Reviews with content warning for Death - The Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena, the third installment in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, finally brings together the demigods from the first two books, reuniting Percy and Jason with their old lives.

Percy and Annabeth's long-awaited reunion did not disappoint, but Jason's chance to catch up with old friends was cut tragically short.

Despite the fact that she wasn't in much of the story, I really grew to like Reyna. She's a smart and brave leader but also isn't above admitting her own weaknesses.

When facing rejection from both Percy and Jason, she takes it with her head held high and doesn't let her feelings impede her relationship with either of them.

It was so refreshing to have Annabeth as a main character again. I missed her after the Last Olympian. Just as Juno/Hera promised, Annabeth was tested beyond belief in the Mark of Athena.

I'm not going to lie, I hated reading about Arachne and her hordes of spiders. I was cringing for a solid 4 chapters, just waiting for Annabeth to be free of spiders.

Percy was as marvelous as ever, although I didn't love his little mini-rivalry with Jason.

They seemed to have figured it out by the end of the book, but I think it was a little out of character for either of them to be outwardly flustered by the others' power.

Similarly, Jason's main roles in the Mark of Athena seemed to be making things awkward when he and Percy were in a room (or field) together, and making things awkward whenever he was with Piper and the topic of Reyna was brought up.

Piper, however, was fabulous. She grew a lot throughout this book, constantly growing stronger not in power, but just as herself.

It took her most of the Lost Hero to become comfortable with the idea of being Aphrodite's daughter, but now she's learned how to turn that into strength.

Leo was also his amazing self. Often being the comic relief, it would have been easy for Leo to be swept aside in terms of growth compared to the other characters, but because of his connection to Hazel through Sammy, that wasn't the case at all.

Learning about Sammy and getting to dive deeper into Hazel's past was also great. While she was definitely a force to be reckoned with, I have a feeling that her real time to shine is still coming.

Which brings us to Frank. Reading the first two books, Frank was my least favorite of the featured six demigods.

The burst of confidence he got after the battle in the Field of Mars has completely changed my opinion of him.

It seems like he's finally coming into his element and, like Piper, learning that his godly parent doesn't define who he is.

And finally, Coach Hedge. I was surprised when I read that the Coach was accompanying the seven on the Argo II as their companion, but now I'm so glad that he is.

Coach Hedge provides the perfect balance of comic relief and (often misguided) parental presence that most of the demigods sorely lack.

I'm really excited to see where The House of Hades takes these young demigods!

Content Warnings

abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

📖
I enjoyed this book -- and I've enjoyed the series so far. I loved the dynamics and relationships within the group, seeing them form and develop.

Content Warnings

thaliareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a re-read, but my first time listening to the audiobook. I love this book because everyone is finally together. After the struggle of the first two books it is so nice to see the seven together and working towards the next great prophecy. It was also interesting to see the balance between Jason and Percy as two demigods who've never had to not be in charge, learn to let eachother help.

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