The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
anaisdai30's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Bullying, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Murder
sweetjuicee_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
 BOOK TW: Alcohol, blood, degenerative disease, guns/gunshot wound, manipulation, murder, sex scenes (not explicit), suicide
After I bought this book, I only saw hate for the plot and the characters (other than Elizabeth). I can completely understand where this hate for this book is coming from, but honestly, I thought that this was a great book â especially in comparison to my last read.
~~~~~~
The main six characters (Parisa Kamali, Tristan Caine, Callum Nova, Reina Mori, Nico de Varona and Libby Rhodes) are selected to be in The Alexandrian Society and have to train their magic to make sure that they're one of the five that make it to the next year. This book was very slow paced, but since so much of the book was mainly focused on the characters learning from both the library and each other, I could excuse it. I think it sped up at the right places Spoiler particularly the invasion and the part where they plan and fail to murder Callum but I enjoyed the fact that the book wasn't totally action-packed.
I also like Blake's writing style: she's great at showing not telling; she can handle the multiple perspectives pretty well without repeating things in another person's point of view, and I love how well she can describe something for pages and pages. If she wrote a book with zero dialogue, I'm 90% sure I'd enjoy it. Her descriptions were interesting and the only thing that took me out of the book was an occasional piece of dialogue or the fact that I had to force myself out of the book to do a separate task.
That's not to say it wasn't without its faults.
There wasn't a lot of 'rigorous' study that's suggested in the blurb, since the book focused more on the characters' thoughts and feelings towards the others in the society and their lives back home. Furthermore, the magic system is quite confusing â how do you figure out who's a medeian? Do they  need to have median family? It seemed like Libby didn't. Can all medeians cast a certain type of magic, or did they have to go to specialists for illusions? I have a bad habit of filling in the gaps in my head, so I didn't realise until I read a review pointing this out.
~~~~~~
I'm fairly conflicted on some of the potential romances in this book. I'm always partial to romantic subplots, but there's something a little off with most of the romances that have been hinted at in the book; it feels almost unethical to ship them.
Trislibby is one I can't get behind because of the age gap, and I don't really think there's much to say about it.
Novacaine really splits me. On one hand, their moments together are adorable and I've accidentally read spoilers about how their relationship develops in TAPSpoiler with Callum's one-sided pining for Tristan and asking Parisa if she's been in love before, and I adore pining, one-sided or mutual which is so heartbreaking. On the other hand, if either of them got therapy, they would've never been attracted to each other, and that would be a good thing for both of themSpoiler because still being in love with the guy you stabbed/the guy who stabbed you is kind of crazy in my opinion.
I personally haven't seen enough for me to support Nicolibby, but I get the appeal behind it, since they start to tolerate each other much more (and because Nico's the closest thing Libby has to a friend in the society). If their relationship is developed in TAP, then I could support it.
The only ship that is the healthiest (even though it probably isn't that healthy) is Nicogideon. It's obvious that both of them care for each other more than the other knows, and it definitely surpasses a normal "best friend thing" (I love my best friends, but I do not want their problems), but if Olivie Blake turns around and says that they're not meant to like each other then I won't scream and cry over it.
~~~~~~
To reiterate, I like how Blake's managed the six different perspectives in the story. I feel that at times their characters and thoughts blend into one, but the majority of the time, she does a great job at separating them and their thoughts and feelings.
My final thoughts on the characters are as follows:
Parisa: I like her. It's very interesting how she and Callum have similar personalities and they see each other as villains in each others' stories. Their abilities both rely on people not being truthful and manipulating them to get the information or reaction they want or need. I'm intrigued to see how she changes and develops (or doesn't) in the second book.
Tristan: The first thing that comes to mind is that he needs therapy, but he's the type of person to complain about how it disrupts his work life. He, Callum and Libby are probably my top three main characters.
Callum: I think he's an underrated character. I'm always drawn to characters that have complicated morals and those who very easily make mistakes when picking alliances in books like this.Spoiler In isolating himself from the others and only allying himself with Tristan, he dug his own grave with the others and with himself. If he refuses to talk to the others, they'll think he's rude and be upset that he thinks that they're not worth his time, and since he and Parisa have similar (ish) abilities, they'll choose to eliminate the one who didn't bother to talk to them and think of him as expendable. He also dug his own grave with how he only spoke to Tristan as he doesn't seem to have any outside friends other than family ones that are all about business. Callum has also chosen to befriend the one person that can see through his illusions â Tristan both literally and figuratively is the only person there that can see the real Callum Nova, so only talking to the others out of necessity, but talking at length to the one person who can see through you is obviously going to do a number to your self-worth. He would've developed an us vs. them mentality eventually, and then having to kill the one person that you liked because he chose to side with "the enemy" is going to fuck you up mentally. He's definitely one character that I would've loved to be in the head of more, and I'd love to explore his relationship with his family a little more as well.
