Book Review: The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3)

Release Date: May 1, 2018
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 442 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon....

    

Review:

Protagonist: After two adventures Apollo and Meg are joined by Grover as they take the Labyrinth west to Southern California and the next Oracle. When they arrive at their destination they find out that a massive heat wave is affecting the area, and the only way to disperse it is to find a specific part of the Labyrinth, defeat the evil growing there, and free the Oracle. Which of course is easier said than done. As always I loved reading more from Apollo's POV, though in this book things really start to get serious as the dangers they face are greater than they have before. Apollo's humor is sort of tempered in this installment, that humorous ego is still there, but Apollo is also growing after millennia of living and learning what it means to be human, and what mortality really means.

World Building: Once again our heroes, Apollo and Meg, are joined by some of your favorite (or maybe not so favorite) characters from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series, and again Apollo's (immortal and godly) life touches every little aspect of the story as we're introduced to our villainous new emperor, who, unlike Commodus, I have actually heard of and when his name is revealed it sent shivers down my spine. This book is by far the darkest installment in this series so far, seemingly matching up with the third installments from the other Camp Half-Blood series, The Titan's Curse and The Mark of Athena, which isn't a spoiler to tell you as Apollo pretty much tells you exactly that at the beginning of the book. This book also delves into Meg's backstory quite a bit and I loved learning more about where she came from and her "ancient roots." Honestly, there's a whole freaking lot packed into this book and by the end of it, you may be an emotional wreck waiting for the next book.

Predictability: Like I said, this book is the darkest installment so far, full of twists and turns I didn't see coming. Honestly, I'm not sure if I should even write more than that. Riordan has done an amazing job with his foreshadowing in recent years and this installment really proves that as I can't think of a single twist or turn I saw coming, yet when they happened, everything made sense, everything just fit.

Ending: So, much like the previous installments in this series, there isn't really a cliffhanger for this installment, mainly there is a fantastic and intense final climax, that in all honesty may have made me shed a tear or two, once the dust settles, then it's time to set up the next installment, though there are clues all throughout the final chapters, including the final climax, but it's when almost all is said and done that we get some crucial intel on what's coming next and more importantly, who will make an appearance in the next installment, well, it's pretty freaking amazing. The cooldown period really just ties up most of the lingering threads of this installment while showing that there is more to come and more challenges to face head-on.

Rating:

Yeah, like this rating is much of a shock. I love this book so much, even though it hurt me in irreparable ways, but still, I cannot wait to continue Apollo's tale and hopefully, he'll catch a lucky break one of these days, I doubt it though.

{GIVEAWAY ENDED} Win a Hardcover Copy of The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan

The formerly glorious god Apollo, cast down to earth in punishment by Zeus, is now an awkward mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos. In order to regain his place on Mount Olympus, Lester must restore five Oracles that have gone dark. But he has to achieve this impossible task without having any godly powers and while being duty-bound to a confounding young daughter of Demeter named Meg. Thanks a lot, Dad.

With the help of some demigod friends, Lester managed to survive his first two trials, one at Camp Half-Blood, and one in Indianapolis, where Meg received the Dark Prophecy. The words she uttered while seated on the Throne of Memory revealed that an evil triumvirate of Roman emperors plans to attack Camp Jupiter. While Leo flies ahead on Festus to warn the Roman camp, Lester and Meg must go through the Labyrinth to find the third emperor—and an Oracle who speaks in word puzzles—somewhere in the American Southwest. There is one glimmer of hope in the gloom-filled prophecy: The cloven guide alone the way does know. They will have a satyr companion, and Meg knows just who to call upon. . . .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS AND CONDITIONS (PLEASE READ)

