A really interesting idea for a book, but sadly it was just very difficult to get into any of the characters...took me 2 weeks to finish, but I had to be determined! Sorry, just not the style of writing I enjoy! Many thanks to Netgalley.co.uk, Publisher and author for the chance to review this ARC.

As an Information and Libraries graduate the idea of the Library of Alexandria and other sources of lost knowledge being saved by a secret organisation is a dream come true. I cried throughout the film Agora, and it wasn’t just because of the soppy romance storyline. The idea of how much knowledge we’ve lost over the centuries is something that terrifies me. In The Atlas Six Blake poses the question of what would happen if that knowledge hadn’t perished, if it survived. The Alexandrian Society are the keepers of that knowledge and every decade only six of the most powerful magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.

There’s a catch though. You have to walk away from your life, your friends, family, relationship and move to the Society’s archives for a few years. You can still have contact with the outside world via communication devices, but you will be on your own. The prize isn’t just access to all that knowledge; it’s a life of wealth, power, and prestige “beyond your wildest dreams”. Would you do it? I know I would, for the knowledge alone.

The six initiates all have their reasons to go and on the surface they seem simple. Knowledge, power, boredom. You know, the usual things that drive humans to do anything. And they are all human, despite being the most powerful magicians on the planet they are all so terribly human with their vulnerabilities, worries and desires. They are magnificently written, so multi-faceted that I found myself not veering towards just one or two characters but all of them save one (I’ll get to them in a moment). Their idiosyncrasies are plucked from real life, as are their responses to everything that happens to and around them.

I appreciated the diversity in their personalities, the way Blake included personalities that are anxious, introverted, traumatised and seeking approval, and developed some of those to be extroverts rather than the stereotypical introverts. Mental health affects everyone, and people of all personality types not just the quiet types. Normally with a book with this many content warnings, especially related to abuse leads me to point out that the author has used abuse as a plot device. I am thankful to say that this is not the case with The Atlas Six. While there are a lot of scenes that may be triggering for people, their inclusion is vital to provide realistic characters who have lived real lives. Not all the characters have histories filled with trauma, however, each of them have known difficulty and having finished the book I have to wonder whether that was part of what made them ideal candidates.

The one character I could not get on with is the only one that I feel was created to be polarising, to be someone that we’re not supposed to understand. They are alien, their magical ability making them see the world completely different to everyone else and their place in it repulses their fellow initiates and the reader. They’re almost like a sociopath, although due to their magic I wonder if that’s possible, whether they’ve become so numb to emotions due to feeling them so often. I’ve given you a hint there as to whom I’m talking about, however, that’s as much as I’m going to say. I’ll let you discover more yourself by reading the book 😉

The Atlas Six has got a huge amount of hype, and as with any book that does the first question I ask myself is “is it worth it?”. In my humble opinion, yes it is, for multiple reasons. As I’ve mentioned the characters are top-notch quality, and they could carry the book on their own. Throw them into a world that’s dark and gritty, a secret society that has so many secrets it’s secrets have skeletons. Blake takes readers to places that most books are afraid to go. There’s no sugar coating, not on the secrets of the society or flinching away from on the hard issues that Blake includes.

This is a book about magic and the world-building is fascinating, it’s like an open world sandbox if you think of it in video game terminology. There is the possibility of anything and some of the magic that takes place in this book is extraordinary. I am so in love with one of the initiates abilities, and I’d love to sit down with Blake to ask about the thought process on how she came up with that one. It goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen in a fantasy novel; Blake has pushed the boundaries of what we believe magic to be in The Atlas Six. She does a great job of making the realm of magic seem filled with endless opportunities, and we see the initiates begin to test those possibilities in the novel, and that’s one of the ways that Blake also keeps it within the realms of possibilities.

The key to that is science, and magic and science walk hand in hand in The Atlas Six. There is a lot of scientific discussion and jargon, and I usually find that quite off-putting. However, just when it starts to get to the eye blurring stage Blake nips it in the bud. She seems to have a good handle on how much is too much. There are “information dumps” as some people call them, but let’s be frank; this is a book about a secret society based on the Library of Alexandria. If you’re not expecting there to be that sort of thing in this book then you’re probably reading the wrong book for you.

The Atlas Six is a combination of its parts and while I’m not quite on board with the hype (this was a four-star read for me not a five star), it was still a magnificent read because it was so different. I’ve read books about secret societies and hidden libraries before, and there is just something unique about this one. Blake has the magic touch when it comes to creating unique magical powers and then exploring what they could do in various situations. Her fight scenes are luscious and thrilling, and this book reminds me of a box of rich Belgian chocolates. Every single bite is dark and delicious, and now and then you’ll bite into one that will have something else inside. Whether you end up agreeing that this is the best book you’ve read this year or not, The Atlas Six is not to be missed.

