Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle By Rick Riordan

I'm sure if you have been alive since May 3rd, you have heard of the brand new book Rick Riordan has decided to write so that he can kill us... AGAIN. But now that most of us have finished it, prepare yourself for a bunch of reviews.

Trials of Apollo is one of Rick Riordan's best, in my opinion (or is it that I'm just way too happy that it finally came out?). It has a bunch of plot twists, a bunch of cliff hangers (This is Rick Riordan we are talking about what do you expect honestly), and is a nicely illustrated plot, showing us a side of Camp Half Blood we have never seen. If you haven't read any of Rick Riordan's books yet, then I highly recommend reading them first, it will be very confusing if you don't.

So the summary.
Apollo. A used to be God of Olympus. When he angered Zeus, which is not a very good idea, he was cast down, now a mortal. To get back up to Olympus, he believes that he has to complete trials, hence Trials of Apollo. His name is now Lester Papadopoulos, who, has Apollo finds out, is just a mortal, not even a demigod.
He meets a girl named Meg McCaffery who rescues him. Apollo realizes that there is only one place that is safe - Camp Half Blood.
But he has lots of enemies that would love a chance to get him now that he is a mortal, and not to mention those trials he has to complete. But with him learning how to cope with life, he doesn't know who to trust-or who not to. After all, Zeus wouldn't make The Trials of Apollo too easy, would he?

I rate this book 4.5/5 Bookish Badges because it is quite nicely written, and it ties up most of the loose ends of Heroes of Olympus. Happy Reading!

Hope you enjoyed reading this review! - Chloe

The Trials of Apollo, Book 1: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Hi People!

Here is a review for The Hidden Oracle, the next series starring Greek myths, which came out on May 3rd. Warning, there might be spoilers.

This brand new book that Rick Riordan has published, does not star Percy, or any of the seven. The main character is Apollo. Yes, the god, Apollo. I'm sure you've heard this by now, but Apollo was turned mortal by his father, Zeus. He meets Meg, when he falls down from Olympus, and suspects that she is a demigod. Apollo, aka Lester Papadopoulos (He never uses this name though...) , seeks out the one and only Percy Jackson for advice... and a ride to Camp Half-Blood.

At camp, he finds that demigod are mysteriously disappearing without a trace and that the oracles have lost their power of telling the future. With no way to get a prophecy, there is no quests. With no quests, there is no way for Apollo to become a god again. Will they ever get out of what Apollo calls this as a Catch-88? Will they ever find out what is happening to the disappearing campers? Read The Hidden Oracle to find out!

I rate this book 4/5 bookish badges, because Apollo is a bit to self-centered for my liking. This book certainty got me craving the next book in the series, called the Dark Prophecy, which is coming out on May 2nd! We have 329 days to go!
-Hanna

The Gone Novels: A Series Review

Hello, library lovers!

Or maybe you just like books and not libraries. 

It's your prerogative, not mine. 

Libraries are wonderful, though. 

This week's post is about the Gone novels. I have already posted about this series, but my opinions on the books changed greatly during the time I was reading them. 

The series, beginning with Gone, seems like a classic story of good versus evil where the protagonists fight small tools of the main antagonist. The characters of this novel remain rather flat throughout, seeming to be either purely good or purely evil, and readers mostly see the world through Sam Temple's eyes, as he is the main protagonist. We only feel the pain and conflict of a supporting character toward the end of the book, leaving us wanting more of that small but superb piece of character development. Don't worry, there's more to come. As the series progresses, more character's perspectives are shown, leading the readers to a better understanding of the surprisingly complex plot which emerges. 

As the players in this game are developing, we find that none of them are as one-dimensional as we had originally perceived. Seeing inside of many of the character's minds was what really made the series worth reading. The inner conflicts of the teens in the books may not only be relatable to readers, they also affect the plot in large ways. I enjoyed the final two books, Fear and Lies, far more than I did the beginning of the series. 

With wonderfully developed characters and an action packed (sometimes disturbing) plot, these books are delightfully dark and I loved them. 4/5 Bookish Badges!

Make sure to check out our Instagram page, @our_bookish_blog, for photos of books we've been reading! We might even review a book you suggest...

Phillip

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Hi Readers!

I got a request to review this book, so here it is!

         Cinder is a fantasy sci-fi novel, and sucks you in right from the beginning. This book is a retelling of the famous fairytale, Cinderella, but with a brand new twist.

         Cinder is a cyborg. Half human, half robot, she's treated like a second class citizen in her hometown, New Beijing, where she lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. She is known as the best mechanic in New Beijing, thanks to her cyborg parts. Her life changes when Prince Kai asks her to fix his android, something that the prince tries to pass off as nothing, but is really much bigger than it seems.

         When her favorite stepsister, Pearl, catches the deadly plague with no known cure, letumosis, her stepmother blames her and volunteers her for research, something that no one has ever survived from. She gets tested, and the doctors find something that they had never seen before.

         Cinder is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles. The series has 3 other books, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, and a novella collection called Stars Above. I rate this book 5/5 bookish badges. I hope you all read this book, and the rest of the series!
-Hanna

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Hi Readers! 

Sorry, I haven't been posting, I was reading. Today's review is on one of my favorite books, one that I actually read a while ago. This is one of my longer book reviews. Hope you like it! 

So this is one of the books you absolutely have to read sometime in your life. Elantris is an amazingly good fantasy novel filled with action, fantasy, romance, and a little bit of political stuff. The story starts in Kae, the not-so-new capital of Arelon.

Kae stands in the shadow of the former capital, and this book’s namesake, Elantris. Ten years from the time in this book, Elantris was a utopia. The land was beautiful, its inhabitants like living gods and goddesses (with magic and all), and the land literally glowed. To get all that magical bliss, you had to randomly get struck by a magical force called the Shaod. It was supposed to be like that for eternity.

When the kingdom crashed down, the Shaod became feared. The inhabitants of Elantris became powerless, sickly beings, and Elantris itself turned dark and crumbling. When Crown Prince Raoden gets struck by the Shaod, his bride-to-be, Sarene, the princess of Teod, finds that Raoden is dead, and she is now considered his widow. Sarene decides to use her new standing in Arelon to prevent a Fjordell priest, Harthen from taking both Arelon and Teod for his religion and god.

Will Sarene succeed in preventing Harthen from taking over her country? Will anyone find out that Raoden is not dead, but exiled in Elantris? And will they ever find out what really happened to Elantris? Read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson to find out! This book is fantasy and has very interesting country names, some of which are hard to pronounce, which might make it hard to read for some readers.a Besides that, I give it 6/5 bookish badges, and I hope you all decide to read this book!

~Hanna

Chasm

My feet are planted, my stance firm.

Yet suddenly, a chasm has opened neath me.

Now where shall I stand?

Ripped apart

My fickle heart

It pulses uncertainly

Torn by the quake which also split my world in two.

I see signs, telling me where to go

Yet I struggle I float impassively

Yet within a storm rages.

I fill with air, I rise

And I am content

For the moment

Aware that eventually the storm will break

And I shall rain down upon all who cling to me.

That's my poem. I actually wrote it whilst I was texting an acquaintance.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Phillip

Habibi

Hello, Fans of Books!

I hope you're a fan of books. If you aren't, please try to become one. Trust me. It's a worthwhile lifestyle change.

I think. 

Or you might end up with a strange blog, like me.

Still totally worth it.

This week's post is about the book Habibi. Habibi is a Realistic Fiction book set in modern times about Liyana, a quiet, reflective girl, and how her life is irreversibly altered by her father's decision to move to Israel. Liyana unwillingly makes the journey overseas to the land from her father's endless stories and is overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, smells, and her extended family's sudden intrusion into her life. 

It takes some time, but eventually, Liyana's life settles into a routine and she is able to appreciate the beauty of her new world. 

(Oh, and the boys. This isn't a romance novel, but Liyana is a teenage girl, and boys are occasionally mentioned. Liyana is slightly kiss-obsessed.) 

Liyana's family has many philosophies on religion, conflict, and peace, which are mentioned throughout the book and add to its depth. Artfully written and flowing like poetry, this book contains much more meaning than you would expect. I would absolutely recommend it. 4/5 Bookish Badges!

Well, that's all.

Always laugh, because everything is funny.

Phillip