1. THERE WILL BE ONE (1) WINNER, WINNING ONE (1) HARDCOVER COPY OF THE BURNING MAZE (THE TRIALS OF aPOLLO #3) BY rICK rIORDAN
2. THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO INTERNATIONALLY.
3. THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN FROM MAY 2, 2018 AT 12:01 AM PST TO MAY 9, 2018 AT 12:01 AM PST
4. THIS GIVEAWAY IS IN NO WAY SPONSORED  ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY, OR ASSOCIATED WITH, RAFFLECOPTER.
5. ENTRANTS MAY NOT ENTER MULTIPLE TIMES BY USING DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS WITH THE SAME INFORMATION, DOING SO WILL BE GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION.
6. YOU, THE PARTICIPANT/ENTRANT ARE PROVIDING INFORMATION TO ZACH'S YA REVIEWS AND NOT RAFFLECOPTER. THIS INFORMATION WILL NOT BE GIVEN TO THIRD PARTIES OR USED IN ANY WAY OTHER THAN TO ENTER YOU INTO THE GIVEAWAY AND TO LET THE WINNER KNOW THAT THEY HAVE WON.
7. WINNER WILL BE NOTIFIED BY THE E-MAIL SUPPLIED IN THE ENTRY FORM AND IF APPLICABLE VIA THE TWITTER SUPPLIED AS WELL - THE WINNER NEEDS TO BE IN CONTACT WITH ME IN SOME WAY WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS OF THE WINNING EMAIL/ANNOUNCEMENT BEING SENT, OR, UNFORTUNATELY, THE PRIZE WILL BE GIVEN TO ANOTHER ENTRANT.

Book Review: The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #3)

Release Date: October 3, 2017
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 432 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin's chosen warriors.

As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn't naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.

Now Magnus and his crew must sail to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat. Will they succeed in their perilous journey, or is Ragnarok lurking on the horizon

    

Review:

Protagonist: Magnus Chase, a once homeless teen, now resides at Hotel Valhalla and after Loki gets free it's up to him and his friends to stop Loki and by extension Ragnarok, all in a day's work right? I love Magnus so much, his sarcastic sense of humor practically sings to my pessimistic side. In this story, Magnus does have some great character development, though it isn't much because while Magnus definitely has flaws, they aren't exactly the types of flaws that could be changed in one installment, and honestly, they aren't completely bad flaws, more the "it makes him more human" kind. As for his character development in this story, well I can't really describe it without giving some spoilers away, so I'll just say that it's pretty freaking fantastic.

World Building: So, I debated writing a romance section and as you can see there isn't one. There is romance in this book, just a bit, but not enough spoiler free romance to write a whole section on, but all I feel comfortable saying is that it's amazing! Now, with that out of the way, there's a great deal of world building in this story. First, there is a cameo appearance from everyone's favorite son of Poseidon and while he's not in the story for very long, I was perfectly fine with that, a check in was all I wanted and it was a pretty hilarious time. We get to see more of the Nine Worlds and even meet some extended family of Magnus's as well as tie up a few loose ends from the previous installment, things I didn't quite expect to see tied up. The new myths that we learn aren't anything new for me, but they were still entertaining nonetheless and there is even a part of this book that parallels a Celtic myth and that may or may not have made me squeal, more because I recognized it and less because it was in the story though that was cool too.

Predictability: So, I didn't really feel like there was a whole lot of foreshadowing, at least not foreshadowing that didn't feel purposely too revealing, but that never bothered me. I was definitely in it more for the ride and what a ride it was. There are a few twists and turns in this book that had my heart racing, or that made squeal like a fangirl at a convention, or fanboy I guess. There was one scene where romancy things were kind of sort of happening, but I wasn't too sure so jokingly I said to my book (and the characters inside,) "Now kiss." AND THEY DID! I felt pretty proud of that one!

Ending: So, the final climax of this book was a little cheesy for me. Don't get me wrong it was awesome and I loved every minute of it, but there was a quality to it that just felt a little too Middle Grade. I wasn't expecting a bloodbath of battle or anything but how things go down, and how Loki is defeated just skewed a bit too young for me, still loved it just not as much as I had hoped. Now, the cooldown period was perfect, I felt like Riordan did a fantastic job at wrapping up most of the dangling threads of this series, but... I still came away from it feeling as though I had read a cliffhanger. There are a few things brought up in the very end that I'm not sure if they're supposed to have a "this has ended, but life moves on" feel or an "A Spin-Off is Coming" feel. Personally, if there are more Magnus book(s) I think one more would suffice, but we'll cross the Bifrost when we come to it I guess.