Reina: I've never liked her. From the beginning to the end, I never liked her. I understand just how important she is Spoilerand how she can't die for Atlas' plan to work but I seriously cannot stand her character. I had to skim read one of her chapters because she annoys me as a character so much. "I only feel strong platonic feelings" for whom? For what? Not your ability, not anyone around you, so what do you feel platonic feelings for? Books? She's the type of person to make fun of you because you aren't reading the classics every day.
Nico: Honestly, I think he's a little weak as a character by himself. I don't remember his perspectives as much as the other five and it seems like he prides himself on being Libby's rival and being better than her. I'm interested to see how he has changed in the second bookSpoiler now that his rival is trapped in the dimension of time.
Libby: I wanted to hate her, but she's too relatable as a character. Her constant need for everyone to like her hinders her as a physicist and as a person. She also dwells on things a lot. She felt a little like looking in a mirror, and I felt bad when the other characters spent their time talking about how they hated her. I think she was coming out of her shell a little and was much more confident towards the end, which was nice.Â
The other notable characters (Atlas, Dalton, Gideon and Ezra) were also really nice to read about. I like how nicely Blake tied up loose ends with Ezra'a perspective and how neither Ezra nor Atlas could be seen as the villains immediately. I really like Dalton and Parisa's relationship, even though it's one-sided and Parisa benefits much more than Dalton. Gideon is probably my favourite character in the book.
~~~~~~
I really liked reading this, but there's something that prohibits me from giving it all 5 five stars. I had the same problem with TSHEH where I liked it, but it didn't have a 5 star quality. I may not reread it for a while, but I'm very excited to read the second book and I hope it's as good as this one.
After I bought this book, I only saw hate for the plot and the characters (other than Elizabeth). I can completely understand where this hate for this book is coming from, but honestly, I thought that this was a great book â especially in comparison to my last read.
~~~~~~
The main six characters (Parisa Kamali, Tristan Caine, Callum Nova, Reina Mori, Nico de Varona and Libby Rhodes) are selected to be in The Alexandrian Society and have to train their magic to make sure that they're one of the five that make it to the next year. This book was very slow paced, but since so much of the book was mainly focused on the characters learning from both the library and each other, I could excuse it. I think it sped up at the right places Spoiler particularly the invasion and the part where they plan and fail to murder Callum but I enjoyed the fact that the book wasn't totally action-packed.
I also like Blake's writing style: she's great at showing not telling; she can handle the multiple perspectives pretty well without repeating things in another person's point of view, and I love how well she can describe something for pages and pages. If she wrote a book with zero dialogue, I'm 90% sure I'd enjoy it. Her descriptions were interesting and the only thing that took me out of the book was an occasional piece of dialogue or the fact that I had to force myself out of the book to do a separate task.
That's not to say it wasn't without its faults.
There wasn't a lot of 'rigorous' study that's suggested in the blurb, since the book focused more on the characters' thoughts and feelings towards the others in the society and their lives back home. Furthermore, the magic system is quite confusing â how do you figure out who's a medeian? Do they  need to have median family? It seemed like Libby didn't. Can all medeians cast a certain type of magic, or did they have to go to specialists for illusions? I have a bad habit of filling in the gaps in my head, so I didn't realise until I read a review pointing this out.
~~~~~~
I'm fairly conflicted on some of the potential romances in this book. I'm always partial to romantic subplots, but there's something a little off with most of the romances that have been hinted at in the book; it feels almost unethical to ship them.
Trislibby is one I can't get behind because of the age gap, and I don't really think there's much to say about it.
Novacaine really splits me. On one hand, their moments together are adorable and I've accidentally read spoilers about how their relationship develops in TAPSpoiler with Callum's one-sided pining for Tristan and asking Parisa if she's been in love before, and I adore pining, one-sided or mutual which is so heartbreaking. On the other hand, if either of them got therapy, they would've never been attracted to each other, and that would be a good thing for both of themSpoiler because still being in love with the guy you stabbed/the guy who stabbed you is kind of crazy in my opinion.
I personally haven't seen enough for me to support Nicolibby, but I get the appeal behind it, since they start to tolerate each other much more (and because Nico's the closest thing Libby has to a friend in the society). If their relationship is developed in TAP, then I could support it.
The only ship that is the healthiest (even though it probably isn't that healthy) is Nicogideon. It's obvious that both of them care for each other more than the other knows, and it definitely surpasses a normal "best friend thing" (I love my best friends, but I do not want their problems), but if Olivie Blake turns around and says that they're not meant to like each other then I won't scream and cry over it.
~~~~~~
To reiterate, I like how Blake's managed the six different perspectives in the story. I feel that at times their characters and thoughts blend into one, but the majority of the time, she does a great job at separating them and their thoughts and feelings.
