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

 

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.

• Genre: fantasy,mythology,magic,urban fantasy
• Age: young adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read from October 24 to 26, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★★★/★★★★★

Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work—a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

This book is H.E.A.R.T.B.R.E.A.K.I.N.G. Like STOMP-ON-MY-HEART-IT-WILL-BE-LESS-PAINFUL-THAN-BREAKING-MY-HEART-INTO-PIECES. I didn't except Rick Riordan to raise his level of angsty situations to a whole different level. But he did it. And i loved it (oh my god i am a M).

STORY :

After that nasty cliffhanger where our two heroes, Annabeth and Percy, fell into Tartarus - this story got it's creepyness level to another darker level. How will Annabeth and Percy survive in a place which traumatized even son of Hades, Nico? Camp Jupiter (full of bloodthirsty teenagers [which is so damn scary]) is advancing to attack camp Half Blood and there is no one who can stop it. And if they do start a war, there will be bloodshed and many will die. Unless our heroes return Athena's statue to its rightful place. But first - our heroes must rescue Percabeth from the depths of Tartarus and close the Doors of Death in House of Hades.

(i really laughed so much when they went to Croatia, omfg, lololololol,i mean wow,my country is like so damn close omg, and Leo's comments about town Split are priceless)

CHARACTERS :

What this book really succeed with is advanced character development - all of the characters were level-uped if i could say it like that. May contain some minor spoilers!

♦ Frank

got stronger, more sure in himself and in his abilites, even though his personality is still conflicted with his heritage. He will always be peaceful soul, but when it comes to protecting the people he loves, he will let all hell lose, even if it means becoming someone else.

♦ Hazel became flawless character in my eyes. She is damn brave - like seriously brave. I also loved how she cared for Nico (when obviously no one else does, except for...Jason) and also she loves Frank with all of her heart and would do anything for him. She accepted who she is and she is fighting with all she has. Of all things, she wants to prove herself too!

♦ Jason - i didn't really love him from the start, he seemed kind of  of stand by character, but now he had changed and i love it how he accepted other people (even when he was distrustful before toward them - especially to Nico, after he learned about him - he became supportive pillar for Nico). He wants to become better, he wants to change things - especially camp Jupiter. He accepted his Greek side more than his Roman side, and even though he was a rule follower, he wants to change them, even if it means breaking them. I seriously started to love him more in this book than ever before.

♦ Piper got most of her chara-developement in the previous book (though she kicked some butts in the second half of this book). I didn't like her so much before (like with Jason), but now i do, she is interesting and she tries her best to help.

♦ Leo gets some serious character developement here - because he falls in love. Yes, that is right - in love! (with Calypso (with whom he argued for a long time,omfg)). And it changes him - because all he needed was love - and to be accepted. Sure, he did made some mistakes, but worst of all, he always felt alone because no one was there for him (at least according to him), he felt like seventh wheel all the time, an useless guy who can't do anything right. But now he has changed and i love the change and i need him to have a happy ending of sorts!

♦ Annabeth & Percy (cause i can't describe them seperately). I have to say their relationship is basically and practically true love. I mean, it was cemented the moment Percy decided to fall along with Annabeth to Tartarus so she wont be alone. He could have saved himself, but he didn't. He chose to stay with her and be with her until the end. First he gave up his immortality to be with her, and now he damned himself - only to be with her.

“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.”

But...as they went through Tartarus, they are faced with many dangers and many twisted feelings. They are slowly changing and those changes are much more darker than they wanted. Especially Percy. He would do anything for Annabeth, but sometimes he lost control and almost became what he didn't want (for Annabeth to be afraid of him like when Percy almost  killed Misery with her own poison ....).

♦ Nico: i believe this boy needs a character development award. It was completely unexpected and it shocked me. I would never call Nico heartless or unemotional, cause he is oposite. He just hides his pain well - and after this book, i totally understand him. He believes no one will accept him - so he hides himself. His creepiness is his self-defense - because he doesn't want to be hurt. He believes that no one cares about him (not even Percy and Annabeth), but he cares about them all, and that is what hurts him [he just cannot comprehend that people care about him too]... and i believe that this saying(?) describes him the most: "The loneliest people are the kindest".

Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone. Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? Cupid taunted.

Some serious spoilers about Nico: I don't judge him about his feelings. He loves Percy - so what? The worst thing of all is that HE KNOWS Percy will never love him the same way. And for someone from 1940ties, those kinds of feelings were unacceptable and he is scared of that too.

Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. “If the others found out—”
“If the others found out,” Jason said, “you’d have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble.”

I think Riordan made the right choice of choosing this path for Nico... There are so many kids who don't know what to do with their feelings - it will help them to realize that they are not alone - like Nico (who still thinks he is alone, but Jason tries his best to help him and be his friend + Hazel who wont stop worrying about him). Wait,let me start over again: I believe the reason is this: because there are many people who actually feel like nico, they are afraid of their feelings - and they are afraid to show it and it eats them inside. Some of them think of it as its really serious and i dont mean on boys who think they are that way cause it's "time of change". Just imagine how people felt when the gay rights didnt even exist they all felt like Nico, because it was "unnatural" to them as much as it was for people beside them. So they thought if they confessed how they truly feel, they will eventually get abandoned. And that is exactly how Nico feels.Also, Nico is one of the most popular characters of PJO universe, and having him presented in that way may show people that there are actually people who feel same as them. And also, just read this: cause it is so true.

OVERALL :

This one is the best so far and that is why i am giving it 6 stars and why it will always be my all time favorite... So many great sentences, so many interesting twists and turns and i love the story so much. Just read this series (and percy jackson series) and you won't regret it. It will be painful to wait for the last book, but oh well :(....

MY REVIEW ON GOODREADS