One of my favorite reads. I cannot wait for the sequel. What a breathtaking story. I could not put it down.

The Atlas Six wonderfully blends the reality of academia with the wonder of the supernatural. The titular six have unique motivations and interactions with each other that make them feel real. There are plot points and secrets that make you, as a reader, excited to pick up the sequel. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future of the Alexandrian Society..

The Atlas Six had a lot of hype as a self-published book before being picked up by a publisher. I read the publisher’s version. I’m not entirely sure I understand the hype. It’s not the kind of book that usually gets it: there are no deep emotions, no romances, no high stakes and no action.

I found this a difficult book to like or dislike. It wasn’t bad as such. It’s well-written and has an interesting premise: six magically gifted people who are given a chance to become even more together. The problem is that nothing actually comes of it. Nothing happens.

The book consists solely of personal musings and endless conversations between the characters, each of whom have their POV chapters. Most of it is philosophical and scientific, or attempting to be so. While I found some of it interesting, it wasn’t enough to carry the book. There is no plot and no sense of immediacy. All the story-advancing elements are told second-hand, and the reader is seldom invited in.

This could’ve maybe worked, if the characters had been interesting and/or likeable, but they were all selfish and self-serving (Nico’s attempts to help Gideon the only exception, though we don’t really know why he’s doing it.) Reading endless chapter after another of unlikeable people interacting for their own gain was not entertaining. Having them contemplate killing one of them didn’t make them more interesting.

It didn’t help that they were like copies of the characters from The Magicians by Lev Grossman, or the TV version of it. I kept imagining Libby as Alice, Tristan and Nico as Quentin (one was filled with Quentin’s self-hatred, the other his quest of impossible), Parissa as Margo, Callum as Eliot and Reina as Julia. There even turned out to be a version of Penny among the characters.

For a book about magic, we learn very little about it. The reader is only given glimpses of magic being wielded by the POV character, so we never learn what it feels like. Most of the time we only observe it through other characters. The magic takes some kind of toll on the user, but basically there’s nothing the characters, especially Libby and Nico, can’t do. In the end, magic wasn’t all that important, only the end results.

Then came the out of the blue twist at the end, which the book should’ve worked better at foreshadowing to make it anything other than a blatant f-you on reader’s face. It does promise a more plot oriented second book, but it basically rendered the entire book until that moment pointless, especially the bits about time-travelling.

With the way the book ended, the follow-up should be more interesting, with proper stakes. But since I didn’t care about the characters, I’m not compelled to read it.

note to self: stop starting unfinished series!!!

Each decade the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation into the Alexandrian Society. Those who earn a place will secure a life of wealth, power and prestige beyond their wildest dreams.

I didn’t know what to expect when starting this book! It was hyped on tik tok for a longgg time but I’ve also seen some really negative reviews!

If you love character centered stories, you will probably enjoy this book. If you prefer plot centered stories, you might really dislike this book. There’s a lot going on in this book but most of it is centered around our six selected magicians. We get to know these six characters really well, but the plot doesn’t progress until the very end of the book.

This is the kind of book that a reread will help you understand better. I found the beginning of the novel confusing, and other parts were a bit pretentious and complex. But the overall premise was entirely original and it’s everything I could have wanted in a dark academic fantasy!

I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, which releases in October of this year!!

I don't think this book is actually good, it's very disjointed and plotholes abound. What is good about it is it's soapiness and the foundation of it's concept even though its an okay book at best.

I loved this book!!! I don't read fantasy that often but I was certainly hooked on this read. Totally deserves all the hype.

I finished it, but I didn't like it. So I guess it was at least intriguing enough to compel me to keep reading. I wanted to know how it would end.

However, what started out as a solid premise and interesting first quarter turned into a confusing long-winded story that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. There's not a single likable character; they are all seriously flawed and manipulative (which I assume is the point). There is way too much philosophical and speculative science talk without adding to the story. I found myself asking many times, what's the point here? What is this story supposed to be? I'm still not sure I know what the author was trying to do.

Content warnings (there are many): language, sex, lying, murder, sexual harassment, etc...

I have seen polarizing opinions on this book, and I can understand why. Absolutely everything about this book appealed to me. Dark academia with magical and morally grey characters is my favourite, so I was so excited to receive an ARC of this title. In the end, it was more of a character study, and while very well done, something just did not quite fit for me. I rather suspect it is simply my personal preference for plot-driven titles. I just wanted more to happen. We get to know the characters so deeply, learning about their histories, ambitions, and motivations. For readers who love character-driven novels that truly consider the depth of the human psyche, this book will be a perfect fit.

