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madelinel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I know they were just friends, but I’m still thinking about the ‘I know the exact shape she takes up in the universe’ line. Good in some parts, liked the ending,
pseudonymist_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
booksandteawithmel_'s review against another edition
3.0
I gave it a 2.5
I thought I would put the reasons for my low rating. Normally, this would have been a story I devoured within days, but I started it mid December and have only just finished the book now. I’m not a slow reader by any means. So, I’ll start off with the reasons why and explain in detail. The pacing was very weird as well, the first half seemed to really drag on but then at the 50-70% mark, things got a bit more interesting and then dulled again.
It didn’t get interesting until I was around 50% of the way through.
The cartoonish evil villain of the story.
There was little to no world building.
There was no explanation of the magic system.
The characters weren’t well written or fleshed out.
My first point, I practically had to drag myself through the first half of the book, I wasn’t looking forward to reading it at all. I really wanted to DNF but I wanted to see if anything happened, I’m a completionist and a glutton for punishment. As I stated above, it only got interesting when Libby and Tristan slept together and she finally ended things with Ezra. Aside from that, it was just talking, all the time.
No world building, it was just a lot of talking between the characters, with some science thrown in sometimes. There was little explanation on how the magic system worked and it wasn’t fully fleshed out in my opinion, and could have done with a little more thought towards it rather than telling us these people have powers and not going into their character arcs.
My final point, I didn’t like or care about any of these characters, I didn’t care what happened to them and the plot twists, the whole thing of Atlas and Ezra working together to basically nuke the entire world while trying to paint Callum as the evil villain… which I saw coming a mile away.
I feel like this series isn’t for me so I won’t be continuing it, sorry to the people who like this series but I did not.
I thought I would put the reasons for my low rating. Normally, this would have been a story I devoured within days, but I started it mid December and have only just finished the book now. I’m not a slow reader by any means. So, I’ll start off with the reasons why and explain in detail. The pacing was very weird as well, the first half seemed to really drag on but then at the 50-70% mark, things got a bit more interesting and then dulled again.
It didn’t get interesting until I was around 50% of the way through.
The cartoonish evil villain of the story.
There was little to no world building.
There was no explanation of the magic system.
The characters weren’t well written or fleshed out.
My first point, I practically had to drag myself through the first half of the book, I wasn’t looking forward to reading it at all. I really wanted to DNF but I wanted to see if anything happened, I’m a completionist and a glutton for punishment. As I stated above, it only got interesting when Libby and Tristan slept together and she finally ended things with Ezra. Aside from that, it was just talking, all the time.
No world building, it was just a lot of talking between the characters, with some science thrown in sometimes. There was little explanation on how the magic system worked and it wasn’t fully fleshed out in my opinion, and could have done with a little more thought towards it rather than telling us these people have powers and not going into their character arcs.
My final point, I didn’t like or care about any of these characters, I didn’t care what happened to them and the plot twists, the whole thing of Atlas and Ezra working together to basically nuke the entire world while trying to paint Callum as the evil villain… which I saw coming a mile away.
I feel like this series isn’t for me so I won’t be continuing it, sorry to the people who like this series but I did not.
p25n's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aea023's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
danierilily's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A bit dense, especially towards the end. I liked that all the characters had distinct motivations, but sometimes I felt like because we had to keep switching between POVs, we didnt get to get to know any one character super well. And I still don’t really understand the villains motives. That all said, these are reasons I want to read the next book, not deterrents. Fun take on a magic system.
thebeardedvessel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The story and setting is interesting, the progression and build up left me wondering what the stakes were other than...people living their lives?
Which can be fine but might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Which can be fine but might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
vhylace's review against another edition
4.0
this is my first dark academia book i’ve read, so i don’t really have much expectations or comparisons to give a justified rating. i expect different things from each genre of book i read, so i’m a bit confused as to how i felt about this book after i finished?
some things i didn’t really enjoy about the book was that the thoughts vs actions ratio was very off-putting. i was often confused about what was happening in the present because of the countless paragraphs of old events replaying in each of the characters’ minds. i felt as if there wasn’t many events that happened during the middle of the book. its start and finish was very good, though.
on the other hand, i liked a lot of things about this book. the characters were all very unique and i loved seeing where their thoughts drifted throughout each pov i read. the writing that was produced in this book was beautiful and definitely followed along with the academia aspect of the book. i loved reading about how each person’s magic worked and the flaws that came with it.
i think what kept me reading this book was libby and nico, honestly. i loved their rival relationship and how, ironically, one can’t really imagine a life without the other? on another note, i did enjoy seeing the six grow their normalities around each other. the end where everyone was on the same page was great, but i hate cliff hangers ):
i can’t wait to know more characters in the next book along with how the six will navigate through the society!!!
some things i didn’t really enjoy about the book was that the thoughts vs actions ratio was very off-putting. i was often confused about what was happening in the present because of the countless paragraphs of old events replaying in each of the characters’ minds. i felt as if there wasn’t many events that happened during the middle of the book. its start and finish was very good, though.
on the other hand, i liked a lot of things about this book. the characters were all very unique and i loved seeing where their thoughts drifted throughout each pov i read. the writing that was produced in this book was beautiful and definitely followed along with the academia aspect of the book. i loved reading about how each person’s magic worked and the flaws that came with it.
i think what kept me reading this book was libby and nico, honestly. i loved their rival relationship and how, ironically, one can’t really imagine a life without the other? on another note, i did enjoy seeing the six grow their normalities around each other. the end where everyone was on the same page was great, but i hate cliff hangers ):
i can’t wait to know more characters in the next book along with how the six will navigate through the society!!!
octopusreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
5.0