Although new to TikTok, I've heard a lot about The Atlas Six in recent months and wanted to read the book (first in the series) for myself. The Atlas Six is a fantasy novel set in magical fantasy world, where magical and non-magical characters exist side-by-side and are aware of each others existence. There is no real (?) separate of the worlds, or separate reality as in many fantasy novels and this does make The Atlas Six more enjoyable for that reason.
We have six main characters:
Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona - cosmologists
Parisa Kamali - telepath
Reina Mori - naturalist
Callum Nova - empath
Tristan Caine - we are unsure of Tristan's powers as yet
However, the six are not 'just' cosmologists or empaths, they are the very best in their particular skills and for this reason, they have been selected for invitation to the secretive Alexandrian Society. We will spend much for the initial chapters meeting our six protoganists and learning about their lives as they are invited by Atlas Blakely to apply to the society and join for their first year.
We spend the first 12 months with the group, as they learn more about this, frankly bizarre society and learn about each other. Despite, many different events occurring during that timeframe, including attacks on their home, interactions with family, and each other, the novel seemed to move at a glacial pace to me. I was excitedly waiting for the next event to occur but this seemed to take pages, upon pages to happen. Perhaps this is because, much of this novel is taken up with developing the characters and their relationships with each other. There's no doubt that this is integral to the plot but I wanted to know what was happening next.
The action and plot really seemed to move in the final quarter of the novel and this is where the developed relationships and powers, finally seemed to start playing out.
I feel that we will see the second novel proceed at a faster rate and I look forward to seeing how our protoganists deal with the shocking events at the end of The Atlas Six.

<I>ARC of the newly revised and edited version received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

5 stars. I mean, obviously. No one is surprised. I am <i>floored.</i>

This book makes me want to tear my brain apart, it’s so clever.

It’s twists after alliances after betrayals after sex, and I couldn’t get enough of their depraved magical games.

I love characters who are in it for themselves only, and will do whatever it takes. I especially love when these kinds of characters are forced to work together. ✨Chaos ✨It’s beautiful.

This book is especially great because it’s multi-POV and everyone has ulterior motives and is unreliable— how can you as the reader trust anything, really, when these characters are sharing their house with people who can manipulate their thoughts and emotions 🤩 (god it’s so tense and tasty).

I am weak for dark academia, especially when it involves magic, and the magic systems in this are Top Tier. (And terrifying, honestly, which just makes it so much better!)

Even though it’s multi-pov (which I know puts some people off) every character is written very distinctively, with a lot of depth and nuance; which is no mean feat given all the balls that this book is juggling when it’s not actually that long.

A special mention also for the side characters, who are somehow also given a fair amount of depth and page time—what is this sorcery.

It took me a while to get through it though—partly because of life and partly because there’s A LOT of science (physics, mostly) and complex rules of thought/moral quandaries and I was worried that if I didn’t take the time to understand it all, I’d somehow miss huge plot points and foreshadowing (I was right), so this meant I actually had to focus and retain and not just inhale it at lightening speed on a tram 😵‍💫.

ANYWAY, I do not regret taking my time to really <I>understand</I> what was going on here, the author has clearly done her work.

(I’ve also learned a lot about physics by poxy (and googling) that I didn’t intend to 🤣.)

GO BUY THIS. I INSIST! IF I COULD MAGICALLY MAKE YOU, I WOULD.

A wonderfully paced read with a distinctly episodic feel, the cast of characters were varied and interesting (though I would have loved more of Reina!), and the setting was thoroughly intriguing. A really fun read.

I read this simultaneously with a friend because we were both really intrigued by the blurb - the magic and characters sounded interesting, as well as the concept of the Alexandrian Society being secret custodians of the lost library of Alexandria and subsequent collected knowledge. I think it’s fair to say that we had mixed feelings about the writing style - which is eloquent and yet didn’t always seem to suit the content. We were both also almost put off by all the references to it being a TikTok sensation, but in the end it was too interesting to pass up.

The concepts driving the plot are all really intriguing, and I loved all of the magical ideas and the way the magic worked in Blake’s universe. However the characters are all fairly unlikeable and a spend a lot of the first half of the book mostly thinking about how much they dislike each other, in rather immature ways, which was difficult not to be irritated by. Reina was probably the easiest to like, even though she was also the least developed. The second half settled down and I started liking most of them, and there was more drive to the plot, too. Although occasionally inconsistencies that didn’t get explained. I really enjoyed the part where Parisa was trying to solve the puzzle in Dalton’s mind. This is clearly the first in a series so will be interesting to see where it goes!