This book had my interest from the first page. Magic for grown ups; with intrigue and deception. I’ve already one-ordered book 2!

This book was unputdownable. I love the worldbuilding and the variety of powers. just wow! the plot twist i didn't see coming and it was thrilling and unique.

This is one of my favorite books this year. I found all of the characters to be so interesting and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

So painful. I had to DNF it. The characters are unlikeable. The plot is slow. This was a most anticipated release for me, but it really let me down.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

Omg this book! This book!! I loved it. Loved it!

This book will keep you hooked until the end. The end don't even get me started, I am still thinking about it. It was unexpected and I loved it. Everyone please read so that we can talk about this.

The chapter Interlude was really good and I have been wanting to know who is exactly Atlas and Ezra. Once I knew, there was no going back and I am in absolute shock.

The casting was wow, everyone of them with their powers were amazing. The special six selected for the society are hesitant but I love their journey to developing together.

°Libby and Nico are physicist, they can control matter.
°Reina is a naturalist, she can speak life.
°Parisa is a telepath with power of seduction and something more.
°Tristain can see what you cannot.
°Callum is an empath, he can play with your feelings and bring an end to the world.

They didn't know their full potential and what they can do. Dalton and Gideon are ones whose story and role I want to know because definitely they have their own part and I am rooting for them.

I don't know what more to say other than go read this because anything said will be like giving something away and I don't want to spoil it. Some might find it slow but it is worth till you reach the end. I enjoyed every bit of vivid descriptions provided to set a base, to give the ultimate goal and still to show there is lot more we don't know.

I surely know I will be sad if I don't get approved for the next one on Netgalley, so please approve me because I absolutely cannot wait. Thank you for also approving me for this in exchange of an honest review.

I loved every second of this book! I was hooked from the first chapter.

Every ten years, the six most talented magicians are pitted against one another for entry into the Alexandrian Society, a coveted spot in one of the most secret societies in the world. I loved learning about all six of our main characters. I loved learning about their motivations and their personalities and their magic. This book was full of great twists and turns and was such a blast. I need to buy myself a copy because I already can't wait to get back to it!

Definitely a vibes fantasy, reveling in its setting and sketching distinctive, murky characters beset by secrets. Very much a setup book for the trilogy, but moves steadily for that, never settling into tedium.

Harry Potter for adults? Not quite. The Atlas Six has magic and opportunity for a select few. But access to the knowledge and power come with a cost. The Atlas Six is a great set-up for a series and I look forward to the next book.

I was a little afraid to start this - booktok has done me wrong a few times now, but this book holds up! If you care about plot or magic systems making sense this might not be the book for you. However, if you, like me, are gay and operate mainly on the mood, the vibes are immaculate

Admittedly, I did rate this slightly higher based on the fact that it is an initial book in a series. I gave it credit for the setup work that was needed. Otherwise, it would really be more of a 3-star experience. I was really looking forward to this dark academia style premise, but there were some lacking pieces.

The idea of this book is fantastic and I'm really hoping that it starts to shine more in the second installment. The magic system is fun and a bit more grown up than some of the other dark academia series out there. I enjoy the scientific background of it. I wish there was a bit more to the atmosphere, but the setting up of the system was interesting and has great potential.

There were a lot of pieces to put together here and there are a lot of characters to get to know. I did get a little tripped up in who was who on occasion. I can definitely see how their strengths and weaknesses can play together and I enjoyed seeing the different relationships build and add layers of complexity. Because of the underlying need for an establishment of structure and history, the pacing was a bit slow and there were some moments that I considered putting it down for a while.

However, the ending does start to pick up speed once the stage is set and the characters are starting to become their own. The interactions are good and the tensions are high, so there is a lot of interest in where things could go from here. This is one where I feel like the initial struggle may be worth the payoff for the series as a whole. Here's hoping I'm right and book 2 takes all this that has been developed and runs wildly with it.

The Atlas Six has been hyped all over the internet. And this one just doesn’t live up to it. The Atlas Six is just straight up boring. I couldn’t even force myself to finish it.

There are way too many character pov’s. And they are barely indistinguishable amongst themselves. No one is particularly likeable or even particularly interesting. They’re all pretty annoying and overtly pretentious.
The cover is really pretty though! I’d say skip this one.