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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I do not know what I just read. I feel like this book had a lot of potential. There were cool concepts and some unique characters. Unfortunately, I feel that the individual components of the book weren’t tied together. The build up felt somewhat slow and the ending felt rushed and thrown together.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not for me
Oh. Where do I even begin....
I can't say I had huge expectations when I started reading The Atlas Six. I was aware it was somehow a both very well known TikTok hit, yet I didn't see buzz around it, which feels contradictory. Still, with a premise like that - 6 academic rivals, with different magical powers, competing to stay at this magical institution full of knowledge forbidden to the rest of the world, who wouldn't feel compelled? Hyped? Interested even in the slightest?
The multi povs, to my surprise, didn't annoy me much. Even with its many, many flaws, one thing Blake didn't disappoint was by giving me truly "diverse" characters. Each had their motivations and dark pasts, their powers and personalities intertwined in very interesting ways. By far, the interactions between the characters were the highlight. Reina, Libby and Nico were my favourites.
Now. Everything else? A complete house on fire. The language is, at almost all times, unnecessarily pretentious and pompous, making the plot seem complex, when it isn't. The magic system, which was obviously meant to be kept open (no fixed rules), kept being explained with said flashy words and metaphors that, very honestly, were only meant to sound cool. There was no soul to the writing, and no spirit to the story. It all felt ostentatious and what was even worse to me is that it felt like that was exactly Blake's intention.
It was incredibly tedious to get through the book most of the time; I cared about these characters, I wanted to see how they would grow closer and apart, but even when they did interact, there was no heart to it, even if the narrator suggests so. A character would go on about how the human condition is to suffer and I'd have to scoff. They didn't feel mature, even with their lengthy and tumultuous background stories.
There is just a whole lot of nothing in this, a lot of emptiness. All pretty words. The plot twist at the end? Incredibly disappointing, for all that the book was trying to be. You're telling me that is going to be the threat? Seriously? It almost feels cartoonish.
What pains me more is that I saw potential, especially if Blake was interested in fleshing out her characters' relationships as much as she was with making the prose sounds mysterious. There was one small flame, Nico and Libby's frenemy relationship; how they were each others pillars in terms of magic since the beginning, even if they loathed each other and often bickered, there was an attraction, a pull, unexplainable. Truly, a loooot of haters-to-lovers potential. And Reina? Why is she tremendously overshadowed by literally everyone else? She almost feels like an extra, which is painful when she is by far the most enigmatic of the 6, and the one I wanted to read more about.
Yeah. That's all. I'm sad. I'm a bit angry. It will pass. Someone please spoil me what happens in the second book in the comments, thank you.
disappointed as hell. will write a review
I can't say I had huge expectations when I started reading The Atlas Six. I was aware it was somehow a both very well known TikTok hit, yet I didn't see buzz around it, which feels contradictory. Still, with a premise like that - 6 academic rivals, with different magical powers, competing to stay at this magical institution full of knowledge forbidden to the rest of the world, who wouldn't feel compelled? Hyped? Interested even in the slightest?
The multi povs, to my surprise, didn't annoy me much. Even with its many, many flaws, one thing Blake didn't disappoint was by giving me truly "diverse" characters. Each had their motivations and dark pasts, their powers and personalities intertwined in very interesting ways. By far, the interactions between the characters were the highlight. Reina, Libby and Nico were my favourites.
Now. Everything else? A complete house on fire. The language is, at almost all times, unnecessarily pretentious and pompous, making the plot seem complex, when it isn't. The magic system, which was obviously meant to be kept open (no fixed rules), kept being explained with said flashy words and metaphors that, very honestly, were only meant to sound cool. There was no soul to the writing, and no spirit to the story. It all felt ostentatious and what was even worse to me is that it felt like that was exactly Blake's intention.
It was incredibly tedious to get through the book most of the time; I cared about these characters, I wanted to see how they would grow closer and apart, but even when they did interact, there was no heart to it, even if the narrator suggests so. A character would go on about how the human condition is to suffer and I'd have to scoff. They didn't feel mature, even with their lengthy and tumultuous background stories.
There is just a whole lot of nothing in this, a lot of emptiness. All pretty words. The plot twist at the end? Incredibly disappointing, for all that the book was trying to be. You're telling me that is going to be the threat? Seriously? It almost feels cartoonish.
A uniquely upsetting curse, really, how little he (Nico) knew how to exist when she (Libby) wasn't there.
In Reina's mind, they were binary stars, trapped in each other's gravitational field and easily diminished without the other's opposing force. She wasn't at all surprised when she discovered one was right-handed (Nico) and the other left (Libby).
What pains me more is that I saw potential, especially if Blake was interested in fleshing out her characters' relationships as much as she was with making the prose sounds mysterious. There was one small flame, Nico and Libby's frenemy relationship; how they were each others pillars in terms of magic since the beginning, even if they loathed each other and often bickered, there was an attraction, a pull, unexplainable. Truly, a loooot of haters-to-lovers potential. And Reina? Why is she tremendously overshadowed by literally everyone else? She almost feels like an extra, which is painful when she is by far the most enigmatic of the 6, and the one I wanted to read more about.
Yeah. That's all. I'm sad. I'm a bit angry. It will pass. Someone please spoil me what happens in the second book in the comments, thank you.
disappointed as hell. will write a review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The audio I found on Libby does not match the current edition of the book I have. I'm not waiting weeks for the book from the library, nor am I willing to pay $10 for a book I'm barely enjoying.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes