Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena, the third installment in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, finally brings together the demigods from the first two books, reuniting Percy and Jason with their old lives.

Percy and Annabeth's long-awaited reunion did not disappoint, but Jason's chance to catch up with old friends was cut tragically short.

Despite the fact that she wasn't in much of the story, I really grew to like Reyna. She's a smart and brave leader but also isn't above admitting her own weaknesses.

When facing rejection from both Percy and Jason, she takes it with her head held high and doesn't let her feelings impede her relationship with either of them.

It was so refreshing to have Annabeth as a main character again. I missed her after the Last Olympian. Just as Juno/Hera promised, Annabeth was tested beyond belief in the Mark of Athena.

I'm not going to lie, I hated reading about Arachne and her hordes of spiders. I was cringing for a solid 4 chapters, just waiting for Annabeth to be free of spiders.

Percy was as marvelous as ever, although I didn't love his little mini-rivalry with Jason.

They seemed to have figured it out by the end of the book, but I think it was a little out of character for either of them to be outwardly flustered by the others' power.

Similarly, Jason's main roles in the Mark of Athena seemed to be making things awkward when he and Percy were in a room (or field) together, and making things awkward whenever he was with Piper and the topic of Reyna was brought up.

Piper, however, was fabulous. She grew a lot throughout this book, constantly growing stronger not in power, but just as herself.

It took her most of the Lost Hero to become comfortable with the idea of being Aphrodite's daughter, but now she's learned how to turn that into strength.

Leo was also his amazing self. Often being the comic relief, it would have been easy for Leo to be swept aside in terms of growth compared to the other characters, but because of his connection to Hazel through Sammy, that wasn't the case at all.

Learning about Sammy and getting to dive deeper into Hazel's past was also great. While she was definitely a force to be reckoned with, I have a feeling that her real time to shine is still coming.

Which brings us to Frank. Reading the first two books, Frank was my least favorite of the featured six demigods.

The burst of confidence he got after the battle in the Field of Mars has completely changed my opinion of him.

It seems like he's finally coming into his element and, like Piper, learning that his godly parent doesn't define who he is.

And finally, Coach Hedge. I was surprised when I read that the Coach was accompanying the seven on the Argo II as their companion, but now I'm so glad that he is.

Coach Hedge provides the perfect balance of comic relief and (often misguided) parental presence that most of the demigods sorely lack.

I'm really excited to see where The House of Hades takes these young demigods!

Content Warnings

mollymoo1234's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Once again amazing and who knew Diet Coke had so much power
Enjoy xx

Content Warnings

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

This is very dark and omg rick riordan is an alien how did he come up with this. Its incredible. Waw. The ending aaaa. This dude is so talented.

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grboph's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense 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

5.0

I have to say that this was the best book in the Heroes of Olympus series - I think Mark of Athena is just as good as the books in the original PJO series. This is the book where the seven all come together for the first time and the main quest of the series finally kicks off. I loved seeing all the relationships between the characters form and grow (it is such a testament to Rick Riordan's writing that each of the characters' skills, personalities, and individualism can all stand out in a book with seven main characters). I also really loved Annabeth's whole side plot, especially since it was told from her point of view - she has been such an important character since The Lightning Thief and now we finally get to hear her story told in her own voice. I really appreciated the references to real-life locations - it helped make the story more real to me and legitimately helped with some of the homesickness I am feeling for Atlanta right now. Also, the cliffhanger ending completely threw me for a loop and because of it, I will be starting the next book as soon as I finish this review. In conclusion, I had forgotten how good this book was and I'm so, so glad I reread it - it is definitely my favorite book so far in the series and I can honestly say I had no issues with it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves good characters or a nice, solid quest story.

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bexi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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

4.5

RICK HOW DARE YOU LEAVE US ON SUCH A CLIFFHANGER?!

I'm glad I'm reading this series after it's already been completed.

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