Personally I didn’t care for the illustrations at all and I kind of wish they hadn’t been present. But I love the book cover.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Tor, Pan Macmillan for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I find it difficult to review fantasy books that are so incredibly lyrical and beautiful, as I feel like my review won't do it justice, however, I will do my best!

Olivie has created a clever dark academia novel with brilliant characters that are so incredibly detailed, with shining personalities and absolute epic skills.

There was a lot going on within this book, with each chapter from a different characters' perspective; we got to see into the heads of each of them, which gave us a beautiful and raw insight into how they were different, but also the same.

As soon as the characters arrive at The Society, they are thrown into a competition which puts them in danger from the beginning, with members of The Forum trying to use them to destroy The Society from the inside.

Out of all the characters, Libby and Tristan were my favourite. Libby being incredibly down to earth and probably the most normal out of them all, with the clearest moral compass. Tristan, although he seems to be quite clear cut and to the point, is also the most complicated and definitely has a few secrets to tell.
I also really liked the character of Reina, her powers impress me the most.
Callum is my least favourite; he seems to only care about himself with no sense of compassion or empathy for anyone else (considering he can feel what others feel, you'd think he'd have A LOT of empathy).
I found myself craving more romance than we actually got, but I'm hoping this gets explored more in the second novel.

I did find however, that this book was a VERY slow burn, as in, not a lot happened for the first 3/4's of the novel (apart from character interactions and power experimentation). It wasn't until about 70% of the way through the novel that the storyline really piqued my interest and the action started happening.

The ending was great, definitely a cliff hanger, so now I desperately want to read the next one!

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend for any fantasy fans that don't mind a slow burn!

At first glance this may seem to be one of those urban fantasy academy reads with a bit of heft, but it is so much more. This is Naomi Novik’s Scholmance only with more philosophy slyly slipped in and exploration of matters that plague us as human’s, like where right bleeds into wrong and all the grey areas that make life impossible to live as black and white. But the story carries it along, fast and furious at times, so that you wonder if there’s been a sleight of hand. Six candidates with magical powers, or talents, for initiation into a secret institution that protects the world’s knowledge that includes magical realms, but only five initiates will be allowed. A competition fought on a battlefield of wits and knowledge but never specified what form it will take. A leader and a guide to show them the way, or is that their role? The six each have their viewpoint, so that the reader gets to know each of them and, to an extent, their feelings and views on the whole project. Twists occur at unexpected times, with only a few expected (at least for me), but overall to give a hugely satisfying read that can lend itself to repeated reads while we await the next instalment.

the only thing I know for sure about this book is that Nico is madly in love with Libby, even if he doesn't know it yet. everything else ... i am confusion (but in an "i'm intrigued and will likely pick up the sequel" kind of way").

Six candidates, the best young medeians (magic-users) in the world, are invited to join the Alexandrian Society and gain access to a vast trove of arcane knowledge. The Library, which has achieved a kind of sentience of its own, contains not only volumes from the ancient Library of Alexandria, but materials from other collections throughout history. Atlas Blakely, Caretaker, has personally selected the six: Libby and Nico, who loathe one another, can both manipulate the physical world; Reina has an affinity with plants; Parisa is a telepath, who also uses sex to get what she wants; Tristan can see through illusions; and Callum is a very particular sort of empath.

There is, of course, a catch. Each decade, six people are chosen for initiation, but only five will proceed to their second year of study. Who's going to be disqualified this time around?

I was reminded of The Magicians (not least because several of the characters are, at least initially, unlikeable), of Donna Tartt's The Secret History and of Ninth House. The Atlas Six is as much, if not more, about the interactions between the characters as it is about the magic that they perform. The magic is intriguing, but the sharp edges and soft places of the six initiates -- not to mention their friends and associates -- make for an intense, often claustrophobic black comedy. Allegiances and affections (definitely not the same thing here) shift and fray, magic isn't the only strength, and not everything on the page is what it seems.

