The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Friday, February 13, 2015

Song I Read While Reading- Dangerous by David Guetta
Rating- 4 stars

Synopsis-
Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.
In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth - a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn



Theres not much I can say in the non spoilery section of this book so cover your eyes and smack your keyboard until it takes you away from this page. 
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Alright, does anyone else question Kronos intelligence when he picked Luke's body to take over? Like, of ALL the monsters and demigods.. He could have picked the body of Antaeus or even the Kampe's body. That's physically intimidating at least. Even if a demigod is half god, the other half is human. And from what I've learned in reading all these fantasy books is that we're pretty freakin vulnerable. So that was a major screw up on his part. Another annoying thing about him using Luke's body is Annabeth is going to have a hell of a time trying to get over it. SERIOUSLY YOU'RE THE DAUGHTER OF ATHENA BUT YOU'RE BEING PRETTY STUPID ABOUT THIS SITUATION. And I have feeling she's going to have a shot at killing him or even just fight against him and she's going to hold back and screw something up because of her stupid crush. Idiot. 
Rachel Elizabeth Dare was no surprise for me. Why else would Riordan make such a big show of Percy asking her her name? That would be cool as hell to be able to see clearly through the Mist. Theres hope for us mere mortals after all! But I don't condone these weird feelings between her and Percy. Get your head out of your ass and take Annabeth on a date for christ sake. I was so excited for their movie date!! And then of course it got ruined by that stupid demon cheerleader whore. I'm so glad Annabeth kicked her ass. You know Rachel is going to show up again in the next book so we'll see how this awkward situation plays out. 
I was surprised at the low death count. I'm used to at least 2 or 3 people Percy has been talking to to die, so I'm scared for the last book. Watch him kill like half the camp. I thought for sure Grover or Tyson would die while on the quest, and I'm so glad they didn't cause Grover and Juniper are so cute. I'm glad he finally has a girlfriend. Course from what Annabeth said when we first met her, they've been dating for a while now. I wonder how long? 
Since all the chapters give us an idea on whats to come (something that really bugs me), I got all wary of chapter twenty, My Birthday Party Takes a Dark Turn. I gotta admit, I was totally suspicious of Paul. I don't know why, but when he handed Percy that drink I just got this idea of him having poisoned it. That would be a crazy cliffhanger if Percy started blacking out and realizes that Paul had done it and tries to warn everyone but can't. I'm still cautious of him, though I'm sure he's a regular ol' human since Poseidon met him and didn't sense anything. 
Something I hope Riordan points out in The Last Olympian is if Percy is taller then Annabeth. I know she's taller then Grover but I can't remember if Percy is taller then him. I keep picturing Percy a couple inches shorter than Annabeth and its bugging the crap out of me. 

Quotes
"He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years but I recognized it- a McDonalds Happy Meal. He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.
"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."
"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.
"At least let me keep the toy." the ghost said.
"Be quiet!" Nico ordered. 

"The next field was ringed in barbed wire. The whole area was crawling with giant scorpions.
"Triple G Ranch," I said, suddenly remembering. "Your mark was on the crates at camp. Quintus got his scorpions from you."
"Quintus..." Geryon murmured. "Short gray hair, muscular, swordsman?"
"Yeah."
"Never heard of him." 


(Image and synopsis from Goodreads)
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The Titans Curse by Rick Riordan

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Song I Played While Reading- Dangerous by David Guetta
Rating- 4 stars

Synopsis-
When Percy Jackson revives an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he'll need his powerful demigods allies at his side; his trusty bronze sword, Riptide; and.. a ride from his mom.
The demigods race to the rescue to find that Grover has made an important discovery; two powerful half-bloods, whose parentage is unknown. But that's not all that awaits them. The Titans lord Kronos has set up a devious trap, and the young hero have just fallen pray.






