The House of Hades Review

Hello, book lovers! If you've followed my blog for a significant amount of time, you know that I have an obsession with Percy Jackson. Though I am not a huge fan of the continuing series, The Heroes of Olympus, I was super excited to get back into it by reading The House of Hades.

Like the last two books have been, this book surprised me. I didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did. The new characters finally grew on me. In fact, it might have been my favorite book in the series, if it didn't have a certain something, which I will mention later.

What I loved: In the past few books, it's taken me quite some time to get attached to the characters. Hazel and Leo won me over instantly, but guys like Piper, Jason and Frank seemed distant towards me. At the end, I ended up loving Frank and Piper. They turned out to be more stronger than I ever thought they would be. Mr. Riordan did an excellent job with their character development , giving the little time he had with each of them.

Oh, Percy and Annabeth. They went through so much together. Even in Tartarus, Percy still made me laugh. As much as I hated seeing them suffer, I was glad the author decided to put so much of their perspective in the story. I thought that Percy had learned enough, but he ended up making mistakes, just like the others did. I adored their optimism. Even though they were in Tartarus, whenever everything was trying to kill them, they still focused on the fact that they were together.

Among the few new characters, Bob was definitely my favorite. I never thought I'd get attached to a Titan. He reminded me a lot of Tyson. He had a heart and forgave Percy. Like all of Mr. Riordan books, he promoted sacrifice, love, and forgiveness. And Leo... He was amazing, as always. But I especially cared about Leo and              I heard that they get together, but I was expecting them to act like they did. They were adorable together. (Don't want to say the name. No spoilers:)

What I really didn't care for:
Let's save the main problem for last, shall we? Okay, so there were seven perspectives. That's cool, but... still. The author only have them 3-6 chapters each, (excluding Percy and Annabeth), but it was only every 150 pages. So I would get done with one character's perspective and be like, "Oh, he's so awesome!" But when I come back to him, usually after Mr. Riordan left me on a huge cliffhanger, I'd be like, "I like you. But I haven't heard from you in so long."

No more stalling. Nico, the son of Hades and an old character from the original series, admits to Jason that he's gay. Not only that, but he used to have a crush on Percy. Personally, I cannot support homosexuality. I believe that God made us a certain way and we shouldn't try to pretend that he didn't. But this doesn't mean I hate gays or anything close to that.

I really can't say it didn't make sense, because it did. Greek mythology does have homosexuality in it, as Rick shows us right before Nico admits to this. But all the moments after this was just... awkward. But I wish it didn't happen because it would've made Nico much more relatable. Even I can relate to his introvert-ness. If he wasn't gay, he could relate to everyone who feels lonely and rejected.  And why Percy? Percy and Nico are just cool being friends, but now, the whole thing is awkward. Not to mention the fact that back when Nico is a new character, he hates Percy. How could he go from wishing him dead to.... this? Doesn't make sense.

To make things worse, right before Nico confesses, we meet a homosexual character from actual, real Greek mythology. This was a nice warning, but the guy was like, "I'm gay. Deal with it." For fans who have conservative views, this only made things worse. I was not a fan of Nico's character change. Everyone else was becoming stronger and wiser. Basically, Nico went from being cold and antisocial to being colder and even more antisocial. And why was he so mad at Percy? Percy had no idea about anything.

Conclusion:
Despite the fact that I knew about Nico, I was overjoyed to pick up this book just so I could go back to the world of Percy Jackson. This book was much better than I thought it would be. As always, it promoted great traits---bravery, love, sacrifice and friendship. You don't see that shown so boldly in many books.


I did disagree with Nico's thing, but I'm sure that in the end, Riordan will promote this message. We should accept everybody, especially our friends. Even though I don't agree with homosexuality, I think  part of the message is right. You don't have to agree with someone to love them. But, I'm also sure, that in the end, Riodarian will promote homosexuality. Still, you can't hate Nico because you feel so bad for him.

But what concerns me the most is that this book is not in the teen section. Of course, a lot of the fans are teens, but this book is being promoted with people my brother's age. I think it's sad. Kids that age shouldn't have to deal with things like this. I could totally see it in a teen book, not in a junior high book.
Overall, this book was great. If you don't mind the things I mentioned, you should read it. I'll have to think before I read The Blood of Olympus. but it's something to look forward to.

(Note: The Greek mythology version of hell is much different from the actual Biblical hell.)
Listening to: Speak Now, Taylor Swift
Reading: The Selection Stories: The Prince and The Guard
Watching: Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour Live