Book Review: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Title: The Blood of Olympus

Author: Dear Ol’ Uncle Rick

Number of Pages: 502

Genre: YA/MG Fantasy

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it “might” be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Discussion: I am going to arrange this in feels. Because that’s how intense this book was. And traumatizing. And surprising. And sad. And hilarious.

FUNNY

It just seems right to start with the funny stuff. And if you’ve read HoO, you know who the funny one is. Go on. Say it. Saaay it. Talk to your computer. OMG, you’re right! It’s Leo, a.k.a. Cupcake. [Hehe. See what I did there?] But BoO is just plain funny. That’s the beauty of Rick Riordan’s writing: There are intense, near-death scenes, and then Leo’s all like, “I’m hot stuff!” and you crack up. When your other favorite character almost got killed. It’s CRAZY!

THRILL

You know when you’re riding a rollercoaster, and you’re slowly inching your way to the top, and you’re thinking, Oh my god oh my god, I wonder how steep it is. Am I going to die? I am going to die. OMG. OMG. I love you, Mom. That’s what this book is like. We’re cruising along, and all of a sudden they break out fighting, and I’m reading like, Someone’s going to die. Fact of life. I bet it’s Percy. No, Rick Riordan wouldn’t be that mean. Maybe…Hazel? Ooh, yeah. IF LEO DIES, I‘LL MURDER RICK RIORDAN!!! So I’m going along…and then, the rollercoaster flattens out and it’s chill and slow and easy. Yeah, no one died, but, come on, couldn’t he have killed Jason???

HAPPINESS

There are, surprisingly, many happy, peaceful bits when everything’s okay. [Of course, then something happens to throw it off, but that’s not relevant.] And the ending. It was too happy. Percabeth stays CHB, and plans to go to New Rome in a year and study at a college. Jiper stays at CHB, too, and Jason makes shrines to ALL the gods. Frazel goes to Camp Jupiter, because Frank’s PRAETOR now! YAYS! And Leo, dear Leo, explodes in the sky…and DIES.

BUT.

Leo comes back from the dead, thanks to Festus, and flies to Ogygia, rescues Calypso, and the live happily ever after THE END. Literally, it ends like that. And it seems to be that Wico is now in place…? The ending is much too happy and sunshiney for me. EVERYONE DIE! That is a better ending. Wait, never mind. *cough* The Book Thief *cough*

Overall, I loved this book to pieces, and I wish the series wasn’t over. But it is. :'(

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Random Stuff:

• My iPhone is activated and beautiful and has an awesome pink case and I love it SO much. :)
• Tomorrow is my birthday. :) YAYS! Look for a post about my years of wisdom in a post coming soon.
• IDK.

Skipping TTT Like a Boss

[I actually used to despise the phrase, “Like a boss” but now I use it all the time. XD I’m cool like that.]

Yesterday I went to a book event at a book store. The authors who were featured were Gennifer Albin, Nikki Kelly, Jessica Brody, and…wait for it…Marissa Meyer! I brought all of the books currently published in The Lunar Chronicles and bought Gennifer Aldin’s book, Crewel, except it will be added to my ever-growing TBR.

The event was amazing. I met one of my favorite authors, heard her and other accomplished authors speak, and got my books signed! It’s better than a concert! [I’ve never actually been to a concert, so don’t take my word for it.]

Some of the authors’ advice/thoughts/et cetera [whether silly or serious]:

• BUY HEADPHONES. This is very important for a writer. Why? While Gennifer Albin was NaNoWriMoing, she did not have headphones to listen to music [and block out the sound of the man next to her, who was watching YouTube, without headphones].
• If you tell yourself you have writer’s block, you are only encouraging your stuckness. [I’m paraphrasing.] Jessica Brody does not believe in writer’s block, because of the above stated reason, which I find to be a very interesting opinion. For me, acknowledging that I have writer’s block can help me, so I can realize the issue and find a solution.
• Marissa Meyer and Jessica Brody write their outlines using fifteen “beats.” “Beats” are different plot points or major happenings. Meyer and Brody use these to stay on track and to get from Point A to Point B, or Beat 1 to Beat 2. I would benefit from using this, because I tend to add twists in the middle, complicating the ending. [If you’re reading Nakoma, you know what I mean.]
• British people think American cheese and chocolate aren’t as good as cheese and chocolate in the UK. The reason for this being that our cows are unhappy. Or so Nikki Kelly says.

I hope you learned something from that. :) All of the authors had very good advice for authors, despite the ideas above. They all were very intelligent, funny, and informative.

My signed books (!!!):

My swag:

The Lunar Chronicles swag, courtesy of Marissa Meyer. Contents: Rampion poster, 3 Lunar Chronicles stickers, and bookmark.

The Crewel World Trilogy swag, courtesy of Gennifer Albin. Contents: “Some girls have a knack for trouble” paper card, sticker, and “Life is crewel” paper card.

Although I did not buy her book, Jessica Brody gave me some swag, too! Contents: Excerpt from the first chapter of “Unremembered” and sticker with her signature to put in the book when I buy it.

