A review by defectivemoxie
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

4.0

Confessions of a Mortal Reader

Spending a few hours basking in the glow of an Olympian god or goddess may leave you awestruck, enlightened, or in most cases annoyed. But they are gods so what do they care about your feelings, you're only a speck on their infinite timeline. When Apollo falls to earth after pissing off Zeus, I began to wonder just how mortal Apollo would be. Yes, he was stripped of his powers but how would his personality be affected.

I quickly found that Apollo is still vain as the Evil Queen in Snow White. OMG. He has flab and pimples. Call 911. Call Soderstrom Skin Institute. The horror and injustice of it all. This is major issue Apollo wrestles with for the majority of the book. He's becomes the normalest of humans, and it is a refreshing to see him taken down to our level.

What I loved:

Rick Riordan has this uncanny ability to include every type of religious, gender, sexual orientation, and it doesn't feel forced. Nor are any of these characters throw away, like he's checking a box that he included a minority. I can't praise that enough.

Trials of Apollo is darker than Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The Beast stalks New York and his actions rain Hades down upon Camp Halfblood. (I couldn't stop reading.)

Meg is endearing and is unflinching like a piece of hardtack.

The cameos in this book is nonstop. It pays tribute to all our favorite characters.

All aboard the feels train!!!