Review: The Mark of Athena

Title:  The Mark of Athena
Series:  The Heroes of Olympus #3
Author:  Rick Riordan
Publisher:  Hyperion Book CH
Pages:  574
Format:  Hardcover
Source:  Bought

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare....

My Review:  Holy wow, guys.  This book. . . it made me feel all the things.  I laughed, I jumped up and down, I screamed, and I cried.  Like, tons of tears.  Some were happy, some were mad, and some were so sad.  In the end though, I completely adored every moment I spent between the pages of this book.  

We finally had all of the seven demigods from the prophecy together and it was interesting to have them in one place at last.  I loved seeing the way they all interacted, particularly Percy and Jason.  They had this sort of wariness between them which was expected.  They were both leaders and had to learn to share some of the responsibility they always had on their shoulders.  When they did come together, it was awesome.  Their powers complimented each other wonderfully and it was totally cool seeing them kick some monster butt together.  The tension between Leo, Hazel, and Frank was also really fun to explore.  They have a lot going on between them all and I'm really curious to see how all of that plays out.  It will be interesting to see what happens in their relationships.

The thing that was happening with Annabeth had me so freaked out, too.  I was terrified for her!  She kept talking about how she was feeling this coldness and I was so afraid that she was being possessed or something for the longest time.  When we found out exactly what was happening, I calmed down a bit but there was still a prickle of fear there for her.  

The one thing that seriously bothered me throughout this whole book was how every saw Percy!  Multiple times people (ahem, Piper and Jason) made comments about how he wasn't as good as Jason or how he was stupid.  Um, are we seeing the same person?  Percy is so clever and strong!  He gets people out of bad situations all the time and he's never a jerk about it afterward!  He's so humble and caring and loyal and it really pissed me off how they apparently didn't see that in him.  And how is Jason better?!?  The only thing he ever does is get knocked out!  I can only recall one time in this entire book where he was actually helpful and not unconscious when something big was happening and he wasn't even fighting on his own!  At least Percy can stay awake and fight!  Ugh, I'm still all worked up over that.  

Besides some annoying parts with a couple characters, this book was absolutely amazing!  There was ton of action and, of course, an adventure that kept me at the edge of my seat throughout the entire read!  I liked getting to know each character better and seeing how they all interacted!  And I am so anxious to get my hands on the next book.  After that ending . . . I'm dying to know what is going to happen. 

Five Cards