Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced copy!

It never ceases to amaze me how much I love the way Olivie portrays characters, their conflicts (internal and external) and relationships with each other, and how she writes in general. Really, she never fails to deliver a brilliant story!!

Loved this book and I can't wait to have a physical copy in my hands.

4.5☆

As a lover of Succession, magic, and Olivie Blake, I do feel like the target audience for Gifted & Talented. This was an incredibly interesting, unique read. Olivie Blake has such a talent for writing complicated, layered relationships among her characters, this book is no exception. I was fascinated by the intricacies within their familial relationships and their relationship with the world around them. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

This is my first Olivie Blake book and I doubt it will be my last. This book is very funny as it shows three siblings, the titular gifted and talented, as they grapple with all the ways they disappointed their now-dead father as they await the distribution of his assets. One is a fraud, one is a dud, and one just wants to be loved (or do all three contain each of these multitudes?). Each sibling is an asshole, as the narrator has no trouble telling you, but there is something slightly redeemable in each of them as they work their way towards peace with a dead man and, hopefully, control over their innate magic that may bring on an apocalypse or change the brain chemistry of those around them.

AHHHH! I am the biggest Olivie Blake fan, but I say this completely without bias: I *LOVED* this book. This novel is genuinely so different from anything Olivie has written before, in my opinion, and yet it all is so completely HER in its prose and ambitious plot. Think "Succession" with some magical realism and that lyrical classiness that is Olivie Blake's style.... and that* is what GIFTED & TALENTED is. I loved all the varying POVs and the unique rawness found in each of the sibling's individual arcs (Meredith being my favorite). Highly, highly recommend for lovers of this genre, as well as to anyone looking for something new & exciting to read this year. OLIVIE BLAKE NEVER MISSES!!! Thank you again for this opportunity!

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake was such an interesting and thoughtful read. I never know what to expect when I start a Olivie Blake book and I honestly think that it’s the best way to go into her stories. I loved the characters, they’re very much unapologetically themselves and the relationship between each other is always such fun to read. What I always enjoy about Olivie Blake’s writing is that she trusts the reader to go along with the journey and eventually things will start to click. Overall, a very enjoyable read!

In all honesty, I was really hoping for so much more from this book. The minute I heard it compared to Succession, but with powers I was hooked! There definitely are elements of Succession in this story. Three siblings who have recently lost their overbearing, overly driven, distant father are forced to come together for the reading of the will and the announcement of who will succeed him on the throne of his magitech empire. These three siblings all have magical powers that are rarely used, and the origins are never explained. Every character is morally grey and even though I sometimes like this in books, I could not force myself to like a single character in this book. I wanted to DNF at 50%, but pushed through hoping for a turnaround in the last half that never came.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor Books for the eArc of Gifted & Talented in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was interesting! I loved the characters and the kind of tongue and cheek language between them and the narrator.

It's Succession x Fleischman fanfic + magic, but I'm not mad about it. Blake is a talented writer but nothing she writes really sticks for me - it always feel a little too gimmicky/forced.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced copy of Gifted & Talented in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. This was my first Olivie Blake novel, and unfortunately, her writing style just didn’t click with me.

I typically enjoy character-driven stories, even with unlikable characters, but I struggled to connect here. I found the concept intriguing — a fantasy/magical realism take on Succession — but the execution fell flat for me.

The story felt repetitive, with characters who never really evolved: the prodigy daughter no one likes, the insecure son, and the timid, slightly whiny youngest daughter. The plot meanders with little payoff; their wealthy father dies, and the siblings spend the rest of the book complaining about their difficult lives and speculating about who will inherit what. That’s… pretty much it. There's the addition of some interesting secondary characters, and a few who lift right out without consequence.

The dialogue also pulled me out of the story. It often felt stilted and unnatural, with attempts at snark that didn’t land. I typically enjoy sharp, witty banter, but it just didn’t land here.

While Olivie Blake’s work clearly has a lot of fans, this one wasn’t for me.

Paranormal family drama with incredible sibling dynamics, Olivie Blake is one of my favorite writers that always surprises me with unique stories. Her ability to create these fascinating relationships and atmosphere is astounding.

4 stars

This was everything and more than what I was expecting. I loved the sibling relationships, the drama, the fantasy/sci-fi aspects. It was very hard to put this one down. This may be my favorite book by Blake yet.

I loved reading this book! I always love Olivie Blake's books, the synopsis' are so original and so are the stories they're about. This story about the drama within this family as they dealt with their father's passing, loved it!

All these of these siblings were separate, distinct characters, who were all just a little bit broken in different ways. Their father wasn't the best person or good father, and what with his death, they have to confront that damage as they process that he's really gone.

The way that this story is told, going between the siblings, as they find out about their dad's death, and all the things that they have going on in their lives, and the flashbacks of how they got there, was such a great story, as we learned more about them and why they were the way that they were. Each of them had something going on, and I loved reading their story!