LOOOOOOOOOOVED THIS BOOK. Honestly half the reason why is cause of all the mythology we learn. Its fascinating as hell. It takes a while to get used to and to remember everything, but once you do it's like oh shit I could teach this. Whenever I see statues of gods I wanna start spouting random information. It's awesome. Like I said before, this series get better with every book. The writing is more complex and we've got more emotional appeal. We feel things more deeply now that Percy is old enough to really understand life and death. I think the coolest thing is reading about these big, bad Olympian gods and seeing that they can act human too. Not a lot, but it happens.
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I totally didn't see Nico's heritage coming into play. I really thought Hades had kept his promise. Do you know how creepy that would be? That's one god I would not want to be my dad. Being able to rip a hole open in the Earth and send whoever I want into hell would be nice.. occasionally. Lets hope Nico gets his anger under control or else Hades will be really complaining about the population down there. I wonder how he'll come into play in the final battle cause I'm pretty sure he's in the Hereos of Olympus series. I've heard people talking about him a lot and how they like him, so clearly he fights on the right team (I hope). He's probably gonna be really hot (is that weird? probably)
I was a little irked in the beginning of the book when we read that Percy was getting more dreams on the villain laughing about how these demigods have played into their trap, once again. I'm tired of that route. It was nice starting this book in the winter instead of the summer, but it fell into the same path as the other two. Something bad happens, he has a dream, they have to take a quest. BLAH. The Hunters were a cool addition, though I was little weirded out that they all looked super young. Coming from a person who personally looks very young and gets remarks about it all the time ("Oh I thought you were 14!") I wonder why they didn't just wait til they were older. I would want to be frozen at 21 or 22. Not twelve, good lord.
I definitely took Zoe's death a little harder then usual. We finally get some emotional writing in this book and there were a few times that I got really sad, and her death was one of them. I just think it's amazing, that kind of servitude. To be completely selfless and give up so much, just to serve this one person, then to die for them. It's amazing. Plus the little ceremony, star-blowing thing was so awesome to picture. But now that Thalia has joined the hunt and taken over her spot, things are gonna get interesting. Does she still have her powers? What's her role going to be in the final battle? I don't know why I'm so obsessed with picturing this final battle but I am. I keep wondering how everyone is going to eventually come into play. ITS GOING TO BE SO EPIC.
Thalia had her moments but she was kind of boring. When Percy and her duke it out after the capture the flag game, I was giddy. ITS SO COOL HAVING THOSE KINDS OF POWERS. I wonder who would win if they actually went head to head. So badass. I'M SO JEALOUS. I would still want Percy's powers, even though being able to electrocute someone would be crazy cool.
Did anybody else fall in love with Apollo? His haiku moment had me cracking up. Hellooooooo handsome.
The ending had another cliffhanger with Pan, thought I would have been okay with it all ending when Percy figured out Nico was Hades kid. That whole Pan situation is weird. And I wonder if the coffee actually helped? "I await you." Where art thou, Pan. Grover is going to flip his shit when he meets him.
And I also wonder what the bad news Clarisse got from her scouting quest was. What added stress is Percy going to have to lug around on his shoulders now? Poor baby. Maybe Annabeth can help bare the weight (get it? cause they both carried the weight of the sky? I shouldn't be typing this review when I can barely keep my eyes open, yet here I am).

Quotes
"Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he burst out of the water.
A whole bunch of tourists went, "Whoa!"
I managed to wave at the crowd. Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco

"Artemis gritted her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."
"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."
The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before.
He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.
"Green grass breaks through snow.
Artemis pleads for me help.
I am so cool." Seriously bae


(Image from Goodreads)
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The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Monday, February 9, 2015

Song I Played While Reaing- Dangerous by David Guetta
Rating- 4 stars

Synopsis-
Seventh grade has been surprisingly quiet for Percy Jackson. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get...well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of his friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed. 
In the follow-up to the wildly popular The Lightning Thief, Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family--one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

