Review: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

ISBN: 9781423101468
Source: Purchased (re-read)
Format: Paperback
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4
Release Date: March 6, 2008
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for all books in this series

     SYNOPSIS:

Freshman orientation is about mastering new things, but this is ridiculous. Percy didn't expect that in his first week at school, he would have to face a squad of demon cheerleaders. And the dangers are far more than scholastic: Kronos's armies are threatening even the relative safety of Camp Half-Blood. The fourth installment of Percy Jackson and the Olympians deals out action, surprises, suspense, and gripping characters.

     REVIEW:

The Labyrinth has to be one of my favorite myths of all. I was so excited to start this book because, like Annabeth, I'm so wildly intrigued by the endless possibilities of the Labyrinth... not that I'd go exploring without some guidance though, haha. I particularly enjoyed this book because I didn't remember a lot of the smaller details, so playing the guessing game on some things was fun to experience again.

And Percabeth! So many important things happen for Percabeth in this books and I just LOVE it. Kind of mad about the little love-"square" that was going on there considering it was about a 15-year-old (my wittle Percy! He's too young!), but Percy's confusion over most things having to do with relationships was pretty cute so I can deal.

Once again, there isn't much left to say about these books. They are all fun, even a bit educational (on Greek Mythology, of course) while continually making us fall in love with Percy, Annabeth and all of Camp Half-Blood!

     RATING: Really Liked It! ★★★★ 

This is definitely my favorite so far out of the the first four in this series, though you and I both know book 5 blows everything out of the water. Have you read this far into the series yet? What did you think? Did you enjoy the Labyrinth as much as I did? Can't wait to hear from you!

A.

Review: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

ISBN: 9780141382890
Source: Purchased (re-read)
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series

     SYNOPSIS

IT'S NOT EVERYDAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN COMBAT WITH A HALF-LION, HALF-HUMAN.
But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.
Oh and guess what. The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive...

     REVIEW 

Can I be totally honest here? Besides Percy and Annabeth, who will always hold a place in my heart, my favorite parts about this entire book were Artemis and Apollo. Other than Athena, they are my absolute favorite of the gods and I really enjoyed having them be a part of this story (especially Apollo who I imagine being really hot).

We are introduced to some new characters in this book who (kind of spoiler alert?) end up being really integral to the series later on: Bianca and Nico DiAngelo, young demigods who are found at a boarding school by Grover and saved by Annabeth and Percy. I had a hard time finding sympathy with Bianca and I can say she wasn't one of my favorite characters, but... oh Nico. I remember the first time I read this series, I had a hard time connecting with Nico, so I took some time to really focus on him while reading this book, and I connected with him a lot more, if not exactly as much as I'd hoped to. Really, my problem is that I had a hard time with his "development" at the end of this book and into the next, but I suppose that is a story for another review.

I thought the pacing was a bit off in this book in that it seemed to start off slower than the others. Honestly, all of the books start off real slow, spending a lot of time building up to real action and plot resolutions, but this one seemed to take the longest. With that being said, we see a lot of set up later in the book for some major things happening later in the series, and with the characters maturing and the writing somehow getting better, it was pulled off very well, all in all.

RATING: Pretty Good! ★★★ 1/2

Books 3-5 of this series are where things really start to get good. I especially think so because the characters are getting older, and apparently the older I get, the harder time I have connecting with MG (who woulda thunk?!). While a bit slow (as usual), I really did enjoy The Titan's Curse and can't wait to talk to you about the next two books in the series, which I especially love.

Have you gotten this far in the series yet? What did you think of The Titan's Curse? Let's talk about it!

A.

Review: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

ISBN: 9781423103349
Source: Purchased (re-read)
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2
Release Date: April 1, 2006
Goodreads  |  Amazon
See my reviews for previous books in this series

     SYNOPSIS

Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get . . . well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

     REVIEW

There isn't much that I have to say about this book (or this series, for that matter) that hasn't already been said. I enjoyed Sea of Monsters even more than I did The Lightning Thief even though it was almost 100 pages shorter. It was definitely a bit slow at the beginning but after reading the first two (and subsequently the entire series as I'm writing this review), I've learned that all of the books save for the last one start off slow, some slower than others.

The action scenes are better the second time around and it was fun to read, not to mention Riordan's sarcasm being manifested through his characters which is hysterical as always. I especially loved seeing the groundwork being laid out for Percy and Annabeth's relationship. They are still young in Sea of Monsters but you can see how much they like and respect each other and it's adorable!

I don't think any of these books are quite mindblowing because they are so geared toward a younger audience which is very apparent in the writing, but I love being a part of this world and I especially love revisiting Greek mythology in a fun way because I absolutely love mythology!

