I actually really enjoyed this book. I had heard good things and saw the movie sometime last year. I liked the movie, but heard that the books were better. The books were great. Yes I agree it shares some similarities with Harry Potter, but I think it's a rich imaginative world and I look forward to picking up the next one.

I have always loved mythology and was happy to see how well the book stuck to Greek mythology instead of changing known myths. I especially liked how it changed my main issue with the movie

Spoiler

I have a big pet peeve when the underworld is portrayed as the Christian interpretation of hell (fire, brimstone, devil, etc.) and Hades as being evil simply because he is the God of the Underworld. Christianity is a completely different belief system and I hate when it is imposed on other systems.

Granted I'll probably still see the next movie at some point, but that's mainly because Nathan Fillion is playing Hermes and I adore Nathan Fillion :)