The House of Hades

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

After I finished Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton, I dove right in to the next Heroes of Olympus book, The House of Hades while both realizing and not realizing that I would have to wait for the next book to be released.
I had made it my goal to read the Percy Jackson Series and the Heroes of Olympus Series over the summer so I would be ready for The Blood of Olympus. I'm glad and upset at the same time. Buckle up, buttercups, 

*~This review is going to have spoilers. So read at your own risk.~*

Synopsis:

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.

(Source: Goodreads)

Personal Opinion:  

I am as terrified as any of the demigods are at this point, just for a different reason. I feel like I'm watching my friends fight for their lives and I can do nothing. In a way, I bet the way we feel, watching our favorite characters go through trial after seemingly unending trial and risking their lives to save, not only their friends, but the entire world is a lot like the way the gods feel when they aren't having their own little existential crisis' and they're able to watch, but not help. (Even if some of those gods are breaking said rule)

Oh gosh, though, where do we even start? Let's start by looking at The Prophecy of Seven;

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

Yikes, right?

Let's break it down.

We have our seven Half-bloods,  

Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Jason and Piper.

Line one is complete. 

Line two is still unclear. We still do not know if the world will fall to storm or fire and as said by Piper, the word 'world' can translate to 'gaia'. Let us pray to the god's that Piper is right.

"An oath to keep with a final breath," 

This one terrifies me the most. There are many oaths that have been given in the series, but one was given with this line of the prophecy in mind.

Leo is prepared to die to get Calypso off that Island.

(Once again, I beg, Please, Mr. Riordan, do not kill Leo.)

The last line of the prophecy both breaks my heart and heals it at the same time.

Bob chose to be good. A Titan who's sole purpose was to be evil, chose to be good even after remembering who he was. The theme there, "People can change." is just tremendous. Friendship can bridge any gap. Distance, Culture, Race, Religion. Anything. Anyone, any two or more people can become friends. All it takes is a little bit of understanding and a willingness to understand more.

Okay, enough of me pretending to be an oracle. (Though I'd be a really freaking good one, let's face that fact right now.)

While I was reading this book I turned to my husband and made a downward slope with my hand, just shook my head and said, "I don't know how things keep getting worse! Every time I think they're absolutely screwed and that there is no way things can POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE. They do."

I have to commend Mr. Riordan on that, not only does it keep things exciting, it gives a chance for us to see the character's weaknesses and strengths.

One of my favorite examples of this was Piper. I didn't think she'd be able to outsmart Khione, the snow goddess at first. 

My absolute favorite example of this is Frank. Holy Gods, Frank. 

His transformation was amazing. He went from being, "Meh, Frank." to "Whoa. Frank." And it didn't stop there!

Nico also underwent a bit of a transformation in this book, as I expected him to. He's still having trouble coming to terms with himself, but with Jason helping lighten that burden a bit, Nico is interacting more, he's trusting Reyna to protect him as they return the statue of Athena, granted, yes, he already sort of knew her, we all know he didn't trust her, or anyone.

Jason transformed, too. I didn't expect him to be as okay with Nico as he was after their fight with Cupid. That pleased me and don't even get me started on how beautiful that scene was. 

Love is freaking terrifying. You're putting your heart in the hands of another and trusting that they won't crush it like a grape.

The entire book was just amazing, and I could literally go on all day long about more and more that I loved about it, but I feel you guys already know these things. 
 I thought I loved The Mark of Athena best in this series so far, but then House of Hades happened and now this is my favorite. Until Blood of Olympus comes along and crushes my soul.

Favorite Quotes:

Three is just the new standard now.

“[Jason] faltered when he looked at Leo, who was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil.“Go on, Professor Grace!” he said, wide-eyed. “I wanna get an A on the test.” 

“Oh, did you expect me to play fair?" Cupid laughed. "I am the god of love. I am never fair.”.

  “The raft finally got here," he said.Calypso snorted. Her eyes might have been red, but it was hard to tell in the moonlight. "You just noticed?""But if it only shows up for guys you like-""Don't push your luck, Leo Valdez," she said. "I still hate you.""Okay.""And you are not coming back here," she insisted. "So don't give me any empty promises.""How about a full promise?" he said. "Because I'm definitely-"She grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss, which effectively shut him up.For all his joking and flirting, Leo had never kissed a girl before. Well, sisterly pecks on the cheek from Piper, but that didn't count. This was a real, full-contact kiss. If Leo had had gears and wires in his brain, they would've short-circuited.Calypso pushed him away. "That didn't happen.""Okay." His voice sounded an octave higher than usual.” 

Overall Rating:
10/10