My final thoughts on the characters are as follows:
Parisa: I like her. It's very interesting how she and Callum have similar personalities and they see each other as villains in each others' stories. Their abilities both rely on people not being truthful and manipulating them to get the information or reaction they want or need. I'm intrigued to see how she changes and develops (or doesn't) in the second book.
Tristan: The first thing that comes to mind is that he needs therapy, but he's the type of person to complain about how it disrupts his work life. He, Callum and Libby are probably my top three main characters.
Callum: I think he's an underrated character. I'm always drawn to characters that have complicated morals and those who very easily make mistakes when picking alliances in books like this.Spoiler In isolating himself from the others and only allying himself with Tristan, he dug his own grave with the others and with himself. If he refuses to talk to the others, they'll think he's rude and be upset that he thinks that they're not worth his time, and since he and Parisa have similar (ish) abilities, they'll choose to eliminate the one who didn't bother to talk to them and think of him as expendable. He also dug his own grave with how he only spoke to Tristan as he doesn't seem to have any outside friends other than family ones that are all about business. Callum has also chosen to befriend the one person that can see through his illusions â Tristan both literally and figuratively is the only person there that can see the real Callum Nova, so only talking to the others out of necessity, but talking at length to the one person who can see through you is obviously going to do a number to your self-worth. He would've developed an us vs. them mentality eventually, and then having to kill the one person that you liked because he chose to side with "the enemy" is going to fuck you up mentally. He's definitely one character that I would've loved to be in the head of more, and I'd love to explore his relationship with his family a little more as well.
Reina: I've never liked her. From the beginning to the end, I never liked her. I understand just how important she is Spoilerand how she can't die for Atlas' plan to work but I seriously cannot stand her character. I had to skim read one of her chapters because she annoys me as a character so much. "I only feel strong platonic feelings" for whom? For what? Not your ability, not anyone around you, so what do you feel platonic feelings for? Books? She's the type of person to make fun of you because you aren't reading the classics every day.
Nico: Honestly, I think he's a little weak as a character by himself. I don't remember his perspectives as much as the other five and it seems like he prides himself on being Libby's rival and being better than her. I'm interested to see how he has changed in the second bookSpoiler now that his rival is trapped in the dimension of time.
Libby: I wanted to hate her, but she's too relatable as a character. Her constant need for everyone to like her hinders her as a physicist and as a person. She also dwells on things a lot. She felt a little like looking in a mirror, and I felt bad when the other characters spent their time talking about how they hated her. I think she was coming out of her shell a little and was much more confident towards the end, which was nice.Â
The other notable characters (Atlas, Dalton, Gideon and Ezra) were also really nice to read about. I like how nicely Blake tied up loose ends with Ezra'a perspective and how neither Ezra nor Atlas could be seen as the villains immediately. I really like Dalton and Parisa's relationship, even though it's one-sided and Parisa benefits much more than Dalton. Gideon is probably my favourite character in the book.
~~~~~~
I really liked reading this, but there's something that prohibits me from giving it all 5 five stars. I had the same problem with TSHEH where I liked it, but it didn't have a 5 star quality. I may not reread it for a while, but I'm very excited to read the second book and I hope it's as good as this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol
cecinamo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great read! The story was so intricately written, with loads of mysteries and interesting subplots. All the characters were so unique and facetted. They were so well written! The magic was a little confusing sometimes, I think I only understood towards the end of the book what âwardsâ were. Sometimes the book also dragged a bit, but I didnât mind that. I definitely look forward to the next book!Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Addiction, Abandonment, and Terminal illness
I really loved Nicos and Libbys relationship, it was so funny xD. (I hope it goes the enemies to friends route) Secondly quick appreciation for all the women in the book đ (Except Eilif, leave Gideon alone ò-Ăł, he just wants to be happy with Nico.) Libby was amazing! Parisa too, she was epic!!! I also loved Reina, I just wish she had more chapters ;-;. Her povs were always so interesting. It was always just so cool to read about what was going on in their minds, because the are so insanely smart. >u< (Also Parisas povs could tell us what other people were thinking too xD)empathreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I finally got through it, and it was most definitely in the latest parts where everything seemed to fit together, even though some mystifying areas still existâa fact that made me love it. To be honest, I find that it wasn't my cup of tea in the first place, but by just continually reading it, especially that there are more than six characters involved, it is a challenge that you are rooting for; you might end up rooting for one or none, but it won't matter; it's a different kind of play in relationship dynamics that we don't find commonly. Often I have the obsessive urge to read the next installment just to find out what happened after, but this one was not the indulging type where it makes me go cray cray, but it gave both thrill and mystery that is enough to binge over for some weeks.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, and Grief
beetayz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I am still unsure if I like this book or not, or if Iâll pick up the next in the series. There is a theme of actualizing your full potential and unfortunately I think the author missed the opportunity to do the same. Â
I did find myself enjoying moments of this book and some of the plot battle scenes, but other times I felt like I might put it down unfinished. The writing often felt like the author was glancing at a thesaurus and it brought me out of the story. I expected more character development and actualization of plot to happen but the pace was so slow and the world is not well depicted. Â
I can see why it has a cult following and once I dive into this genre more, I think Iâll know if itâs worth it for me to continue.Â
I did find myself enjoying moments of this book and some of the plot battle scenes, but other times I felt like I might put it down unfinished. The writing often felt like the author was glancing at a thesaurus and it brought me out of the story. I expected more character development and actualization of plot to happen but the pace was so slow and the world is not well depicted. Â
I can see why it has a cult following and once I dive into this genre more, I think Iâll know if itâs worth it for me to continue.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Classism, and Alcohol
hanna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is just: "You don't know anything about physics? Sucks to be you đ¤" for almost 400 pages.
