Olivie BlakeReseñas

Viola's maintenance setting is annoyance. She's ultra-organized and anyone not like that is fodder for contempt and harsh words. She knows how unlikable she is, but when her suggested campaign for her tabletop gaming group is met with a less than enthusiastic response from the other players, including her only real friend, she withdraws into an online game where she plays as a male because of the prejudice against female gamers.
In her real life, she is becoming increasingly frustrated by the lackadaisical attitude of the student body president who's also the top player on the football team. When he's injured and football's off the table for a long time...maybe for good, he starts playing the same game. Neither is initially aware that they've teamed up to complete a series of challenging online quests, but the more they play, the more of that growing camaraderie seeps into their prickly real life relationship. The romance that ensues is uneven and messy, but great fun to follow.

Odd writing style that was confusing and very hard to follow. I really really wanted to like the book and I just couldn't.

mi piaceva tanto il primo volume, poi l'ho riletto e...
spero che nel terzo muoiano tutti entro la fine del primo capitolo! :)

The way I wanted to like this book so badly.

Although I'm still processing what I really think about this novel, and the trilogy as a whole, what I find most striking is the visceral reaction of a lot of readers to whom Ms. Blake picked to be the lottery loser in this misguided children's crusade; you'd think that she personally visited these people to kill their puppy just for the hell of it. Then again, as someone who is saturated in military history, I'm used to the reality that it's the best ones that get cut down in their prime; deserves has nothing to do with it.

That said, I was never invested in this trilogy for the "shipping," nor in terms of pulling for one of the flawed golden boys to wind up on top. I mostly hung around to see how this power fantasy played out, and learn whether one of the female characters wound up being the conventional sacrificial lamb in the end; that such was not the case pleased me.

Still, having read Ms. Blake's agenda for this exercise, I think my main issue might wind up being that having a plot driven by people bouncing off each other on day-to-day basis does clash with the demands of writing what's a form of thriller on one hand, and a polemic on the other. Which is a polite way of saying that this whole exercise probably ground on a bit too long, as the longer a narrative goes I think it's inevitable that suspension of disbelief is going to suffer.

On the whole though, I don't regret the investment of time and will consider reading Ms. Blake's future works.

The better book of the series as it seems like she had a direction and plan.

Its a cool little super hero story. I think she came up with an innovative concept of the illuminati.

THE ATLAS COMPLEX is all about power and destruction. While it is still very much a character study of the six initiates, we finally get to see them out in the world. This is important because it is the first opportunity we get to see how they use their powers after two years of intensive study. Not only that but they also have to face the constant threat of assassination simply because of their powers.

If someone is reading The Atlas trilogy in hopes of reading a dark academia thriller/action story, they are going to finish the series disappointed. No matter what the publishers would like you to believe, that is not what this series is about. In the Author’s Notes, Ms. Blake started writing the series as a method of taming her rage at some of the asinine situations happening in the world. She uses her series not just to channel her feelings but also to raise some very real questions about power and the destruction that seems to follow anyone who has a modicum of it. Her anger about this issue seeps through the pages and makes her story difficult to follow in some regard. I believe her anger also attracts like-minded readers by allowing them to feel seen and heard.

But Ms. Blake doesn’t stop there. Part of her also explores the urgent need for changes that will positively impact the world and halt climate change. In fact, she ends THE ATLAS COMPLEX with firm conclusions about the state of the world and its future if things continue to deteriorate. Here is where I struggled, only because I don’t come to the same conclusions as Ms. Blake and her characters. I appreciate the path she takes to reach her hypothesis, but I don’t agree with it.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the novel. THE ATLAS COMPLEX is every bit as complex and mind-bending as the first book. Seeing the maturity of the six initiates, watching them enact their plans, and change the world is satisfying, and I’m glad I persevered reading the series. I hesitate to recommend it to readers though because it is much more a thinking-person’s novel. Much more cerebral and theoretical and entirely less thrilling than I expected, and that’s okay too. It just means that there is a niche audience for the series, and when the right reader comes across the trilogy, they will be able to appreciate everything Ms. Blake accomplishes with it.

