The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Meh. For me, this was somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars.
I read and enjoyed the Atlas Six and was looking forward to the sequel. I really enjoyed learning about each character and their backstory and the world building in the first book. Unlike many, the lack of explanation of the magic or the wordiness didn’t bother me in the first book. There was enough character building and enough plot to keep the book engaging and moving.
Neither of those things were true in the second book. The characters aren’t changing or growing. The plot was mostly nonexistent. Enough that it’s hard to tell the point of this book. Maybe it was just a filler book before the third one, but even then, it would have been better to have the book be half as long, move some of the plot points forward and get the readers ready for the conclusion instead of making us slog through a 400-page book that doesn’t really go anywhere.
I like these characters and find them interesting, especially when they interact with each other (as opposed to pontificate on their own) but this book just didn’t stand up on its own enough to hold my interest. Here’s hoping the third one does.
I will add that the audio is fantastic. A full cast makes the experience come alive when differentiating between the characters but it still wasn’t enough to save this book, for me.
with gratitude to Macmillan Audio and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
