Scan barcode
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
5.0
This one is a whole different vibe...I'm still sorting this out. Dunno if I like this vibe more or less than the prev THOO books. It's gonna take me a bit longer to process this one I think. I can't quite dive into Blood of Olympus just yet. Gotta let it simmer. It was no walk in the park, I'll say that much. It was emotionally a whole lot more like Percabeth's literal walk through the depths of Tartarus.
WIL
1) I literally am on page 2 of this book but oh my god already have to start this with a WIL bc this freakin devotion page
Devotion page reads:
“To my wonderful readers:
Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.
Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA.
But seriously, I love you guys.”
Salt in the wound, Rick. Salt. In. The. Wound. But, incidentally, this salt is hilarious, so it's fine.
2) Sympathy for the Devil (or...the devil's son...well not quite the devil so much as- ah nevermind. Bad title name). Sympathy for Nico. I remember reading PJO and at least a few books of THOO and just...not liking Nico at all. And honestly, the way everyone describes him as creepy all the time, I totally get why I didn't like him before. But now? Rereading? I love this kid. Yea he's a little (scratch that- a LOT) messed up, but he's such a loner and torn between worlds and god do I relate. And, spoiler alert, having a crush on Percy? Smol, fragile bean. Must protect at all costs. Even if he threatens to skewer protector in the process.
3) PERCABETH. "I'd walk through hell for you" but instead of "for" it's "with" and it's a very literal phrase in this book. These kiddos. These TEENAGERS. Literally- I can't even IMAGINE- RR really solidified their relationship in this one, goddang. They went through SO MUCH. And that bit where Annabeth was cursed to suffer in her loneliness? God. My heart. MY HEART.
4) annABETH'S???BDAY?? IS??? JULY??? 12??????????????????? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ONE OF MY FAV CHARACTERS HAD A BDAY SO CLOSE TO MY OWN
5) better individual character tones. Maybe I've just become more acquainted with the characters so it stands out to me now, but the individual character personalities seemed sharper in this one than in the previous books of the series. Like, Leo's tone seemed MUCH more distinct from Frank's in this one. And Hazel and Piper were previously pretty similar to me (confusingly and annoyingly so), but they were their own people in this book. Thank goodness for that. It made it a lot easier to get along with them when I wasn't mixing them up in my head.
6) C A L Y P S O AND L E O? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AR E Y O U K I D D I N G -??? The "seventh wheel" found himself a literal island goddess girlfriend. I can't believe it. I mean i CAN but holY COW (No, not you and your cows Apollo. It's a phrase.) This whole new ship was one i def did NOT expect and one i also WHOLEHEARTEDLY support.
7) as always! More wonderful greek and roman myths coming into play! Love that! I seriously cannot overstate how happy it makes me that those old stories are reinvigorated thanks to RR's endless patience in converting them into modern AmEng context with YA dystopia lens. I have a real soft spot for the Hyacinth story especially (bc I too have used the name Hyacinth in a story of my own). Was delightful to see that one in the books.
WIDL
1) nitpicking but: female-male relationships. The One Dynamic: The male adores the female endlessly, and the female likes the guy too but is typically less open about it and more prone to teasing than actual confessions of adoration (Annabeth and Percy, Frank and Hazel, Jason and Piper). The female is tough and brave and AWESOME and smart. The guy is also all of those things, but he's not expected to be AS smart. He's also not expected to be necessarily as put together or presentable on demand. This is a common enough complaint for me in books, but their relationship perfection dynamic bugs me. It just feels like there's a lot more pressure on the females to be ALL the good things and the males are allowed more mistakes... maybe that's me projecting. I dunno. I DO know Kristin Stokes mentions it in My Grand Plan in the rehearsal version of TLTTM, so obviously Annabeth feels it if no one else.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) bought for 4.99 at HPB in SA. God BLESS HPB. (Also, makes me v happy to know that I bought this in RR's longtime place of residence. Like, wow. He's probably walked to the HPB many times. Probably drove down Broadway a thousand times and admired the other bookshops all around. Maybe he promised himself "I'll have books in there someday..." and I got to buy that book. At an amazing price no less.)
WIL
1) I literally am on page 2 of this book but oh my god already have to start this with a WIL bc this freakin devotion page
Devotion page reads:
“To my wonderful readers:
Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.
Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA.
