House of Hades ( Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan

ISBN : 9780141339191
Publisher : Penguin Group
Publish Year : 2013
Edition : UK first edition ( Yeah, the cover wasn't UK's)
Format : Paperback
Pages : 583
Personal Rating : 8/10
Summary (From 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

Sorry for the late review, haven't got a lot of time to read lately :( . But here you go 

Another fantasic book from Rick Riordan! This is the fourth book of the series. I really hate to say this, especially to my favorite author, but this book didn’t reach my expectation. I’m not saying that this book is bad or something, it is good . But after the huge cliffhanger in the last book, I definitely had high expectation for the book.

Before I go to the cons of the books, let’s talk about why I recommend this book.

First of all, I would say that ALL of  the seven demigods got more spotlight. Some of the character became the leader on their own, like Frank and Leo. I often underestimate them, but in this book I can see that they have shown us what they’re capable of. Talking about Frank, did he just got a little bit sexier!! <3 <3

Second, besides the spotlight, this book also showed us more relationships between the characters, I suppose. So I think it showed us more teamwork between the demigods. I mean,one example from the previous books is Piper’s relationship. It was focused with Jason and Leo. But in this book she showed us some relation to other character like Hazel!  

I also think this book is like a reminder of the previous series, Pecy Jackson. I mean, I keep reminded with Percy’s adventure in the PJO. Especially with him and Annabeth fighting side by side once again. I love all those Percabeth moments ><! And they experience it in Tartarus! I think it is indeed Percy Jackson’s most dangerous adventure ever!

There are some characters from PJO that we might have forgotten. Like all the monster Percy had killed in PJO. Well, we can see some of their fates in Tartarus. And then, there’s Calypso! Gosh! I always wondering how she end up! And then there she is. She appeared a little bit different than what I was hoping for, actually. As I remembered she was the graceful, modest, delicate, and regal. But here, I think she was a little bit bad tempered.

The best part of the book is that, we actually found that there are good monsters out there, like the one who helped Percy. I always think if all monsters are bad does it mean they don’t have a chance to be good? And I love it that they can coorperate, and in a matter of fact, I think it’s kinda sweet and I felt  kinda sad when they’re going to seperated.

Well, now for the cons of the book. This book has all the main character’s POVs. It would be great because we can see actually experience each adventure that the characters done. We can see how they grew and found a way to finish their tasks. But I think the POV changed to often. Sometimes, when a character was going to face some surprises, the POV changed.  After reading another character’s adventure,I found that it’s hard to focus and felt the tense of the previous character’s adventure.

Second, I think some characters didn’t get enough POV. Most of them are Percy’s, Annabeth’s and Frank’s. Some characters like Jason and Piper didn’t get enough POV, I suppose. Especially when I was really curious with their relationship. I mean, in The Lost Hero they were still confuse with their feelings and 8 months later they were already dating. I didn’t see how their feeling grew into more romantic affections. It’s not like Percy and Annabeth. We had seen how their feelings developed since they were twelve.

Well it’s my review. It might no reach my expectation. But I would be very stupid if I didin’t recommend it ! So read the book. And join me craving for the last book , the Blood of Olympus! I’m sure it’s gonna be fantastic!

"You cannot control your parentage, but you can choose your legacy " - Notus

" I figure the universe is basically like a machine. I don't know who made it, if it was the Fates or the gods or capital- G God or whatever. But it chungs along the way it's supposed to most of the time. Sure, little pieces break and stuff goes haywire once in a while, but mostly... things happens for a reason. Like you and me meeting " - Leo Valdez