Where to Start Reading Alexene Farol Follmuth / Olivie Blake
Alexene Farol Follmuth writes across two distinct spaces. Under her pen name Olivie Blake, she crafts adult speculative fiction, dark academia, and complex character studies. Under her legal name, she writes contemporary young adult romance novels centered on modern identity, geek culture, and girls in STEM. Since her two worlds do not intersect in plot or characters, your ideal starting point depends on your preferred genre:
- For Dark Academia & Fantasy Fans: Start with The Atlas Six (written as Olivie Blake). This is her breakout viral hit about six brilliant, morally grey magicians competing for entry into a secretive society.
- For YA Romance & STEM Rom-Com Fans: Start with My Mechanical Romance (written as Alexene Farol Follmuth). It is a warm, enemies-to-lovers story set against a high school robotics team that deals with the real-world microaggressions women face in STEM fields.
- For Character-Driven Literary Romance: Start with Alone with You in the Ether (written as Olivie Blake), a standalone novel exploring mental health, art, love, and intimacy.
The Atlas Series Reading Order
The Atlas Trilogy is a continuous, chronological story. You must read these books in order as they follow the same group of characters and an ongoing magic-system mystery. Originally self-published, the series was later acquired and revised by Tor Books.
- The Atlas Six (Self-published 2020 / Tor Books 2022)
- The Atlas Paradox (2022)
- The Atlas Complex (2024)
Standalone Adult Novels (As Olivie Blake)
Outside of her primary trilogy, Blake has published several standalone speculative and contemporary novels that can be read in any order:
- Masters of Death (Self-published 2018 / Tor Books 2023): A fun, urban fantasy involving a vampire real estate agent, a medium, and a game with the Grim Reaper.
- One for My Enemy (Self-published 2019 / Tor Books 2023): A dark urban fantasy retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in a magical, modern-day New York City, featuring two rival witch families.
- Alone with You in the Ether (Self-published 2020 / Tor Books 2022): A highly emotional, non-magical romance focusing on two neurodivergent individuals navigating love.
- Gifted & Talented (2025): A contemporary fantasy described as a magical version of the TV show Succession, where siblings compete for their deceased father's empire.
- Girl Dinner (2025): A satirical, dark academic horror novel exploring female friendship, ambition, and secret societies.
- Dreamland (2026): A gothic mystery novel set in Los Angeles, following a struggling actor pulled into the occult-tinged orbit of an aging Hollywood icon.
Young Adult Novels (As Alexene Farol Follmuth)
Written under her legal name, these contemporary young adult novels are completely standalone and do not require any reading order:
- My Mechanical Romance (2022): Focuses on Bel and Teo as they build a robot together, navigating competitive engineering environments and academic pressure.
- Twelfth Knight (2024): A Shakespeare-inspired contemporary YA rom-com that explores MMORPG gaming, online anonymity, fandom culture, and high school politics.
Clara & the Devil Graphic Novel Series
Co-created with illustrator Little Chmura, this dark romantic series began as a popular webtoon before its traditional print adaptation. It should be read in chronological volume order:
- Clara & the Devil, Vol. 1 (2026)
What to Know Before You Start
When diving into the bibliography of Olivie Blake, readers should note that she frequently utilizes dual or multiple perspectives, complex prose, and unreliable narrators. Her characters are deliberately flawed and often act from selfish or ambiguous motivations. The transition of several of her novels from self-published books to traditional trade publications (like Tor Books) has led to some differences in editions, but the trade editions are generally recommended for the most polished text.