱🤯. The Atlas books are so cerebral and I am 100% here for it. I love how Blake weaves together existential ideas, science, and magical realism.
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Five magicians are now left as members of The Society of Alexandrians. The Society is an organization with the unbridled power to reshape the world as we know it. Ezra Fowler is set on taking down Atlas Blakey and The Society in order to save the world from chaos. He has left Libby Rhodes in the past, with the hopes that removing her will prevent an apocalypse. While several members of the society are looking for a way to get her back, others are forming alliances to uncover secrets of The Society.
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Libby and Nico are my favorite characters. The others seemed pretty dark and nihilistic most of the time, which I also enjoyed 🖤. I was surprised to develop a soft spot for Callum, and I liked watching Tristan explore new powers. I feel like Blake opens doors of perception and dares you to walk through them, but won’t push you in.
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I listened to this one, and the full cast audiobook was spectacular. Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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The Atlas Paradox - Olivie Blake
4.5/5⭐️
Pub Date: 10/25/22 🎉OUT NOW!🎉

Thank you for the opportunity to review this amazing book in advance of its release.
It is an instant favourite building on the magic, relationships and complexity of the first novel. Without giving any spoilers, characters that I disliked in the first book became more real and understandable and dare I say agreeable. This is definitely a book I will reread and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.