First, I can't believe this series is over....

This book took me a while to read. I started it because I was excited to see how the series ended, but then I took an extended break from the book because I just don't think I was ready. When I finally picked it back up, I continued to struggle through it for a time. I ended up enjoying it more as we got to the climax of the story, but I would say that the first book is still my favorite in the whole series.

Olivie Blake says in her acknowledgements in this book, "The relationships will be the plot, because relationships are all that matter. They're all we can take with us. They're the only real things we leave behind." And honestly, I loved that aspect of the books. I loved that the plot was essentially the characters and their choices. I loved that the characters were unreliable narrators and morally grey. It's hard to say there is a villain in this series because every character had good parts or at least had good intentions at one point in time before maybe those intentions got lost or polluted. Just as every character had bad parts too. I'm glad I read this series. It's maybe not going to be an all time favorite, but I'm glad to have read it.

Also, I'm so sad Nico died. He was my favorite character by the end.

I was over-the-moon when I received a arc of this book. I mean, it's about a girl in engineering, as I also am.
So first up, I loved how nerdy it was. I could tell that the author actually put her time into actually researching what a physics class is like. (I did many of the same projects as the main character.) This continued throughout the whole book and made me so happy.
However, I ran into a few things that I was not fond of. Most of these are just personal preferences and experiences that were quite different.
I noticed that this book made almost all the guys sexist. When I say almost, I mean all. That just seemed a little too much. Yeah, there are some, but most guys won't act like the ones in this book. [To put this into perspective, in my four years of engineering classes that were almost exclusively male, I have only had one comment made by one guy.]
And the second thing that bugged me was one of the chapters that was packed full of politically-correct comments that were irrevelent to the story. They just seemed like they were there to say that the characters were Good People. None of the issues were brought up again.
Even with the little things, I would still recommend this book for those who want a good story about a girl discovering engineering.

Tropes: enemies to more

Content: some language, almost all the guys objected to girls in STEM, quite a few comments there just to be PC, kissing

3.5 Stars

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

Book two in Olivie Blake's The Atlas series, THE ATLAS PARADOX, is a bit of a paradox itself. While the story picks up shortly after the events of the first book and spans the initiates' second year at the Society, there isn't much in the way of action. And yet, despite the lack of action or significant plot development, the story grows ever more complex.

In my notes, I describe THE ATLAS PARADOX as a cerebral novel, maybe even more than the first book. In that, we were still meeting the characters, learning the world of the Society, and discovering this world's magic. In THE ATLAS PARADOX, we need none of that, and Ms. Blake wisely does not include any of it in her sequel. Instead, we get 400 pages of astrophysical theories, telepathic scenes, and dream hopping, all to explore what it means to have power and what changes having power will bring to someone.

While I am not a fan of any book that requires me to interpret what I read, I enjoyed every last page of THE ATLAS PARADOX. I might not have understood half of it and am still fuzzy on what certain characters can do, but the story is like a dream. In saying that I mean that the story feels very nebulous, very ethereal, as if you aren't supposed to understand all of it but rather pull out the salient points and learn from them. I enjoy these characters, none of whom are enjoyable, and all of whom suffer from narcissism and neuroses.

The idea we are left with as THE ATLAS PARADOX ends, that people in power or who have power will never do the right thing for the greater good, is a chilling one. At the same time, you don't have to look hard or long to find examples that fit this narrative in real life. And, just like in real life, it is difficult to discern the Big Bads in THE ATLAS PARADOX. Personally, I find the morally gray ground of the novel fascinating; I am excited to see how Ms. Blake brings it all together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The magic systems are quite complex and I was confused some of the time. Usually once I get confused I am quite put off but I felt like the complexity of each individuals powers and the fact that the characters themselves didn't understand them what actually the point.

The artwork throughout was quite cool and I liked seeing the depictions of the different main characters.

I'm really looking forward to reading book two.

(Quick note to say that the version of this book I own and read is the earliest, self-published edition and not the new one. I still stand by my opinion but idk how much the two versions differ, so take from that what you will.)

