The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, & Mark of Athena

So while digging in my to read bag, I noticed two books in The Heroes of Olympus series.  This was quite unacceptable.  To be so woefully behind on my Rick Riordan is downright embarrassing.  There was simply nothing left to do but remedy the situation.

I had read The Lost Hero back in 2010 when it was released and obviously loved it, as I have all of Rick Riordan's books.  In The Lost Hero, fans of Percy Jackson are introduced to new residents (Leo and Piper) from Camp Half-Blood as well as a somewhat unexpected character who seems to be of Roman heritage instead of Greek.  It's fairly surprising that Jason Grace seems only to know the gods by their Roman aspects instead of Greek.  This gives fans a whole new avenue to explore and much more to learn about classic mythology.  And, thankfully, Annabeth is also there hoping to find the recently gone missing Percy.

As with the previous series, the demigods accept a quest.  This time they are charged with freeing Hera.  Those of us who are familiar with the Percy Jackson series know that dealing with Hera will be no picnic.  Not only must the demigods come to the aid of this tricky goddess, they must come to understand her role in  Percy's disappearance.

And this is where readers are able to join the story in The Son of Neptune.  In this installment, Percy is finally located (sigh of relief, right?).  But, like Jason, he has no memory of his past save faint notions of Annabeth.  Percy finds himself at Camp Jupiter, the Roman training ground for demigods, as a result of Hera's plan to unite the Romans and the Greeks.  Well, that sounds great, but this union won't come as easily as one might hope.  These folks have spent centuries hating one another.

In this installment, readers are able to meet two more new main characters: Hazel and Frank.  Both of these characters bring with unique abilities to the story.  As you might expect, a quest is required of these demigods as well as our old friend Percy.  This is where readers learn the true threat in this series is the old earth goddess, Gaea.  Forget all notions of a kindly mother earth.  That's not what we've here people.  Percy, who the Romans certainly identify as Greek, hopes to gain respect their respect by accompanying Hazel and Frank on this dangerous quest.

Finally, we find ourselves with a complete grasp on the fact that the Greeks and Romans must unite in order to save the world from the rise of Gaea and her wretched horde of monsters.  This is where The Mark of Athena begins.  Communication between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood has been established and the Argo II manned by Leo, Piper, Jason, and Annabeth head for the west coast to meet with the Roman demigods.  Their hope is that Jason's presence will foster a warm welcome, and that Percy's presence with the Romans will encourage the Romans to accept the help of the Greeks.  And, you know, that might have worked if only Leo had not been possessed by an eidolon causing him to launch an attack on Camp Jupiter.  Yeah, attacking a camp of Romans is not a good plan.

In accordance with the prophecy of seven, the crew of the Argo II, is joined by Hazel, Frank, and Percy.  These seven demigods embark upon the most dangerous quest yet.  They must stop Gaea and her army.  This will take them all the way to Rome, which is quite a dangerous place for a demigod.  To make matters worse, the quest is not the only goal.  Annabeth must also follow the mark of Athena in order to mend the relationship between the Romans and the Greeks.  No pressure Annabeth, but children of Athena have been trying for centuries.

Oh my!  Here is what I can tell you.  These books are worth it.  I'm so glad I got myself up to date on the series, but The Mark of Athena ends in a giant cliff hanger.   So, here I sit, nervous about what is going to happen next with no choice but to wait until October when The House of Hades will be released.  I guess that's what I get.  The up side to this, however, is that Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters will be released in theaters in mere weeks (August 7!).  Check out the official movie site and trailer here.

School of Fear

School of Fear by Gitti Daneshavri is a fun read.  I think the younger set, probably fifth and sixth graders, would absolutely eat it up.  I would also like to applaud the vocabulary Daneshavri integrates.  It is absolutely fantastic; the book is filled with fantastically descriptive yet unfamiliar words.

In School of Fear, readers are introduced to one of the most dysfunctional casts of characters one could ever hope to meet.  That's the beauty of it.  You see, in order to qualify for the super secret School of Fear, a child's fears must be irrational and quite frankly over the top.  Madeline Masterson, Theodore Bartholomew, Lulu Punchalower, and Garrison Feldman certainly qualify.  This motley crew's fears range from confinement to death.  However, they all share one bond.  Their families are over it!  Thus leading them all to School of Fear.

When the students arrived, live begins to get even stranger.  The school mistress is the quite eccentric Mrs. Wellington.  Ahhh, Mrs. Wellington, the former beauty queen, wig wearing, maggot cheese eating Mrs. Wellington.  She is certainly worth investigating.

As you can see, inevitably, hijinks ensue leaving all to wonder just what kind of school this really is.  Like I said, this book is a fun read.  It's certainly worth recommending to younger readers.

Dead Silence- The Body Finder Series

I've been a fan of The Body Finder series since I read the first one a few years ago.  If you're unfamiliar with the series, the premise is our heroine, Violet Ambrose, has the mysterious gift of being able to identify bodies that were killed by an "echo" they emit as well as their killers by an identical "imprint".  Check out my reviews of the other books here (The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead, and The Last Echo).  Even though I've loved them all, Dead Silence (watch the trailer here) might be my favorite (it's hard to beat the original).

In Dead Silence, Violet and Jay are gearing up for the start of their senior year.  It's tough for Violet to become excited or even involved in the back to school excitement because she is still struggling to overcome the horrible events of her kidnapping and adjust to her own imprint, which constantly rings in her ears.  However, she does agree to attend a party at the lake.  On her way, Violet is called by the echos of victims of a gruesome murder.  This set off a chain of events leading Violet through many mysterious and dangerous situations.

