The Atlas Paradox

This is very much a middle book - how effective (or useless) it is won't be known until I read the next book. The most interesting stuff mostly happens outside the society, with many many hints about interesting things to come.

The audiobook is (again) a pain to get into because each character has their own voice actor and, despite how good each narrator is (and they are), it's difficult for me to adapt to each voice in order to understand what they're saying. I'm positive I missed parts of the story due to shifting narrators.

I decided in 2024 if I don't like a book, I am not forcing myself to finish it like I usually do. I had to stop this one at 10% in.

Reading the first book in the series was a slog for me but I wanted to like it so bad that I stuck with it and it was... okay. I didn't have super high hopes after reading the “Sacred Hospitality” short story though as I found that utterly frustrating and pointless.

I feel like these characters are all incredibly annoying, there are glimmers of hope in there but they are just obnoxious a*holes who all seem to hate one another for no apparent reason???Reading the first book it was pretty obvious the author is trying to sound profound and it just didn't work for me.Like I said, I read 10% of this book (about an hour) and I found myself rolling my eyes and not paying attention because the chapters are unnecessarily long and meandering and nothing fcking happens?! What really sealed the deal for me was my kindle telling me the remaining 90% was going to take me 14 hours to read. 14 hours I would never get back and for a book I would probably regret reading.

4,75
will never be bored of them (Callum...my heart is yours)

I feel like I need to reread it even though I just finished it last night. It's like a lot and nothing happened at the same time (the Paradox title feels very fitting). We got a bunch of information but it still feels like we're very near where we started off plot-wise. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds in the final book.

I gave the Atlas Six five stars. I was in love with so many elements of that story. The character building, the relationship dynamics, the magical realism. An interesting and complex plot...the book did it for me. We fast forward to the Atlas Paradox and we have an author who seems to have forgotten what story she is even telling. The strongest elements of this book were Libby, Nico, and Gideon. Their relationship and interactions kept me engaged. Otherwise the other characters have become so pointless and insufferable I was not invested in their story arcs. I was also not invested in what the heck Atlas is trying to do. Which is where the unsatisfying plot tag is coming from. I'm disappointed in this sequel.

Needs more gay yearning but I'm invested in the story so will be coming back for the next book

3.5/4 stars still haven't made up my mind

some parts were really exciting, but a lot of them were also very slow which led to me taking very long to read it, which consequently led to me forgetting what was going on everytime I picked the book up again, which you know, was not ideal.
I'm becoming aware that this book and its predecessor are very controversial in the liking term, you either hate it or love it. I think if I hadn't taken 6 months to read it I would have a more consistent opinion of the book and its flow but yeah...
anyways callum redemption arc and libby villain arc confirmed let's goo!!!

This had elements I liked much better than the first book and elements I liked much less. So it was weird combo, inevitably ending with the same rating though.
I thoroughly enjoy Callum every single time he's there, he gets better and better with every chapter. I didn't love Libby's story, and Nico and Reina's spat seemed odd and out of place. I loved Tristan coming into himself more, but as a character he's still wildly annoying. I definitely wanted more of Parisa in this one, but I was glad that we at least got more of Gideon, who is such a joy. 
I don't know that I really like the overall plot, I think it is going in a direction that I worry can only leave me disappointed because of how vast the point of contention is. It's like waging war on the world - it always ends in disappointment. 

Bad as shit. I don't understand, who decided to publish this book at all (don't want to sound snobby, but it's quite obvious that Olivia was a fan fiction writer). The best part of the book is its last pages and chapters. Literally.
Don't want to go into detail, but literally everything in this book is bad. Pointless dialogues for most of the book, attempts to manipulate scientific jargon to make characters appear smart.
I guess I'll read the third book, just to see how the author can screw it up even more.

It's the half assed horse drawing all over again.
I tried very hard to like this book enough to say that the characters are well developed, but there was barely any development whatsoever. It started off pretty well, gave the vibes of The Secret History with all of the character analysis - it was enjoyable, even if there was a slow progress with the plot. Yet, all that came out with all of that psychoanalysis was literal character assassination. There was no feel that they had any growth; it's one thing to write it and read it, the other thing to feel it. All that explaining was for nothing - they turned out like cardboard anyway.
I get that it's tough fleshing all six plus characters, but if you're already developing them equally, don't reduce them to names on paper.

2 words: dumpster fire.


Literally so disappointing because book one was AMAZING and this one was literally so bad and messy and all over the place that my 1 book every 3 days streak got SLAMMED into a brick wall. I was DRAGGING myself along the gravel pavement just to finish this book. I'm just glad that I didn't jump the gun and buy the third one — wiki here I come

Compré este libro apenas salió en español y desde entonces lo tenía pendiente, pasaron varios meses hasta que al fin decidí leerlo. Tenían muchísimas expectativas ya que el primero me había encantado, pero, todo lo que leía eran reseñas negativas, y admito que me daba un poco de miedo.
Ahora, puedo decir que no comparto la opinión de tanta gente que dijo que fue una decepción o que “ha sufrido la maldición del segundo de una trilogía”. A mi me pareció muy bueno, incluso más que el primero, entiendo que muchas personas esperaban ver mucha más acción y claramente no es el caso.
Me pareció totalmente interesante, en ningún momento aburría y siempre te dejaba con ganas de saber más. Siento que el único punto flojo fueron los capítulos de Libby, (en mi opinión se me hacían bastante aburridos, sobre todos los primeros) pero aún así tenía un ritmo muy bueno.
No tengo mucho más para decir, YA quiero leer el tercero!
Y sé que probablemente tenga que esperar bastante para eso :( (sale en enero 2024, pero seguro acá llega a mediados de junio/julio).