Damn you Rick Riordan. DAMN YOU. I had planned on stopping after this book to read other things because it wasn't holding my interest enough. But then... the ending happened. It saved the book. Not to say this book wasn't good besides that, because it was. It was definitely better then the first one, especially the character development and the relationships. Whats cool about this book is that you realize how bad things could get if they don't win in the end, and save Olympus. Theres a bunch of foreshadowing and little hints at possible what-ifs, which makes you want to read the rest of them just so you know the final outcome. These are super easy reads so they don't take much time. I'm hoping to finish this series by the end of the week.
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For some reason I was picturing Thalia as Zu from The Darkest Minds. I have nooo idea why. So you could image how hilarious it would be (if you've read the books) to have Zu as a badass biker chick. She was definitely an unexpected resurrected character and I was totally shocked and hooked. I can already tell she's gonna spice shit up in these next couple of books and I'm really excited to see her powers! I hope her and Percy become BFFs.
Another character I really liked was Tyson. He was SO sweet I just wanted to pinch his cheeks. I can't picture him as being ugly and creepy looking so I have a hazy image of a BFG in my mind instead. And I picture him as black. My mind is weird.
Annabeth and Percy's relationship grows so much in this book and I love it. I've known for a while she's the love interest, so I got all the feels when little hints of whats' to-be showed up in here. Like on page 139, when they were in the little hiding spot in Chesapeake Bay and Percy realized he got jealous whenever he thought about Annabeth with Luke when they were younger. And then when she kissed his cheek at the chariot race <33333333 Like I always say, the best relationships start out as friendships.
There were a couple times I felt like chucking the book at the wall. First, when Percy and Annabeth ONCE AGAIN get into a situation at the spa. WHENEVER YOU GO SOMEWHERE YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE BUT THEY ACT LIKE THEY WERE EXPECTING YOU, TURN AROUND. Have they not learned from the first book?! Don't drink things from strangers! Especially strangers that want to make you look like your 'true self'. Good lord. And then both times when Clarissa opened her big, fat mouth and rated out Grover to the Polyphemus, and then again when she was taunting the Cyclops and he chucked a rock at the ship. Like KEEP YOUR FILTHY MOUTH SHUT, DAMN IT. I actually felt bad for her in the first half of the book, cause you knew no one wanted to come with her on the quest and her own father was threatening her if she didn't succeed. But then she ratted out Grover and I wanted Percy to slice her in half and just be done with her.
All around, I liked this book. The writing was still a little bland and easy, but I fly through these so fast that it doesn't really annoy me anymore. The stakes are definitely getting higher and I can't wait to see what happens in the third installment.

Quotes
"Matt Sloan, who'd been standing there dumbfounded the whole time, finally came to his senses. He blinked at Annabeth, as if he dimly recognized her from my notebook picture. "That's the girl... That's the girl-"
Annabeth punched him in the nose and knocked him flat. "And you," she told him, "lay off my friend."" (pg. 22)

"We went under and Annabeth stopped struggling. Her expression became confused. Then our heads broke the surface and she started to fight again.
The water! Sound didn't travel well underwater. If I could submerge her long enough, I could break the spell of the music. Of course, Annabeth wouldn't be able to breathe, but at the moment, that seemed like a minor problem." (pg. 197)
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Book Haul

Hello hello!
I got back from Puerto Rico last night and came home to 2 boxes and 1 book sitting on my dresser. To sum up my response; I tweaked out and woke up the entire house. Oops :)

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 
Lexicon by Max Berry (I ordered this one because it was a bargain price and I had $5 left on my gift card)
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

I'm currently reading Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan but plan to put down the series for a little while once I finish. Trying to decide which book to read is already giving me heart palpitations. Any suggestions?
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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Song I Played While Reading- Dangerous by David Guetta
Rating- 3 stars

Synopsis- 
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

I know what your thinking; 3 stars? Really? 
REALLY. No one is more surprised then me. I had such high hopes for this book cause everyone raves about it. Seriously I've never seen one negative comment on this. But alas, here I am, with a negative comment. Something I failed to remember until half way through the story was that this was a kids book, which was why it was such an easy read for me, and why I was so let down. I'm not saying all kids books are like this (Harry Potter anyone???) but because I expected so much from this story, it fell short. It wasn't great; it wasn't bad. So it's a solid 3 for me. 
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Does anyone else think Percy was given this quest waaaay to early in his training? I mean the kid was at camp for two, maybe three weeks, before being asked to take on this deadly task, when only the day before had he just realized he was the son of Poseidon. I get that they had a time limit, but still. That was cutting it. Theres only so much a 12 year old can do (even if he is the son of an all powerful god). 
Percy was an interesting pov. In the beginning he kind of bothered me, but once I warmed up to him I started liking him. He talked back to everyone, which I appreciated. Nothing bothers me more then a mute, flimsy narrator. One thing that had me rolling my eyes repeatedly was the multiple situations him, Annabeth, and Grover walked into. If they had listened to their gut and had been aware of their surroundings, I think they would have had a lot less to deal with. I don't even understand the part with the Lotus Casino. It was super random and had no correlation with monsters or gods, so I still don't get why Riordan added that part. 
Annabeth was definitely one of my favorite characters. She's realistic and down to earth, which was much needed when working with two goofballs like Grover and Percy. Plus she's the daughter of Athena and she's my favorite goddess :)
Being the son of Poseidon would be SO FREAKIN COOL. I have a soft spot for mermaids so I was internally crying whenever Percy would walk underwater and do stuff. He has all the benefits of the mermaid side, plus being a demigod, but in a human body. THE JEALOUSY IS REAL PEOPLE. SO REAL. I actually dreamed about controlling water last night, it was that bad. Was it blatantly obvious who Percy's father was in the story to anyone else? I know its not fair to point this out since I knew before reading this, but even without knowing all the signs pointed to him. Who else can control water like that? What Olympian god, in general, has an affinity with water? HMMMM.
I'm interested enough in the story that I'll pick up the next book, but after that I might set this down for a little bit. I'll definitely finish it at some point. I'm hoping this is one of those series that gets better with every book.

