Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Burning Maze

BRO. ALRIGHT. ToA has officially redeemed itself.

Non-spoiler stuff first lmao. This is the first book where I actually like Apollo and Meg as characters and am not consistently annoyed by their appearances. I'm really liking Apollo's arc; it no longer feels like a half-baked Kuzco. The lines where Apollo starts to doubt his entire identity as a god while he's being reduced to basically nothing are... man, they're good. It doesn't feel as rushed anymore, and it feels honest. Meg's whole arc with Nero and shit is also very good. Piper and Jason, who I didn't like in the past, are... better now. Not great, but this book gave them a bit more depth, which I appreciated. Grover continues to be one of my favorite characters. This is the first ToA book where I actually cared about the characters and what happened to them.

And there are STAKES NOW - one of the bigger improvements between this one and the other two books (which still had stakes but weren't very investing). This book was so fucking intense. Almost at House of Hades level with the amount of pain going on. I'm still in a bit of shock.

SO MANY GOOD LINES TOO. I'M SHAKING.

Spoilers below.

Alright, to be honest, I was already spoiled on Jason's death before reading this book. And I was mostly indifferent to the news. Oh wow, this character that I don't care that much about dies? I'm... so sad. But I'm surprised by how much it got to me. The death itself was more "OH SHIT" than anything, but the characters' reactions and the time processing afterward were heart-wrenching. The way Jason went out though was kind of stupid. Like, my guy survived getting impaled in Blood of Olympus, and this is how he dies? Sheesh... No complaints other than my guy was nerfed.

I'm actually looking forward to the next book (previously I saw the ToA books as obstacles in between MCGA lmfao)

CURRENT RANKING
[1] PJO: The Last Olympian
[2] HoO: The House of Hades
[3] HoO: The Mark of Athena
[4] MCGA: The Sword of Summer
[5] PJO: The Lightning Thief
[6] ToA: The Burning Maze
[7] PJO: The Titan's Curse
[8] MCGA: The Hammer of Thor
[9] HoO: The Son of Neptune
[10] PJO: The Battle of the Labyrinth
[11] HoO: The Lost Hero
[12] PJO: The Sea of Monsters
[13] ToA: The Dark Prophecy
[14] HoO: The Blood of Olympus

[15] ToA: The Hidden Oracle

Content Warnings

pertinent_sonder's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.5

Content Warnings

the_pysselfia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

valeria_gzz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad 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

5.0

I think this is my favorite Trials of Apollo book

even though I didn’t like that Jason died

. You can tell Apollo’s views have changed A LOT in this book, and just the way it was written was great. Apollo was less annoying, and the topics in this book were more mature but still accessible. I really really loved this book like so so much this is a TRUE five star book, not just a ‘it’s five stars because it’s a Percy Jackson related book’ five stars. Also Grover was back and I love Grover

Content Warnings

trintrin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad 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

5.0

WARNING! It’s sad!!

This is the first time I've ever shed actual tears because of a book .Should’ve known when I saw this book is dedicated to the Muse of Tragedy :”)

Or at least when I saw the first page literally says:

NO.

I refuse to share this part of my story. It was the lowest, most humiliating, most awful week in my four-thousand-plus year life. Tragedy. Disaster. Heartbreak. I will not tell you about it
…

In these pages, only suffering awaits.

Jason wasn't my favourite character in the Heroes of Olympus. But my respect for him shot up when we saw everything he was doing to help the minor gods and their children, which even Percy didn't manage to do. I was finally beginning to take him a little more seriously but TOO SOON. I was spoiled that he's gonna die but still it took me by surprise. Honestly didn't know Rick was capable of killing off such an important main character. The death itself made me incredibly sad but it was Piper and Leo's reactions that broke the floodgates. I'll never get over the fact that Leo and Jason are both dead to each other.

But on the bright side, this is the book where Lester starts his character development arc and I love him for that. I found him annoying for the past two books but he quickly became one of my favourite characters of the Riordanverse after this. Good for him

Two lines that broke me:

"Whatever happens, when you get back to Olympus, when you become a god again, remember. Remember what it's like to be human"

"But from now on I would be more than Lester. I would be more than an observer.
I would be Apollo.
I would remember."

*cue tears*

Content Warnings

durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective 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

4.0

Jason took me by the shoulders - not out of anger, a a clinging way, but as a brother. 'Promise me one they Whatever happens, when you get back to Olympus, when you're a god again, remember. Remember what it's like to be human.'

Reading this reminded of my childhood. Ah, the good old days. I'm only 18 but whatever, I can be dramatic.

Anyway, I loved the book. It was everything I expected when I picked it up. Rick Riordan's books always made me laugh out loud and this one was not an exception. I loved seeing Jason, Grover and Piper in this book. I think their characters were consistent. Once again we follow Apollo or Lester as he discovers what it means to be human, which makes us humans appreciate it more. Does that make sense? Both Meg and Apollo face their pasts and I loved getting to know more about them. Also, we get to see Piper trying to make sense of everything, and I honestly relate to that.

I don't know what else to say. It's Rick Riordan, I think that summarises this book pretty well.

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