I found this an immensely engaging read. There are flaws (the occasional clunky phrase, the lack of foreshadowing regarding a particular plot twist) and it is claustrophobic, with a tight focus on the protagonists that's seldom, and fleetingly, broken by scenes outside the house. I would have liked more about the wider world, and how a small but significant population of magic users have affected it. I also felt that some of the characters were much more developed than others, but that might be a 'volume 1 of X' issue. For yes, there is another volume coming, The Atlas Paradox, in which the twisty cliffhanger will be either resolved or multiplied, and in which I hope to see more of some vastly intriguing secondary characters, such as Max. Happily, this is due quite soon (autumn 2022): The Atlas Six, though only just picked up by a major publisher (and also optioned for TV), has been available since 2020 as a self-published work.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

You know when you just know from the opening chapter of a book that you’re going to love a book? This was one of those books for me!

Every 10 years, 6 individuals are exclusively selected to compete for a spot in the Alexandrian Society, a secret organisation that safeguards the supposed lost works and knowledge from the Library of Alexandria among other ancient civilisations. The Atlas Six follows Libby, Nico, Parisa, Tristan, Callum and Reina – who are believed to be the most powerful and talented magicians (medians) of their time on their pursuit for the 5 open spots and all the power and knowledge the positions hold.

I’ll begin by saying that if you enjoy character driven storylines then you will eat this book up just as much as I did. It is for the most part one intense and intimate character study that is woven into a pretty straightforward storyline following the characters on their perusal of knowledge, training of their powers and staking out the competition. However, there is also an element of mystery to the plot that is all about uncovering the protected secrets of the society and what being a part of it actually entails.

There is no doubt that this book is an adult one particularly with the themes and with all the primary characters being 21 and older however, the student and competition aspects do give it a slight upper YA/New Adult edge at times. Not that this was a drawback in any way but it may not be some people’s thing. Furthermore the pacing is slower than I had anticipated going in, but it is still a very suspenseful read. Plus Blake’s writing is so eloquent and everything is so meticulously pieced together that I couldn’t take my eyes away.

The world building, in terms of the settings was quite subtle and simple. What instantly captured my interest though was the magic system, which did get a little complex at times but I was absolutely obsessed with the major X-Men vibes of it all!! A medians powers either fall into being physical (where the individual can manipulate the elements) or mental (telepathy, empathy, illusionary) but the sheer variation and versatility of any one individual’s abilities made the magic feel so original and exciting.

There were fascinating discussions brought into the narrative involving space and time and philosophy when the characters were experimenting with their powers so not only does this big brain of a book keep you highly entertained it equally tests your intelligence and I loved it!

Each and every single one of the characters (minor characters included) had me completely entranced, not just by their powers but their emotions, their assessments of situations and their sharpness. They are all so messy and the relationships that form between them even more so. There’s deliciously witty banter, reluctant alliances, manipulation and SO MUCH sexual tension between everyone!! Even though some of the characters were more likeable than others and there were pairings that I was particularly rooting for, by the end I was fixated by them all!

Balancing 6 points of view equally has got to be tricky and Blake did it so well in this book but I have to admit I found myself wishing Reina had gotten a bit more page time so here’s to that happening in book 2.

Speaking of which that ending has me craving the next book so badly!!! Thus I am kind of glad that I read this now rather than almost a whole year ago when the initial hype train was making its way around the internet.

Now to impatiently count down the days until The Atlas Paradox arrives…
Final Rating - 4.5/5 Stars

Sometimes it's quite difficult to read a book that has so much hype and not have very high expectations yourself. This is definitely the case with this book, which I've seen everywhere with such high praise!

The Atlas Six is quite a lot to follow as it follows the narratives of the main six characters and so it took me a good chunk of the book to settle into the story and the people, as I gradually learned a little bit about each of them. Most of the characters are unlikeable on the surface but I think, by the end, Tristan and Nico were my favourites.

A warning to readers who don't like character-focused stories - this one is not for you!

Aside from learning about the initiates and what drives them, not much else happens. A year passes in a blink through the character's thoughts and very little actions. The only downside to this is that I'd have liked to learn a little more about the Alexandrian Society itself.

Overall I enjoyed The Atlas Six and I'm looking forward to the next in the series,

A huge thank you for the chance to read and review this one!

Intriguing tale about power, magic, connection and what to do when you're offered more than you'd ever imagined. I raced through this, the narrative is fast paced and the characters are interesting enough to keep you hooked. I look forward to more from this author. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review).

I'll start with saying that I absolutely loved The Atlas Six and I need more! I was so happy to see that the next part will be published this year. It's only 223 days left (as of today) and I feel like I want to count them down every single day.

The story itself is captivating. Six extremely talented magicians are selected every decade to join exclusive Society which keeps Alexandrian Library resources safe. They gain unrestricted access to the best knowledge source possible... but only five of them can be initiated. The sixth's one needs to be eliminated at the end of the year.

