1.78k reviews for:

Gifted & Talented

Olivie Blake

3.84 AVERAGE

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

fun and interesting read with that usual olivie blake style to it! i liked the way the plot built up over the course of the book and the characters and narrator get more and more involved. the plot itself was more interesting than i expected from the premise and did a good job of keeping me in engaged. i do feel like the ending was a bit cheesy and possibly tied up a little too easy for the way things seemed to be going but i’m not really sure i’m mad at that. 
challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Started and finished date - 23.07.25 to 26.07.25.
My rating - Five Stars.
I really enjoyed is book and I found is book to be well written also I think this book is like the TV show succession but with superpowers. I think fans of miss peregrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs or the giver by Lois Lowry may like is book and the cover of book was simple but stunning. The writing was pretty good and the writing is easy to follow also the ending was satisfying conclusion.

The atmosphere was great and the world building was pretty good also the superpowers were well written. The paced of plot was well structured and steady paced. The characters are utterly flawed and complex but well written. The relationship between sibling was my favourite part of book and I found bond between sibling well written. 

stephanie_hounsell's review

4.25

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It read like Succession but if there was also magic integrated into tech. It was full of family drama while there was also a lot of tension at the family’s company. A few things at the end felt a little too clever, but it didn’t bother me. For a 19 hour audiobook this one went by surprisingly fast! 
slow-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

The self-indulgent sarcastic prose was entertaining at first but quickly got old. All of the characters are annoying and I couldn't bring myself to care about any of them.
dark mysterious 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
adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective tense fast-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

I'm rating this 5 stars. I don't give a fuck what less sleep deprived me will think after discussion and analysis tomorrow but right after having finished this in a single sitting of 14 hours, it feels like a 5 star. The magic system definitely did feel a bit unexplained and it did bother me but who gives a shit. The book was fucking good.

Honestly, no notes. Fucking loved it. A lot of times, the lines hit so fucking hard and were so fucking real that I literally highlighted them and marked them with nothing but 'words' as a note. Because the words were just. Ugh.

Every single sibling had something that was so painfully relatable and were so profoundly unlikable but could also be so fucking endearing if you just continued reading. Gillian is my goat. She deserves the world. The way she was so down bad she threw up is amazing and I wish to love just like that. Have so many other thoughts. Will update later. 
emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional mysterious slow-paced
adventurous mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes