BLOOD OF OLYMPUS by Rick Riordan

The end is here - the final days leading up to the Feast of Hope and the showdown with the giants as they endeavor to raise Gaea. Reyna and Nico get to share some of the storytelling as they travel with Coach Hedge back to Camp Half Blood with the Athena Parthenos while the other demigods head to Greece.

This is definitely a series to read in order! If you haven't read the other books, start with The Lightning Thief (or The Lost Hero if you read the first five Percy Jackson books). If you've hung with the series this long, dive into this final book with confidence - I think it lives up to expectations. Some characters from other books make an appearance in this one, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There is some continuation of the story of a character wrestling with his sexual orientation. The ending is satisfying, but there is still room for Riordan to return to these characters if he chooses to. There's also a bit of a teaser to Riordan's new Norse mythology series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (I blew right by this in my reading, but my husband caught it).

As an aside, we listened to the audio book for the first 75% of the story, and then each of us went to our own corners with our copies of the book to finish it on our own. The audio is well done (although we prefer the reader from The Lost Hero over the one for House of Hades and Blood of Olympus) and worth a listen if you have a long trip coming up or if you enjoy listening to your reading material.

5 out of 5 stars

THE HERO'S GUIDE TO STORMING THE CASTLE by Christopher Healy

The League of Princes is back! Sleeping Beauty has kidnapped Prince Liam and forced him to marry her and help her in a scheme that is the first step to taking over the world. But since the scheme includes Princes Frederick, Gustav and Douglas, nothing is going to go as planned!

The story for this one is almost too convoluted to summarize and not give too much of the plot away. Suffice it to say this is a great fairy tale/adventure story - zany, funny and dizzying in its antics. The characters are well-defined, which is especially good because SO much is going on. There are some hints at romantic resolutions for the pairs that seem destined for failure. I would love to read this one out loud to a class of students because it is just a hoot! You might think you know these fairy tales - Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White, but you have never read them quite like this! I love these books so much, I downloaded the audio books of this one and its predecessor on Audible for a free trial of the service. The audio books are read by Bronson Pinchot - and they are fantastic!

4 out of 5 stars

The first book in the series, The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was one of my favorite books of 2012. This one came out in 2013, but I didn't carve out time for it until this year. That actually worked to my advantage because I am that much more prepared for the third and final book in the series, The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw which is pictured below and releases on April 29, 2014.

AUDIO: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis

I had only seen the movie version once, awhile ago, before listening to the audio version in this set. I knew the story included the two youngest Pevensies and an annoying cousin named Eustace who, at some point, turns into a dragon. I didn't remember much more; it didn't make a great impression. We watched the movie again after hearing the book, and I was disappointed at how much it strayed from the original source material!

The story itself seemed to drag a little as Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and Eustace went from island to island to island looking for the lost Lords of Telmar. There were times I thought they would never get to Aslan's land. The final leg of their trip seemed especially slow and drawn out. But if I had to choose between the more deliberate route covered by the book or the mashed up version they put in the movie, I would pick the book every time. I enjoyed the discovery aspects of the journey - they were all adventurers, striking out in largely uncharted territory. When my students ask for adventure books, I'm going to steer them to this one. I'll probably read chapter one with my writing club students to talk about writing with one's senses. This is a great example!

4 out of 5 stars

AR Rating of 5.9

AUDIO: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis

I have never read the Chronicles of Narnia. Every summer I promise I'm going to read them, and I never get around to it. This summer I decided I was going to do it, even if I had to let someone else do the work. So I bought this audio set and we have loved it!

We decided to listen to the books in publication order rather than the publisher's order. After reading pros and cons of each, that seemed best to me.

I found The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to be slow. I don't know that I have ever read the book before, but I know the story line well enough that I really wanted things to move along a lot faster. But I found Prince Caspian to be delightful! So far, it is my favorite.

The story itself is a lot of flashbacks. The four Pevensie children are pulled into Narnia and meet a dwarf they don't know. The dwarf tells Caspian's story which, for being a flashback, is pretty engrossing. Then the kids enter the story already in progress, helping Caspian secure the thrown that is rightfully his. (My favorite part is when Miraz, the usurping king, is played by his advisors - that scene is masterfully written and masterfully performed.)

I've only seen the movie version once or twice, which is nice for a visual of some of the players, but I like the book far better (the added scene in the movie is atrocious, in my opinion).

If you already enjoy the Narnia stories, or if you like audio books in general, this is a great set!

4 out of 5 stars
AR Rating of 5.7