"The Atlas Six" is the epitome of an interesting idea with quite poor execution. The entire premise and setup is deeply intriguing and had me super excited to read the book, but it was too bogged down with flaws to be truly enjoyable.

For starters, the magic system is vastly underexplained and left me confused. There is a lot of talk throughout the book about using magic and its limits, etc. but we as the reader never get a working idea of the bigger picture. It was also really difficult for me to care about a single one of the characters. It's like they were the Seven Dwarves, except instead of "Sneezy" or "Sleepy", each character could have just been named "Boring," "Immensely Irritating", "Obviously-Not-Important-to-The-Author", or "Literally Indistinguishable from That Other Boy" (for real, it took me halfway through the book to keep straight who Tristian and Callum were). Morally gray characters are one thing, but characters who have zero personality besides their magic, snark, and One Defining Character Trait just make for dry reading.

But maybe the biggest drag of "The Atlas Six" is that an ASTOUNDING amount of the book is taken up by everyone just hanging around and talking. Talking about what they can do, talking about which of the others they don't like, and...well, that's most of it. There is one big scene of action near the beginning, then a cool-ish plot twist revealed in the literal final two chapters, but aside from that there are just pages upon pages of characters sitting around talking or inner monologuing.

I guess I can see how some readers would enjoy this, but it's not for me at all. Hard pass on reading any further in the world of TAS.

Like its predecessors, Star Wars – From A Certain Point of View and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – From A Certain Point of View, this book collects short stories from 40 different authors telling the story of Episode VI of the Skywalker Saga from the perspective of those adjacent to the main action. It features the talents of Saladin Ahmed, Charlie Jane Anders, Tom Angleberger, Kristin Baver, Olivie Blake, Akemi Dawn Bowman, Emma Mieko Candon, Olivia Chadha, Gloria Chao, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Paul Crilley, Amal El-Mohtar, M.K. England, Jason Fry, Adam Lance Garcia, Lamar Giles, Max Gladstone, Thea Guanzon, Ali Hazelwood, Patricia A. Jackson, Alex Jennings, Mary Kenney, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Sarah Kuhn, Danny Lore, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Kwame Mbalia, Marieke Nijkamp, Danielle Paige, Aura Pohl, K. Arsenault Rivera, Dana Schwartz, Tara Sim, Phil Szostak, Suzanne Walker, Hannah Whitten, Fran Wilde, Sean Williams, and Alyssa Wong.

In following the basic plot of Return of the Jedi, most of the early stories focus on Jabba’s palace, thus recalling Kevin J. Anderson’s edited anthology, Tales from Jabba’s Palace, which came out in 1995. Phil Szostak’s story begins the process of renaming Max Reebo’s music from its traditional name to “jatz,” though they still allude to the original name with the line, “it came to be known by many names, some less palatable than others” (p. 21). Mary Kenney’s story from the perspective of Wicket Wystri Warrick references the events of Caravan of Courage and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (p. 231). Meanwhile, Suzanne Walker gives Norra Wexley her own chapter set during the Battle of Endor, connecting to the Aftermath trilogy and helping to retroactively establish her role in the Alliance fleet (p. 267). Alyssa Wong’s story confirms that Ewoks ate the Stormtroopers (p. 438). Emma Mieko Candon’s story focuses on Wedge prior to the Battle of Endor, with references to his and Lando Calrissian’s appearances in Star Wars Rebels (p. 464). The story also ties into the first issue of the Shattered Empire comic series (p. 471). Both Thea Guanzon (p. 63) and Danielle Paige (p. 477) expand the definition of rebellion and show how the women in Jabba’s palace found their own ways to resist. Paige has Leia neatly summarize the purpose of this book, where even characters who are not part of the Empire nor the Alliance “are part of the story” (p. 500). Finally, Adam Lance Garcia uses Dexter Jettster to tie together threads from the High Republic through the Clone Wars and finally the Empire, putting the history of the Star Wars galaxy into perspective (p. 512).