Rating:

YES! I can finally give a book in this series 5 stars. Don't get me wrong, I loved the other books in this series, but I did have minor problems with them that were extremely hard to overlook, but this installment had nearly everything I wanted and more!

Book Review: The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2)

Release Date: May 2, 2017
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 432 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Zeus has punished his son Apollo—god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more—by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo do anything about them without his powers?

After experiencing a series of dangerous—and frankly, humiliating—trials at Camp Half-Blood, Apollo must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships—with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . .

    

Review:

Protagonist: Apollo has overcome his trial at Camp Half-Blood and restored the Grove of Dodonna, now he and his new companions Leo and Calypso head to Indianapolis to restore another Oracle to help restore Apollo's god-deficiency problem. Honestly, out of all the first person POVs that Riordan has written, I have to love Apollo the best. That juxtaposition between his hubris and reality is hysterical and yet, it's that cold harsh reality that lets this newly mortal god have some real character development for probably the first time in four thousand years. What makes these moments of humility so great is that usually, it's because of the choices Apollo made as a deity, not his fragility as a mortal which adds some great depth and empathy to his character that doesn't seem like it would just all go away once, or if, he should ever regain his divinity.

World Building: Out of the two Trials of Apollo books, I'd have to say that the first one is better. It's not that this story isn't great, but the first installment had all of the things I was looking for, classic Greek myths that were recognizable to me, checking in with some of my favorite characters from the previous series, and seeing it all from the perspective of one of the most iconic Greek gods. Now this book technically hit all of those marks, but just not as well. The myths and history to this story were far more obscure and while I loved learning about new myths, there wasn't enough that I recognized to invest me in the story even more. Though I have to say that at least on the history aspect and the Roman Emperor we meet in this story I do like that Apollo had a more personal connection with him. As for checking in with old characters, this story, obviously, includes fan favorite character Leo Valdez, and his newly mortal girlfriend Calypso, as well as one other old character that I'll not disclose to keep their appearance more of a surprise. While Leo and Calypso did help out Apollo quite a bit, I felt that their role was more of an epilogue to their story than an actual contribution to the narrative of Apollo's trials. Plus, in the previous story, it was exciting to see a teenage mortal Apollo hanging out with his kids which didn't really happen here. Overall though it was still an exhilarating story set in a world of rich classic stories, myths, and history so it was still a home run, just not a grand slam.

Predictability: Since the influence for this tale; the myths, and history, is so obscure it was hard to find enough of a theme to see where things were going. In fact, even when I caught on to the main themes of this adventure, it the author does a fantastic job of subverting expectations to provide a wild and crazy ride filled with twists and turns that I wasn't really expecting at all. Now, there were still, of course, basic and grand vague things that I could pretty much count on happening or in some cases, not happening, that it wasn't like this story completely dumped all modern storytelling conventions and formulas in favor of a story that while shocking wouldn't be satisfying. I have to hand it to Riordan, he's been writing these books for a while and he really knows just which tropes and expectations need a bit of a twist to keep things interesting.

Ending: The ending this story is really where a lot of the subversion of tropes comes into play. Don't get me wrong, it's not an insane roller coaster ride, well not really, but it's more that after the first book in this series I had a set idea about how this story would end, on a grand vague scale at least, and while there were quite a few things that I was able to guess right, things still didn't go quite the way I had expected. The final climax was really amazing and had a ton of fabulous tension building everything up to a great head. Then we're treated to some foreshadowing of upcoming events and see just where this story will be going next and some clues to who we'll come upon in the next adventure.

Rating:

So, I know I kind of ragged on this book for not being as good as the first, but it's still a stellar addition to this series. Apollo's character development alone deserves the five stars, but with an author that knows just how to formulate a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat without things becoming too chaotic, I mean, what more is there to ask for, plus the next book seems to have a huge load of potential.

Top 10 Books of 2016!

