Full review will be posted as soon as possible and I'll add links to our blog as well.

I would like to thank the publisher HarperCollins and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

4,5 ⭐️
Damn I am so ready for book 3 👀👀

First of all, I would like to say thank you for the review copy, which was provided to me by the publisher. This fact does not in any way affect my personal opinion of this book. This post contains advertising and the rights for the book belong to the publisher.
Of course, this is only my personal opinion of the book, and just because I give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion.

I read Atlas Six in April this year. I was so excited about the second volume, and it did not disappoint. This book series is, in my opinion, perfect for autumn because it has a strong academic vibe. I often tend to read Dark Academia books in September / October, so this was an excellent book for this season.
Again, I loved that illustrations were included, even in the ebook. The writing style was as good as in the first book. I like the science stuff, and even tho I maybe did not understand everything I still enjoyed my time. The biggest problem for me was that I didn’t fully feel the chemistry between particular couples. I already had this problem in the first book with a certain group scene. The little problem I had was with time. Sometimes chapters overlapped weirdly in time but after a while, I figured it out.
The cliffhanger was a nice one and I am excited for book 3.

Conclusion
A great second book and I can’t wait for the finale!

I didn't love the Atlas Six, although the premise is great, but the ending was enough to make me want to read the next one. It's very character driven, but the plot doesn't seem to have moved on hugely and although it takes place over a year not very much seems to happen. Reina is still mysterious, Calum starts to make more sense, there was not enough Parisa. Libby remains the best drawn character, in my opinion! The book picks up from where Atlas Six left off, and a lot of questions are still unanswered by the end of it.

I will probably read the third one, because the ending of this book promises more action, but this one suffers from a lack of decent pacing and, to an extent, plot. Definitely a middle book!

4 stars

This was a wonderful sequel to The Atlas Six.
We started just were we ended the last book, with not knowing where everything that could go wrong went wrong so now we're trying to fix stuff while the students start their second year in the Alexandrian's society.

This book made me love all the characters I hated in book one and get annoyed with the characters I loved in TAS (I'm looking at you Reina Mori) okay not all because Gideon and Nico are still my sweet children but most of them.

I feel this book centers -surprisingly- between Nico and Tristan stories. This was their book. Their POVs were the ones that entertained me the most. We got to know them better on this one than any other character. Even with other characters pov they were mostly what it was talk about.

Nico, was amazing. He was funny and empathic and his scenes with Gideon *my heart* my favorites.

Tristan, I loved him. He was such a complex character in this installment. I loved his dynamics with other characters and that he was the key to most of the answers.

Callum... in book 1 I detested him and here, I felt for him so much. Someone told me he reminds them of Klaus from Umbrella Academy (and tbh the whole book has season 2 vibes ngl) and they're correct. And it makes sense because i love Klaus and now i love Callum too. I wanted to get to know him and honestly I think he'll be the main focus on the next book and I can't wait!
Parisa was pretty meh here which surprised me because she was so interesting in book one.

Reina frustrated me. She was one of my favorites in book one and here she was whiny and didn't feel like the fierce woman in book one. Also I feel like the other have a lot of progress in knowing their power whilst with her... she didn't have any real progress and that was disappointing.

Libby I didn't care about her to be honest. Her plot was messy and odd and... Maybe next book will make sense but right now I don't care. Also... her *thing* with Tristan... where did that came from?

Ezra was another part of the book that I didn't care about. I thought it'd make sense by the end but it didn't.

And speaking about the plot, if you think the plot of TAS was vague 😅 well this was messy and even more vague. Plot? What's that?! Maybe in book three. We're vibes only on this one ✌️.
This is a character driven series so don't expect a complex plot.

Still this was a very enjoyable read and I'll definitely be reading the next book and rereading this one as soon as I get the audiobook in my hands.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

where do i even start with this review?

(main spoilers are at the end and are indicated!)

(and obviously spoilers for the atlas six)

this book begins with the initiation of our 5 remaining magicians into the alexandrian society. the promise of knowledge beyond all bounds, and tremendous power is too tempting for them to give up. but the absence of libby rhodes is felt amongst them all throughout the entirety of this book, though it manifests in a different way for each character.

i love how olivie turned this library into a sentient being—a mind capable of withholding knowledge from the darkest parts of your own mind, from your own ambition and drive. it’s a clever way of adding limitations/costs to this magic system. but also i thoroughly enjoyed the commentary critiquing the caretakers of knowledge.

dark academia is always more fascinating to me when it reflects the flaws in our own society. an institution, like the alexandrian society, sits on the foundation of stolen knowledge that serves to only better the lives of the rich and powerful. olivie introduces some minor characters in this book who really leave their mark on your mind, on this discussion

every character relationship has been altered in some way, and almost every character is experiencing loneliness and depression, in some form. they’re all mentally ill, and unfortunately so am i.

time travel is a lot more prevalent in this book, and i would honestly say it was the <u>BEST</u> part of this story. the ingenuity? my jaw unhinged a couple of times. i cried quite a bit in the second half, but i think that’s down to just me being overly attached to these characters.

the character pairings for this book worked <b>SO WELL</b>. callum & reina didn’t make sense to me at first, but i could see how their differences worked. reina, a girl who would not waste her life, who yearned a sense purpose, would in turn help callum find his.

nico + tristan. the two people who cared about libby the most, who would arguably do the most to get her back. their dynamic provided some much needed relief & light comedy. but also unexpectedly, i would argue that their loss brought them a lot closer.

As always, callum nova is a character who only allows us to see as much as he’s ever willing, but the small glimpses of self-loathing and his inevitable path to self destruction really fucking hurt. callum is a greatly misunderstood character, by his peers especially. and admittedly, he was my least favourite in the first book (he was unnecessarily cruel to my fav girl). an empath who feels no emotion? i can’t say that’s true anymore. for a man who feels so much, i think he’s the only character who truly grasps the true depth and fragility of a human mind. His apathy and indifference only served to distance his pain from tristan’s betrayal.

nico is missing his other half, verbifying her in his thoughts <i>(rhodesian/rhodes-ified)</i>, and so is libby <i>(Varona-like)</i>. there are traces of nico all throughout libby’s subconscious, therefore i refuse to acknowledge them as platonic. BUT ALSO IM SO CONFLICTED BECAUSE I LOVE GIDEON AND NICO. my heart is tearing in two. these lines own me:


<i>“something about libby’s absence had ripped a hole in the fabric of nico’s reality.”</i>

<i>“what could she accomplish without nico—who was for better or worse, her necessary other half?”</i>

<i>“he missed libby the way he would miss having electricity. or his left hand. he did not know how to function without her. nico missed gideon like he would miss his conscience, or his ability to slip a punch. he did not know who he was when gideon was gone.” </i>


he can’t function without libby BUT HE DOESNT KNOW WHO HE IS WITHOUT GIDEON. can you see my dilemma??

gideon, gideon, gideon. sweet dreamer. he might actually be my favourite character. his selflessness and pure, pure goodness is so refreshing in a series filled to the brim with morally grey.

the romantic entanglements in this book are actually insane. olivie blake you will pay for my therapy because what is this??? nico/gideon; nico/libby; libby/tristan; tristan/callum. GIVE ME A BREAK. i love them all and i NEED them all to be happy. but it feels impossible right now.

and finally, atlas is still the one character that continues to confuses me. will i ever understand his motives? stay tuned for the final book :)

the only reason this is 4.5 and not 5 stars is because i think the atlas paradox could’ve used a lot more world-building. lots of things could’ve been clarified earlier if olivie had painted a more vivid picture of the parameters of this fictional universe. i also think the pace of this book was very off. it’s VERY slow in the first half, but the second half picks up quickly and makes up for it. also what’s up with the very many time jumps??

thank you to pan macmillan and black crow for sending me a copy to review!





<b>SPOILERS:</b>







i loved watching reina and tristan explore the bounds of their power. tristan going from being the least to the most powerful median?? iconic of him. i just wish we could’ve seen more of his journey to that, because it felt a little rushed. and reina’s god-like complex?? I NEED MORE. i think reina really took parisa’s crown as the most badass female in this series. parisa’s storyline wasn’t anywhere near as enthralling as the other characters’.

also CORRUPTION ARC!!! LIBBY FUCKING RHODES!!! the rebirth and awakening of the median who could power the stars. the echoes of nico in her mind, as she’s burning up the weapons facility?? i’m not crying.

dalton “hey-i-want-to-cut-a-piece-of-my-soul-off-to-access-the-archives” was actually pretty interesting in this book. i mean, it now makes so much sense why he was so dull in TA6. my guy literally chopped off all his best evil, ambitious parts and guarded them behind a wall. he’s now obsessive and dark, thanks parisa <33

What a sequel!!!