But seriously, I love you guys.”
Salt in the wound, Rick. Salt. In. The. Wound. But, incidentally, this salt is hilarious, so it's fine.
2) Sympathy for the Devil (or...the devil's son...well not quite the devil so much as- ah nevermind. Bad title name). Sympathy for Nico. I remember reading PJO and at least a few books of THOO and just...not liking Nico at all. And honestly, the way everyone describes him as creepy all the time, I totally get why I didn't like him before. But now? Rereading? I love this kid. Yea he's a little (scratch that- a LOT) messed up, but he's such a loner and torn between worlds and god do I relate. And, spoiler alert, having a crush on Percy? Smol, fragile bean. Must protect at all costs. Even if he threatens to skewer protector in the process.
3) PERCABETH. "I'd walk through hell for you" but instead of "for" it's "with" and it's a very literal phrase in this book. These kiddos. These TEENAGERS. Literally- I can't even IMAGINE- RR really solidified their relationship in this one, goddang. They went through SO MUCH. And that bit where Annabeth was cursed to suffer in her loneliness? God. My heart. MY HEART.
4) annABETH'S???BDAY?? IS??? JULY??? 12??????????????????? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ONE OF MY FAV CHARACTERS HAD A BDAY SO CLOSE TO MY OWN
5) better individual character tones. Maybe I've just become more acquainted with the characters so it stands out to me now, but the individual character personalities seemed sharper in this one than in the previous books of the series. Like, Leo's tone seemed MUCH more distinct from Frank's in this one. And Hazel and Piper were previously pretty similar to me (confusingly and annoyingly so), but they were their own people in this book. Thank goodness for that. It made it a lot easier to get along with them when I wasn't mixing them up in my head.
6) C A L Y P S O AND L E O? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AR E Y O U K I D D I N G -??? The "seventh wheel" found himself a literal island goddess girlfriend. I can't believe it. I mean i CAN but holY COW (No, not you and your cows Apollo. It's a phrase.) This whole new ship was one i def did NOT expect and one i also WHOLEHEARTEDLY support.
7) as always! More wonderful greek and roman myths coming into play! Love that! I seriously cannot overstate how happy it makes me that those old stories are reinvigorated thanks to RR's endless patience in converting them into modern AmEng context with YA dystopia lens. I have a real soft spot for the Hyacinth story especially (bc I too have used the name Hyacinth in a story of my own). Was delightful to see that one in the books.
WIDL
1) nitpicking but: female-male relationships. The One Dynamic: The male adores the female endlessly, and the female likes the guy too but is typically less open about it and more prone to teasing than actual confessions of adoration (Annabeth and Percy, Frank and Hazel, Jason and Piper). The female is tough and brave and AWESOME and smart. The guy is also all of those things, but he's not expected to be AS smart. He's also not expected to be necessarily as put together or presentable on demand. This is a common enough complaint for me in books, but their relationship perfection dynamic bugs me. It just feels like there's a lot more pressure on the females to be ALL the good things and the males are allowed more mistakes... maybe that's me projecting. I dunno. I DO know Kristin Stokes mentions it in My Grand Plan in the rehearsal version of TLTTM, so obviously Annabeth feels it if no one else.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) bought for 4.99 at HPB in SA. God BLESS HPB. (Also, makes me v happy to know that I bought this in RR's longtime place of residence. Like, wow. He's probably walked to the HPB many times. Probably drove down Broadway a thousand times and admired the other bookshops all around. Maybe he promised himself "I'll have books in there someday..." and I got to buy that book. At an amazing price no less.)
birki6's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
ashham109's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
luzhelp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
livpot47's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
salsarosa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
peroxide_princes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
If any book could follow up Mark of Athena, it was this one. Full of harrowing tales from page one, the story of love and sacrifice continues so strongly it makes the heart ache. Rick Riordan is one hell of a writer.
yars_reading_corner's review against another edition
5.0
A very dark setting, well…Duh!
Oh Annabeth and Percy! Their love makes me so happy, so true and innocent, they literally go through hell (Hades) together, we see more character development from Hazel, Frank and Piper, especially Hazel!! I LOVE IT
Oh Annabeth and Percy! Their love makes me so happy, so true and innocent, they literally go through hell (Hades) together, we see more character development from Hazel, Frank and Piper, especially Hazel!! I LOVE IT