robyngamez's Reviews (450)

This one has been my favorite of the "Heroes of Olympus" series thus far! Each of the characters had their own demons to battle, and I've loved watching each of them continue to develop. I can't wait to read the final installment in the series.

Hazel
Hazel has to be my favorite character within the "Heroes of Olympus" series. In "The House of Hades," I was rooting for her the entire time. When she was first able to control the Mist, I was elated. I thought she was going to die in the House of Hades, but she proved to be resilient, witty, and a fighter. Without her, they would not have been able to navigate the underground at all. She is a true leader.

Frank
Frank has to be the one that has the most character development thus far. I've enjoyed watching him change from shy and unconfident to the new praetor. I hope he embraces this role well and continues to grow in confidence.

Jason
Jason faced challenges throughout this series, but I can't help but root for the guy. He blew me away when making Frank praetor.

Piper
We didn't read as much from Piper's POV in this book, but she really had an impact throughout the story. From waking Festus with her charmspeak to learning sword fighting and using that during their battle in the House of Hades. She really has doubted herself too much since the beginning.

Leo
Leo played a huge role in "The House of Hades." I found him to be slightly annoying in "The Lost Hero," but he's really grown on me. His ability to think on his feet saved him multiple times throughout this book. I'm really hoping that he is able to someday reconnect with Calypso. It broke my heart when he sailed away with a crystal from her cave and the thought that she had fallen in love with him, too.

Percy
I first fell in love with Percy when reading PJO. I thought he was going to die in this book. I thought he was going to force Annabeth to go on without him so that he can close the Doors of Death from the Tartarus side, but alas, Bob and Damasen to the rescue. I like continuing to see Percy develop as a character. He realized that he hasn't been the best of friends to some of the people he has encountered, and I hope that he remembers that continuing with the series. Annabeth noticed a change in Percy when he began controlling some of the elements in Tartarus, so I'm curious to see how Tartarus has changed him.

Annabeth
Annabeth really went through in in the "Mark of Athena," and I really couldn't believe RR pushed her into Tartarus after following the mark of Athena! This poor girl has been through hell and back! In spite of that, she continues to be a strong, bad-ass, and I love her! I was glad to see her make it out of Tartarus alive.

Nico
I wish RR wrote chapters from Nico's POV. I know he isn't one of the seven of the quest, but I think that he would have some very unique insights. An ENTIRE book from Nico is a NEED!

This book was my favorite of "The Vine Witch" series. In this book, we got to learn Sidra's story.

It was interesting to learn more about the jinni and how their world works. Sidra's backstory was also very interesting. We learned the true story as to why she was in jail -- murder. We also learned that she was married and what exactly happened to her husband.

I've got to say, the ending was far more interesting than the beginning, which is something that I noticed with the other novels in this series. I found myself having a difficult time getting started, but it really picks up 50-60% of the way in. Overall, this was a great installment to "The Vine Witch" series.

First things first, I REALLY enjoyed this book. But, I did have some issues with it.

Ceony is a young magician whom is just about to bind to her material — paper. She is super reluctant to do so because it isn’t her material of choice. However, once meeting the strange Mg. Thane and seeing what he can do with paper, she does begin to warm up to it. That’s when terror strikes and Mg. Thane’s heart is stolen by an Excisioner, Lira.

Ceony takes it upon herself to save Mg. Thane’s heart, which is where you would begin to think the story gets good. And it does. And then it goes on and on. Ceony spent way more time than was enjoyable to read in Mg. Thane’s heart. Once she made her way out, I was able to devour the book.

I think this book could’ve used more world building. What was magic school like? Why can magicians only bind to one material? How is the binding controlled? I have so many questions that just weren’t addressed.

This was one book that didn’t need romance, and I initially thought that we weren’t going to get any. Once Ceony said she was falling in love with Mg. Thane, I just knew he was going to fall for her too, and I just wasn’t here for that.

As this was only the first book in the series, I do see myself continuing with it in hope of out more about this world and seeing Ceony fully grow her potential as a paper magician.

I really enjoyed this book! I had been in such a mood to read a Greek retelling, and this was exactly what I needed. The romance was cute and steamy (I'm not one that cares for smut tbh). I loved being able to read more about Hades and Persephone! I feel like most of the Greek retellings have focused on other POVs (Achilles, Perseus, etc.), so this was new! I loved seeing the familiar faces and names (Adonis, Hecate, Hermes).

There were some flaws, which is why I docked a star. The pacing of the writing felt a little strange to me. On the other hand, I loved that it was slightly relatable since Persephone was a 24-year-old college student.

I'm not a huge fan of smut, but I feel that the smut in this was not too overwhelming. There was enough plot to keep me engaged with the story and I was thankful for that. This was a quick, steamy read and I would recommend for anyone wanting to get into a Greek retelling!