I LOVE the premise and I really loved all of our characters. They were so unique and real, despite leaning a bit into the supernatural. I thought the narration style was interesting and I was surprised by the reveal. As Blake's acknowledgement say, this is a lot of book. I found myself reading in small spurts because we are so deep into the characters minds, all of their meandering and intrusive thoughts, that I found some of it taxing. I wanted to get back to the plot. We dive so deep into the characters that each one could have easily had their own book. That said, the introspective style was engaging and thought provoking.

Unfortunately, this book was much too slow for me and I lost interest. However, I love the narrator of the audiobook and will give that a try. Otherwise, this just wasn’t for me! I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never seemed to really move along. I also had trouble connecting with the characters.

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

3.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I’m having a hard time figuring out my overall thoughts on this book. I’ve only read one other Olivie Blake book, Alone With You in the Ether, and it’s one of my favorite books of all time. I did, come into this book with high expectations because of my deep adoration for AWYITE.

I love Olivie Blake’s writing. It’s hyper-intelligent and demands your attention. I found the writing in this book to be very dense and verbose. It had the kind of writing where you need a dictionary on hand while you’re reading. But, it’s one of the reasons why I love reading her books; I find her writing challenging and stimulating in equal measure. This isn’t a book where you can absentmindedly listen as you’re doing other things, it like I said, demands your attention. There were a lot of double entendres and dark witty humor (which I enjoyed) as well.

In terms of what this book is about, it’s been compared to the TV show Succession (I’ve never seen it) and it has magical elements in the story as well. It’s a family drama and character study centered around 3 siblings, Meredith, Arthur and Eilidh who are navigating their father’s death and anxiously awaiting who will take over his company. This book explores friendships, familial and romantic relationships (all of which are toxic/dysfunctional) and how money, technology, power, magic/apocalypses, public perception, betrayal, and deceit inevitably affect them all.

Even though I love Olivie’s writing, I didn’t particularly like any of these characters so reading about them for 500+ pages was a lot. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it was 300-350 pages max. Even though it was thoroughly entertaining, I found every character to be insufferable for a lot of it. There were some redeeming qualities in each of them and I was able to sympathize with them and understand how/why they became the people they are but overall, I got burned out on the story and their dynamics after about 350 pages. The only character’s I ended up having a soft(ish) spot for were Arthur, Eilidh and Gillian. Olivie’s quippy, brilliant writing was the saving grace for this book.

I will, of course, read more from Olivie Blake but I don’t think this will be one of my favorites by her. I’m so excited to discuss it more with my book club next week!! 👏🏼

Thank you to Tor Books & Macmillan Audio for the review copy!

DNF - 52%

Succession meets Fantasy is a vibe, but it’s unfortunately not my vibe. I found the beginning to be really intriguing - I liked the glimpses of magic that each sibling had, and I found their situations to be the kind of juicy drama I like to read about. But by the time the siblings find themselves in the same location, the plot began to drag and become repetitive. I think the driving plot is supposed to be which sibling would inherit their father’s company, and I didn’t feel like any of them were particularly interested in that company, so I also wasn’t interested in finding out who would get it. (I was kind of hoping for the assistant, who I hoped would also fall in love with Eilidh.)

I did kind of like the snarky humor for the first half of the book, and I think if there had been a more focused, driving force, to the plot, I might have enjoyed this one.

I would recommend Gifted & Talented for fans of slow burn family dramas with a snarky humor and some breaking of the third wall.

I honestly just was not impressed with this one. I found the plot to drag on too slowly with little to keep you interested. I found it difficult to find a character to root for and each felt like a caricature rather than layered.

A brilliant family drama and fantasy-esque novel that kept me intrigued the entire way. With subtle hints of humour weaved throughout the narrative and characters, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and am such a fan of Olivie's writing style. Olivie has such deeply complex characters, each with their own motivations after the death of their father, and I couldn't help but connect with each of them for different reasons (and be so frustrated at times)! A brilliant work that ties together elements of fantasy, the human condition, ambition, family, and power.

Gifted & Talented
By: Olivie Blake
5 stars

THIS BOOK! The way Olivie writes is just poetry? Her wording just hits me in my soul?! I felt the same way about her book Alone With You in The Ether. The way the human experience and emotions are portrayed in an unconventional but relatable way. Just pure gold.

This is a brilliant fusion of the inner-workings of a family business much like the TV show Succession ( if you haven’t seen it…you need to!) with a hint of magic thrown in. Captivating the feeling of being competitive and forced to distinguish yourself due to the high stakes role you were born into and how that not only puts pressure on your familial relationships, but separates those bonds in a way that makes your blood relatives complete strangers.