Everything I loved about The Atlas Six was in The Atlas Paradox as well. With the necessary character and plot development. Needless to say, I loved it. But that's news to no one, it was almost a given, what I didn't expect was thet ending!!

I started The Atlas Paradox thinking it would be really hard for it to reach even close to how perfect I think TA6 is. I love that book with everything I have, and even though I was expecting a good book, I honestly didn't think it would como close to my expectations. I was pretty surprised.

It was very different from the first book, or at least I thought so, it seemed a lot more focused on world building, and descriptions of their individual talents, which I loved, because I'm really interested in knowing more about it. In the end of TA6 I hoped in the sequel we got to know more about Tristan, Reina and Callum, and I'm really glad it happened. I feel like every character evolved a lot in The Atlas Paradox, but in some unexpected ways, I would say.

The last 100 pages were a rollercoaster, there are two specific scenes that left me speechless. The first one because it's everything I wanted in the first book, but done in a very unexpected way. And the second one, probably like the majority of the people who've read the book in preview, is the last scene. I have no words. I kinda expected it, but I think no one thought it would happen like that, It was cruel to leave it at that. But also a genius move.

Now I just have to wait another year for the conclusion. That will be hard.

Many many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan/Tor for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for an honest Review!

The Atlas Paradox is now out everywhere!! Grab you copy asap!!

The Atlas Paradox continues almost one year to the day from when the gang are recruited by The Alexandrian Society.

This one is definitely more character driven, which is great because they are all interesting and mysterious in their own way. I absolutely needed my thinking head on to pay close attention to the many twists and turns this book had to offer.

Everyone has their own agenda, flaws and thoughts about what the hell has happened to Libby. If you like Dark Academia, this series is definitely for you.

An amazing sequel to The Atlas Six that will leave you longing for more.
Although the beginning was a bit too slow for my taste the last parts of the book made up for it and I can't wait to read the final installment of this trilogy.

'The Atlas Six' set the candidates up for an impossible choice as they had to decide which one of their number to kill off in order to each secure their position in the Alexandria Society. But by the end of book 1, their plan had failed, Libby had been abducted and a grand conspiracy was revealed.

'The Atlas Paradox' is more of the same: dark academia vibes, brain-melting magical physics, psychological games and romantic confusion. Libby struggles to find her way back to the present while the other five undertake their research projects and reconsider their alliances.

I love the six main characters, their snarky and angst-ridden interactions and inherent potential for evil, but the plot doesn't advance particularly quickly in this book and it feels as though it is treading water before a big showdown in book 3.

Not a particularly pacy read, but I'm looking forward to seeing where the story will go next.

The Atlas Paradox is an arresting extravaganza of a book that evolves every aspect of The Atlas Six to continue our journey in this world marked by betrayal, deception and thunderbolt-like twists.

Blake instantly sucks you back into this fascinating and multi-layered scheming world. I really enjoyed the opening ritual for how intense and atmospheric it was. Instantly, it set the tone for how psychological and character driven this story would be, while also introducing new elements into everyone’s dynamics. These are fractured relationships, constantly changing and evolving. It felt so good to be back with these scheming and deeply flawed characters.

I really love how much this book feels like an intricate puzzle – with all the pieces slowly slotting into place. It’s such a twisty and interesting story with unexpected elements and some academic flourishes that make my heart sing. Also, you get a chance to really delve into everyone’s psyches through their perspectives and analyse their actions, while their changing dynamics are fascinating and multi-layered. Seeing them from one another’s perspectives also adds that extra layer of twists and turns. The sheer enjoyment that comes piecing together what you know with what they know feels like such an adventure and a revelation. When that moment of realisation hits, it is electric.

The ending is absolutely fantastic; feeling like a satisfying and explosive culmination of everything that has come before. It’s such a smart and interesting way to end all the previous action. I love how Blake builds to such a brilliant payoff for the book and all its winding, ornate and intersecting plotlines. The delicate balance of all of these themes and stories is a tightrope Blake walks expertly, allowing each character and storyline to have their moment in the sun. I left the book knowing I will need the next part as soon as I can obtain it.

