Take a photo of a barcode or cover
santibueno's review against another edition
4.0
Una secuela muy buena para esta saga. Muy sólida. Con su propia trama pero aportando a la trama principal de la serie. Tuvo un comienzo un poco aburrido. Las primeras 50 páginas no fueron de lo mejor pero luego fue mejorando. Nuevos personajes aparecieron y se volvieron a ver personajes viejos, todos como siempre muy divertidos y aportando a la historia, cada uno a su manera. Se nos presenta a otro de los emperadores, tengo que decir que el primero me gustó un poco mas, me pareció mas interesante. Pero debo admitir que fue buen antagonista de esta historia. Poco mas se puede decir de esta novela que no se haya dicho del primer libro de la serie. La verdad que estuvo a la altura de este. Todavía me parece que puede mejorar y me voy a reservar las cinco estrellas un poco mas, pero no dudo que alguno de los siguientes libros se las lleve.
tonisalvatore's review against another edition
4.0
With every book, Rick improves a little more. It's obvious he's working hard to better himself as a writer for tweens and teens. The representation in Heroes of Olympus was markedly better than PJO, with the introduction of many POC main characters, and now The Trials of Apollo are stepping it up even more, with many new (and old) LGBTQIA+ characters. He's not perfect by any means. He makes mistakes that have caused me to cringe once or twice. However, I think he was trying before it was mainstream or popular, and I appreciate that immensely.
astridagirl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
just_catarina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.25
readingamber's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nihilistnix's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
3.25
karen3713's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.0
29croy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- Really good story , but got a little slow at times
- Loved the waystation and Emmie and Jo
- Was great to see Leo again
- Commodus is a fun villain
- Loved the waystation and Emmie and Jo
- Was great to see Leo again
- Commodus is a fun villain
lavenderbubbles's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book! Wasn't a fan of the first one but this COMPLETELY changed my mind. Apollo's character development is amazing. He goes from full of himself to caring and loving Meg. Definitely not as good as the original Percy Jackson books but I still LOVED it.
the_limitless_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
Book Review: “The Dark Prophecy” (Trials of Apollo book 2) by Rick Riordan
So…a while ago I read book 1 of Trials of Apollo, and, uh…it was *weird*, and not really in a good, charming, quirky way. It was just plain weird. Especially because of a character named Meg, who was plenty weird all on her own without everything else that went on in that book. The concept behind Trials of Apollo seemed really cool and interesting to me, and Percy Jackson’s world seemed like something that Rick Riordan couldn’t *possibly* stuff up with, but with ToA book 1…I wasn’t going to complain if I ended up just leaving it there and pretending ToA didn’t exist. And yet…given that by then book 2 was already out, part of me was always tempted to pick it up, in spite of the fact that book 1 had been one of the rare books I pick up that I don’t end up liking. Part of me was still curious. But I never picked it up until I saw some Riordan books on sale for a cheap price while shopping and picked up 2, 3 and a companion one on a whim. They were the only ones there I hadn’t read. They still were nowhere near the top priority of the TBR but hey, they were there if my curiosity got the best of me.
Anyway, I didn’t end up picking up book 2 until I did the “turn your TBR around so you can’t see the titles and commit to reading whichever book you grab” thing. So, I committed to giving the series another go. And what do you know…*I actually liked it!* I don’t know if Riordan got feedback from similarly unsatisfied readers when book 1 came out but book 2 was a vast improvement. It felt like it had more of a plot than book 1 (which felt very slow and they didn’t even really leave the camp once they got there). The new characters in this book were easier to get to like than those introduced in book 1.
Meg actually became more sympathetic and likeable, and her weirdness actually managed to grow on me (maybe because, due to the inclusion of other characters, it wasn’t shoved down your throat like in book 1). Spoiler: ||also Leo is back!!! Properly this time!!!|| Apollo also became more likeable, although I think his character development was a little fast for only book 2 in what I believe is a 5 book series, and this did also create some kind of cheesy and cliche kind of scenes, even for a book aimed at young teens and given Riordan’s usual standards. Again, maybe this was a response to the reception of book 1 because I know I’m not the only person who wasn’t a fan of it. Apollo wasn’t exactly likeable as a protagonist in book 1, and while his attitude made sense and was in character for him, an unlikeable person still makes an unlikeable protagonist. But him developing empathy as soon as book 2 when there are still three more books to go feels rushed and forced. That being said, the inclusion of previous characters worked better in book 2 as they weren’t used as such a “crutch” to get you invested in the story.
In summary, while I still don’t think Trials of Apollo has the potential to be on the same level as Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus, giving the series another chance did work out as I did actually enjoy book 2 and won’t be so reluctant to pick up book 3. Meg *is* way better and actually likeable in this one, trust me.
So…a while ago I read book 1 of Trials of Apollo, and, uh…it was *weird*, and not really in a good, charming, quirky way. It was just plain weird. Especially because of a character named Meg, who was plenty weird all on her own without everything else that went on in that book. The concept behind Trials of Apollo seemed really cool and interesting to me, and Percy Jackson’s world seemed like something that Rick Riordan couldn’t *possibly* stuff up with, but with ToA book 1…I wasn’t going to complain if I ended up just leaving it there and pretending ToA didn’t exist. And yet…given that by then book 2 was already out, part of me was always tempted to pick it up, in spite of the fact that book 1 had been one of the rare books I pick up that I don’t end up liking. Part of me was still curious. But I never picked it up until I saw some Riordan books on sale for a cheap price while shopping and picked up 2, 3 and a companion one on a whim. They were the only ones there I hadn’t read. They still were nowhere near the top priority of the TBR but hey, they were there if my curiosity got the best of me.
Anyway, I didn’t end up picking up book 2 until I did the “turn your TBR around so you can’t see the titles and commit to reading whichever book you grab” thing. So, I committed to giving the series another go. And what do you know…*I actually liked it!* I don’t know if Riordan got feedback from similarly unsatisfied readers when book 1 came out but book 2 was a vast improvement. It felt like it had more of a plot than book 1 (which felt very slow and they didn’t even really leave the camp once they got there). The new characters in this book were easier to get to like than those introduced in book 1.
Meg actually became more sympathetic and likeable, and her weirdness actually managed to grow on me (maybe because, due to the inclusion of other characters, it wasn’t shoved down your throat like in book 1). Spoiler: ||also Leo is back!!! Properly this time!!!|| Apollo also became more likeable, although I think his character development was a little fast for only book 2 in what I believe is a 5 book series, and this did also create some kind of cheesy and cliche kind of scenes, even for a book aimed at young teens and given Riordan’s usual standards. Again, maybe this was a response to the reception of book 1 because I know I’m not the only person who wasn’t a fan of it. Apollo wasn’t exactly likeable as a protagonist in book 1, and while his attitude made sense and was in character for him, an unlikeable person still makes an unlikeable protagonist. But him developing empathy as soon as book 2 when there are still three more books to go feels rushed and forced. That being said, the inclusion of previous characters worked better in book 2 as they weren’t used as such a “crutch” to get you invested in the story.
In summary, while I still don’t think Trials of Apollo has the potential to be on the same level as Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus, giving the series another chance did work out as I did actually enjoy book 2 and won’t be so reluctant to pick up book 3. Meg *is* way better and actually likeable in this one, trust me.