Book review: NOS4A2

N0S4A2
by: Joe Hill

There are a couple of things that make a horror story good -- a strong lead with an indomitable will and penchant for reckless bravery, for one; the kind that is almost stupid in its capacity to overcome fear. A villain so believable in his treachery that you cannot imagine ever understanding him, for another; it makes the experience that much more profound when you realize you could empathize. A simple story made complex by elements so human and relatable that you begin to second guess your opinion(s); no one enjoys horror that takes itself far too seriously, or cheap thrills just for the heck of it. Writing so elaborate it has the ability to transport its reader to an entirely different world, because if you wanted to stay with horror close to home, you should have watched the news instead of read a book.

NOS4A2 has all of this. In spades. 

Do you fear what I fear?

Joe Hill's NOS4A2 is a bone-aching, hair chilling magnum opus. A tour de force that proves there is more to the horror genre than it is given credit for. In it, Hill juxtaposes the inherent power of love and the crippling fragility of the human mind. It is a story of how one little girl, extraordinary in that there is nothing explicitly extraordinary about her, goes out looking for trouble, finds it, then runs away. And how she spends the rest of her life running.

Victoria McQueen, The Brat to her dad, and Vicki to her mom, has a knack for finding lost things. She rides on her bicycle, long past the Shorter Way Bridge, a bridge that only she can summon, and finds what (and who) once was lost. On a particularly bad day, following a fight with her mom, Vic looks for trouble. And surely enough, with the help of the Shorter Way Bridge which has never once led her wrong, she finds it in the form of Christmasland.

Charlie Manx is on a mission to spare children from pain. The type of pain that is specific only to a world borne by adults. He whisks them off in his vintage 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith and brings them to a land free of adult incompetency and foible. In his beautiful delusion, because no such place exists, children are free to be children forever. The Bad Bread describes it best -- Christmasland is a place where no pain can touch children, where the pockmarked moon winked at passersby, where clouds weren't really clouds but cotton candy.

For Vic and Charlie, there are 2 incongruous and immutable truths: 1.) The Shorter Way Bridge and Christmasland is as real as the world can get. 2.) Vic is most certainly an institutionalized deranged woman suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to a childhood encounter with convicted serial killer and child molester Charles Manx III.

As with everything in life, the best plot lines have the tendency to twist. Hill takes his reader on a wild goose-chase for the truth, while ensuring that the two truths stay within the vicinity of human understanding. Vic may be a victim, but it is surely not of circumstance -- at least, not entirely. She is a flawed human being, with the capacity to do both good and bad; as susceptible to mistakes as you and I. She is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a hero. This is no fantasy novel, and she is no fantasy heroine. Manx, on the other hand, is far more simple. A rarity amongst villains! Yes, like Vic, he is capable of both good and bad -- but that is what makes him even more horrifying. As all of us know, the truly terrifying villains are those who so firmly believe that they are in the right.

There is only one thing Vic and Manx agree on: they ruined each other.

And with that, Joe Hill's mastery of storytelling shines. Vic spends her days running from the past she believes to be true, but knows is an impossibility. But when the comatose serial killer-child molester  from her childhood resurfaces and comes out, ready to exact revenge on his one failure through the kidnapping/ "rescuing" of her child, Vic begins to doubt the reality thrusted on her by her many psychologists and psychiatrists. If Charlie Manx is dead, then who is the man in the beautiful vintage car who has just done away with her child?

In the end, NO24A2 is about a parent's saving love. There is no disappointment more disenchanting than the minute we realize that our parents and elders are not quite the paragons of goodness and heroism we believe them to be -- the time that mom couldn't kiss away the pain, the time dad wasn't able to keep his promise, the time teacher was wrong and couldn't tell you why. But there is no moment better suited to show you that despite all this, there is a different kind of love out there. One that doesn't put the other person on so high a pedestal. NO24A2 is about that kind of love, the adult kind. It is no sap story, but it is also much more than merely a story to induce sleepless nights.

Book review: His Wicked Seduction

Remember when I mentioned how I've been corresponding with author Lauren Smith and how she was kind enough to send me advanced reading copies of her novels? Well, the first book of hers that I reviewed, The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall, has finally hit the bookshelves! I cannot wait to get my own physical copy and I'm sure you can't as well! You can read my review of TSoSH here and buy the book online here.

