The fourth book! This one is again a hardcover, which I love more than paperbacks. I would prefer to have all hardcovers for the sake of consistency, but my friend gifted me the paperback versions, so I’m going to keep them, despite making for a mismatched set.

Read: March 9 – March 15, 2023

Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Middle-grade, Teen
Book contains: mass murder/destruction, betrayal, manipulation

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

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Finally Seems the Tides are Turning

Apollo and the others are devastated after Jason’s death, but they must keep moving. Camp Jupiter is in danger, so they take a plane, then a hearse to camp, only to be driven off the road by their new threat: henchmen of the last king of Rome, Tarquin. Now they face him and two of the Triumvirate emperors as they try to overtake the Sibylline books prophecies, which are being reconstructed by Ella and Tyson. They only have until the next blood moon—less than a week—to drive off the enemy forces.

I again listened to Domination Audiobook Channel again for this book. Again, there were words that were misspoken, but I had the book in front of me, so no harm done. He was entertaining and gave each of the characters their own voices, which I enjoy from audiobooks. (If you want to continue with the previous channel, Books Read Aloud, the rest of the series has been completed.)

This book definitely had its funny bits, but the stakes are getting higher and things are getting serious. Apollo’s thoughts and descriptions of things are still a laugh, interrupting the worry and suspense.

In general, Apollo has come a long way from his god persona, in which his fatal flaw, if he had one, would be vanity. His self-importance has all but been stripped away, and I like this character a lot more than who he was when he fell into that dumpster in an alley of Manhattan. No longer is he slipping back into old habits, and he’s even looking back on some of the more horrible things he’s done in his immortal life (though not by choice) and regretting his actions. It’s leading to some real change, and hopefully, when he regains godhood, he will keep his promise to Jason and remember what it was like to be human.

Fair warning: Apollo did some really bad stuff in his four thousand years as a god. All gods are like that, really. They were born immortal, and they never had to deal with consequences of their actions besides consequences from other gods. However, Apollo is changing, and he will be different. It’s quite refreshing, to be honest.

Not just Apollo is changing for the better, though. The other characters evolve as well. I’ve always loved watching characters grow into themselves, and these ones did not disappoint—Frank, Reyna, Tyson, Meg: all wonderful. Though I am most excited for how Meg deals with Nero in the next book; everything that she has learned in the past four journeys will be put to the test.

This book doesn’t have a heavy focus on relationships—quite the opposite, in fact. Though it does feature Frank and Hazel (how could it not?) and Tyson and Ella, this book focuses more on characters who are not in relationships. New characters like Lavinia, as well as old characters like Reyna.

The River Styx and all of Apollo’s broken oaths didn’t come back as much to haunt him in this book. In fact, his godly abilities only seem to be getting stronger, though there was something else that he had to deal with throughout the book. It happens in the beginning, and gets worse and worse throughout, with no end in sight. Makes for some tense scenes!

This book definitely had some ups and downs. At one point, I literally cried in relief, which doesn’t happen often. It’s just like Uncle Rick to tear us apart, and I wasn’t expecting any different in this book, but it seems he does have a heart after all. I say this in a joking manner, of course, but I’m still relieved.

I feel that the title of this book doesn’t quite match its contents, though I’m not really in a position to suggest a different one. It was fine, and while I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed the book more than the others, I didn’t like it any less, either. I’m sure I’ll feel differently about the last book, since it is the last one, and I subconsciously put more emphasis on the first and last books.

Again, I highly recommend this series. I think it’s an underrated masterpiece, and while I don’t understand some things (like why Apollo was punished for the Giant War but Ares and Hermes were completely fine after their roles in the Titan War), I’m still enjoying it. I’m excited to start reading book 5!

Related Reviews:

The Trials of Apollo Book 1: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo Book 2: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo Book 3: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo Book 4: The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan
The Trials of Apollo Book 5: The Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro