Review: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Atlas Six is a gorgeous, character-focused dark academia that’ll leave you desperate for the next book in the series.

A secret magical society filled with rare and lost knowledge recruits new members every ten years. The Alexandrian Society is a guaranteed pathway to power, and they’re only interested in the best. Six talented magicians are chosen by the mysterious Atlas Blakely. They must spend a year together working towards their initiation. After that year is up, five will move forward, and one will be eliminated. Libby, Nico, Reina, Parisa, Tristan, and Callum are this year’s recruits. Relationships will be forged, loyalties tested, and they’ll have to consider what they’re willing to become to achieve their goals.

Olivie Blake crafts a lush, magical world full of dark secrets and morally grey characters. It’s a slow-paced, character-focused read with descriptive, flowery writing. That might sound like a bad thing, but it perfectly builds up the dark academia atmosphere. Even with the slow pace, it’s difficult to put this book down; you need to know more. The characters are three-dimensional. Their desires and insecurities play off each other wonderfully. They’re pretentious, overdramatic, unpleasant, and yet, so compelling. Even when you hate them, you can’t help but want to know more. And they’re all so horny for each other? Amazing. The Alexandrian Society has a deeply unsettling aura about it, but the power it holds is alluring. If this sounds like your kind of read, trust me, you’re going to love it.

Thanks to Black Crow PR and Tor for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alexene Farol Follmuth, also known under the pen name Olivie Blake, is a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around the collective experience, what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.

Alexene tripped and fell into writing after abandoning her long-premeditated track for Optimum Life Achievement while attending law school, and now focuses primarily on the craft and occasional headache of creating fiction. As Olivie, she has been published as the featured fiction contributor for Witch Way Magazine, as well as the writer for the graphic series Clara and the Devil and a variety of other books. The revised hardcover edition of her cult favorite The Atlas Six is out now from Tor Books, to be followed by the sequel in October. As Alexene, her debut YA novel, My Mechanical Romance, is coming May 2022 from Holiday House.

Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.

If you want to remember to check out this book you should Add to Goodreads!

You can pre/order the book from major retail sites such as Waterstones & Blackwells!

I’d recommend checking out your local indie bookshop!