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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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
adventurous
reflective
slow-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
This book and I got off to a bit of a rough start. It is fully on me for not checking the content warnings, so I do not hold that against the book at all. BUT let me say, I'm so glad I didn't scamper away from this one. This was a fun adventure through Mayan mythology with a main character that has you cheering for him. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of this series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Blood
Minor: Animal death
So freaking good. I loved every part of this book and can't wait to read the next one!!
Loved it! Got a lot of interesting info about Mayan mythology and gods and monsters... Awfully ugly bunch of creatures, if you ask me! š
Rick Riordan represents it for a very good reason, it's a good book! āŗļø
Rick Riordan represents it for a very good reason, it's a good book! āŗļø
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
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
I enjoyed this, but it was basically Percy Jackson all over again. A boy who doesnāt know heās part god until a beautiful and all around superior girl comes into his life and tells him of a prophecy that heās the center of? And heās a child of one of the most powerful gods? And the god of war is a biker and thereās a building that has floors that arenāt accessible unless youāre some sort of demigod? And everyone intentionally gives him as little information as possible? Look, it was good and I really had a good time reading this, but thereās way too many similarities to PJO for it to just go unnoticed. Zane and Brooks were good characters (no Percy and Annabeth, though nobody can be) and they made the story a lot of fun. Iāll continue through the series, but it was basically Percy Jackson: Mayan Edition.
I originally bought this book because I saw the Rick Riordan seal and immediately my tiny little mind went āoh, yeah.ā But within maybe 10-15 pages I could tell it was, indeed, written by someone else. The writing style is VERY immature, which is fine since these are meant for a young audience, but this book was very matter-of-fact and predictable. I was intrigued by the Mayan culture but other than that, no characters stuck out to me as particularly special and I donāt feel drawn to Cervantesās writing style.
Update: after reading other reviews, the topic of ableism surfaces again and again (for good reason) and is the main source of why Iāve toddled on the brink of 2 or 3 stars. Zayneās perspective is INCREDIBLY sad, but then again he is a young boy trying to find confidence in his disability, which doesnāt even need to be explained how hard that is. But at times I think his internal narrative is a big hard to follow along with, from his self-deprecating nature to his relentless goo-goo eyes for Brooks, despite not much having been said about her personality.
Iāve settled on 2 stars for this. The Mayan plot is interesting and overall itās entertaining, but I think the main characters should have a more uplifting viewpoint to impress onto younger readers. None of these characters are characters I wouldāve admired if this was a Riordan book I had read in middle school, and that is the most disappointing part.
Update: after reading other reviews, the topic of ableism surfaces again and again (for good reason) and is the main source of why Iāve toddled on the brink of 2 or 3 stars. Zayneās perspective is INCREDIBLY sad, but then again he is a young boy trying to find confidence in his disability, which doesnāt even need to be explained how hard that is. But at times I think his internal narrative is a big hard to follow along with, from his self-deprecating nature to his relentless goo-goo eyes for Brooks, despite not much having been said about her personality.
Iāve settled on 2 stars for this. The Mayan plot is interesting and overall itās entertaining, but I think the main characters should have a more uplifting viewpoint to impress onto younger readers. None of these characters are characters I wouldāve admired if this was a Riordan book I had read in middle school, and that is the most disappointing part.
This was the perfect mix of Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase while being its own original thing. I loved it. Canāt wait to read rest of the series