Thayer Wren, known as the tech billionaire CEO and founder of Wrenfare Magitech, passes away unexpectedly, leaving behind his three dysfunctional children to possibly take up the mantle of his legacy. Having a complicated relationship with all his children, the story is an exploration of how we perceive ourselves within our family role and the lengths we go to achieve or maintain that notion. When word gets out about Thayer death, the family mansion becomes their meeting spot where they learn that their father updated his Will a month prior, causing legal claims to come into question. Forcing the kids to stick together while the successor is determined, they crack open old wounds and try to figure out how to manage their magical powers that seem to be consuming them lately. They have to seek out a friend they once betrayed who has a deep magical knowledge that sets a chain of events off that will reshape their lives.

The Wren siblings all possess a unique form of magic and while these powers are not the center of the book, they linger and intertwine throughout giving the reader a sense of normalcy whenever they do appear. Meredith, the oldest sibling, is a young prodigy at age 30 having developed a groundbreaking tech company and invention that purports to cure mental illness. Unfortunately, she faked her test results and her ex-boyfriend turned investigative journalist is about to expose her right when her father unexpectedly dies and their family business is in limbo.

Arthur, the middle child, is a striking contrast to Meredith despite their closeness in age and closeness in relationship relative to their younger sister. He is the youngest congressman in history, married to a brilliant lawyer names Gillian, but has a polyamorous relationship with an aristocrat Phillipa and race car driver Yves. His power is more like a party trick to him but when he starts accidentally dying and coming back to life, he realizes he needs some help.

The youngest, Eilidh, is your typical baby who is overlooked by her siblings but clearly their father’s favorite. She was an extremely gifted ballerina until an accident killed her dreams and she now works as a marketing assistant at her father’s company. Her gift coincides with her emotional state and seems to create apocalyptic events. She has a complicated relationship with her father’s assistant, Dzhuliya, which adds another layer to the inheritance issue.

Blake flawlessly weaves together elements of fantasy, family drama, and corporate politics into a digestible and intriguing narrative. I highlighted so much in this one and connected deeply with Meredith throughout the book. I loved the twists and turns along with the several POV’s throughout. I also loved the humor interjected as the omnipresent narrator. It really dug deep into the themes of redemption, power, and family without shoving it down your throat.

4.5, rounded up--

Succession with supernatural elements. Need I say more? (probably not, but I will)

Set in a near future world in which magic has been commodified, Gifted & Talented has a unique premise which is barely skirting the edge of fantasy in that it is so thoroughly grounded in reality. Blake seems to have taken inspiration from modern day tycoons and family dynasties, tech billionaires, and the Elizabeth Holmes scandal. She writes with a darkly comedic, cutting edge that made me laugh out loud on several occasions. My only criticism is that it does get a bit long-winded, and I think it could've been edited down a bit. But damn, this is a good story.

This is a *MUST READ* for 2025.

The writing was clever and I liked following the siblings’ journey. However, I wouldn’t classify it so much as fantasy as there wasn’t a lot of focus on that. This somehow reminds me of Succession and Inheritance Games.

Olivie Blake is a genius for making me care deeply about three of the Worst Rich People I've encountered in recent reading. I mean, they aren't *really* the worst. But that's kind of the point. This is a dense, meandering, character-driven HOWL of a novel, about lost potential and purpose and the crushing weight of a too-heavy world. It's about magic and drama and ones who got away. But most of all, it's about family. Even when I wish we had a little more clarity on how the magic system worked in this world, I found GIFTED & TALENTED to be utterly, compulsively readable. Some of those passages are gonna stick with me forever. It's my first Olivie Blake read, but it won't be my last.

Olivie Blake writes like she’s whispering secrets you’re not supposed to hear... and in Gifted and Talented, those secrets are wrapped in academia, unspoken yearning, and that very specific kind of existential crisis that only happens at 3 a.m. when you're over-caffeinated and studying for finals (which has happened to me... quite a few times).

This book is messy, brilliant, and completely unhinged in the best way. It’s not your typical campus novel... it’s smarter, sharper, and far more self-aware. The characters? Disastrous. The dialogue? Unfiltered chaos with moments of lyrical heartbreak. The plot? Honestly, it feels more like a spiral than a straight line... but that’s the point.

Set in a hyper-intellectual, emotionally overwrought version of university life, Gifted and Talented explores what happens when ambition, insecurity, and obsession collide. It’s about students who are too smart for their own good and not nearly wise enough (who is?) to know what they’re doing to themselves or each other. The tension doesn’t come from big dramatic events (though there are a few), it’s in the conversations, the glances, the silences between people who desperately want to be known and are terrified of actually being seen. It's about what happens off the page, and Blake does that better than most.