It's time once again for the obligatory Top Books of the year. This year I decided to stick with a Top 10 since I felt like 16 best books of the year was too much. The rules are pretty much the same as last year. All of these books I read, reviewed and were released in the year 2016. All of these books I gave 5 stars, to be as fair as possible only one book per author, and since it was really hard to rate them in a particular order, THESE BOOKS ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. Now, without further ado on to my Top 10 Books of 2016! (As always you can click on the book covers to read my full reviews of these books!)

1. The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves #2) by Morgan Rhodes

Starting off this list is a book that either I don't think a lot of people have heard of or were turned off by because of the first book in this series. I'll be the first to say that while I enjoyed A Book of Spirits and Thieves immensely, I was pretty annoyed with the fact that most of it takes place in modern day Toronto and not in Ancient Mytica, which was pretty much the stronger storyline anyway. That being said, this second book more than makes up for it. It brings together the two plot lines wonderfully as well as gives a much more expansive look into the Ancient Mytican storyline. While I'm saddened to hear that book 3 has been postponed so the author can finish writing the Falling Kingdoms series, I'm still waiting with bated breath to find out what happens next.

2. Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter

When I first heard that the third Jackaby book would be delving into one of the more anticipated mysteries of the series, the death of Jenny Cavanaugh, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, and this was before Beastly Bones was even released. So when I got my hands on a sneak peek of the first six chapters or so I thought I'd be taken with it right away, however, I became concerned when I wasn't swept away by the free preview I got. I shouldn't have worried though because once I got the full book in my hands it became my favorite Jackaby mystery yet, I'm both highly anticipated and secretly mourning the release of the final book in this series, however after this series is complete I can't wait to see what Ritter will come up with next.

3. The Head of Medusa (Elementals #3) by Michelle Madow

When I first began the Elementals series by Michelle Madow, I thought it was a fun, almost guilty pleasure-like series. However, as the story developed I really grew attached to the world and it's characters and by the time I got to this third book, The Head of Medusa, I was fully invested in what was going on. I was so excited to find that I genuinely loved this installment, the pacing is a bit weird, with almost two parts to the story, but that's really easy to get over and this makes for one of, if not the most, intense installments in this series.

4. Traveler (World of Warcraft: Traveler #1) by Greg Weisman

If you told me at the beginning of 2016 that I'd give a spot on my Top Books list to a branded book like World of Warcraft: Traveler, I would have said you were crazy. It's not that branded books can't be good, it's just that usually they aren't. However, earlier this year my cousin, who's a big WoW nerd, found out about this series and asked me to read it. It's written by a producer and writer of one of our favorite shows, Young Justice, and so I decided to give it a try. While I would say some remedial knowledge of Warcraft lore is preferable, this book does do a lot to make sure you understand what's going on without holding your hand through it. The story is completely engrossing and I'm bummed that more people aren't reading it because it's truly phenomenal. I can't wait until the next installment comes out.

5. The Inquisition (Summoner #2) by Taran Matharu

Even though the beginning of this book made me sick with disgust at how the villains of this series behaved as they ganged up on our hero, in a way that perfectly showed off what bigoted and spiteful demons they truly are, I can't fault this book for that. In fact, I commend this author for not holding back on the trials and tribulations that our "good" main characters have to go through. After the extreme trials Fletcher has to go through, in the beginning, we see this world open up so much more than we got to see in book one, and led to one of the best cliffhanger endings I've ever read.

6. Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Going into 2016 I wasn't as excited for Lady Midnight as most of my friends were. Granted I hadn't read City of Heavenly Fire yet and I barely remembered the plotline of City of Lost Souls, however after getting those two books read this year my curiosity was piqued for this first book in a new Shadowhunters series. I was not let down when I started this book and I ended up devouring it in just a couple of days. I can't wait to continue this series in Lord of Shadows, and while it's still a bit more than a year away, I'm greatly looking forward to the start of the Last Hours series. 

7. The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan

After a slightly disappointing, although still thoroughly entertaining, start to the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, I was pretty apprehensive thinking that if a new series was far too reminiscent of Percy Jackson for my liking that a new Camp Half-Blood series might just be too much. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved nearly every minute of this adventure. Apollo is a hysterical narrator and I was excited to find that Riordan didn't lean too much on old characters, but instead seem to be using them as cameos and guest appearances as necessary which leave the series still feeling new and fresh.

8. Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den (Simon Thorn #1)

I picked up a copy of Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den at BEA 2015 and because I'd read some of Carter's previous works I thought I'd try her first foray into the world of Middle-Grade lit. I was not fully prepared for what I read. This book has a remarkably similar feeling to a Percy Jackson adventure, but instead with shapeshifting animals instead of Greek demigods. The world building of the series is phenomenal and I didn't expect a Middle-Grade book to keep me on my toes as much as this one did, but there were twists that shocked me to my core in this adventure. I can't wait for the sequel and in fact, I'll be reading it here shortly but first I want to give this installment a quick reread!

9. Dawn of Ash (Imdalind #6) by Rebecca Ethington

There were two Imdalind books that came out in 2016, this one, Dawn of Ash, and the conclusion to the entire series, Crown of Cinders, why I chose to include this one, other than simply enjoying it more, is how much was packed into it and how much it impacted the entire series. There are things that go down in this installment that I would never have expected. This book definitely derails the series in a fantastic way and if you haven't begun the Imdalind series by now you really should it's inexplicably amazing.

10. Burning Shadows (The Order of the Krigers #2) by Jennifer Anne Davis

Much like the Imdalind series, there were two Order of the Krigers books published this year, though both met the criteria to be included on this list. In fact, if I wasn't able to finish Burning Shadows by the end of the year, or if I didn't like it as much, the first book, Rise, would have taken its place on this list. Without giving away the plot of Rise I have to say that this installment takes this series to a whole new level. There were a few things I was worried about going into this installment, and yet I shouldn't have feared, Davis does and expert job and manipulating her characters and their predicaments to feel relatable and entertaining. I'm chomping at the bit to find out what happens at the end of this trilogy.

Honorable Mentions:

      

            

Final Bits: Much like last year I've left decided to keep the Honorable Mentions category for books that I read this year that probably would have made the main list had they been published in 2016. Each of these books was special in their own way, and each of the had a rather large impact on my year. I loved the messages about the consequences of spreading rumors and the power of lies seen in The Truth About Alice. Hidden Huntress led to some of the most intense world building I've read all year. The Exiled Queen led to a tipping point and compelled me to binge read the rest of the Seven Realms series as soon as I could. Finally, All In was one of the most shocking and unpredictable books I've ever read. Anyway, those are my top books that I read and reviewed over the last year. What books made your list? Leave a comment or link to your list below! Happy New Year everyone!

Book Review: The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2)

Release Date: October 4, 2016
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 480 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Thor's hammer is missing again.

The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands.

If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn.

Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Magnus Chase has died, been taken to Valhalla, and stalled the Norse Apocalypse, called Ragnarok, for the time being. Now, with Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, still missing, the giants of Jotunheim are growing restless and preparing for war, the only thing that can stop them is to find the Hammer of Thor, but of course it isn't as simple as just locating the hammer. On this adventure, Magnus will make new friends, learn more about the pasts of his current ones, and with any luck save the world... again. I have to say that out of all of Riordan's protagonists Magnus is probably my favorite followed closely by the hilariously vain Apollo, and in this book he shines like never before. Now that Magnus has had some time to get acclimated to his new situation, train, and learn about what it means to be an Einherjar he's a bit more confident, but he still has a great sarcastic streak to him. Looking back over the book I tried to see if he had any really noticeable or overly significant character development, but there was nothing that conspicuously stuck out at me. Nonetheless, he's still spectacularly well-rounded character and narrator.

Romance: So Magnus doesn't really have a romance in this book, though there is some more implied romance or foreshadowing to a possible romance or I'm reading way too much into things. Anyway if what I may be reading too much into is true than Magnus does get a love interest in this book, but the romance is pretty subtle, i.e. no kissing or declarations of feelings, but (again if I'm reading the situation correctly) there's some really great chemistry that left me shipping the hopefully future couple. Romance isn't a large plot point in this series, however, it does come up here and there and one place it comes up is with Magnus's (best?) friend Sam and her betrothed, Amir. Amir has a slightly larger role to play in this story and Sam and his relationship is very compelling to read. It's easy to see how much they care for each other and even though they are a romantic pairing established prior to the start of the series, they are really easy to root for and you don't find that very often with couples who get together prior to the start of a book or series.

