Heroes of Olympus – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan

Through the years, Marshmallow has reviewed quite a few books written by Rick Riordan. Today she revisits the world of Percy Jackson, a Greek demigod whose adventures we have read about in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and his friends whom we met in the Heroes of Olympus series. In the review below, Marshmallow tells us her thoughts about The Demigod Diaries, published first in 2012, written after the completion of the first series and before the completion of the second.

(Marshmallow reviewed three books from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series; check out her reviews of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse. Caramel reviewed the graphic novel versions of the same three. See his reviews of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse.)

(Marshmallow also reviewed all five books of the Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, and The Blood of Olympus.)

Marshmallow reviews The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow reviews *The Demigod Diaries* by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked some of the other books by Rick Riordan or enjoy books about Greek mythology, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary: This book consists of a couple short stories placed in the Rick Riordan world, games about the Rick Riordan world, special pictures, and one interview with George and Martha, the snakes on Hermes’s caduceus. There are four short stories: “The Diary of Luke Castellan”, “Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes”, “Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford”, and “Son of Magic”.

“The Diary of Luke Castellan” is written from the perspective of Luke Castellan, a major character in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The story details how his friend Thalia found her shield (Aegis) and how they together met a seven-year-old Annabeth, one of the most important characters in the two series involving the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.

“Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes” is written from the perspective of Percy Jackson. The story is about Percy Jackson’s mission to recover Hermes’s caduceus.

Marshmallow is reading The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Demigod Diaries* by Rick Riordan.

“Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford” is about Leo Valdez’s search for Buford, his trusty table friend. We met Leo Valdez in The Lost Hero, the first book of the Heroes of Olympus series. Leo is a son of Hephaestus, a skilled mechanic, and a goofy but faithful friend.

“Son of Magic” concerns a half-blood who chose to side with Kronos during the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The half-blood is in trouble, being chased by a monster, and he needs the help of a mortal. This story was written by Riordan’s son Haley Riordan.

In addition to the four stories, the book contains an exclusive interview with George and Martha, the two snakes on the caduceus of Hermes. There are also some trivia games and a word search puzzle.

Finally, the book includes several full-color full-page illustrations of several of the main characters from the two series. In particular there are full-page images of Annabeth, Percy, Luke, Piper, and Leo, and some illustrations of specific places. The colored illustrations were made by Antonio Caparo and the black-and-white ones were by Steve James.

Marshmallow is looking at the portraits of Annabeth and Percy in The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is looking at the portraits of Annabeth and Percy in *The Demigod Diaries* by Rick Riordan, drawn by Antonio Caparo.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really enjoyed reading The Demigod Diaries. I think it makes a great addition to my Riordan collection, and it really explained some things that happened in the main books of the two series involving the Greek and Roman demigods. Some of the events in this book were mentioned by the main characters in the main series and it was good to have the full stories be told.

I enjoyed the games and thought that the images were really well-drawn. The stories fit right into the world that Rick Riordan created in his two main series, and it was nice to reconnect with the characters from them.

The Demigod Diaries does not involve the later series by Riordan such as the Trials of Apollo, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, or The Kane Chronicles. I haven’t read the Magnus Chase books or the Kane Chronicles yet, but this was fine; the stories in The Demigod Diaries take place before these other series, and so I think there are no spoilers.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Demigod Diaries* by Rick Riordan 100%.

Marshmallow reviews The Blood of Olympus (Book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow has already reviewed the first four books of Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades. Today she shares her thoughts on the fifth and last book: The Blood of Olympus.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about mythology or if you have enjoyed reading other books by Rick Riordan, then this might be the book for you. (But again, if you have not read the first four books of the Heroes of Olympus series, you will not get too much out of it.)

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): After spying on their enemies, Jason, Piper, and Annabeth summon Juno, who tells them that they must find Nike, and then they must find Artemis and Apollo, both of whom were banished by Zeus. The crew of Argo II finds the place that Nike should be, and sends Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Percy, since their godly parents don’t have any rivalries. (Nike is all about victory, and she gives off an aura of fighting that leads to fights among people with any underlying conflicts between them. If they had sent Annabeth, Athena’s daughter, with Percy, Poseidon’s son, the two might have fought and killed each other since their parents are rivals, even though Percy and Annabeth are friends.)

Nike tells the four friends that one of them will die and that they will need the Physician’s Cure to survive. They take Nike hostage to stop her from giving off her war aura, which is making the Romans and Greeks fight. They start to look for the ingredients needed for the Physician’s Cure.

Meanwhile, Leo is starting to make a plan to defeat Gaea. Remember the prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Leo is sure that he is the one meant to die, since Argo II’s crew thinks that the “To storm or fire” line in the prophecy means that one of the storm or fire people will die. Jason, being the son of Jupiter, is storm and Leo, who as a child of Hephaestus, has the power to create fire, is fire. But Leo is the only one that overlaps both of the groups, storm or fire, and the people who captured Nike.

Meanwhile, Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge are trying to get Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood as a peace offering to stop a full-on war between the Romans and the Greeks.

Marshmallow is reading The Blood of Olympus (Book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Blood of Olympu*s (Book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a great book to finish a great series. And I think that this is one of the best books in the series. Rick Riordan satisfyingly ties up the story about Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.