There’s something so raw and intimate about the way she writes relationships. Every line feels like it’s been ripped surepticiously someone’s journal, like it’s already been lived. The romance is subtle and slow-burning... but also kind of devastating (Reylo fans, beware, but also pick it up immediately). It’s not about who ends up together, it’s about how people ruin each other beautifully.

If you’ve ever met someone and you feel like, “I hate you, but I might also love you…” this book is for you!

Tropes: Dark academia, enemies to lovers.

DNF at 29%

I'm just not interested. The characters are all kind of awful and the writing tends to ramble with metaphor and voice that gets a bit tedious. Honestly,
this is my fourth Olivie Blake book and I just don't think this author is for me.

It’s looking like Olivie Blake’s books are hit or miss for me. I absolutely ADORED One for my enemy and the atlas six. Masters of Death did not hit the same high note. And the same could be said for Giftef and Talented.

Here’s what I liked: The snarky, semi omnipotent narrator was a lot of fun and their true identity came as a real surprise. Also I thought this was great social commentary on some of the major issues we are dealing particularly in the US.

And here is what didn’t work for me: First, the magic system was complete chaos, it was not really developed in my opinion and very hard to follow. And second, and more hard to describe, was the fact that I just didn’t like or get particularly invested in any of the characters. They were all meant to be terrible people or at the very least morally grey, which is usually not a problem for me. But something I can’t quite put my finger on was missing for me and it was a struggle to finish the book. Maybe it was a me issue 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, I think if you enjoyed books like Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Collet Croft and Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson then Gifted and Talented aimed for similar vibes and may be a book you will enjoy.

4.5/5

This was my first Olivie Blake book, but when I saw the summary I couldn't help but pick it up. This book has a bit of a slow start, but the characters and the great voice of the narrator hooked me. Fun for lovers of Succession or anyone who likes a good family drama.

Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I’m so so sorry, but I’m DNF’ing this one at 8%. A friend had compared this one to Masters of Death (my fav of Blake’s), so I had high hopes. But this one isn’t for me. It’s so over the top, and I already know I hate the characters (which yes I understand that’s the point, but I’m also having a bad time).

I think this will still have tons of fans, and I’m so happy for the people that enjoy this one!

Olivie Blake never ceases to amaze me!! Gifted & Talented was the perfect cure for my Succession hangover, with the most delightful splash of intricate magic and worldbuilding that we’d expect with Blake’s writing. The messy relationships and family dynamics were just as complicated and just as engrossing as I’d hoped. I loved the relationship between the siblings, ambitious Meredith, desperate Arthur and driftless Eilidh - I loved them all. Beautiful writing and even more riveting plot. A true Olivie Blake special.

This book, like all Olivie Blake books, requires one’s full attention while reading so I am very thankful for the eARC because audiobook might not have cut it. The way Olivie writes her characters, their innermost thoughts, how they process the world—you get sucked in. Her immersive style takes us into the minds of these cutthroat siblings and the lengths they’d go to for their ambitions. It’s giving Succession, if you’re into that vibe of sibling drama, childhood trauma, corporate chaos, and… a bit of magic. What a ride. Buckle in and keep your eyes on the road.

I enjoyed this book, but I do feel like it was mismarketed. This wasn’t fantasy at all- it felt like magical realism or sci-fi. Additionally, I felt like this was too long.

However, as always, Olivie crafted an extremely interesting cast of characters.

this is comedic gold and the kind of dumpster fire you can't look away from, but I started reading this in the beginning of January, and that reading timeline says to me that I was not engaged enough in this story for it to truly be my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: It is tough to review a book of this scope. It went beyond my expectations and I loved all of it. I will warn people, and you've probably seen it in other reviews, this is a loonnnggg book. If you are a plot driven person, you may want to borrow this from the library before you decide to buy. The people who will soak this all the way up are those who enjoy character driven, slow paced books with a focus on interpersonal relationships. The main characters will give you complex thoughts (aka love to hate) who are morally ambiguous and make very frustrating but human decisions. If you are worried about the magic, fantasy, sci-fi, elements being too strong, they are extremely minor in this book and used in a heavy literary way. Blakes writing in this book is some of the best I've ever read, you cannot convince me she is not a genius. The social, political commentary was just on point and left me thinking many times "how the f does she do this." Blake is able to reach into the depths of emotion and nuance in a way I have not experienced before. This is just such an incredible feat of a story I don't know how to review it entirely. I did make a video on this book on my channel going into more details.

I think all I want you to really know is if you like slow paced, family stories, with complicated dynamics and characters you may dislike, oh with some magical technology involved and a will, you don't want to miss this.