The House of Hades

Book Title: House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan
Number of Pages: 597
Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Action-Adventure
Books like it: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter,  Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.
My favorite quote:

“Maybe love was no match for ice...but Piper had used it to wake a metal dragon. Mortals did superhuman feats in the name of love all the time. Mothers lifted cars to save their children. And Piper was more than just a mortal. She was a demigod. A hero.”

Brief Synopsis 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.

My Summary:
 
(I love this.... so much.)
Oh my gosh. I had my worries about this book.... because, well you know Rick Riordan. He isn't always the type of author that gives us what we want. But this book was awesome! I was so worried we would not hear anything from Percy and Annabeth, who fell into Tartarus at the end of The Mark of Athena. However, their POVs made up more than half the book. The only down side was, my favorite new HoO series character, Piper, only had two whole chapters in the entire book from her POV. One REALLY big plus is my favorite mythology character from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series came back!
I won't tell you who it is, though. That's just mean.
Another plus to add in the introductory paragraph of this review. While we're at it, anyway. This had the best dedication page possibly ever.

“To my wonderful readers:
Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.
Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA.
But seriously, I love you guys.”

Next up: The actual summary, full of a whole bunch of quotes! Stay tuned. Again, *MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* for those who have not read the Mark of Athena.

The House of Hades starts off right where the (quite literal) cliffhanger of The Mark of Athena left off. Jason, Leo, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Nico must open the Doors of Death on the mortal side, while Percy and Annabeth fight fate in the depths of Tartarus to reach the Doors of Death there. They will have to survive the poisonous atmosphere, drink fire to stay alive, and face all the enemies they killed in the past. Will they make it to the Doors in time to stop Gaea from awakening? Can they stay alive, despite all the trials they will face?

Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy’s ear. “I love you.”
She wasn’t sure he could hear her—but if they died, she wanted those to be her last words.

In the fourth installment to the intense Heroes of Olympus series, you will encounter shocking twists, heart-pounding action scenes, secrets that you could have never guessed, and more about the characters than you could ever imagine. This adventure will keep you turning its pages until a shocking end.
 Leo:
You are welcome for that vague introduction. Let us move on to the characters and other adventures they will be having that are very minor spoiler ish. First off, Leo. Poor little mechanic with no love life, despite his awesome fire power and sense of humor. He will encounter some unfriendly thieves where he.... well, let's say they might cause him to loose his pants. He also has a few chapters with the before mentioned character from the Percy Jackson series. {Those chapters might have been one of my favorite parts in the book...}

"Oh, I'm sorry!" {Leo} said. "I just fell out of the sky. I constructed a helicopter in midair, burst into flames halfway down, crash landed, and barely survived. But by all means.... Let's talk about your dining table!"
Here is a quote from him, and a snippet from the scene where he misplaces his *ahem* pants.

Misplaces Pants....

Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the tool belt and spun it like a noisemaker. “Oh, very nice! I’m definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!”
Blue Bottom?
Leo glanced down. His pants had slipped around his ankles again, revealing his blue undershorts. “That’s it!” he shouted. “My stuff. Now. Or I’ll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is.”
His hands caught fire.

Funny Leo Quote:

“Stupid rock gods!” Leo yelled from the helm. “That’s the third time I’ve had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?”
Nico frowned. “Masts are from trees.”
“That’s not the point!”

Piper:
Moving on from Leo.... let's see. How about Piper? My favorite quote from this book was actually from her. (Look above to see.) She became a brave little bugger, a hero, and not just the daughter of the goddess of love and beauty. (By the way, Jason and Nico have a nasty little run in with Cupid, the god of love. For someone who is supposed to be loveable, he is an absolute jerk.) It is kind of hard to talk about her because she didn't have a very big part in this book. Only two chapters, and in the chapters with the other characters POV, she was not mentioned very much. When she was mentioned though, she was an awesome heroine.

Jason:

Man, I wasn't sure about Jason in The Lost Hero. He seemed full of secrets and untrustworthy. I am so in love with him now! He kicks butt in this book, dear readers. He is noble and heroic, and always jumping in to save the day. He is a great leader, with some self-sacrifices thrown in here and there. I thought I would never say this.... but he is almost as amazing as Percy. He goes on many missions, including one with Nico to confront Cupid and find a scepter, and another with Leo to get back some things that were stolen from them. It seems like the poor guy never gets his rest. He's going to save the world from Gaea, I know it! I just feel like he tries so hard to be friendly to others, but he is just...too awkward. He's not really a people person.... oh well.

Percy and Annabeth:
I have to do them together, because, well, they are not meant to be separated. Tartarus is not
an easy place to get through, trust me. There is a poisonous atmosphere that makes their throats feel like fire and covers their skin in blisters. They encounter many of their old enemies, none of which are particularly happy to see them, including Kelli, the vampire like creature that was posing as a cheerleader, and also some very naughty creatures called the arai. When they kill one, it curses them by inflicting them with the same pain they killed a particular monster with. That might sound a little confusing, but I know for sure it is not at all pleasant.

[Annabeth's] voice caught on the word friend. Percy was a lot more than that. Even boyfriend really didn't cover it. They'd been through so much together, at this point Percy was part of her--a sometimes annoying part, sure, but definitely a part she could not live without.

Let's just close on them by saying they do have a huge part in this book, you will look forward to reading their chapters, and there is never a single dull moment with them. Tartarus is out to get them, and it wants them dead.

Frank:
Dude, this guy is not the wimpy Roman/Chinese guy I thought he was. I mean, sure, he can turn into animals, and that alone is just cool. I just always thought for a son of Mars/Ares (whichever) he was kind of a big wimp. He puts on his big boy pants in this book, ladies and gentlemen and other creatures. He has some awesome action scenes where he singlehandedly saves the day. One of them involves lots of cows, and the other involves a lot of ghosts. He grows taller and buffer and I'm actually kind of jealous of Hazel now.



(While we are going along with the Captain America theme.....)

Hazel:
In my opinion, this story is definitely Hazel's. She is the most awesome back-from the dead thirteen year old I know. Well, she's the only back-from the dead thirteen year old I know. She gets a visit from Hecate, the goddess of crossroads. Hecate convinces her that she needs to learn to control the Mist in order to defeat a goddess that only Hazel can defeat herself. Her ability to pull gems out of the ground comes in handy more than once. I can't really tell you much about her without spoiling big story points. She has that big of part in the story.

Nico:
Yes, I know Nico is not one of the seven, and he does not have a POV in this story. However, he grows throughout this book and we learn why he is so closed off and always feels like he doesn't feel like he belongs. Also, a BIG secret about him comes out when he is on the quest with Jason to get the scepter from Cupid. I think you will like his character development in this book.

In conclusion: I know this has been a very long and probably confusing review and I congratulate you for making it through. This book was amazing and Riordan stepped up his game. And yes, I will give you some relief: the ending is not as bad as the Mark of Athena. This time it is not a (quite literal) cliffhanger.
Cautions for Parents: NA

Review: 4.5 stars