An interesting thing about this series is that the story in each book is told from more than one person’s point of view. And sometimes the narrators following one another are not in the same place, so we switch from one scene to another when we change narrators. For example, in the chapters told by Reyna, my favorite character, she is not in the same place as the crew of Argo II because she is with Nico and Coach Hedge, trying to bring Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood.

The narrators in The Blood of Olympus are Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo, and finally Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. So we do read the point of view of each of the seven belonging to the prophecy but also two other characters, Nico and Reyna, who are not part of the seven but turn out to be very important to the quest and the story.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Blood of Olympus (Book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Blood of Olympu*s (Book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.

Marshmallow reviews The House of Hades (Book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow has already reviewed the first three books of Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, and The Mark of Athena. Today she shares her thoughts on the fourth book: The House of Hades.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about Greek or Roman mythology and have liked some of Rick Riordan’s other books, then this might be the book for you. However you will definitely need to have read the first books in the Heroes of Olympus series to be able to dive into and get something out of this one.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): The Mark of Athena ended with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase falling into Tartarus while trying to save the Athena Parthenos. Right before he fell, Percy had Nico promise that he would go to Greece and meet him and Annabeth when they escaped so they could all close the Doors of Death. Nico is a half-blood, a son of Hades, who is not part of the seven trying to fulfill the prophecy of seven, but he is also very important. We first meet him in The Titan’s Curse, the third book of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and he will play a very important role in this book.

The crew of the Argo II moves toward Greece. They face many challenges, but they overcome them. A lot of excitement is unleashed. In the meantime in Tartarus we also read about Percy and Annabeth’s adventures. Some old friends and enemies show up.

Hazel, one of the seven, meets Hecate, the goddess of magic, who tells her that she should start to learn how to control the Mist, a magical mist that blocks mortals from seeing gods and monsters. If controlled, it could give one the power to create images that would appear real but they are really fake. Hecate leaves her polecat with Hazel to oversee her test. As they travel towards Greece, Hazel knows that she will meet an enemy who can control the Mist to make it look like anything.

Marshmallow is reading The House of Hades (Book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The House of Hades* (Book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: The House of Hades is a great fourth book for a great series. And at over 580 pages and in 78 chapters, it is also a big book, in size!

Though it is a great book, The House of Hades should not be read unless you have read the previous books in the series. Reading the first series is a good idea too, since then you would know more about the characters.

I think that Rick Riordan does a great job of writing this book in multiple people’s views. He is also good at creating great characters, like Bob, or Iapetus. His character’s backstory was from a short story Rick Riordan wrote, Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades from The Demigod Files.)

My favorite character is still Reyna, as I already said in my review of The Son of Neptune. One reason I like her is because she is probably one of the strongest female characters, and she is good at fighting. Every character is well thought of, and they are developed in a consistent way, so you could guess what they would do in a given situation. You can also pity them too, since some of them have sad pasts: some of the characters have lost family members or people that they cared about.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates The House of Hades (Book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 95%. — Marshmallow rates *The House of Hades* (Book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 95%.

Marshmallow reviews The Mark of Athena (Book 3 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow reviewed the first book of Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series: The Lost Hero, as well as the second book, The Son of Neptune. Today she reviews the third book: The Mark of Athena.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked reading some of Rick Riordan’s other books or just like reading about Greek and Roman mythology, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Before you read this blog post, you might want to read my other reviews of this series.

With the Argo II, a flying ship with many cool additions, Annabeth and the three half-bloods who were the main characters in the first book (Jason, Leo, and Piper), together with their protector Coach Gleeson Hedge, set off to find Camp Jupiter, the camp for Roman half-bloods. When they arrive, Annabeth is introduced to some of the main characters from the second book: Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Octavian, and others. Percy Jackson is also there, and Annabeth is glad to see him.

They spend some time in Camp Jupiter, until somebody in the Argo II fires at the camp inhabitants. Octavian convinces the Romans that the Greeks are attacking them. The Romans start to attack the Greeks from the Argo II so the crew has to run.

The Seven half-bloods that will make up the team responding to the Prophecy of Seven have to flee. Here once again is that prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall,
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

These are the Greek demigods in the group: Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon; Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite; and Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. These are the Roman demigods: Jason Grace, son of Jupiter; Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto; and finally, Frank Zhang, son of Mars. And now people at Camp Jupiter think that they are bad guys and follow in pursuit.

Soon the seven half-bloods figure out it was Leo who fired at the Camp, but he cannot explain why he did it. And Annabeth has her own secrets she is hiding from the others: she hasn’t told them about the mark of Athena yet.

Marshmallow is reading The Mark of Athena (Book 3 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Mark of Athen*a (Book 3 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that this is a great book that really makes the reader want to keep reading till the end. Once you have read the first chapter you will have to read the whole book.

The Mark Of Athena is a great book, but it is part of a series, and this one especially will make the reader have to read the fourth book, The House Of Hades. Also before reading this book, you should definitely have read, at least, the first two books in the series: The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune. I also think that you should read all of the previous books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (which is apparently abbreviated as PJO).

Most of the characters in this book have appeared in some of the earlier books, but we definitely learn a lot more about each of them, and we do meet some new characters (like Echo and Narcissus, for example). At the end of the book you are probably going to be so interested in the stories of these characters that you will just have to read the whole series.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Mark of Athena (Book 3 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Mark of Athena* (Book 3 of the Heroes of Olympus Series) by Rick Riordan 100%.