Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Atlas Six

The hype lead me here, but all I can say is that I think this book was trying to hard to be something grand. A lot needs to be tightened up - it just kept going in circles, filled with redundancies rather than fleshing-out the characterization or world-building that was deeply needed. That being said, it was good enough that I'll continue with the series to see where it leads.

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nora_knight's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Really interesting but there were times when the author went very in depth with the science and magic the characters were learning that I didn't understand and was a bit annoying to get through.

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midnacine's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"Magic has aspects of nature, nature has aspects of magic, and to take one away from either is a corruption to both their forms."

The writing style of this book makes me wanna change the writing style of my reviews. That's how you know a book is good- when it undeniably influences your day-to-day decisions and ultimately leaves you consumed.
I'll be honest: I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. At moments, it was really hard for me to concentrate on the prose, as it's very much in the style of all those classics you're forced to read in high school. However, once I got attached to the characters, I was hooked.
I love the integration of magic with science, philosophy, and morality. Though challenging for me at times, I did find myself lingering on quite a few of the existential questions and really thinking about myself in the situations the Six are shown to be in. Namely: would I be willing to do whatever necessary, no matter the cost, if it meant accessing knowledge and power forbidden to the majority of human existence? Honestly, I'll never know.

And just to get it out of my system, here's the more academic portion of my review:
Reading Atlas Six was like looking at scrambled pieces of a puzzle: you know they'll all come together to make a cohesive picture, but until you have all of the pieces it's impossible to know in what orientation, exactly, the picture will be. Olivie Blake does an impeccable job of casting her very own magic over the reader to keep them on a proverbial seat, never revealing too much information at once to let them piece together the puzzle on their own.

I think the writing is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing balance of seriousness and humor. It definitely took ~~big brain~~ to read it but I can't wait to see what happens in the second book!

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

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educatorgams's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0

The world building here is amazing, I enjoy magical realism slotted quietly into a contemporary setting. The shifting point of view really helps to move the plot along while keeping you from sympathizing and identifying too strongly with any single character. Each of the six main characters has good and bad points and the story does a great job of exploring them as three dimensional individuals while maintaining the intrigue of a secret society and all the drama you would expect from the chance to join a secret organization guiding the world’s leaders.

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kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really enjoyed The Atlas Six! It's fun, magical, mysterious, and a bit sexy too. I felt like Blake did a pretty good job balancing so many pov characters and making them all individuals. My biggest complaint (which really isnt that big at all) is that I wish there were a more complete narrative arc for the book. I realize it's part of a series and I definitely want to read on but this feels a bit incomplete.

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queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I read this book in two days. I'm still coming down from the high of finishing it, so I'm not sure if it was technically good, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are spectacularly interesting. Reina and Callum could use a bit a fleshing-out; but Libby, Nico, Parisa, and Tristan were amazing POVs. Libby was obviously meant to be the audience avatar, since she is the first POV, and it's no secret that most of the target audience is likely to be women of academic background and/or anxiety/ MI.

There were definitely enough clues along the way where I saw the Ezra twist coming. I'm much more interested in the mystery of Dalton.

Faults few and far between in my opinion include: lack of depth to Nico's character, plot relying heavily on the miscommunication trope (although there is some reason for it), and a bit of pseudointellectualism since I didn't buy into the sci-fi explanations and philosophical arguments.

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sydneyluxford's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I love crazy gay people.

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