cheoelm's reviews
363 reviews

I enjoyed this installment of Magnus Chase for the simple fact there's a lot of great representation within the books. I'm always amazes how how well Rick Riordan incorporates different walks of life within his books for young readers. A lot of authors would shy away from some topics, thinking they were "too advanced" for young adults, but I've learned children are extremely good at adapting. For Riordan to go against the grain while educating the masses on classical studies says a lot about the author.

Another thing that I've found interesting is how Riordan is able to bring in all of the different pantheons into his different stories. With the Percy Jackson series, it's easy to bring in Greek and Roman because they're each other essentially, but being able to merge Norse with Greek is refreshing. I'm looking forward to this mash-up in the next book in the series.

Honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I loved how we got to see a glimpse of Circe's life before we met her in the Odyssey.

The storytelling and way that Madeline Miller wove this tale was remarkable. I found myself having a hard time with setting the book down.

I haven't read The Song of Achilles yet, but even if you don't read it, you don't need to. If you're familiar with both The Illiad and the Odyssey, then you will be able to understand the references from both in this book.

Oh my gosh, this was a wonderful addition to the series. I found myself unable to put the book down and always wanting to read "just one more chapter," it was that amazing. I found myself moved to tears near the end of the book and it's been a while since that's happened. Definitely recommend the series if anyone is into faeries, wyverns, and magic.

While I was reluctant to put the book down because I was riveted by the story and needed to know what happened next, I found myself laughing and snorting more than actually enjoying the book's contents themselves.

The story would switch between first person POV of the main male protagonist, Maxim Trevelynn, and third person POV of the female lead, Aleissa. While Maxim's voice felt more fleshed out and he had depth, albeit he reminded me of frat boys during rush week, at least he had a voice. Whenever the story featured Aleissa, she was like a pile of rocks. But even within that pile of rocks, there are some that are interesting. So I guess she was too. She could play the piano beautifully, could cook, and clean; essentially Aleissa was a foreign modern day Mrs. Cleaver. That pretty much sums up her character. She was a literal blushing virgin; she was whisked away on a private getaway by a rich, wealthy, sexily overdriven man who helped her learn just how sexy she was. I'm sorry, but that's super clichéd.

Regardless of this tom foolery, I did wind up finishing the book and just kind of being meh about it. This book, to me, is just another poolside book that you read while sipping a watered down margarita.

I had picked up this book when it first came out in 2015, but it sat on my shelf until today when I decided to read it. I can't honestly remember why I picked up the book outside of it being J.K. Rowling, but I'm glad I did. The message about failure isn't one that really resonates with me, but when Rowling talked about imagination being tied to the capacity of empathy, that struck a chord.

I try to live as nice as possible, but I will admit I slip up from time to time, mainly when rush hour traffic gets the best of me. Yet I can say that like Rowling, my overactive imagination has helped me realize that everyone around me is leading their own life and my existence can affect their life. I don't know if I do believe in karma fully, but I always joke how I don't want it back, hence me being a nice person.

After reading her graduation speech, it makes sense why some people are the way that they are. They may be lacking in imagination and the empathy that comes with it. I suggest anyone wanting to open their mind a little more to kindness to read this super short read that holds a chin scratcher nugget of wisdom.

As usual, I'm in love with the next installment in the Percy Jackson universe. There were so many twists and turns, I found myself not wanting to put the book down.

Something I forgot how much I enjoyed was Lester/Apollo's quips about himself. Apollo is really starting to understand what it means to be human and how he can relate to them now. Zeus was doing this as a punishment for the war with Gaea, but I feel like Zeus also had the motive of making Apollo more humble. Could be stretching there, but with the events of the past three books, Apollo is understanding what it means to appreciate life.

There were moments where I thought I was going to start crying again, but I held it together because who knows? Maybe things will turn for the better. The Twelfth Legion was full of surprises as well and reading about them was refreshing. Lavinia is probably one of my new favorite characters, but it's a little grudgingly that I like her. I wasn't a fan of her in the beginning, but she grew on me. To also see Reyna in action as a legionnaire and not just a praetor was welcomed. She has usually been portrayed as someone in the background, making an appearance here and there, but there is more focus on her in this book. The way she grows as a character was interesting, even more so because Lester was the one to help her grow.

Overall, the book was a knockout and I'm eagerly awaiting the fifth book, "The Trials of Apollo: The Tower of Nero" next fall.