Quotes
""Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilet."
"Whatever."
"It wasn't my fault."
She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing." (pg. 93)

"Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"
"Don't think negative."
"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative." (pg. 283)


Has anyone seen the movie? Should I watch it?


(Image and synopsis from Goodreads
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Top Ten Fantasy Books I Cant Believe I Haven't Read Yet

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

This meme is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. Some of these books have been on my TBR list on Goodreads for years. Why haven't I read these? I DONT KNOW. Fantasy is one of my all time favorite genres, so hopefully this will be the kick in the butt I need to order these babies!




Cinder by Marissa Meyer
I remember when this first came out. I read the description, thought it sounded okay, then promptly forgot about it. But with all this hype coming out from the release of Fairest, I looked at the description again and it suddenly sounded way different. So I've finally added this to my TBR pile, and plan on ordering it ASAP.







The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater 
This is just like what happened with Cinder; the release of Blue Lily, Lily Blue  made everyone freak out over this series, and I reconsidered my previous assumptions on it. Its officially added!








Angelfall by Susan Ee
Seriously you'd think with all the rave this book got I would have gotten it... nope.









The Selection by Kiera Cass
I guarantee you if I had seen this book at Barnes and Noble I would have picked it up without even reading the synopsis. THAT COVER IS GORGEOUS. Don't judge a book by its cover, my ass.








Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Oohing and aahing over this cover, plus the whole science fiction aspect of this book intrigues me because I don't read much sci-fi. Sounds awesome!









The Archived by Victoria Schwab
I loved Vicious, Schwab's adult fantasy book/ the first book I read from her. It was insanely cool, so of course I had to add this book to my TBR list. Hopefully I'll get to it before the third book comes out!








Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
I first heard this book from my favorite booktuber, Christine. This is one of her favorite trilogies, so of course I had to add it to my TBR shelf. I've seen some hype on this in the past couple of weeks, and I think the author is writing more books in the series, so I need to get my hands on this!
Check out Christine's channel while your reading this, I promise you won't be disappointed. Her book talks are hilarious.





Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I've heard mixed reviews on this, but so many of the booktubers I watch on Youtube have reviewed this that I wanted to join in on the fun. Plus, from the few adult books I've read, 80% of them have been historical fictions, so I thought why not add this to the list!








The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 
I've wanted to get my hands on this baby for so long. Why hasn't it happened yet? I DONT KNOW. *cries*









Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
This was one of those books that I looked forward the second I finished the previous book. I salivated over it, counted down the days, grew more and more excited for it. I don't even know if this counts since its the last book in trilogy, but I'm determined to read this book. Because I know once I do I'll scream at myself for not picking it up sooner.







Whats on your list?

(Images from Goodreads)
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It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday, February 2, 2015

Hello, hello!
Happy February everyone :) This is a good month for me. Besides the fact that its my birthday on the 15th, all that delicious Valentines day candy is 75% off. I swear the amount of chocolate I get as a present doubles every year. Not that I mind ;)
This meme is hosted by the lovely Sheila from Book Journey






Finished This Week
I'm rereading the Throne of Glass series, so its been quite an emotional week. If you haven't read these books yet, please do that now. This is your sign. GO. READ THEM NOW. You can thank me later :)
The Assassins Blade
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight 

Upcoming Books
I'm FINALLY reading Percy Jackson. I'm bringing the first three books with me to Puerto Rico, so hopefully I'll have some time to read!

What will you be reading this week? 
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