Mini Review: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

Title: The Titan's Curse

Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Puffin Books
Release Date: May 5th, 2007
Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:

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...

So the adventure continues and I feel like a little kid at Christmas because that's how much I'm loving this series. Although the second book was a bit of a let down, still great but not as good as the first, I was completely blown away by The Titan's Curse.

The characters really grow and develop, not only throughout the novel, but in the break before this book even begins. You see Percy begin to care about others, not just because he wants to be the hero, but because he really cares. He's having to work with others and we know how difficult that's been in the past for him. I was so happy that Grover was back in the game because I missed him in Sea of Monsters. There are also some new characters that I thought really brought the story to the next level. We get to see more of Annabeth's family and they're awesome btw.

The adventure Rick Riordan created kept me turning the pages all day long (read it in one sitting) and made me want more. I usually get tired of the same world but Rick Riordan managed to make me want to pick up The Battle of the Labyrinth right away. I think I'm seeing a pattern, books that take place on a cross country adventure? Please and thank you. There's just so much that can happen. As always, I loved reading about the other gods and learning a little bit more about the huge backstory that surrounds them all. Whenever I think there can't possibly be more, another surprise pops up!

Speaking of, I hope that we get to see more of Nico (and maybeeee his sister?) in the next book. I can't say this enough, but I'm so glad people pushed this series on me and didn't give up until I gave it a shot. It's quickly becoming one of my favorites and I can see why it has such a huge cult following!

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★★

Review: Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Title: Sea of Monsters
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Release Date: April 1st, 2006
Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:

The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Riordan's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment. In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.

I'm late on the bandwagon for these books but I'm enjoying the ride. In case you missed me gushing over The Lightning Thief, you can check out my review. There were so many things I loved about the first book and while I still adored the second one, I felt it lacked that magical hold the first one had.

We're introduced to some new characters like Tyson but while he was pertinent to the story, I didn't fall in love with his character like I did with the three main characters in the first book. Although, I was so happy to meet up with our old heroes and even began to feel attached to Clarisse. She was so snooty in The Lighting Thief but you can really see the character development and the fight within her, between following her instincts and following what her god of a father wants.

I thought the story line was missing something that the first book had. I just wasn't as involved in what Percy, Annabeth and Grover were going through as I would have liked, which is why it took me longer to finish. That said, I am still amazed with how Rick Riordan writes this world entwined with our real world. Every time he brings out a new element I'm in awe at how well he makes it work.

Learning about all the different myths is a huge plus with these books. I've always been interested in mythology and this just brings back that desire to learn. Sea of Monsters is an action packed adventure and I can't wait to pick up the next book, Titan's Curse.

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

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.

I don't know why I didn't trust any of the people who raved about how amazing this book was. It is the adventure of a lifetime and so much more.

The characters captured my heart and I found myself ripped into their world. One of my biggest fears was that I wouldn't connect with Percy because he's a 12 yr old kid but I was so wrong. There wasn't a time when I felt tiresome or annoyed from reading from the point of view of a preteen. Usually I get mad at characters for doing stupid things but even with Percy, Annabeth and Grover being so young that wasn't the case.

The romance is very VERY light. There's almost none of it in this first book, which is good because they're so young still. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they develop and evolve in the following books.

As I mentioned before, the adventure sucks you right in. There wasn't a moment when I didn't say, just one more page, because Percy and his friends were in the middle of something crazy. I loved every encounter with the Greek gods and monsters and I thought it was amazing how Rick Riordan managed to bring that old mythology and the modern world together in this epic story.

I can't wait to pick up the second book since this one blew my expectations out of the water. I think I'm the last person ever to read this but if you somehow haven't yet, go get it and start your journey alongside Percy's wild story.

5/5 stars

July Wrap-Up: I finally read Percy Jackson!

I love reading about all the awesome books everyone read during the month, so today I'm going to share what I read. I managed to read a decent amount in July, nothing crazy but I'm happy with the reading month I had. Here's my list:

I only read three books the previous month and they were all mehh reads so this month is definitely an improvement.

Out of those, my favorite book of the month was:

I adored this and can't believe I waited so long and was actually dreading reading it. The review will be up soon.

What did you read this month? Have you read any of these books? And what was your favorite book of the month?