Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Sun and the Star

I can count on one hand the amount of books that have made me actually cry. This is one of them. In so many ways, more than just being so hyper and excited about a solangelo story and getting nico’s and will’s povs and just MORE DEMIGOD CONTENT, this was a book I needed. It was healing, and it was beautiful. In many ways, I took it as a love letter to anyone with trauma. And because of who this story is about specifically trauma experienced by those who are queer, who are in any way different. I see parts of myself so clearly both in Will and Nico. I can never truly express in words how much I adore the percy jackson universe and these two characters specifically. But to wrap up this review (okay, sappy rant)—this book was even better than I could’ve expected. There was a few interesting time jumps but it all worked out perfectly and like all riordaniverse books it was full of wit and such beautifully handled romantic moments. I’m just….so glad this book exists. Thank you to both of the authors for putting this art into the world. 🥹

Content Warnings

building_a_bookdom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

fanboyriot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read For:

Happy Ending

Amazhang Humor

Mild Hurt/Comfort

Grumpy x Sunshine

Healthy Relationship

Keeping this spoiler free as always this book was so dam good. Oh, my gods. This book was like a pipe dream of everything solangelo and I absolutely loved it.

There is so much I enjoyed about this book and just the fact alone that I was able to read a book focused on solangelo is still shocking to me. Nico and Will genuinely mean so much to me and I can not express just how happy this book made me.

Nico finally being able to heal after everything that happened to him and be in such a healthy and loving relationship with the embodiment of a Care Bear. His friendship with Mr. D was something I didn’t know that I needed until I read it and oh, my gods, it was everything.

The humor in this book was so hilarious even in serious moments Nico or Will would just say something that had me laughing; like when Nico realized his boyfriend had never watched the music video of: ‘Montero’ by Lil Nas X this still has me dying.

He glared at Will. “Really? You’ve never seen the video for ‘Montero’? We’ll address that hole in your education later.” - (chapter 29, page 285)

Truly such an iconic couple. I liked how Will listens to True-Crime podcasts and brought a battery-powered sunlamp to Tartarus. I liked how Nico still has his zombie chauffeur (Jules-Albert) and hates being called cute.

I loved how their relationship was written. They had such a healthy relationship where it showed them in the good and bad moments, understanding each other and doing better when they messed up. They are soulmates, your honor. Their dynamic was perfect, both being nerds in their own way. Will overpacking to the underworld (which to be fair some of it was necessary) but then chose to wear shorts there—all the while Nico packed literally nothing but his sword.

Their flirting was absolutely just—chef’s kisses to all of those lines. The sarcastic comments they made were so cute. And, of course, Nico giving Will so many pet names like: Night Light, My Little Care Bear, and My little sun-therapy globe, was also worth mentioning.

Bob and Small Bob were so wholesome and I am so happy with how things worked out for them. And just how appreciative he was of Nico and Will and the friendships between them.

I’d also like to point out how dam adorable and wholesome it was to read that Nico is a hugger. Like he hugged his dad, Chiron, and Mr. D and I can’t get over how happy I am about this. It was so very heartwarming.

Lastly, Hades is hands down the best godly parent and I will die on this hill. Not only does Hades care for Nico unlike most of the gods, but he literally got choked up saying that he was proud of Nico and I am still crying about this.

Even Persephone cared for Nico, whereas most goddesses in her position (like Hera…) would try to kill the kid because it was just a reminder their husband cheated, and while Persephone hadn’t always felt that way about Nico she got to know him and changed her opinion of him. Even telling Will that he and Nico make a fine couple.

In summary, I have so much more I could say about this book, and have so many quotes I want to rave about. I'll wrap it up by saying, I absolutely loved this book with all of my heart and will never be shutting up about it any time soon.

(Switching, Third Person POV)

Rep: Gay MC, Bisexual MC, PTSD, Mental Health, POC SCs, LGBTQIA+ SCs

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clstrifes's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have no words to say, it was the good 😭

Content Warnings

alys055's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A lovely story about change, grief, accepting your past, and embracing your demons. Plus, Cocoa Puffs.

Content Warnings

miiine's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was scared that this book might not live up to my expectations but I think it might have even surpassed them.
Especially the way it adresses the trauma the characters, especially Nico, have gone through in the previous books surprised me in a good way. It's rare to see in fantasy that those things actually get talked about and not just brushed under the carpet so I'm glad that they really leaned into this topic and showed how Nico learned to not only acknowledge that his past was indeed traumatic but to also slowly start to unravel those issues.
Furthermore, it's amazing to see their relationship throughout the novel and I love that it becomes clear that they aren't a perfect couple by any means and have to learn to communicate with each other but still love the other one deeply.
Imo Rick and Mark working on this together was exactly the right decision because it gave Rick a guide in writing a story centered around queer characters and probably also helped him to not shy away from adressing the characters' Ptsd etc., as it's the first time one of his books really delved into this topic extensively.
I'm happy to know that Rick worked together with a queer author to write this book and get it right; it shows that he actually takes his support for the lgbtq community seriously and continues to work on the representation and general diversity in his books.
I haven't read any of Mark's other work but I can tell that both of them came together beautifully when writing this.

This book ripped my heart out in a good way while I also couldn't stop smiling during some scenes because Nico and Will being cute and goofy together just warmed my heart

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