I had no clue what this was about going in and I was pleasantly surprised! Usually I'm not the biggest fan of urban fantasy but this one was so well done, it just all felt really natural (and it gave me hardcore WINX-Vibes, if anyone else understands that lol).Â
BookTok has made me really apprehensive about a lot of the books recommended there â morally gray characters are just lazy Kaz copies, enemies to lovers is just straight up abuse, etc., but this book actually had interesting, multifaceted morally gray characters and I enjoyed that so much.
For much of the book, there isn't a clear villain, a clear force that has to be fought again and that offered a lot of space for characters development and introspection, which fantasy books often don't have enough time for but I absolutely adore it.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book! I hope it won't be just a duology, as there were so many possible storylines mentioned in this one and I hope they all get their space to be properly explored.
I had no clue what this was about going in and I was pleasantly surprised! Usually I'm not the biggest fan of urban fantasy but this one was so well done, it just all felt really natural (and it gave me hardcore WINX-Vibes, if anyone else understands that lol).Â
BookTok has made me really apprehensive about a lot of the books recommended there â morally gray characters are just lazy Kaz copies, enemies to lovers is just straight up abuse, etc., but this book actually had interesting, multifaceted morally gray characters and I enjoyed that so much.
For much of the book, there isn't a clear villain, a clear force that has to be fought again and that offered a lot of space for characters development and introspection, which fantasy books often don't have enough time for but I absolutely adore it.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book! I hope it won't be just a duology, as there were so many possible storylines mentioned in this one and I hope they all get their space to be properly explored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Violence, Death, and Infidelity
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Child death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Classism, War, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
sohma4uesugi's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I had to force myself to finish this and I am exhausted. There is just so much without anything at the same time. The sentences are wordy and over the top in a way that is heavy and clunky. Instead of saying âshe was shocked by his replyâ, the text is that âshe was aghast at the perversion of the transaction.â Just⌠why? Everything simple that should be easy and flows is so over the top that it falls flat beneath the weight of its self.Â
There is no immersion into this world. My eyes kept jumping forward begging it to be over with faster. I would reread sentences several times and still be confused in the next paragraph.
Interesting characters were largely ignored and the uninteresting characters were heavily focused on. The artwork, though beautiful, strangely did not match the characters each section was named for, which didnât make sense to me.Â
It felt like whole chapters were missing and the ones that were there dragged on forever and a day. Anything interesting was just simply dropped the next page in infuriating regularity. The last two chapters of the book seemed like they were written for another work entirely, in that they were interesting and actually held my attention.Â
To go from talking in tiring detail about the complexities of stopping time to calling someone a useless fuckboi just because they could in the next sentence was jarring and not in a way to bring humor or relief from the vast complexities the text tried and failed to reach.Â
The concept was super cool and I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I did not.Â
There is no immersion into this world. My eyes kept jumping forward begging it to be over with faster. I would reread sentences several times and still be confused in the next paragraph.
Interesting characters were largely ignored and the uninteresting characters were heavily focused on. The artwork, though beautiful, strangely did not match the characters each section was named for, which didnât make sense to me.Â
It felt like whole chapters were missing and the ones that were there dragged on forever and a day. Anything interesting was just simply dropped the next page in infuriating regularity. The last two chapters of the book seemed like they were written for another work entirely, in that they were interesting and actually held my attention.Â
To go from talking in tiring detail about the complexities of stopping time to calling someone a useless fuckboi just because they could in the next sentence was jarring and not in a way to bring humor or relief from the vast complexities the text tried and failed to reach.Â
The concept was super cool and I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I did not.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
kayladaila's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Bullying, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Mass/school shootings, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Classism
omfgeleanor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Child abuse, and Child death