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11.1k reviews for:

La marca d'Atena

Rick Riordan

4.42 AVERAGE


HOLY MOLY was this book a rollercoaster. We finally got to have Annabeth’s point of view, and i really loved seeing how Percy and Annabeth’s relationship was like once they were together
Spoiler I know most people know this BUT OML WHY DID RICK HAVE TO THROW PERCAY AND ANNABETH INTO TARTARUS. Like i KNEW it was going to happen, and even if i didn’t, the build up to it was a bit obvious i the couple chapters ending up to it BUT ONCE AGAIN OML.
Super excited to dive into House of Hades and see how this adventure continues!

This book was by far better than the first 2 books in the series. Most likely because the side quests actually made sense and were necessary (similar to the percy Jackson series) whereas the previous books were mostly random things happening which weakened the story.
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Soo... I didn't enjoy this much.

Fair warning, guys, this is going to be brutal.

I've never liked Annabeth. I had held out some hope that, finally getting into her head, would make me like her more. It didn't. In fact, I'm pretty sure it went the other way and made me like her less. That being said, I could see myself, possibly, liking her as a character if it wasn't for the romance. (Seriously, not every internal monologue needs to be based around romance and, yes, boys and girls can just be friends.)

Honestly, that might be my biggest issue with this book. Everyone is motivated by how in love they are with another person. Percy and Annabeth are obsessed with each other and Jason and Piper aren't much better. (I'm not even going to get started on the love triangle that is Leo/Hazel/Frank.)

Once again, this probably wouldn't be so bad if I actually shipped Percabeth. But I never did because they don't feel like a good couple. They have nothing in common and... Well:

Annabeth smirked, like she was pleased they were back in their old familiar pattern - Percy being ignorant, she herself explaining stuff.

...

This is the be-all-end-all romance that everyone obsesses over? No thank you. (Personally, I never thought their friendship should turn into romance because it never felt like it would be a healthy romance, but I was willing to overlook it in the first series because they were children. But now they are almost adults and this is showing signs of an unhealthy relationship.)

As for Jason and Piper... I'm still unsure about them. I'm leaning towards not shipping them, either because, once again, they don't fit.

In other thoughts:

I finally figured out what it is about these books, how I can buzz through them (usually) like I'm eating popcorn, only to feel a little empty - and maybe sick - at the end. These books never slow down. They are nonstop and, while sometimes very fun, they are also rather shallow.

That's part of the reason I tend to read them so fast. I race through them at the same speed they go, looking for that emotional payoff that I will never get. (Is this because they are MG books? Because the deaths in the first series left me feeling nothing. Much like the deaths in Harry Potter also left me feeling nothing.)

Also, as I discovered on this book, there is no internal motivation for me to keep reading. I put this book down for almost three full days (I only read like ten pages in that time) and I've only finished it now so it's not dragging out over my weekend.

Because The Kane Chronicles was a breath of fresh air, I am going to plow through this series to get to Magnus Chase in the hopes it will be the same as Carter and Sadie. But this book has dragged back down to my thoughts of the first PJ series: such indifference. Because this book is a retread of all the others in this series: prophecy, set out, attacked ad nauseam - with 'jokes' that really weren't funny coming from twelve year olds and are even less funny from sixteen year olds and the absolutely lovely addition of romance woes.

Sigh.
adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

*chef's kiss*

Started to like Jason more in this book
adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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: No

percy jackson and leo valdez be my boyfriends challenge go!
adventurous funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes