A review by lovelymisanthrope
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

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

3.0

I picked up the indie publication of this book because I had heard great things about it on TikTok, and then I received a beautiful edition of it in my FairyLoot subscription. I had really high expectations for this story, and I was left feeling unsatisfied. "The Atlas Six" follows six young adults with different magical abilities. They are drafted to come together at this highly coveted and elusive school that only takes new students once a decade. The group is told they are granted access to the secret society's archives and will be judged individually by their own contributions to the group. After the year is up, only five will go through initiation and be a full member of this prestigious society. 
It took me a LONG time to get into this story (like 65% of the way through the story). The writing and story progressed incredibly slowly in the beginning and even when things of interest started to happen, I was not invested in the story enough to enjoy them. I really enjoy the idea that everyone has different magical abilities, but it is a very ambitious thing to write about. I felt like we only got a visceral understanding of each person's abilities, and it often times made the story boring and unbelievable (unbelievable in the sense that anyone could resolve issues with their own abilities because it felt like someone could fix any hurdle thrown at the group). I wish the magic system was more concrete and maybe everyone had a concentrated portion of it that they were better at or just more interested in. 
I will probably pick up the sequel at some point, purely because "The Atlas Six" ends in such a major cliffhanger, but I do not have high expectations. 
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