Fierce Reads swag, courtesy of Fierce Reads. Contents: bag, poster, bookmark, and “Fairest” mirror.

And here are some pictures of the authors:

The queen herself…Marissa Meyer. [And lots of random heads.]

Jessica Brody on the left, Nikki Kelly on the right. [And lots of random heads.]

An extremely horrible picture of Gennifer Albin. [And lots of random heads.] I apologize immensely for the bad quality.

Jessica Brody talking about her book. [And a few random heads.]

I met a very nice girl, Connie, at the book event. She has a blog, called The YA Book Thief. She’s a new blogger; you remember what is was like to be new, too, don’t you? Pop on over to Connie’s fabulous blog here and follow her!

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!! The Blood of Olympus just came, like two minutes ago!!!! Right after this post, I’m reading it!!!!!

Have you ever been to a book signing or event? What was it like? Tell me in the comments below.

Back From Nature :)

Yes, nature was fun. Now on to the important things.

1. The Blood of Olympus is not in my hands! It is coming in a few days. :( I feel very left out. 
2. NaNoPrepMo is this month. While camping, I made the decision that I will be writing a completely new novel during November. It is currently called The Blog Project, which is the temporary name instead of the standby Untitled. Here is a short summary: Cait is attending WeBlogCon, and is prepared for a normal convention. Her idea of normal consists of meeting her online friends, attending a few talks, and talking a bit herself, all while exploring NYC with her friends. But Cait isn’t prepared for Dean, whom she thought was boyfriend-potential. He is so different from his online self. And then there’s the offer from the TV company and WeBlog. Can Cait handle the stress? And will she agree to what WeBlog has to offer? Or will she retreat to her home in California?
3. I’m doing really well on the 100-4-100!
4. Look for a new page called My Writing. It will have The Blog Project and a link to Nakoma, if I can get it on a googledoc. I finished Chapter 24, too!

I can’t wait to start on NaNoWriMo, but I know I have to focus on Nakoma for now. [Isn’t The Blog Project cover beautiful?]

Off to do…stuff. I’ll post my review of Mockingjay tomorrow. I’m currently reading Clockwork Angel.

Camping, Reading, and Drinking Iced Tea

I’m camping right now. Amongst bugs. I’m probably reading a lot, maybe writing if my computer is charged enough. I’m also probably drinking lots of iced tea. You probably know by now that I love that stuff. I’m also probably not loving nature.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I like nature. But…

1. Bugs.
2. Bears.
3. No WiFi.
4. Hiking.

So, yeah, I’m not crazy about nature.

TOMORROW THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS IS RELEASED!!!

And I will be in nature. :(

I have a TON of books, and I won’t be able to review them right after I read them. So I will choose three-six to review when I get back…from the forest. Now, I have to go write another post. There will be no TTT.

Weekly Wrap-Up #2

On Saturday, I stacked my shelves, reviewed Number the Stars, and informed you about Marissa Meyer events. I’m still getting through my pile of books!

On Sunday, I reviewed Where She Went and talked about book reviews.

On Monday, I posted a school assignment for feedback and reviewed Eleanor and Park [a.k.a. how I suffered emotional trauma at the hands of a hardback].

On Tuesday, I recommended unknown books for TTT. Turns out, you’ve read some of them. ;)

On Thursday, I informed you about the 100 Words For 100 Days Challenge. Are you going to participate?

Going back to the beginning of the week, Engie @ Musings From Neville’s Navel posted about Rick Riordan’s last book in the Greco-Roman world. It was an interesting but sad post. It means the end of Percy and Annabeth and Leo!

Engie, for you, the tweet about the epilogue issue (and for anyone else):

Ah, Uncle Rick. While your wit impresses us, it does not excuse the no epilogue issue. I adore epilogues! I want confirmation about what happens to them.

To wrap up this week, why not a poll?

Have a fantabulous weekend! I will be shopping for party supplies for my sister’s birthday, reading The Book Thief, and watching the Broadway play version Wicked. Which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT.

Top Ten Tuesday

TTT is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

It’s that time again: Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s TTT is ten books I cannot wait to get my hands on!

Ten Books I Can’t Wait to Read

1. To Kill a Mocking Bird [It is on my teacher’s shelf!]

2. If I Stay [I got it two days ago.]

3. The Blood of Olympus

4. Winter

5. Dorothy Must Die

6. The Infernal Devices series

7. Graceling

8. Eleanor & Park

9. Fangirl

10. The Book Thief [It slipped through my fingers…]

I can’t wait to read any and all of these!

Also, I did not get to finish Love, Stargirl, because all the library books had to be taken back. The consequences of getting too many books at once… BUT on the bright side, I got two amazing books! One being the recently released City of Heavenly Fire for 25 dollars; it was worth it. And the second, If I Stay. So excited to read it and watch the movie! I hope it lives up to the hype…

Note to self: August TCWT chain is on 22nd for me.

I hope you enjoyed my post! Are there any books on my list you want to read, too, or any books you really want to read that aren’t on it? Tell me in the comments below.

Luv ya bunches! Don’t forget to check out my newly added page, “My Somewhat Social Media.”

C