Reviews with content warning for Death - The Atlas Paradox

okay you know what. olivie blake is lowkey a genius. do NOT crucify me i will explain

first and foremost, this trilogy is not everybody's cup of tea because it's not MEANT to be everybody's cup of tea, and it's actually a shame this was mass-marketed when its target audience is so limited and specific. tap was definitely more well-written than ta6 but there was barely any plot—it's basically 400 pages of character study and exploration of various concepts in a way i genuinely think is incredibly smart. sure, majority of analysis is not groundbreaking, but she still manages to put certain things into words in a way that works if you take your time to read carefully.

i recently watched olivie's youtube video (jan 7 if i'm not wrong) where she talks about the trilogy and how it was never meant to reach the general audience, and how she kept tac as it would've been if the trilogy wasn't as popular as it is. it made me SO HAPPY but the whole section on the new book release changed the way i view this series entirely. i think i happen to be part of this extremely particular target audience these books were meant for, and i'm genuinely so happy for that.

anyway rant over, at the end of the day this is just my silly little hyperfixation and i'm endlessly grateful i gave a shot to this series, it's a good mix of character study and reality tv in book form, plus my favourite friends to lovers i've read in a while (

NICOGIDEON SWEEP BABEYYYYYYYY

) so. no complaints by me!

predictions for the atlas complex ahead:

• nico will die (i'm depressed) (he's too full of life to survive)
• gideon will probably die (i'm very depressed)
• regardless, NICOGIDEON ENDGAME i have so much faith actually
• callum will die because it's been foreshadowed like 7429 times
• libby corruption arc
• reina might also die but i'm not as dead set on her as i am on the boys
• the society will be destroyed
• belen and libby reunion, belen will probs die idk sorry queen
• probs no libbytristan endgame but let me hope

Content Warnings

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The first book in this series was book club’s choice of the month for September, when I read it and it ended on cliffhanger, I knew I was going to have to read the next one in series.

This book is based on the Alexandrian Society who are the caretakers of lost knowledge from the civilizations of antiquity, and they are a secret society for the magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, knowledge and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only six of the most talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiations. In the last book, we meet the newest initiates: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona are the unwilling halves of the unfathomable whole, who can control every element of physicality. Then there is Reina Mori, she is a naturalist who can speak the language of life within itself. Parisa Kamali is a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious and navigate worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova is an empath easily mistaken for illusionist and he can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through any illusions to a new structure of reality – it's an ability so rare that neither him nor his peers can fully grasp its powers. All of them now must pick if they wish to preserve the world or to destroy it. The Atlas Six is revealed for what it is, and it is headed by man whose plans to change life as they know it is already under way. But the cost of knowledge is steep and as the price of power demands each person to choose a side, which alliances will hold, and which will see their enmity deepen?

This is another book where I was ignoring the hype on BookTok and was glad to ignore the hype on BookTok. I still don’t get the hype of it. I think my main issue with this book is I hated all the characters; I am all for rooting for the main character within a book. Due to this book having all six POVs, there wasn’t a good person who you knew was going to be safe. Libby should have just actually died instead of disappearing. Nico was still two-faced but then took Libby’s people-pleasiness and then just was trying to be friends with everyone. Reina has finally got some personality but now she wants to be a God and create a new world. Parisa drove me up the wall with how bitchy she was – the mean girls called, and Regina George wants her personality back. She was all about being open about sex and things which is all great but then she has all these love triangles and still sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Callum still gives me a headache and I'm confused with what his part was in his book expect for the fact that he didn’t die. Tristan was the only one with his head on his shoulders last book, but then he lost his head in this book because Libby was gone. It felt like some characters were more favoured so had more of a personality and then others were literally there to remind us of information we already knew. I felt like the storyline and world building was a bit all over the place especially with the whole time-travelling and let’s make a new God.

The book was a bit calmer, where I felt like everyone had lost their head in this book. I loved the multiple POVs, I just wanted more from them. I was more interested in Gideon’s drama which hasn’t really progressed since the previous book.

Gideon and Libby are probably the only reason I might pick up the third book, just to see what’s going on and if Gideon’s drama is every resolved.

Content Warnings

bookswithmaia's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

ashleyreads88's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

The Atlas Paradox picks up where The Atlas Six left off with

Nico, Tristan, Callum, Parisa, Reina, and Nico's friend Gideo trying to find out where Libby is.

. There were so many twists in this book that I didn't see coming and I couldn't believe the ending. I loved this book and I'm excited to see where the story goes.

Content Warnings

iloponis's review against another edition

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4.0

obsessed. loved every chapter. love my magic bisexuals.

ending the book by having gideon and nico finally kiss and then libby shows up covered in blood and ash????? wow

Content Warnings

hannahcstocks's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

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