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A review by andrea_h111
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
5.0
I finished this book a mere eight hours ago and yet I'm already missing these characters. My eyes are watering just thinking about it, but I'm not about to start bawling my eyes out in the middle of chorus class, so I'm going to have to control myself (with that being said, I was crying at midnight earlier today when I was finishing). I am glad to have finished the series, but I'm heartbroken - I've been on this journey with Percy and Annabeth since September and the other heroes since December. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss all of them until I finished. I should have appreciated them more as I was reading them. They may be fictional, but they were real to me.
Blood of Olympus is the fifth and final installment of the well-loved Heroes of Olympus series. Now that I've finished the series in full, I can say that I prefer the original series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but this one also has a special place in my heart. These books were all there for me when I was going through some things (the song "Line Without A Hook" accurately explains my relationship with this franchise as a whole) . I will never forget how good this whole franchise made me feel, and also this series, in particular, did have some issues, I loved it as a whole, and I can say that proudly.
Rick Riordan's writing definitely improved over the course of the series. I can stand by the fact that he would have done better making all the different points of view in the first person because sometimes they grew bland. This book, in particular, being the last book, had minimal issues, but I still think that some of the writing was stale in some areas. Although the pacing had improved greatly compared to the first three books, it could not compare to the amazing pace that House of Hades had going for it.
I also think that Percy and Annabeth were robbed of points of view in this book. It was the perfect book to have all the important demigods finally close their own stories, but that opportunity was missed. Also, after everything that had gone on with them in Mark of Athena and House of Hades, I feel like they deserved this.
This series is worth 4.4 stars in my opinion, as it is my average rating of the books in this series, but this book was definitely five stars. The plot, the characterization, the story elements, the ending...all wonderful. Some people do accuse this book of having a terrible ending, but I don't think it did. The plot twist, the last chapter, I- how could you not love how that all turned out? Sure, it was sad, and yes, I cried, but it was important for the story and for that character in particular.
The romance was definitely not a focus during this book, and I would have loved more Percabeth moments, but at the same time, I loved how low-key it was. I loved how we'd be going through a huge action sequence or someone would be devising a super important plan but in the background, we can see Percy and Annabeth arguing about how Percy can or cannot drown his pancakes in syrup because he is a son of Poseidon. I also really enjoyed that couples would have issues that either were or weren't resolved, because it was realistic. Also, those who know me well can probably tell how much I was self-projecting onto Annabeth this whole book. Who would I be to not do that?
This book was also personable, and I really like that. The "can these characters please settle down, have more fun, and build friendships" issue I was having definitely resolved. I loved Piper referring to Annabeth and Hazel as her best friends. I loved Reyna and Nico accepting each other as friends. Surprisingly, I also couldn't have enough of Percy and Jason's bromance. Their assertion for dominance thankfully worked itself out into one of the most satisfying friendships in the series. I will never forget Grover, but I still loved Percy and Jason.
Speaking of Jason...my feelings about him changed greatly. In the beginning I thought he was a boring, stale, vanilla white boy, but now I love him. He was so caring and I've realized that he is the icon for gifted kid burnout and that he must be appreciated more. All of his trauma too...I just felt awful for him. (Also, let's please not talk about the weird feelings I had when he got glasses...I don't know if I was the only one who felt something, but I did
Blood of Olympus is the fifth and final installment of the well-loved Heroes of Olympus series. Now that I've finished the series in full, I can say that I prefer the original series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but this one also has a special place in my heart. These books were all there for me when I was going through some things (the song "Line Without A Hook" accurately explains my relationship with this franchise as a whole) . I will never forget how good this whole franchise made me feel, and also this series, in particular, did have some issues, I loved it as a whole, and I can say that proudly.
Rick Riordan's writing definitely improved over the course of the series. I can stand by the fact that he would have done better making all the different points of view in the first person because sometimes they grew bland. This book, in particular, being the last book, had minimal issues, but I still think that some of the writing was stale in some areas. Although the pacing had improved greatly compared to the first three books, it could not compare to the amazing pace that House of Hades had going for it.
I also think that Percy and Annabeth were robbed of points of view in this book. It was the perfect book to have all the important demigods finally close their own stories, but that opportunity was missed. Also, after everything that had gone on with them in Mark of Athena and House of Hades, I feel like they deserved this.
This series is worth 4.4 stars in my opinion, as it is my average rating of the books in this series, but this book was definitely five stars. The plot, the characterization, the story elements, the ending...all wonderful. Some people do accuse this book of having a terrible ending, but I don't think it did. The plot twist, the last chapter, I- how could you not love how that all turned out? Sure, it was sad, and yes, I cried, but it was important for the story and for that character in particular.
The romance was definitely not a focus during this book, and I would have loved more Percabeth moments, but at the same time, I loved how low-key it was. I loved how we'd be going through a huge action sequence or someone would be devising a super important plan but in the background, we can see Percy and Annabeth arguing about how Percy can or cannot drown his pancakes in syrup because he is a son of Poseidon. I also really enjoyed that couples would have issues that either were or weren't resolved, because it was realistic. Also, those who know me well can probably tell how much I was self-projecting onto Annabeth this whole book. Who would I be to not do that?
This book was also personable, and I really like that. The "can these characters please settle down, have more fun, and build friendships" issue I was having definitely resolved. I loved Piper referring to Annabeth and Hazel as her best friends. I loved Reyna and Nico accepting each other as friends. Surprisingly, I also couldn't have enough of Percy and Jason's bromance. Their assertion for dominance thankfully worked itself out into one of the most satisfying friendships in the series. I will never forget Grover, but I still loved Percy and Jason.
Speaking of Jason...my feelings about him changed greatly. In the beginning I thought he was a boring, stale, vanilla white boy, but now I love him. He was so caring and I've realized that he is the icon for gifted kid burnout and that he must be appreciated more. All of his trauma too...I just felt awful for him. (Also, let's please not talk about the weird feelings I had when he got glasses...I don't know if I was the only one who felt something, but I did