Genre: Middle Grade/YA (not sure?? Suitable for both though) | Fantasy
Series: The Trials of Apollo #1
Goodreads rating: 4.40
My rating: ★★★★★
How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.
But Apollo has many enemies – gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood (Goodreads).
Definitely one of my favourite books of the year, which I’m so glad about. While I enjoyed Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer last year, it didn’t really blow me away. The Hidden Oracle on the other hand was such a joy to read! I loved that a big part of the book took place at Camp, which didn’t just feel familiar but was also kind of new because usually the characters leave Camp pretty quickly to go on a quest.
Apollo had always been one of my favourite Olympians, because he’s hilarious. I can see why some people might dislike him, but his character development in the book was amazing. I won’t go into it too much, of course, because
But it was one of my favourite parts of the book, besides the humour, the haiku chapter titles, seeing familiar faces, the friendships, Apollo bonding with his kids… And of course a certain couple…
Okay basically I just loved it a lot. Also that ending. Seriously if you love Uncle Rick’s books just read this. I can’t wait for the next one.
This is a really short review for several reasons: 1) I should’ve reviewed this sooner, but I thought I already had? 2) I don’t want to go into too many details and spoil you 3) mostly the first reason though
Have you read The Hidden Oracle yet? What did you think of it? Are you excited for the next one as well? Let me know in the comments!
Sounds good thanks for the review. :)
You’re welcome! :)
Yay, I’m really glad you enjoyed this too! I thought it was really nice to see a bit of a different narrative from the whole ‘kids go on a quest’ kinda thing. (That was a terrible description, but ANYWAY.) Apollo was hilarious!
Haha I totally know what you mean though, that’s what I liked about it too! He was. I laughed out loud so many times haha
I haven’t read it yet but saw a multiple times in the store. I honestly thought this was a books for middle graders and I would not enjoy it but I guess I’m wrong. I can definitely give it a shot!
It sounds a bit like Marvel Cinenatic Universe’s Thor or (and I’m dating myself here lol) a book by Dianna Wynne Jones called Dogsbody. The latter is far worse for the immortal in question as he’s not only turned mortal BUT into a dog (as the title suggests). This sounds pretty fun!
Ooh I’m not too familiar with Thor (at least not Marvel’s Thor) and I’ve never heard of Dogsbody unfortunately (he definitely got it worse than Apollo though! Imagine being turned into a dog haha), but it’s definitely a fun read :) I’d recommend it in a heartbeat!
He retained his same intellect thought he couldn’t speak! It was sort of a sad story. He wound up belonging to a little girl named Kathleen who was abused by her stepmother (one of the reasons was for being Irish grrrr), so that just made things more complicated. I read it a long time ago, so I think it’s either mid-grade or YA.
I may check it out! I’ve been interested in the Percy Jackson series by him for a while, too!
Ooh that sounds interesting! I’ll look into it :) I love Percy Jackson! I love everything Riordan writes though haha. Definitely recommend those books as well :)
I think you might like it! It’s been years since I read it, but I know it’s mid-grade to YA, was a quick read, and now that I’m older I realize it had some Welsh mythology elements to it! I want to read it again, but my TBR alone keeps growing :O
Ooh cool! I’ll keep an eye out for it :) Haha relatable. I want to reread some books as well, but there are so many new ones to read!
Right?! I remember books I read a long time ago and I want to reread them, but they are so many new things.
Oh my gosh I NEED to read this book! I LOVE everything Riordan writes (although you’re right about Magnus Chase- it wasn’t quite up to par) and I’ve heard so many good things about it!
-Amy
YES YOU DO! IT’S AMAZING AND HILARIOUS. Also people often point out or even complain that Riordan’s books often follow the same pattern (I mean they kind of do but I don’t care lol), and this one broke said pattern which made it even more awesome :D
YES. THAT MAKES ME HAPPY.
Hahaha well they’re gold so WHO CARES. OOOOOO OKAY I NEED IT NOW I’M ORDERING IT SCREW READING THE 25 BOOKS I JUST BOUGHT.
[…] I finally reviewed The Hidden Oracle […]
Another Rick Riordan book, he knows how to weave in love so well. 😍 I host a book blog, if you would like to take a look the link is: http://www.tobereadsite.wordpress.com
Riordan is such a great writer! I need all of his books haha
[…] I reviewed The Hidden Oracle which I loved […]
[…] This book was just so much fun and hilarious. I doubt there will ever be a year where there won’t be a Riordan book on my best of list, unless he didn’t publish anything. I already loved Apollo, but Uncle Rick gave him character development and actually made him likeable (I mean, I loved him before but if I were to know him in real life I’d despise him haha). Read my review here. […]