The Mark of Athena (review)

I must admit, I wasn't too excited to read The Mark of Athena after finding out something about The House of Hades (the next book), but it surprised me.

Title: The Mark of Athena, book 3 in the Heroes of Olympus series.

Author: Rich Riordan

Genre: YA Fiction, Action, Roman/Greek mythology

Plot: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare.... (taken from Goodreads)

What I liked:
Getting to see the seven demigods together was an interesting experience. They didn't click perfectly. At times, they fought over stupid things. In the end, though, they learned to trust each other, despite their many differences. I loved how the author made each one of their powers unique and special. Working their powers together made it more effective.

Annabeth and Percy were great. This was the first time I saw them together as a couple. Okay, they weren't perfect and they got too touchy. Unlike the other couples in the book though, I knew without a doubt that were in love and would do anything for each other. Even though they weren't alike, I saw how that made them an even better match. Nothing was forceful either. It all came naturally. Percy talked about wanting to get married and start a family with her, a manly thing to do. He never forced anything with her or tried to speed things up. Still, he wanted her. Their love wasn't influenced by getting physical.

The ending was frustrating, but it was very sweet. Everyone sacerficed themselves for each other. Annabeth's perspective was featured in this story, which was awesome.

What could've been better:
Other than Percy and Annabeth, the romances got in the way of things. The small bit of the love triangle annoyed me because a few characters weren't focusing on the main, more important problem. Instead, some of the conflict wouldn't have happened if they stopped worrying about whether their crush liked them or the other guy. It was like, "Wrong time, people!"

Piper and Jason were... okay. I didn't buy Hazel and Frank. Of course, I liked who they were as individual people, but not so much as couples because it just didn't seem like they were in love. The thing was, Leo had feelings with Hazel, who was dating Frank. Frank was obviously jealous of him, but we never got to see Hazel's side of the story since she wasn't one of the four perspectives.

This problem wasn't as bad as it was in other books in the series, but the perspectives weren't unique. Most of them sounded the same. I could tell when Leo was talking but the rest of them didn't have enough originality. I remember Jason sounding a lot like Percy in The Lost Hero. This book was narrated by four very different people. So it wasn't that bad, but it sounded the same at times.

Annabeth and Percy did accidently fall asleep together. They were talking in the middle of the night and fell asleep cuddling, not laying down. That was unnessscary, but they somewhat got punished afterwards. It didn't have to be included.

Content: Quite a few kisses and violence. Plus, the thing I mentioned in the paragraph above.

Conclusion: I liked the Mark of Athena a lot more than I though I would. It was exciting, never boring, and had good messages about teamwork and frienship. The sexual content got out of hand, but that was as bad as things got. Still, I don't see how this is better than the Percy Jackson series, which was cleaner. 

I have to talk to my dad about reading The House of Hades, but hopefully, I will read it. Though the series does not live up to the awesomeness of the series before it, I have to say it's a great series.