World-Building: Reentering the world of Norse myths I was really excited. If you've read my review of the first book in this series you know there were parts of this series' world-building that I wasn't very impressed with, i.e. there were just enough parallels to the Percy Jackson series to make me uncomfortable. The being said though I still really enjoyed this world and was excited to get back. Once again this world is steeped in Norse Mythology and this one as you may be able to guess based on the title and cover features myths about Thor and/or Loki most of all. Don't get me wrong there are shot outs to plenty of Norse tales and myths but Thor and Loki definitely take center stage. I love learning more about Norse mythology and all of the variations on tales I'd already heard. I'm by no means as knowledgeable about Norse mythology as I am with Greek or even Egyptian mythology, but I was pleasantly surprised with all of the tales I already knew.

Predictability: This book has some good, if not fantastic twists in it. Without giving too much away, or really anything if I can help it, there were a few times when I thought I knew what was going on and what would happen only for this author to throw a huge curve ball. There are of course easily predicted moments, and for the most part, it's easy to see where the story's headed with got me to notice something. This story and the story in The Sword of Summer have a lot of parallels. I'm not going to name them since I don't want to spoil anything but there are a few too many similarities between the two that, like with the first book, it made me a bit uncomfortable. Unlike with the first book, it wasn't "plot specific" details that were paralleled but the adventure itself. There were certain points in both adventures that were mirrored and once I saw the first couple it was impossible to unsee. There aren't a whole lot, but, again, like last time just enough to make me a bit uncomfortable.

Ending: Dear lord this ending was intense! Going into the final climax things were going according to plan, or well they were going the way I had expected them too, and while the ending was *mostly* predictable, there were a few moments that made up for it in the gravity of their twists. After the dust settles things are set up for the final book in this series, I'm sad that there's only one book left but Rick Riordan did throw readers a pretty big bone with one of the best, and probably most excruciating to wait, cliffhangers yet. (Excluding the one in Mark of Athena)

Rating:

I loved this new adventure in the Nine worlds! Even though the two quests have so far hit similar notes in a slightly uncomfortable and seemingly unintentional way, since I enjoyed this story so much I think I'll reserve judgment to see how this trilogy comes together.

Book Review: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1)

Release Date: May 3, 2016
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 384 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.

But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

    

Review:

Protagonist: One of the key selling points of this book is that it's told from the Point of View of a god, more specifically of the god, Apollo. Now, I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't think that the idea of a godly narrator would be that special or different, but these are the Greek gods we're talking about. They are all vain, egotistical, and not afraid to let others fight their battles. Not to mention that Apollo embodies these characteristics the most. You'd think reading from the point of view of a character so full of himself and pompous would get annoying eventually, but since we know that Apollo is a good guy at heart and that he will undoubtedly grow and mature over the course of this series, it definitely came off as a lot more humorous than annoying. Plus it's secretly satisfying watching someone learn that the world doesn't revolve around them, even though the world does revolve around the sun of which Apollo is the god.

World-Building: There is so much to cover in this section I can't even tell you. First off let me say that I went into this book very blind. I only knew that this series revolved around a now human Apollo who needs to earn Zeus's favor again, and that he travels to Camp Half-Blood for help. I dond't know who the villain of this book was, I didn't know what the quest for this series is, none of it, and since it's been over a year since I read the last Heroes of Olympus book, I didn't remember all that much about where this world left off. Luckily there's a lot of checking in done in this book. We check in with a bunch of the Camp Half-Blood crew including but not limited to Percy, Will, Nico, Chiron, and a certain fan favorite demigod. Then of course we have a whole cast of new demigods to learn about. Don't worry though it doesn't look like all these new characters will be permanent fixtures for the series, just a few. Now one thing I was really interested to see is that in a lot of ways this feels like the beginning of the end of Camp Half-Blood books, which if I'm being honest I'm fine with. I love this world and there will always be a part of me that won't want to see it go, but I think fifteen Camp Half-Blood books is plenty.

