Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

233 reviews

ashxiio's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

It was quite slow but the author would slowly reveal small plot twists throughout which 
aims to mislead you because the big key plot twist warps everything you’ve read so it’s totally unpredictable because you see each character’s perspective apart from the ones who are truly the masterminds behind these particular initiates being chosen so you are seeing it through their lens and are even more confused and creating personal theories which makes what really happens at the end more surprising than anything else because we now finally know what’s happening but the characters still don’t know the real reason why they’re there. I’m definitely reading the other books in this trilogy! I have a feeling everything I just wrote made no sense I was aiming to not spoil so it’s a book you need to read if you want to understand what I wrote 😭 it’s also got such a diverse set of characters and it’s such refreshing representation in all honesty :’)

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khaotixkaiya's review against another edition

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

3.75

I really enjoyed the concept of the book which colors my overall opinion of the book, and why I kept reading it.
I 100% agree with other reviews that the writing style is not my favorite, it was dry and somewhat self-important. It was a strange tandem of random information but much character information given to the reader. That also seems somewhat in-line with the plot of the book itself though? All of the characters are prodigies, geniuses or exceptional in some way.  And they all, to some degree, think highly of themselves and have blind spots. Whether with characters that seem to have a god complex or the few that are so self-deprecating it becomes self-centered and indulgent.
Spoilers incoming!
I was impressed with the growth of some characters, and the disclosure of others. From the beginning I found most of the characters, except for Reina, to be taxing. Libby is so anxious that she doesn't realize her potential (a gripe most of the cast also has with her). Nico is martyrs himself regularly, yet is constantly berating Libby for not realizing her worth to the group. Tristan is so emotionally repressed it's almost difficult to imagine how he made it where he had before meeting the Society, I'm honestly not sure how he's still standing with the levels of manipulation the other characters enact.

Which leads me to Callum, an "empath", and Parisa, a telepath. Callum is, as the author acknowledges, a walking time bomb. I don't generally take the time to diagnose characters, but Callum is chillingly and eerily detached, I truly believe he is sociopath. He has no qualms about manipulating others, whether through emotions or mental chess. For his own gain or entertainment? It's truly up to his moods, and when questioned says it's for multiple characters betterment. Callum's by far the most disturbing character in the book. And when he attempts to prostrate himself to prevent the other characters from outsing him? The internal motivation the reader is lead up to (again my personal interpretation as Blake doesn't tell the reader much) is still disturbing. I will 100% give it to Blake, this character is one of the most emotionally disturbing I've ever read. Parisa is also another disturbing character, though for much different reasons. While she also has no qualms about manipulating others, she is much more upfront about her... deadliness? She is an honest whore vs Callum is a lying bishop. Neither are good characters, but with one you know what you're getting. Although I didn't really like Parisa's personality and choices, I could almost always understand why she was doing them.
Personally, Reina is my favorite as she feels like the reader inputted into the story. She's an OP character, she just wants to read her books and enjoy the access given to her along with the peace it provides. She seems to be a reader, or author, insert and I enjoyed almost every part of the story she truly featured in.
 
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and have every intention to read the next.

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emmgracebuch's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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gcot's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Oof.

My 15 year old, dark academia aesthetic, tumblr addict self would have eaten this up. Unfortunately, reading it now it’s just too pretentious and self-important for me. This book uses so many words to say not that much, and doesn’t make a whole ton of sense in the end.

Not much actually happens in this book, which I’m generally fine with. The point seems more to slowly unravel our characters and how we got to this point. However I didn’t even begin to remotely care about any character until well past halfway. They all just seem kind of the same, except in the ways we are explicitly told they are different.

I get it, I really do. I understand why people love this book but I was let down after all the hype 

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laurenleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really wanted to love this, but it wasn’t quite for me. It’s extremely character-driven and slow paced, if that’s your thing! I like plotting and scheming storylines, but I wanted more action. I think Blake is playing to her strengths (the one action scene was rather confusing), but the outcome just wasn’t my style. The multiple narrators literally differentiated their voices, which was cool, but it didn’t feel like they all collaborated. Like Tristan’s voice for Libby felt off or vice versa.

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sarahl92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0


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katie2378's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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ashleyreads88's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
The Atlas Six is nothing like I have ever read before.  It's about a secret society, knowledge, and power.  The six characters selected have different abilities and two of the characters (Libby and Nico) already know each other.  I loved seeing Libby and Nico's complex relationship develop.  There were so many things that happened in the book but the story was easy to follow and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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lleer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I had a lot of fun reading this book for sure. It was very fun to read and gripping and fast to get through. 
But throughout the whole book there's no actual plot, and there's a lot of telling and no showing. The six immediately accept being part of the society and accept killing someone without even questioning what is the society and what is the benefit of all this. 
We are told there's a society and that's t. What is the society who controls it what is the benefit of joining, and almost no description whatsoever, we don't even know what the forum is and why is it against the society. Even the plot twist was just handed down to us. Everything is just there including the magic system. Which makes the book lack a lot. 

Imo it's not worth more than 3.75 stars, but nevertheless it was very fun to read and easy to grasp. I enjoyed the characters interactions and the dialogues very much. If you are looking for a gripping mysterious story, I recommend it. It's overhyped though. 

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lindseyhall44's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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

3.75

I really enjoyed The Atlas Six and am dying to get my hands on the next installment. I think for me, the part I most appreciated was how this novel explored the inequalities and corruption inside academia, through the lens of characters experiencing it in completely different ways.
I will say, this might not be for readers who favor plot heavy novels. It is engaging, but focuses primarily on character development and psychological ponderings, with a majority of the higher stakes occurring during the last 15% of the book.
Nevertheless, I am excited to see how the series progresses:)

Also can we talk about Libby, Reina, and Parisa, because the women of the atlas six carried the story on their backs.  Libby especially, I am a sucker for characters I related to (she is 100% the archer by Taylor Swift personified). I also have a soft spot for Gideon, and hope that he gets more page time in the Atlas Paradox.

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