The Atlas Paradox is a vortex of a book, pulling you into its destructive and dangerously entrancing path.

Wow! What an absolutely brilliant book! The second in what I hope will be many books in this incredible story about a group of six gifted people who enter into a commitment to study at the Alexandrian Society. Six very different people each with their own agenda. Things are not what they seem and conspiracies abound, danger is everywhere and someone wants to something unspeakable. Told from varying points of view within their time spent at the academy you really get an insight into who they are and what they are really after, or will we? Exciting, interesting, unique, full of possibilities and characters full of potential! Brilliant!

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake is the second book in the Atlas Six Series.
 
I really loved the concept of the first book, and it left me with many unanswered questions, and I liked how this second book immediately ties in with the end of The Atlas Six.
 
This sequel is even more character driven and I really liked to see more of the dynamics after what happened in the last book. I’m still the most fascinated with Parisa and I just love reading her perspective as you never anticipate what comes next.
 
The plot was mainly focused on their independent studies and experiments and about what happened to Libby. While this was definitely interesting, the story still had some length. This was simultaneously fitting as the book deals with the perception of time and dimensions and blurs the line between reality and dreams. I have never experienced something like that before, yet sometimes the physical aspects were beyond my understanding.
 
Overall, The Atlas Paradox was a great sequel and if you like The Atlas Six, you definitely need to continue with this series. 4 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

A great sequel to the original. I can't wait to re-read this and have the physical copy in my hands. Libby Rhodes I Iove you.

I was a little apprehensive that it may not be as good as book 1, but it was. Blew me a way. What a fantastic sequel. I can’t wait for book 3!!

Amazon Summary - Six magicians were offered the opportunity of a lifetime.
Five are now members of the Society.
And two paths lie before them.

In this thrilling next instalment, the secret society of Alexandrians is unmasked. Its newest recruits realize the institute is capable of raw, world-changing power. It’s also headed by a man with plans to change life as we know it – and these are already under way. But the cost of this knowledge is as high as the price of power, and each initiate must choose which faction to follow. Yet as events gather momentum and dangers multiply, which of their alliances will hold? Can friendships hold true and are enemies quite what they seem?

My Review
After reading the first book The Atlas Six and thoroughly enjoying it, I have been eagerly anticipating this book all year. i have even bought a special edition of this book (which i received yesterday and is stunning) before reading the Arc copy i received from netgalley. This didn't disappoint and is a worthy 4 stars.

It starts with a bit of a slow burner but it pays off massively by the end, I love all the characters (well maybe not Callum) but i think my fav is Parisa and i love Nico and Gideons relationship growth. I'm really looking forward to where this series is going and can't believe i have to wait another year for the next book.

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY TO THIS WONDER OF A BOOK. me getting an arc of the atlas paradox was not on my bingo card this year so thank you first of all to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for approving me of one!

I don't know where to begin with this one. I thought I knew how the series would go when I read The Atlas Six but the Atlas Paradox singlehandedly made me question all my beliefs about it. Olivie Blake your mind????

The Atlas Paradox was definitely harder to read in terms of plot. I was definitely that "I don't know what's going on and I simply don't wanna know" TikTok sound during the entire time of me reading this book but I still couldn't stop reading LMAO. My favorite elements of the Atlas Paradox is definitely the character dynamics! I love how we got several unexpected alliances and duos in this one and I just loved reading their banter with each other (Tristan and Nico the biggest Libby simp and my newest favorite duo). The Atlas Paradox definitely made me consider my opinions of them all that I thought I knew from the first book.

Anyway, I will be waiting for that third book now. Olivie Blake, you have one hell of a mind and I love it.

The easiest five stars to give. I love everything about The Atlas Paradox (with no caveats) and I am very available for book three!

Did I ever doubt Olivie Blake would end this book with a terrible cliffhanger? No my friends, no I did not. AND YET! It still took me by surprise.

The whole book builds up to that ending, this thing that happens on the very last page, and I am SO ANGRY THAT THERE ARE NO MORE PAGES! I NEED MORE PAGES OR BOOK THREE RIGHT NOW!!!

However, this does feel like a filler book. As much as the first one was character driven, this one is even more so. Quite literally there are only two plot lines that matter, one that we remember from the end of the first book and the other introduced in this one, the rest is just vibes and training.