The book neatly rounds out this 40th anniversary celebration of the Star Wars Original Trilogy with stories that deepen those seen on film. Fans will enjoy the alternate perspectives as well as the references that connect this to other Star Wars media beyond the films.½

4.5

DNF

The writing in this book is so beautiful! The story itself is hard to categorize because, although this is a love story that takes place from Regan's, Aldo's, and sometimes a fusion of themselves and their inner monologues's perspective, it is also expansive and discusses concepts in math and art as well. The story is also distinctly human and relatable in that it isn't over-romanticized or glossed over (especially with Regan's bipolar disorder and Aldo's implied neurodivergence). I just loved this book so much once I got into it and was really rooting for them throughout. All the side characters are also very fleshed out and well-written as well. It's been a long time since I've read a fiction book that wasn't a fantasy, sci-fi, or horror that I could get so into. Couldn't recommend it enough if you're looking to pine, but also get kind of heady and philosophical.

I wanted to like this. I really did, but it was not to be.
I made it to page 127, put it down for the night and it sat there for a day and a half. I just didn’t care enough about any of the characters to go back for more. So, DNF’d at 33%.

'Alone with You in the Ether' crafts a unique narrative set in Chicago, where Regan and Aldo's chance meeting at the Art Institute sparks a thought-provoking journey. The novella skillfully delves into mental health, existential pondering, and the transformative power of connection. With rich character dynamics and a delicate balance of chaos and routine, the story leaves readers contemplating life's unpredictable variables. A concise yet compelling exploration of human connection and the possibility for change.

A very trite "dark academia" supernatural that I'm glad I got on Kindle so it won't clutter a bookcase. I won't be reading the rest of this trilogy.½

This was chaotic but in a delightful and entertainment way.
The end was a bit too lovey dovey for me, for which I didn't care that much. Other than that it was a fun book with a lot of colourful characters and lots of chaos, did I mention the chaos yet?

I'm marking this book as dnf. I really wanted to like it a lot, but for some reason I just couldn't get into the story. There's nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't my thing this time around. The characters were both lovely and I hope they end up together!

I think part of it had to do with the formatting, it was hard to tell who was speaking and it wasn't always clear who the main character was in that moment. I believe a lot of this was due to the way it was formatted in the ebook I had.

I read this about six months ago, and completely forgot to record it here, so this is a bit of a 'what do I remember about this book' rather than a decent review. I remember being fascinated by the two main characters, and their interactions. I didn't particularly like either of them, but the way they were written meant that didn't matter.

The world building was great. I don't particularly remember much about what I liked about it, but some of the aspects of working in academia were all too well detailed. And I loved the fact that part of the story depended on the fact that one of them was an artist and the other was a mathematician.

The thematic aspects relating to bees, and sixes, and identity have stuck with me. I remember being delighted at the way that the sections of the story fit together.

I did find the self-destructive tendencies of one of the main characters to be heart breaking. Believable. But awful to read.

Really enjoyed the 40 stories set in the Star Wars, Return of the Jedi universe. I read them over time, not all at once and reminisced about how the original trilogy fit into my universe.

This book was originally self-published by the author, but after it became a "BookTok" sensation Tor acquired the rights to it. Wikipedia says it was revised after Tor ganed control but I would have thought Tor could have done more to tighten it up. I wasn't really impressed.

The plot is pretty simple. Every ten years,the Alexandrian Society invites six young magic practitioners to audition for a place in the society. At the end of a year, five of them will be invited to stay on. They have to spend that year in a large home in London taking lessons and exploring the society's vast archives. Of course, the various personalities clash and there are numerous attempts to one up the others. But, since we are talking about young hormonal people, there are also a number of liaisons of a sexual nature. One of the six, who is a telepath, learns that at the end of the year the person who is passed over is to be killed by the others. Not a way to build good interpersonal relationships. I won't disclose how it ends but since there is a sequel you can probably guess that there is no definitive conclusion.

I really thought there could have been a lot less filler between the original scenes and the end. I won't be delving into the sequel.