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

What a fun read! This brought back all the love I have for these characters and I'm so glad we got to spend a whole book with Will and Nico. Their relationship was handled really well and we got to see them be teenagers in their first relationship while also dealing with much harder topics.

Of course, a lot of it was pure nostalgia. I don't pick up a lot of middle grade anymore, so there are some things I struggled with. The build-up to the fight with Nyx was really good but the battle itself was disappointing and gave me Gaia flashbacks. I also wish we could've seen more character development from Will instead of just Solangelo relationship development and a lot of Nico development. We've already been through that! Give me more Will content 😭

I'm also not the biggest Bob fan and I don't understand all the hype about him which probably didn't make me the target audience.

My favourite parts were probably all the times we learned about how Nico and Will got together, their first kiss, first date etc. I must've read at least 100 different "Three Days In The Infirmary" fics since 2016, so it was nice to get some definite answers after all this time. I was worried that all those infos wouldn't feel natural in the story but Riordan found a good way of working around it.

Despite its faults, still a must-read for all of us former depressed emo kids who were a little too obsessed with Nico di Angelo.

(Don't know about you but now I'm more of a Will girlie. Is this healing?)

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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mellowreading's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Nico diAngelo will forever have a special place in my heart. This book was so much fun, and had me laughing out loud every other page. There were some plot issues, especially towards the end, where things felt anticlimactic or too convenient. Tartarus itself felt very dumbed down/washed out when compared with House of Hades. Without that, it would’ve been a 5 star. I wasn’t a huge fan of Nico and will’s relationship before, but this book completely sold me. I love the whole arc about identity and the importance of accepting both the best and worst parts of yourself. The convo at the end between Piper and Nico especially had me tearing up (Jason Grace deserved better). I also loved that the protagonists didn’t have a perfect relationship, and that their issues were explored in a very realistic way.

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theliteraryteapot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Since the first time I met Nico di Angelo in The Titan's Curse 10 years ago, I have LOVED him. I became very attached to him and even more while witnessing his character development throughout the camp half-blood chronicles. I probably feel so drawn to Nico as I was going through hard times myself. What a joy it was to finally read a book entirely dedicated to Nico. It fills my heart with joy, peace and relief to get to finally see him heal and find peace after all this time -- just like I did. So, as Hades said, Nico deserves everything.

I prefer to start with the things that bothered me a little so I can end the review on a positive note. Honestly, this co-author thing didn't work great because I thought the voices didn't merge well: you can feel who wrote what. And what happens when you let your characters be used by someone who hasn't spent the same amount of time with them, or who hasn't being working on them for decades, is that you get some characters such as Mr D. who don't feel like their "authentic" selves; they don't feel like and act the way they've been for the rest of the series. It also felt like the authors suddenly at one point remembered that Hazel is Nico's half-sister, but there wasn't enough of her in Nico's story, like he barely thought of his half-sister. Maybe it's because Hazel is one of my favourite characters, but it felt wrong to not give her an important place in a Nico di Angelo book.
Now, the thing that bothered me the most was how a few times, it felt a bit like fanfiction. Like this was a fandom version of Nico, Will and Solangelo. I'm not sure how to explain it though and that feeling actually left after hitting like the 50-60% mark.

As for the rest, I simply enjoyed it. Loved it. It's Nico and I love this fictional character so so much idk man he's everything to me.
Although reading about Nico's trauma again, his nightmares and his doubts hurt, I loved reading Nico's flashback tartarus journey (those dark pages in the book).

I thought Nyx had great potential as the villain and made sense in a story about a child of Hades, filled with a lot of darkness within him.

And I enjoyed the talk regarding darkness vs. light and realising and embracing both at the same time. That was good for Will's character development too. About the whole miscommunication stuff.... I know it's annoying, frustrating, but they're kids, and queer kids (same as how it is in Ophelia's After All it was frustrating but understandable cause they're children and queer). They're finding themselves, learning, growing up. Both Nico and Will grew a lot out of this journey, especially in regards to their relationship.
I do have mixed feelings about how Will was treated because: I kind of thought he wasn't enough developed like yes he's the son of Apollo, he's a literal sunshine, but somehow I still felt like I didn't really know his personality? Like his personality traits are being a child of Apollo, being Nico's boyfriend, being an extrovert and? (Then again I have yet to finish The Trials of Apollo series so maybe we learn more about him there). I also felt soooo bad for Will because he was really trying his best in the most hostile environment that can exist for him while feeling useless at the same time (he was not useless). This was very brave of him to not give up. So to add to his personality traits: he's brave and very loving. I'm glad we got Will's point of view, it added to the storytelling and showed us how much love Will has for Nico.

The plot twist towards the end with Nyx was a bit... weird but at the same time made sense?
ALSO, oh my god chapter 48!! I'm not someone who cries or even has one tear while reading but seeing that little reunion with the di Angelo family made me fight tears stuck in my eyes!!! Bianca!!!! Mamma Maria. Nico is so loved! This was very much needed.

Overall, as it's a middle grade book, I'm glad queer kids will have this story. And I appreciate R. Riordan's effort in inviting a queer co-author to tell Nico's story, so we can have a queer author telling stories about queer kids.
The Sun and the Star is Nico's quest yes but it's mostly him facing his trauma, learning to let go of his pain while not ignoring his past, and learning to let people in, let people love him for who he is. It's about Will learning to not have so much prejudice against something that is so different from what he knows and learning to love someone for all they are and have. And it's about romantic love, friendship love, family love, and self-love.
Some quotes were quite emotional lol but I can't remember the pages and where to find them again so I'll end with this one, still fresh in my mind and which, although used here quite literally, I find it very poetic. It is from Will's point of view:
"Will had heard love described in so many dramatic, bizarre ways over the years, but no one had described it like this: it's like drifting down a river of pain and knowing you are safe."

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riverlasol's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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. 🥹

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syd_syd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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astravars's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny

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

5.0

I want to preface this by saying that Solangelo was the very first queer couple i actively read about. They'll forever hold a very special place in my heart.

Needless to say I had very high expectations. This book exceeded them.

I loved the further exploration of their relationship, specifically how they learned to accept and embrace their differences.

"I want the best for him, and he seems to disappear into his darkness, like he’s hiding in a place where he doesn’t want my light."

"Then why not offer him your darkness?"

The book also dives a little deeper into Nico's trauma and how it's affecting him in the present which I thought was handled so well, and though, at times, it wasn't easy to read about I really appreciated this aspect of the story.

And the delivery of the story?? Some of the topics discussed were heavy – the story takes place in tartarus after all – yet, like in the other riordanverse books, the humor sprinkled in here and there, lightening up the mood, was delightful. It made me very nostalgic because it reminded me so much of the original series.

+ the main pov character was Nico, but there was the occasional chapter from Will's pov which I don't think we've had in any book before and I loved that a lot!

I'm keeping this review fairly vague because I could actually talk about this for hours and I'm not sure I'll be able to stop if I start but know that I loved it very much and you should all read it if you haven't already! Very important.

(You don't need to have read the other books to understand it, though I would recommend at least looking up major plot points and world building. There are definitely spoilers for the other books so if you're planning on reading them and don't like spoilers maybe read them first. It does definitely add to the experience too.)

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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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