Review: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Title: The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus #4)
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Yes
Finished or ARC: Finished
Source: Bought from Amazon.com

Goodreads: At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Review

To me, the Percy Jackson series and the Hereoes of Olympus are one of those series that if you love it, you love it. It's not a YA book that we normally think of: one hero, love interest with some forbidden love triangle or something, and one evil villain. Instead, these two series revolve around several characters (and Percy) and different couples and several evil villains. Great series all around. And I happen to be one of the people on the world that love this series. 

This book.........Holy freaking crap. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. One thing I love to point out is that unlike most YA novels, this series has several authors. I don't really like third person POV, but Rick Riordan does a great job using it. I love getting each character's perspective on the story/plot, even if I really wish I could know every character's thoughts on each scene (what a long book that would be). As much as I wish the story was told from only Percy's POV like in the first series, I do like all the characters narrating.

In all of his books that I have read (which is just the ones with Percy in them), Rick Riordan brings his own humor to the story, which makes getting through one of his books without a laugh very hard to do. I was surprised that this book didn't have as much funny jokes and humor as his other ones. Maybe it was because this book was a bit more serious than the others; given that Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus (which was cruel) and Frank, Leo, Jason, and Piper are trying to reach the House of Hades to close the Doors of Death, with Nico's help. As much as seriousness is good for a book with so much suspense, I did miss some of the funniness Riordan brings to his books.

Characters:

I have to say, this is the one book I think most of the characters really revealed their true selves. Frank, we know, has been uncomfortable with himself, not only being the son of Mars, but also in his awkward shape and the fact Leo keeps teasing him. In the HOH, he grows out of all of this and comes to accept himself even more. Leo, who left a little left out given that he is the only one of the seven without a girlfriend, expresses this and I came to the conclusion that he teased Frank and was a joker because he felt that was the only way he would be noticed for something other than his awesome mechanical skills. I was really happy that he met Calypso, but really upset that the gods hadn't let her go yet. 

Frank and Leo are just a few examples of revelations. The biggest one to me was Nico. This is the first time we really see him for him. He lashes out at Cupid, who provokes him into revealing his big secret. It is shocking to learn this secret. I'm not going to say what it is since it is a big spoiler, but I will say this: if you look at the whole series, you wouldn't think of it at all. Many books these days have some of this issue (think of Glee when you are wonder what it is) and oddly, I would have never thought Riordan would have put it in his series. It's not that I think he's against this issue (I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone; I can't think of any other word for it without revealing the secret or sounding really, really rude), but it was just a surprise. But then again, a chapter earlier kind of hinted to it, which I wasn't smart enough to pick up on, but still, it was a shock. But I still love Nico. By far, he is one of the strongest characters of the series; not by strength and brute force, but by character in himself.

Romance:
What I love best about these books is that the love dovy stuff isn't overwhelming stupid and cheesy. It is the love you would expect two teenagers to experience as their first girlfriend/boyfriend. Of course, I love Percabeth all the way, but Jasper (Jason and Piper) and Frazel (Frank and Hazel) are good too. Hopefully Riordan doesn't screw it up and forget about Calypso. I love them together. I think their couple name is Caleo.

Ending:

I'm happy it ending the way it did, but I'm sad that Bob died and that Octavian is a horrible ^@*$^#)@ face. He's too power hungry. I really don't like him. I kinda hope he does get shot out of a cannon by Frank and Reyna. I can't wait for the last book, The Blood of Olympus, which I hope doesn't mean a main character dies. 

Rating & Cover:

The Big Kahuna