softgalaxy's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this series, but it was an interesting overall story arc of understanding what it means to be human.
I enjoyed seeing different characters in each book. I know this isn’t the last CHB book as we have The Sun and The Star coming in 2023 as well as a new Percy, Annabeth, and Grover book.
Was this series entirely necessary? I’m not so sure. It had very high stakes, but it all seemed to be solved much more quickly than the other series’ plots.
Regardless, I love this wee CHB world and all the characters. Uncle Rick, thank you once more.
I enjoyed seeing different characters in each book. I know this isn’t the last CHB book as we have The Sun and The Star coming in 2023 as well as a new Percy, Annabeth, and Grover book.
Was this series entirely necessary? I’m not so sure. It had very high stakes, but it all seemed to be solved much more quickly than the other series’ plots.
Regardless, I love this wee CHB world and all the characters. Uncle Rick, thank you once more.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Slavery and Grief
sepiaparrish's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i liked it bc percy and annabeth and nico and will and rachel and reyna and leo and hazel were in it. i didn't like it bc rick riordan is infuriating and incapable of taking his own writing seriously and also bad at endings.
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Torture
Spoiler
the child abuse is meg's relationship with nero, and we also meet other kids "adopted" by him and treated similarly. it is a main theme of the book so look out, apollo also reflects on how his relationships with the other gods could be considered abusive. the violence is riordan-typical but there's a scene where apollo "dies" and also there's a scene when a character gets her hands chopped off to teach her a lesson, which is the most graphic scene in the book i would say. i added ableism because some of what riordan says in reference to this character after the event could possibly be read that way? but i'm not sure. torture and panic attacks are mentioned very briefly, slavery is seen in the way nero runs parts of his empire and it is refered to as slavery multiple times, nico's ptsd is discussed a few times, body shaming is apollo commenting on his acne and body fat in a negative tone, homophobia is briefly mentioned at one point, and animal death is a type of monster that is killed multiple times that is a cow. also riordan-typical handling his minorities rather poorly, though i think he did better in this one than in certain other books.
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