RATING:★★★★

Sea of Monsters was such a fun, easy ready. It was silly and sarcastic which are my favorite but our heroes are still tested to show what they are made of! The movie was released on DVD recently, which I saw and actually kind of liked! I really hope they make the rest of the series too!

Have you read Sea of Monsters yet? What did you think of it compared to the first book (and the rest of the series)? Tell me what you think!

A.

Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

ISBN: 9780786838653
Source: Purchased
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1
Release Date: March 21, 2006
Goodreads  |  Amazon

     SYNOPSIS:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

     REVIEW:

I've realized, after re-reading and reviewing the Harry Potter series over the last few months, that it's hard to review books that you've already come to love despite their faults, etc. Percy Jackson is one of those series for me. After re-reading it, I did realize that some of the action scenes lacked a little bit for me and that yes, these books, at their core, are middle grade fiction. They are fun and silly, but for children nonetheless, so just a bit simple at times, too.

The world building is awesome and not only to we get a mythology lesson, we learn about Percy's new world, his new life at Camp Half-Blood. Though simple, the writing is great and easy to understand and fly through. The characters are hysterical, and I love Annabeth and Percy's dynamic and how they help each other grow, as regular kids and as demigods. Its hard not to love a series you can just get lost in... not to mention the fact that I have an unhealthy obsession with Greek Mythology, so that also bumps the entire series up a whole lot (as if it needed a bump).

     RATING: ★★★ 1/2

A fun, clever start to an awesome series! The rating is relative and the book gets a 3.5-4 from me mostly because I know how much better the books get and they are a little a lot juvenile at first. Not to mention it being 5 years since the first time I read them. It doesn't make much sense to say that the later books are better, but rate them all with a 5, right? I especially enjoy the books when Percy and friends mature a bit, so though this is a great start to one of my favorite series, it's definitely not my favorite in the series.

Have any of you read this book (or the whole series) yet? If so, what did you think!? If not.... well, what are you waiting for!? Can't wait to hear from you all!

A.

Review: Demigods and Monsters: Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

ISBN: 9780979233142
Released: January, 2008; re-released July 2, 2013
My copy: Ebook (Netgalley)
Publisher: Smart Pop
Series: No, Stand-Alone
Page Count: (roughly) 288 pages

     GOODREADS.COM SYNOPSIS:

"Spend a little more time in Percy Jackson’s world—a place where the gods bike among us, monsters man snack bars, and each of us has the potential to become a hero.Find out:Why Dionysus might actually be the best director Camp Half-Blood could have, How to recognize a monster when you see one, Why even if we aren’t facing manticores and minotaurs, reading myth can still help us deal with the scary things in our own lives.Plus, consult our glossary of people, places, and things from Greek myth: how Medusa got her snake hair extensions, why Chiron isn’t into partying and paintball like the rest of his centaur family, and the whole story on Percy’s mythical namesake."

     REVIEW:
WHAT I LIKED:

• I loved Elizabeth Rees' piece that referenced our firefighters and police officers who died trying to save people during 9/11 as heroes just like demi-gods. I loved her piece as a whole, but I loved her idea that regular people can be heroes just as big or sometimes bigger than Riordan's demi-gods.
• The whole things wasnt praise to Riordan's works. Some authors criticized where necessary and I thought that was great, and an honest, truthful thing to do.
• This book is like one giant collaborative review. As a reviewer, how can you not appreciate and admire that

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• I was super excited about this book, and then it was kind of just OK. I was kind of let-down by it being just essays basically about each author's personal experiences and how they relate to Riordan's stories.
• Some of the essays were way too long, and those particular authors kept repeating the same thing over and over. I mean, I love Greek mythology as much as the next obsessed-girl, but give me a break.
• Its probably not the best book for the young reader, such as those who would be reading the actual Percy Jackson books. This is probably more marketed toward the older crowd, but it wouldve been cool to have some things written that younger kids could get into, too.

RATING: ★★★ (3 stars)

Overall, I found this collection interesting more than anything, and I appreciated all of the insight it provided to the books. It really made me want to revisit the Percy Jackson series, and as soon as I'm done with my Harry Potter re-read, I'm definitely delving back into PJ, and possibly will re-read this one too. I absolutely love Greek mythology, so my favorite part about this were all the facts and comparisons to actual Greek mythology and how many new things I learned. It was pretty good, if a little disappointing, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in mythology itself and wants to get a deeper look into what makes the Percy Jackson series tick.

Have any of you read this book? It was re-released to come out right before the second movie (which I cant wait to see!), but originally released back in 2008. Did you read it before or now, or are you planning on reading it? What did you think!?

A.

*Disclaimer: I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*