In the latest instalment of the 'Dark Olympus' series at the time of writing, we turn to Ariadne and the Minotaur's story. Trouble edges closer to Olympus, the Thirteen are under threat and no-one is safe. This one does feel like we've finally struck a balance between the lovers' story and the series arc, and it opened up another level of enjoyment for me. 

While the characters have known eachother since they were teenagers, there is a hint of the obsessive stalker type romance in the way Asterion seems to fixate on Ariadne. His character traits, plus the wider foreboding of the plot, makes this feel like probably the 'darkest' book yet, but at the same time it also feels like the closest to the most 'conventional' love story. He has some wonderful, if fleeting, moments of softness towards Ariadne and feels very much like a brooding, overprotective alpha with "touch her and die" vibes radiating off him. In other words, yum!

I'm also enjoying how my feeling towards other characters in the series keep changing. Hera, in particular, started off for me as a woman to be admired; strong, feisty, independent and willing to sacrifice herself for the love of her sisters. But in this book it really feels like she has become one of the Thirteen proper, and something just feels 'off' about it to me. I'm sure all will be revealed and resolved in Zeus and Hera's book when it comes out, but in the meantime while I'm not a huge fan of that particular character development, I love that there are clearly still twists and turns to come!

There is part of me that wishes the previous books had been written in this way. While I really do enjoy the specifics of each relationship as they are fleshed out throughout the series, it feels to the detriment of the stories that the overall series arc has taken quite some time to set up. I feel like the earlier books could have done with this level of 'exterior' action and worldbuilding to really bring the stories to life, and perhaps give the underlying tension more of a slow build. 

Also loving that this book ends with a nice hook into the next one... and that I only have to wait until April for it! Overall, while I can't say it's the best series ever written, it gives me a lot of things I enjoy, it sparks my imagination with some great visuals, and it's just a great ride.