Predictability: I love how Riordan foreshadows his books. I have to say out of everything he does right, foreshadowing is near the top. There are quite a few twists in this book and it's weird saying that as an adult I was caught off guard by a Middle-Grade novel, but I totally was, it wasn't the first time and it hopefully won't be the last. There were a few of the twists where just before the big reveal, something gives it away, just enough so that my mind goes haywire and then when it's confirmed I freak out for a bit. Honestly, I'm trying to think if I caught on to any of the twists in this book, but I have to say that I don't think I did. I mean there were things that I expected to happen, or not happen, as it would completely ruin the entire book if it did, but there wasn't really a moment where I was annoyed about a twist the I called forever ago, or got frustrated about the author hitting me over the head with a twist they tried to pass off as surprising.

Ending: That was quite an ending. Since this is the first book is this new series, the ending of this book doesn't have a Mark of Athena-esque cliffhanger and it doesn't leave our heroes in a dark and hopeless place. There's quite a bit revealed toward the end of this adventure. There are actually two very climactic moments in the end that sort of make for one very large final climax, or well at least that's how I chose to interpret it. Old friends return and as this installment comes to a close there's a bit of information about where the next installment is going. I have to say I'm really excited for what's teased here at the end. There's still a lot to do and more trials for Apollo to pass, but hey at least there's no cliffhanger.

Rating:

So, some people may want to flay me alive for this, but I think this may be my new favorite Riordan series. Look I love all his other series, and the Magnus Chase series is still ongoing, but there's something about this series that I just love so much. Some of it's the fan service, which is there but it's not abundant, and some of it's the plot and direction for this series, which I'm going to be mum on because I think it's best to go into this series as blind as possible. I don't know if I can wait another year for The Dark Prophecy.

Book Review: The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Release Date: October 6, 2015
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 528 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

    

Review:

Protagonist: Magnus Chase has been living on the street ever since his mom dies under horrific and confusing circumstances two years ago. He's never run to his uncle who lives in the city, due to his mother's warnings about him, and has stayed one step ahead of the police who consider him a person of interest in his mother's death. I really liked Magnus, he's such a sarcastic character that he makes even the most boring things seem funny. Over the course of the book he starts to realize just who he is and his place in this world. His character development is really pronounced it's easy to see not only that he does grow but the reasons and experiences that influence who he's becoming.

World-Building: This is the only thing about this book that disappointed me. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, because I really did, however it felt very much like Percy Jackson with a Norse coat of paint. When I read the Kane Chronicles it felt very much like a Rick Riordan series, with mythology and adventure, but it also felt wholly separate and different from the Percy Jackson series, whereas this just felt too much like it in a lot of ways. It's nothing obvious or huge, just small things that sort of add up over time to where, for me, it was undeniable. I just wish Riordan had just tried to do something more different with this trilogy.

Predictability: So despite the amount of small similarities between this series and PJO, when it came to twists and surprises this book was original. While there was quite a bit that was easy to predict, basic tropes, cliches, and whatnot there were times when I was very surprised by what happens and what was revealed. There were some pretty big twists, and while I was surprised by what happened I was never truly shocked because everything seems so right, nothing seemed out of place or as though it came out of no where, things just seemed to happen the way they were always meant to.

Ending: So the ending had quite a bit of twists and turns in it. The final climax was fantastic, characters really came into their own and used their vast array of talents to help Magnus achieve the things he needed to and possibly even more. The very end was an epilogue, written in third person that has some revelations of it's own and sets up the next book with a wicked cliffhanger.

Rating:

Wow, I never thought it would hurt this much to give a Rick Riordan book four stars, but I really felt that this book needed to become it's own thing and have a very unique formula, but instead it just felt as though Riordan used the PJO formula and tweaked it here and there, gave it a coat of Norse paint, and created this book. I still loved it to pieces but I just couldn't get over this.