A review by rikuson1
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I Liked It 😉
-★★★✭☆- (3.75/5.00) 
My Grading Score = 75% (B)

The setup for this book made it feel like this would be yet another one of the books that I would come out not really caring for. And it wasn't until the Calypso chapter that I found myself actually changing my mind about this one. It's actually changing my mind on the series once again, especially after Book 4. Although I did not care for the dream moments Percy was going through or honestly anything to do with the Labyrinth itself, I still ended up liking this book by the end and it's mostly because I found the characters to be stronger than the plot this go around.

Characters
The only character in the starting portion that was interesting to me was actually the new character Rachel. I feel like she was a delightful addition. I also enjoyed the fact that Annabeth does not like her presence. I have read little interactions with female characters, not liking each other, so it was entertaining for me. Nico, a character that was annoying and frustrating for the entire last book, and most of this book actually finally started to warm up to me by the end. Grover (along with Annabeth) returned as a character at the forefront of this story, and I felt like not having the trio in the previous book caused some of my disinterest in that adventure. Having them back did bring a very some sense of nostalgia to have them back. Both Grover and Annabeth had some decent moments, especially Grover now having a girlfriend and somewhat accomplishing his goal that has been set up since book 1. 


Verdict 
Percy Jackson Book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth, surprised me. To be honest, when it started, I was not really feeling it and especially coming off of Book 3, and I wondered if I'm going to look back on this series more negatively than positively. I was begging to think that the magic, allure and level of charm in the first book was a onetime thing and although it did not reach that same level Book 4 is arguably and probably the best written one thus far but my level of enjoyment still has me putting book 1 over this one. Nonetheless, this one is my 2nd favorite.
I Liked It