The background and talents of each person are fascinating. Clearly if they're going to work together, they can achieve more than anyone in the history of human kind did... but what would be the consequences? And what this Society actually do? Their practices, rituals and secrecy... what started like a brilliant idea, very quickly turns into something much darker...

Not only the entire book is brilliant! I adored the writing style. I found it engaging and polished to the last detail. I felt that every single word is where it should be and everything is so well thought through from the linguistic perspective.

Ok, now only 223 days to go until The Atlas Paradox is released...

I really loved the characters and world building!! The only reason I had to give it 4 stars and not 5 was because of the hype surrounding the book and for me it just didn’t meet the expectations and standards set for the novel.

I really enjoyed this dark academia book! The world building was intricate and interesting. I loved the characters and this book is definitely character driven. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in its the next book!

This is a book that I have been excited about for ages! However, I must admit, I was a bit disappointed. I think it is a case that the hype got me, resulting in it feeling a bit lacklustre. Saying that though, I did enjoy the story enough to want to keep reading.

The story is more character driven rather than plot driven. The book is written from six different characters points of view and all of them are not very likeable and very egocentric. I tend to like reading about morally grey characters, but with these I just could not connect at all for some reason. The magic each character holds is very unique and intriguing and I would love to have seen more of their powers demonstrated rather than just talking about them.

I also wanted to know more about the society and the Library of Alexandria but it isn’t really explored in enough depth including the world building. There was mention of mermaids and satyrs but no explanation behind them and other similar topics that left me a bit confused.

The pacing is quite slow and the writing at times felt stiff and disjointed. The story was strongest at the beginning and the end but lost itself in the middle for me.

Overall, a brilliant premise but I think I needed a bit more of a gripping plot going on. Olivie is certainly a great writer and has written a great story. I just feel that maybe this is just a small stepping stone to get everything in place for the forthcoming books in this series which I think would hold a lot of promise.

I loved this book so much, I knew before I read it I would because even though I had Waterstones signed special edition preordered I was so happy when I was approved for this ARC. This won’t have too many details or I would be giving too much away this is a great twist on dark academia, I And that ending, I need the second book yesterday! I loved the characters, each one was so well constructed and unique, The story is told from 6 main points of view , each has their own, unique gift and the POVs really helps add the layers of their thoughts, and beliefs. Overall, a fantastic dark academia book full of lgbt+ rep and twists and turns.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I had been ridiculously excited about this book since I first saw someone mention it last year. Over the last twelve months I have developed a huge love for the dark academia genre and this seemed to tick all the boxes, and have magic too.

I adored this book. It was somehow everything I thought it would be, but also nothing like I expected.

It is a hugely character driven novel with less action and more contemplation, so it certainly won't be for everyone. There is deep exploration into each of the characters' thoughts, motivations and behaviour. The discussion of magic and its potential for the future of both their small world and the world outside is fascinating, with sacrifice and the idea of good and evil being a prominent point of debate.

The characters are an interesting group of people who are so easy to dislike one minute and want to wrap in a blanket the next. I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel.

Genre: #Fantasy #DarkAcademia #SciFi

Books: 1 / 2

Whilst reading this book I had a nudging feeling of reading/watching something similar before. And yeah, read a GR annotation later, it states that it is similar to #UmbrellaAcademy (I loved these TV series).

The Alexandrian Society is the most secret academy in the world, it holds ancient and dangerous secrets. Every so many years caretakes of the academy select six novices, in order to complete their studies and become Alexandrians, those who accomplish it will be granted wealth, fame, success or whatever it is they wanted.

All six participants are different, from different places in the world, with different backgrounds, goals and unique skill sets. But there is one thing that unites them....

Atlas Blakely is one of the caretakers, he founds all the students and offers something to each one of them, that they can’t deny. But knowledge has got its price, after initiation year they will have to pay it.

I had my doubts regards this book, because I rarely enjoy “very popular” reads. This one was an exception though. I had a hard time getting into it, because there is a complex magic system, everyone possesses different magic (it’s all very intriguing), fair amount of physical and mathematical explanations of what’s happening around.

After half of the book, I couldn’t put it down.

Characters, it completely different story. Long wait for “the adult problems” was worth it, we finally have a book to which I can somehow relate. And that’s so cool.

There isn’t much love going on here, but due to one of the characters wielding a seduction skill, expect some intimacy. As of love, author has left me hanging with a lot of questions and wanting to read second book ASAP.

Cliff hangers, last few chapters of this book are WooooooW.

Dalton and Gideon, I need to know more about them.

Really worth reading!