PD: Callum y Tristan siguen siendo mis favoritos, desde el primer día

4,5 the ending had me-

2.5 rounded up; Mixed feelings about this book – I like the concept of these mediens and the types of powers/magic they have. The society is surrounded by questions and mystery.

The characters are sooooo, so similar to each other, it's hard to like them at all because they talk the same, use the same vocabulary (f-bombs everywhere), and this repetitive responses/answer-question format that became a lot more annoying in this book (“yes.” “yes?” “yes.”). Their attitudes are also so similar, which might be understandable, considering their position within the society, but it definitely could've been differentiated more. I skimmed over a LOT of it because seconds in the moment felt like hours.

I was highly anticipating for Callum's character development because he was probably the most interesting out of all of them in [b:The Atlas Six|50520939|The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1)|Olivie Blake|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579241117l/50520939._SY75_.jpg|75499539], in a good way or earning trust back, but he ended up being this drunkard with self-pity seeping out everywhere. Gahh

Unsure if I'll pick up the next book if the characters and writing is going to continue on like this ;-;

I nearly DNFed at 20%. I like the drama between the characters, but almost nothing happened plot-wise.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the audiobook!! I am sorry this took me so long to review.
I DNF'ed this around 70% because I found it to be slow and with little character development. The plot of the book is the saving grace. However, it was not enough for me to complete this read. I did love the first book but I struggled with this one.

I enjoyed this significantly more than the first book! The characters were much more fleshed out and I actually felt more invested. Callum grew on me (like fungus, he's awful but I love him) as well as Parisa, and to some extent Libby. Reina still felt kind of flat compared to the rest of the cast (but I can see her potential more here), and Nico and his cohort still carried this book on their shoulders (particularly Gideon, I would die for that boy). Atlas was developed more, and Ezra continues to intrigue me (though I also despise him in equal measure). Generally a good improvement from the first book, and I felt a lot more invested in pretty much every character compared to the first book.

Libby's trip to the past was a great way to develop her more; seeing her interact with characters outside of the main cast and come more into her own was fun to read, and I like where her character arc is going. I'm interested in seeing how it impacts the present day.

It's still not my favourite series, but the potential is absolutely there, and I'm really hoping The Atlas Complex pulls through. The writing style was strong and the worldbuilding is intriguing; I do find myself pulled into the mystery and I'm interested in seeing where things go.

This book absolutely blew me away. Every chapter had me on the edge of my chair, hungry for more. The writing was pretty impressive, and the complexity of each character was deep enough to keep the reader engaged but subtle enough to be left up to interpretation. The plot itself seems to only be going uphill, and I can't wait for the climax. Each twist and turn would confuse me at first, only for it to be left slightly unresolved, so I could piece it together myself. And of course, the wandering of thought into concepts of time, creation and knowledge, among others, left me enlightened and deep in thought. I love that this book does not think its reader stupid or incapable of comprehension.

I really enjoyed The Atlas Six, the first book in the series. This sequel was such a bore. I felt the author was rambling throughout about nothing. She sounded like a science textbook, which just made it seem that she was trying to sound intelligent. It just made it a boring read. The characters were so one-dimensional and pretentious! They were just being annoyingly philosophical, which did nothing for the non-existing plot. The only upside is Libby's POV, which carried the book. I believe Olivie Blake didn't know what to do with these characters after the first book. I stopped caring halfway through this one.

This second installment is even better than its predecessor.
I adore NicoLibby

DNF at 50%
i made it a mission to get to at least half way before DNFing and by god i did it and i'm proud of my strength it took me to get there. I am not strong enough to put myself through the rest of this book though so i'm not so perfect after all.

I never DNF but being tested for cancer this past two weeks and being told to brace for bad news and also getting surgery.. yeah it showed me that life is too short for books that rely on a overdone aesthetic to get by. I won't be DNFing many books because i like the finish books but i will sprinkle a lil DNFs here and there for the worst of the worst :)

thanks to my sister for buying me this book from the goodness of her own heart, it was shite but thx <3

Every character in this book needs to be curb stomped and spat on by all their resurrected ancestors.
This book was a waste of time.
Like yeah i get it, what was i expecting going into this book if i hated the first one? i expected nothing. I got the second book as a gift and had an obligation to read it as the book cost $22 and i just can't let that 22 go to waste.

i'm gonna give this book away to a charity shop as it's a fairly new book and won't go on sale for a while in any bookstore so i might just make someones day

???No plot, just vibes??? but the vibes were truly terrible.
I love a vague book with no plot, but it can???t also be painfully boring. I fell asleep reading this book multiple times. I switched to the audiobook because I physically couldn???t stay awake while reading it. I didn???t care about or feel invested in any of the characters that I enjoyed from book one, except for Libby. Both of these stars are for her story, because other than that I???m wholly convinced that nothing happened in this entire 400 page book.

Olivie Blake truly has such a unique and refreshing style of writing. I???ve enjoyed all of what she???s written so far, which makes this book so much more confusing and disappointing.

(And yet, I will probably read book 3, because of Libby alone.)

I've seen people say that it feels like this was meant to be a duology that Blake had to expand into a trilogy and I agree with that sentiment. Thinking back, I remember almost nothing that happened in this book. It was a lot of talking, repetitive conversations, and exposition, I guess? This suffers immensely from second book syndrome and the only thing that kept me going was the characters and their relationships. Thankfully I still found myself deeply invested on that front. I expect the next book to be more cohesive and plot-filled. And as always, I ship the polycule. ❤

Fuck this book. I hate it. Slow , slow, slow and the plot doesn't start until the last 100 pages. Never touching this series again.

4.5 ish?