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If you've been anywhere near Bookstagram or Booktok recently, you've seen this one. I put it on hold at least 3-4 months ago and was so excited when it finally came in. There's always a little bit of worry that a super popular book won't live up to the hype, but let me tell you what, this one DELIVERED.
"The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.
When the newest candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will. Most of them."
- from Storygraph
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Where do I even begin? I absolutely loved this book, and totally understood why there's been so much hype surrounding it. The magic system felt unique, yet easy to understand, and I loved getting all the different perspectives throughout the story. For a fantasy novel, this book felt unique for having so much more thinking than action. We spent so much time in each of the characters heads, learning their motives and examining how and why they made decisions. The relationship dynamics between all the different characters was fascinating, alliances being made and tested and broken, characters deciding when and how to trust each other. It was also so interesting to read a story from the perspective of six characters you are coming to know so deeply, and yet the entire time in the back of your mind you know that one of them is being set up to be eliminated. You begin to make guesses and try to figure out the strategy, and yet I was COMPLETELY shocked and surprised when the last 10% of the book revealed what was really happening. Let's just say I'm (very impatiently) counting down the days until the sequel is released.
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Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Violence, Sexual Content
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