But, perhaps even more interesting than the crime is Violet's exploration of her grandmother's journals.  Violet learns more about the Center and begins to realize her involvement may never have been her own choice.  It's creepy!  Oh man.

I got to meet Kimberly Derting!  Good times!

I've got to say I really wish there would be a fifth book in the series.  The ending was open ended enough to allow for it or even for Derting to tell the story of one of the other characters.  I hope it happens!  I've not read The Pledge yet, but I would certainly like to.  Also, a new series with the first book being called The Taking is due out next summer.

Requiem

Warning: Delirium and Pandemonium spoilers here.  Check out my reviews of those if you haven't read them yet.

Oh my, the dramatic end of the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver finally came to us!  I absolutely love this series.  I am very sad that Fox has decided to move forward with a Sleepy Hollow TV series instead of the Delirium series.  Bad move, Fox.

I must say that I really loved Hana's character in this book.  It certainly makes me question if the cure was truly successful for anyone.  I mean, maybe everyone who had been cured had Hana's capacity for love just under the surface.  So many questions...

It doesn't get any easier for Lena in this book either.  She becomes conflicted about the feelings she has for Julian and Alex.  It is difficult for her to be in The Wilds with both of them.  Further compounding the problem is a new character, Cora, who seems to enjoy the tension between Alex and Lena.  Then there is the problem of the Regulators who always seem to be one step ahead of Lena and her group.

Excitement?  I think so!  Please check this one out soon if you haven't already.  Don't forget there are also the Delirium stories available in ebook.  those are also quite awesome!

The Elite

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging, but I can't think of a better book to make a new start with!  The Elite by Kiera Cass is, like its predecessor The Selection, AHHHH-MAZ-ING!  Seriously, I love this series so much that I could read it every single day.  For those of you who have not read The Selection, you can get some insight into it here.

As The Elite begins, readers are immediately brought back to the competition to be the bride of Prince Maxon and Princess of Illea.  Our main character, America Singer, is still a front runner in the competition.  Her feelings for Maxon are still new and a bit confusing to her, in part because of her old boyfriend Aspen is on the scene as a palace guard.  Oh man, the love triangle!  But, I just can't hide my preference.  It's kind of a surprise to me as well because I always love the boy from home, but this time my heart goes out to the prince.  I love Maxon!  Come on America, get with the program.

The personalities of the other characters begin to really shine.  I loved learning more about Marlee, Maxon, and Queen Amberly just as much as I loved growing to despise Celeste and King Clarkson.  At times, I even found it difficult to watch (in my mind's eye) America making the decisions she made.  I only wish she could see the situation as clearly as I do.  Oh my!

That's THE Kiera Cass!  Oh, and me too.

Kiera Cass is one of the authors I was lucky enough to meet a last year's Y'ALLFest.  She was absolutely precious.  I can't wait for The One, due out May 6, 2014.  That sounds painfully far away.  Sad times.

Beautiful Days

I am a complete sucker for Anna Godbersen's books.  I am completely certain she could write about any time period from any perspective and bring out its absolute beauty.  She's just that amazing.  As the name Beautiful Days implies, this book is no exception.

In Beautiful Days readers pick up with the adventures of Cordelia, Letty, and Astrid as we left them in Bright Young Things (read my review here).  Cordelia is reeling from the death of her father.  Letty continues to struggle to find her place in the new world of New York, and Astrid remains by Charlie's side.

In this installment, the feud with the Hale's is far from over.  Obviously, since they were responsible for Darius's death, the Charlie and his men are not willing to let bygones be bygones.  The stakes of the bootlegging business become even higher as Charlie tries to take the business even farther than his father had.  As a part of this, he opens a speak easy called The Vault in an old bank.  Cordelia will be responsible for this new club.  This becomes the backdrop for many encounters and opportunities for the girls.

Mystery definitely swirls about as readers try to piece together the bootleggers next moves and how they will involve the girls.  This is certainly a great read!  The Lucky Ones is the third in this series.  I am reading it now and it is fantastic.  Details to come...

*This series is better suited for older teens.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: a Flavia de Luce Novel

I have mentioned before how very much I love the Flavia de Luce series, but let me say it just one more time.  I absolutely adore Flavia.  Completely.  Totally.  The fourth book in the series, I am Half-Sick of Shadows, proves to be worthy of Flavia and her adventures.  Allow me to explain.

In this wonderful installment, Flavia's home, Buckshaw takes center stage.  Because of money woes, Flavia's father has agreed to allow a movie crew to film at Buckshaw.  This certainly brings excitement to all of Bishop's Lacey, especially since famed actress Phyllis Wyvern will be starring in the film.  As if that all weren't enough, the normal buzz around the Christmas season also adds jubilance into the air.

As a service to the people of Bishop's Lacey, the film crew agrees to perform the balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  Buckshaw was filled with not only the crew but, the entire township as well.  As luck would have it, a blizzard sets in while the entire town is watching the classic play.  This results in everyone needing to bunk at Buckshaw.  Of course, this becomes the scene of the crime.  Such a well maneuvered crime scene.  It reminds me of a classic Agatha Christie tale!  And, as if that whole backdrop were not enough, Flavia is also determined to prove the existence of Father Christmas.

If you haven't read the Flavia de Luce series, I recommend them for immediate read.  They have such value and are so fun.  Check out my reviews of the first three books here.  Also, I hope to read the latest book, Speaking from Among the Bones soon.