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

This is a very queer book. At least in the way I’ve experienced my life (+ the tism). There’s just something about hurt and lonely people gaining hope that things will be better. I truly did not want this book to end. This book could go anywhere and I would follow it happily.

My suggestion: don’t read this on an airplane for 3 hours if you’re prone to crying at emotional things cause let me tell you…………

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maranda_maria's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

3.0

This was probably my most anticipated book for this year. I’ve been a Percy Jackson fam since 5th grade (I am now 24), and Nico has always been one of my favorite characters. I had high hopes for this book because I feel like there is so much potential in both Will and Nico as individual characters and as a couple. There are parts of this book I absolutely adored, and parts that disappointed me. First, I loved the flash backs to Will and Nico’s early relationship milestones. I think the addition of Gorgyra was amazing, heartwarming, and also a bit heartbreaking at the same time. Moreover, I love how Will and Nico’s relationship is challenged, and that their insecurities are laid bare. It is clear that these insecurities could be the downfall of their relationship if not worked through, and that they both have trauma to unpack before they’ll be able to fully commit to each other. My main critique is that the plot feels rushed. There was so much build around Nico’s forgotten time in Tartarus, but Nyx as a character does not feel like a fully fleshed out villain or threat especially compared to the villains these characters have faced in previous books. Moreover, I was expecting the same terrifying depictions of Tartarus from House of Hades, but the deepest pit of the Underworld felt underwhelming in this book. Overall, this book was okay. It is not the best book within the Percy Jackson universe, but it’s not the worst (imo). My disappointment largely lies in the fact that I feel like so much more could have been done with these characters, especially Will Solace. I really wanted to get a deeper look into his past, especially get into the grief and trauma of losing his siblings in the Second Titan War. Maybe my expectations for this book were too high. All I know is I feel like there is still more story to tell with these two.

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thegr1mreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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nerdysread's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.5

Okay. I loved this book. It’s clearly a character focused book and a story about healing. But there were a few things that bother me (2 exactly)
1. Didn’t Bianca choose reincarnation? So why is she in Elysium here?
2. And it was the biggest flaw of the book: THE HAZEL ERASURE. Nico talks a lot about Percy, Annabeth, Jason, sometimes Leo, but he mentions HIS SISTER like 2/3 times in the whole book. And he says that no one took care of him like will since his mom and Bianca died? What about Hazel (even Jason and Reyna). HAZEL WAS THE ONE THAT STOOD UP FOR HIM ON THE BOAT IN MOA
3. Okay a little third point, didn’t he considered Camp Jupiter as a home at some point?

BUT. It’s still a great book.
1. I loved seeing Nico choosing to move on and deal with his trauma. I loved how he choose. I loved his relationship with Will and the cute names they used.
2. It made me cry and tear up so bonus point
3. This book is everything à Nico di Angelo fan, a queer person, a queer kid needs
4. I loved that Nico got in touch with Piper at the end, I really want them to start a good friendship
5. Another thing I love, is the message that darkness, sadness and other things like that are not necessarily bad. Will learned that during the story. There is no light without darkness. And he needed it because of his préjugés. And this is a strong message for anyone struggling with them
6. I love how it talks about trauma and overcoming them by letting them go and accepting them as they are.
7. THEY DID IT. They address how wrong Cupid’s scene and the outing was

Anyway. It’s almost 2 A.M so now I’m going to sleep. Good night everyone

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ashsparrow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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pey333's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

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swiftie_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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frantically's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-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

4.0

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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