The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Published by: Hyperion Books for Children
Pages:
Format: Hardback
Series: The Lost Hero (#1) | The Son of Neptune (#2) | The Mark of Athena (#3) | The Blood of Olympus (#5)
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

The cliffhanger at the end of Mark of Athena meant that I absolutely had to continue with the series straight away! I was surprised at how long Percy and Annabeth spent in Tartarus, as I’ve leaned that my favourite sections are when everyone is together. TOGETHER, RICK. Nonetheless, House of Hades was another wonderful sequel – action packed, with just enough romance to satisfy YA readers.

One of my favourite characters is obviously Leo, and I knew that House of Hades was a big one for him, and I am SO HAPPY with how his future is looking! (Simply adorable.) Leo’s love interest is so perfect, I really hope that they work out in the end. It fits so perfectly with the glimpses and references to her character that are mentioned earlier on in the series.

On that note, recurrences of old characters really help to make these books excellent. Percy and Annabeth have to deal with a lot of their old enemies in House of Hades and although sometimes it can be hard to remember who was who, they remind the reader of fun Percy Jackson and the Olympians highlights. And it’s not just old enemies that come back, but we visit gods that we’ve previously seen  – I can’t wait until Apollo gets another visit in Blood of Olympus.

NICO. I couldn’t really get through this review without mentioning this little cutie at least once. The characters went through a stage of all saying in the narratives “I literally can not get a handle on this guy”, and then we finally understand a little bit of his pain. I’ve heard people complain that BoO contains Reyna and Nico’s perspectives, but personally, I’m really looking forward to getting a look into Nico’s motives. I want his ending to be happy – he’s been through a lot with Bianca (Yes, every time she is brought up it feels like I’ve been stabbed directly in the heart.) To sum up vulnerable boys with no love interests are the ones I hold closest to my heart.

Percy and Annabeth had a lot to struggle through in this book, and it was once again evident that the pair have matured to their age and their environment.  They’re questioning what they’re doing, and really bringing out the deep philosophical questions: can there be good monsters? I love the character development, and it’s not just limited to Percabeth, everyone – especially those that feel underrated eg. Frank and Piper – talks about their feelings and how they can help out and make themselves even more awesome.

This was a wild ride of emotions (not all of them cutesy) and definitely worth a read if you are in love with these characters as much as I am. The writing is as witty as ever, but with just the right amount of serious undertones. A solid four stars and I can already feel a book hangover for when this series is over.