I think the narrator was my favourite part of the story! Their voice, and the way that they commented on what the Wren's were doing, was just fantastic! The way that it was a part of the story, oh, that was really well done!

This was a magnificent read and I can't wait to read more by Olivie Blake!

Olivie Blake’s magic and snark meet Succession for this paranormal family drama. The Wren family is a hot mess, but it gets hot messier when Thayer Wren, the Wren patriarch and CEO/founder of Wrenfare dies. The three Wren siblings, Meredith, Arthur, and Eilidh, come together to hear the will and carry out funeral arrangements, but the sibling rivalry gets real when it comes to who will inherit the company (and by default, win their father’s approval once and for all)?

Gifted & Talented is everything that I usually love in a book. Olivie Blake writes “gifted child to damaged adult” like nobody’s business. However, G&T just didn’t totally land for me. The magic system (magitech?) was a huge part of the book, but it was very confusing and I still don’t understand it in my reflection of the book.

There were major parts of the book that drug on and on for me. Yes, characters needed to be developed, but I think that could have happened faster. The pacing was more middling than fast.

Eilidh drove me nuts, but that’s probably the eldest sister in me coming out. I loved dear Arthur, but of course Meredith was the star of the show for me.

There was a character death that made no sense to me and it felt like a weird way to tie up that plot point. There was another character that I’m still not sure how or why they were introduced because it seemed like a lot of build up for nothing.

Overall, Gifted & Talented was fine. I probably wouldn’t read it again, but I’d recommend it for some readers, like fans of magical realism. I give it a 3.5/5 (rounded to 4). Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The novel is a complex web of ambition, sibling rivalry, and the weight of unrealized potential, making it impossible not to become emotionally invested in each character’s journey. The Wren siblings’ stories are filled with moments of profound emotional depth, and the way their special abilities tie into their personal struggles adds an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative. With sharp writing, dark humor, and emotional tension that builds with every page. It is an unforgettable exploration of what happens when the drive for success, the need for validation, and the scars of past failures collide. In short, a must-read for anyone who enjoys sci-fi books with complex family dynamics, competition, and character-driven drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Gifted & Talented is a great blend of family drama, supernatural thriller, and biting narrative of those who grow up deemed gifted and talented. Following the three offspring of Thayer wren (who is awful), Meredith, Arthur and Eilidh (almost as awful, generally) are vying to see who get to inherit his massive company, Wrenfare Magitech. All have secrets including the shared one around their special abilities. With critique from God himself, there’s nowhere to go but down for these siblings, surely? The ride they take the reader on is a lot of fun if only as someone looking in doing some healthy judging. The character development and study is none other, though also enjoyed the world Olivie Blake was able to build through this story.

I’ve seen some compare this to Succession and Umbrella Academy, and while I’ve not watched either to a great extent to be able to say it it’s a good comparison, from what I’ve read of those shows it feels spot on.

For me this was a nearly perfect book. Three pretty awful siblings vying for the inheritence of their father's company. In true Blake fashion this is a slow character study. While I won't spoil the ending for you I will say it is a nice change of pace to have an omniscent narrator who also things the MCs are awful!

4.5 stars!

Thank you Tor and NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately I DNF'd this title for now as I wasn't a big fan of the voice, writing style, and characters. I also struggled with Olivie's The Atlas Six - while I loved the concept and the vibes, I struggled with the characters. I had high hopes I would enjoy this one more, but ultimately I had similar issues with it.

When Meredith, Arthur, and Wren receive news that their father died, they all hurry home. Despite the sadness of the event, all anyone can talk or think about is who will inherit his business empire.

Told omnisciently from a god-like narrator, the narration is crass and unfeeling. Often, each of the siblings are called “assholes” or something equally unflattering. While each of them has some degree of talent and has made something of their life, in general we are frustrated with all three of them and the little they have accomplished with the resources they have been given.

The book went by so slowly. Maybe this was because I was not invested in three bad people, or perhaps the author didn’t do much to hold my attention, but I definitely had trouble coming back to this book and picking it up.

If you like books about horrible people, this might be a good fit for you, but if you would like your characters to have redeeming characteristics, maybe skip this one.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.From the start, the novel drew me in with its mix of intellectual intrigue, well-developed characters, and subtle mystery. Blake's writing is engaging, and the exploration of ambition, pressure, and self-discovery felt both authentic and thought-provoking.

The characters were complex and relatable, each with their own struggles and growth. The pacing was excellent, with just enough suspense to keep me hooked, while the dialogue was sharp and meaningful.

Overall, Gifted and Talented is a captivating and insightful read, perfect for fans of character-driven stories with intellectual depth.

This book reminded me of Inheritance Games meets Umbrella Academy. I absolutely love Olivie Blake and this book was no exception. I love her writing style, and she weaves sci-fi dystopian books like no one else. Three siblings wondering if they will inherit their father's legacy, and all the while, they have gifts. This book was amazing and if you are a fan of Olivie Blake, you have to read this one!