I don't mind that, but The Atlas Paradox didn't manage to fully grip me like The Atlas Six did.

I still love all the characters (minus Callum, he'll never win me over at this point), and Libby and Tristan are still my faves. I'm super excited to see where their relationship will go in the third book, and all other relationships too, because you never know who'll end up with who.

Bonus points for the gorgeous art!!

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Atlas Paradox—Olivie Blake’s highly anticipated sequel to her bestselling dark academia, The Atlas Six—is just as deliciously cerebral and unputdownable as it’s predecessor. But now, the stakes have been raised and the initiates are wedged deeper into the murky depths of the Alexandran Society (and Atlas’s plans for them all.)

Six magicians become five, with Libby’s whereabouts still unknown. Taking place a year after The Atlas Six’s ending the initiates are now in their second year at the Society. Alliances have shifted and new rivalries begin to form as everyone must now pick a side: to preserve the world as it already is…or to destroy it in the effort to create a better one.

As pretty soon truth The Alexandrian Society will be revealed for what it truly is: a secret society with a raw and dangerously world changing power, headed by a man whose plans to change the world could be catastrophic.

Full of wit, betrayal and plenty of intrigue, I really enjoyed it! Unlike The Atlas Six, the pace felt more consistent this time around and it was far easier to immerse myself in Blake’s beautifully complex and interwoven narrative which spans two timelines and eight main POVs.

I know that may sound a little daunting but, the complexity of each character and how interwoven (and interconnected) even the smallest—and seemingly inconsequential—details were, really makes you forget how many POV there are. And I genuinely loved how seamlessly everything fell into place—Blake’s narrative structure and ability to make every twist and revelation truly unexpected was genuinely impressive. I didn’t know what was gonna happen from one moment to the next and I loved that aspect.

I really enjoyed seeing how each character is copes with the events at the end ofThe Atlas Six, which has left almost everyone a little little off centre and out of their comfort zones. But, it does give us the opportunity to get a deeper understanding into some of the more standoffish/ emotionally guarded characters such as Reina and Callum who we didn’t get to see as much of previously. I also loved to delve a little more into Gideon who was briefly introduced in The Atlas Six and really came into his own here—he’s such a cinnamon roll of a character and I hope we get to see even more of him in future.

The groups’ alliances and dynamics have changed too, and the effect that has on all of their relationships going forward was really interesting—we also get to see new partnerships/pair ups between the initiates that I definitely hadn’t expected, yet thoroughly enjoyed. I was surprised by Parisa’s slightly less frosty demeanour. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still sharp and manipulative (possibly even more so given her stellar observational skills) but her anti-social edge has softened a little.

I was also surprised that the bigger picture still alludes most of the group (I think Parisa and Callum were the only ones who really began to grasp what was happening), though it was interesting to see them all start to suspect Atlas’s machinations.

There’s still plenty of mystery to unravel as they continue to search for Libby, delve deeper into the libraries capabilities, as well as trying to steer clear of the people hunting them. But, id say it definitely focuses more on the internal conflicts and really sets everything up for the next instalment.

Overall, an entertaining sequel with some of the best morally grey characters I’ve ever read and a few twists I definitely didn’t see coming. Perfect for dark academia lovers, plot twisty fantasy or fans of Naomi Novik.

Also a huge thank you to Tor UK and Blackcrow PR for the finished copy.

I really wanted to give this a higher rating however, quite a few things stopped me from doing that. The first half of the book was just all over the place and I wasn't sure where Olivie was trying to head with the plot or the characters. I did find the first 30 % of the book to be quite snail based and sorry to say this but a bit boring. I had to push myself to get through it. After that 30% , I really started enjoying the book but I do feel like the plot could be a bit tighter.

Some of characters I didn't love as much as I did in The Atlas Six. Nico, Libby, Gideon and Prisha I will defend till my last breath. With Tristan there was just too much self loathing going on at the beginning of the book that it became annoying but he did redeem himself when he got his sh*t together. Callum I had no clue what to think, my boy was drowning. Some parts of the book I felt sorry for him and other parts I just wanted to strangle him. Don't even get me started on Reina. Don't get me wrong, she had every right to be untrusting but damn! she irritated my soul.

Overall, I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. It didn't grip my attention like The Atlas Six did but I am looking forward to the third book.