Hello friends! I am here with my review/discussion post/word vomit all about my Percy Jackson and the Olympians series reread.
Let me start off by saying I am SO GLAD I decided to do a reread of the PJO series, it has brought so much joy into my life, right at a time when I needed it.
These will not be proper reviews of each book, there will be a star rating but it will mostly just be me banging out about how much I loved the books, maybe with a few quotes thrown in and definitely a few memes!
One of my favourite things about this series as a whole is how much I learnt after reading the 5 books, I answer quiz questions and people are like “how do you know that?!” thanks PJO👀 but at the same time it doesn’t feel like learning because the books are so much fun.
BOOK 1 – THE LIGHTNING THIEF.
Overall rating – 4 stars.
The way this book starts immediately draws you in and entertains you from the very first page and compels you to keep reading. This is made even better by Percy’s narration and the chapter headings, my personal favourite of which is “I become supreme lord of the bathroom”.
Straight away I warmed to Percy and his Mom, the love she has for him clearly oozes through the pages, especially in the way she tries to allow Percy to be as normal of a child as possible, given that he’s actually half God and is at risk of dying every time he goes somewhere.
And the characters only got better from this point onwards, Annabeth and Grover stand out (obviously) due to them being a focal point through the book.
Riordan has this wonderful talent when he writes, you truly believe you are at Camp Half Blood or on Mount Olympus with Percy and co, you could practically taste the fresh air of camp or the electricity from Zeus’s lightning strikes. I was made to feel like a part of the camp and quest too.
This book still makes me feel the same as I did when I was younger, I loved it!
BOOK 2 – THE SEA OF MONSTERS.
Overall rating – 5 stars.
This one definitely has a dramatic opening, which I personally loved! I know they all open quite dramatically but for me, this one is the best opening chapters.
We also get introduced to Tyson, who I adore. A particular favourite part of mine about this book is how Percy feels embarrassed when Tyson is claimed and is his half brother, before he goes on a journey to realise that in actual fact he could do a lot worse – it shows us that Percy is still just a teenager and that he has the normal thoughts and feelings of a teenage boy. It felt real.
The chariot racing though has to be my favourite part! I feel like we’re riding in the chariot with them, you can feel the wind on your face and hear the shouts from the other cabins, it is described perfectly.
Sea of Monsters is also when Percy starts to open his eyes and realise how much he likes Annabeth and we really start to see them grow (which is a huge plus for a Percabeth fan like me!)
Oh and my favourite chapter heading from this one is “I have the worst family reunion ever”.
BOOK 3 – THE TITAN’S CURSE.
Overall rating – 4 stars.
This one is my least favourite of the series, nothing against it I just don’t enjoy reading it as much as the others, I think it’s the lack of Annabeth and the way her and Percy bounce off each other…
That being said, I love how we finally get to meet some other Gods, Artemis and Apollo for a start, and of course Artemis’s hunters are introduced.
I start this book with a very strong dislike of Thalia, I don’t like the way she treats Percy when they play capture the flag. I also dislike Bianca’s decision to join the hunters and leave Nico behind to deal with this overwhelming new life on his own. However, once we get to the end of the book (and this is testament to Riordan’s character development) I loved the two of them, they really grew on me.
This one was a little slow for me though, which is why it’s my least favourite.
My favourite chapter heading from this one has to be “I have a Dam problem”.
BOOK 4 – THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH.
Overall rating – 5 stars.
I actually have two favourite chapter headings from this book, I couldn’t decide between them both and they are… “Nico buys Happy Meals for the dead” and “I open a coffin”.
EEEEEK, this one is my FAVOURITE of the series, I would rate it higher than 5 stars if I could. I feel like this is the one where things take a much darker turn and we start to realise how much danger Percy and the camp are actually in.
Throughout this entire book I felt as though we were in the labyrinth with our heroes, I could feel the same fear that they felt and as someone who is claustrophobic and scared of the dark it really got under my skin.
I love this book so much that I cannot think of what to write about it, except that I LOVE IT. Tyson going with Grover, even though they both dislike each other, Annabeth getting annoyed with the Sphinx because it isn’t a riddle she’s been given, Rachel hitting Kronos in the eye with a plastic hairbrush. It’s just a masterpiece.
There are so many layers within this story but everything weaves together to create an incredible story for us to enjoy.
BOOK 5 – THE LAST OLYMPIAN.
Overall rating – 5 stars.
I have lots of feelings towards this book and I admit, I cried when I finished reading it because it really is the best end to the series.
I get goosebumps when I read this book, from start to finish the whole thing is excellent. There are so many different aspects that all work together to create this book that will make you feel every emotion under the sun.
The description that went into this book were second to none, I felt like we were in Poseidon’s realm fighting alongside him, or in the Underworld with Hades and Percy and Nico, or in May Castellan’s kitchen when we learn why Luke is the way he is. I cannot fault the description and writing from Riordan.
Throughout the various battles there were heartfelt moments too, that helped us to tie up any lose ends and brought the perfect ending to the books.
You could feel the emotion through the page with the scenes with Hermes and the scenes with Percy and Annabeth when they finally got together (Percabeth for life) and when the Gods were discussing how to honour the heroes and Nico finally got the recognition he deserved. I cried a lot during this book lmao.
And my favourite chapter heading has to go to… “My parents go commando”.
This 5 book series is just a true masterpiece and an absolute joy to read and I’m so glad I reread them, they were absolutely worth it!
What Em's Reading 