The Veil - Megan Chance

The Fianna Triology comes to an end in The Veil, and it offers new twists that, really, you didn't see coming.

Grace has found the archdruid who can help her develop her powers as the veleda. She still hopes he'll provide her a spell that will prevent her death. Her working with the archdruid, also means she's kept away. Away from Patrick and the Fomori and away from Diarmid and the Fianna.

In the first two books, I really wasn't a fan of Patrick. But here, he shines. You see a new Patrick, and you like him. Which is horrible, because how can the triangle work if you like all parties involved?

Aiden grows more in this final book. He is a strong brother, that doesn't allow his choosing the Fianna to affect his concern for Grace. In the end, his family matters, not his allegiance.

Diarmid continues to be the torn soul. Torn between his love for Grace and his love for his brothers. But even as Patrick shines, Diarmid still is able to be the hero you fell in love with.

What was really great about this final installment, was seeing both sides of the immigrant story. We see the reasons why Patrick wants to "save" Ireland, and how the Irish see their new life in America. We see the influence of the Fianna on the new immigrants.

While I love myths, mythology and folklore, I've never been interested in Irish folklore, but I do think that's about to change!

The Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan

It is time to save the world!!!

Members of the Greek,

Camp Half-Blood,

and the Roman,

Camp Jupiter

must come together on a quest

to stop the rise of Gaea.

But things don't go as planned.

Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo 

arrive at Camp Jupiter.

They are not trusted,

and things go from bad to worse

when Leo is taken over by an Idolan

and attacks the camp.

Percy, Hazel and Frank,

join them as they escape and head to Rome,

to try and stop Gaea. 

And this is not an easy task.

They need to save Nico

who is held captive.

And Annabeth

has a side quest of her own.

She has been given the task

to follow the Mark of Athena

and find something that was stolen

when the Romans conquered the Greeks.

This will,

apparently,

help unite both sides. 

But can the seven

do all this in time?

The Son of Neptune - Rick Riordan

I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series

and really didn't plan to read

The Heroes of Olympus.

But Ethan got interested in it

and started asking me questions,

so I felt obliged to read it too.

And while it doesn't capture me as much as

Percy Jackson did,

I'm still really enjoying this series.

While The Last Olympian

introduced us to Jason, Leo and Piper,

The Son of Neptune

is the return of Percy 

and introduces us to 

Hazel and Frank.

Percy finds his way to Camp Jupiter,

with no memory of his past life,

and immediately becomes friends with Hazel and Frank.

Each harbours a secret.

Together they are thrown into a quest,

this one taking them to Alaska.

What was great in this book,

was getting to know Hazel and Frank.

They are two misfits,

who doubt themselves

and are ashamed of their past.

They reminded me a little

of Percy himself.

The beginning of the book started slow.

I found Hazel hard to like.

Even when she revealed her "secret"

it took a while to like her.

Frank is awesome.

Even when he thought he was a clumsy nobody.

Ethan hasn't asked to read the next book yet,

but think I will.

Am loving the Greek/Roman parallels. 

The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan

I'll be honest.

I loved the Percy Jackson series.

I never had any intention of starting

this series.

But then,

over Christmas,

I found the graphic novel version 

and bought it for Ethan.

Who devoured it.

And then proceeded to ask me some questions.

Which I could not answer.

So I picked this up

to answer his questions.

So,

basically,

you could say I read this for my son!

The Percy Jackson series

ends with a prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

The Lost Hero

picks up from there.

Here we meet 3 new heroes:

Jason: who suddenly wakes up

on a field trip

sitting next to a girl who claims to be his 

girlfriend.

Piper: who has the ability to make people

give her things.

But cannot figure out why her boyfriend

has no clue who he is.

Or her.

Leo: the third wheel.

The best friend

who has the ability to make fire

out of nothing.

The three of them are carried off to

Camp Half-Blood

where they learn that Hera has been kidnapped

and they are sent on a mission to rescue her.

While the Percy Jackson series

focused on Greek mythology,

it would appear 

The Heroes of Olympus

will introduce us to Roman mythology.

Jason doesn't see himself as the 

son of Zeus,

but the son of Jupiter.

And while he sees to be the "star" of the book

Leo was the true hero

in my view.

The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan

Another YA series comes to an end. 

And it did not disappoint.

Right from the beginning,

this book is action packed.

Kronos has a lot going

and doesn't give the half-bloods 

a break. 

Annabeth and Percy's relationship

is strained.

She still believes in Luke

and Percy doesn't.

Throw Rachel in the mix

and that's a whole other story!

The prophecy plays out,

with lots of twists and turns.

We learn about Luke's past

and what made him turn to Kronos.

While the series is about Percy Jackson,

The Last Olympian gives you a glimpse

into the lives of all the characters

we've grown to love

and hate. 

We learn why some of the demigods

sided with Kronos.

We see new faces

and old.

We discover that anyone can be a hero.

Not just Percy.

The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan

It's been awhile since I've spent some time

with my favourite half-blood.

So I thought it was high time,

I see what Percy Jackson was up to.

This time,

 Percy joins Annabeth,

who is in charge of the quest,

along with Grover and Tyson.

They are off to find Daedalus,

the creator of the Labyrinth

in order to stop Luke and Kronos

from attacking the camp.

Now, this isn't your average maze.

Oh no!

This one shifts and turns and deceives. 

There are monsters and creatures

at each corner and turn. 

Nico makes a return here.

He misses his sister

and a ghost convinces him to trade

a soul for a soul.

But who's soul is he after?

And Rachel Dare makes 

a comeback.

While mortal,

she is able to see beyond the mist

and helps our heroes

on their quest. 

It was good to reunite with these half-bloods!

Killer Frost - Jennifer Estep

I've been enjoying the

Mythos Academy series

for some time now.

I almost forgot it was a series

that would eventually end.

I was all excited

to continue reading about 

Gwen, Logan and everyone at 

Mythos Academy

that it wasn't until I was about

half way through

that I realised

Killer Frost

was the end.

This is the final battle with the Reapers.

Loki is determined to come back to life

and Gwen knows the only way to stop him

is to kill him.

But how do you kill a God?

What do all of Nike's riddles mean?

Is Gwen strong enough to be Nike's champion?

While I'm sad to see this series end,

I have to admit I enjoyed this one.

It ended on a high note.

It wasn't a series that dragged on

leaving you waiting for the end.

If you like YA

and Greek mythology,

this is a great series for you.