Lauren has also kindly consented to allowing me to post my review of her next novel, His Wicked Seduction, so I thought I'd finally share it with all of my lovely readers!

I hope you all enjoy!

If there's anything you'd like me to review, you may send me an email at les.pamandanan@gmail.com  :)

**

His Wicked Seduction
The League of Rogues, book 02
Lauren Smith

SPOILER HEAVY

Godric, Duke of Essex, Lucien, Marquess of Rochester, Charles, Earl of Lonsdale, Cedric, Viscount Sheridan, and Ashton, Baron Lennox have unwittingly been dubbed by the society pages as the League of Rogues, a merry band of debauched nobles hellbent on seducing their way through the beau mond and occasional demimonde. As word of the pen name reaches their little group, the 5 rakehells are all too happy to oblige their new but notorious sobriquet. After all, a gentleman honors his titles.

Having met the League in authoress Lauren Smith’s first book about our rogues, Wicked Designs -- Godric’s book and possible salvation -- Smith begins Lucien’s story in more familiar territory. Having been chased back to the buxom of town (and the ton) thanks to Emily Parr, new Duchess of Essex and Godric’s wife, Lucien finds himself in constant company of Miss Horatia Sheridan, younger sister of Cedric, Viscount Sheridan, and sole reason for his current discomfort.

Having helped rescue the chit from a carriage accident that took both her parents many years ago, Lucien can’t help but hold a soft spot for the then-young lady. Over the years, he has watched her bloom, albeit from a close but chilly distance, from a young girl to a beautiful lady. And while our hero recognizes that his tendre for the young miss has bloomed into an aching love for the wisened woman, he fears for his black past as well as the repercussions of romancing his bestfriend’s sister.

Horatia, deeply grateful for the comfort the red-headed Marquess extended to her during such a painful time of her life, cannot help but cling on to the heroic memory of her older brother’s friend, no matter how cold he is to her at present. Still, after so many years of perceived unrequited yearning, Horatia is finally ready to give Lucien a woman’s love, and no longer a child’s infatuation.

Soon, a threat to their not-quite-peaceful coexistence emerges in the form of a near accident and death threat, a story arc carried over from Godric’s book. Worried that their childhood nemesis, Hugo Waverly, is upping his game, so to speak, the League decides to have Cedric, along with his sisters Horatia and Audrey, hightail to Lucien’s estate in Kent.

Once properly ensconced in the country, Horatia and Lucien begin to wonder if they can put away their demons and maybe discover that a future with each other is bright, even amidst the bleakness of their present.

Smith blows my mind once again with her artful story-telling and edge-of-your-seat plots! It is no secret that I favor series’ over standalones and with the LoR, I’m proved, once again, why it is so. While I did highly enjoy Godric and Emily’s story, there were precious few moments outside of the two. Here, however, having already established most of the men in the league, we were treated to many interesting anecdotes and supporting stories sans Lucien and Horatia.

A particular favorite series trope of mine is character development and buildup, as well as a glimpse of the previous leads. In HWS, we re-visit Emily and Godric and sneak a peek at how married life is faring for them. More than that, however, I like to keep guessing at whose story will develop next. In this, Smith humors me plenty. I was kept constantly guessing as to who ends up with whom. Her way with characters and words are kept so human that each character has a specific and definite relationship. Chemistry is oozing from their pores, and you are left with many a ship to root for.

For example, while Cedric’s youngest sibling, Audrey, has expressed interest in Jonathan, Godric’s younger half-brother, I love the playfulness and historically gender-bending friendship she shares with Linus, the youngest Russell brother. While inter-sex friendships were encouraged for children, they defied the odds and kept a close relationship even as a in-the-marriage-mart Miss and Cambridge graduate. And speaking of young Linus, we also peep a light flirtation between he and a daughter of a close family friend, Lucinda. I suspect the two can cause many a jealousy between their respective love stories.

Gregory, Lucinda’s brother, has also shown a possible partner for the youngest Russell sister, Lysandra, as evidenced by the sparks that I detected during a very fun snow fort battle. Lysandra, a character I already love due to our similarities in name – and nature! She’s a bluestocking of the tallest order! – is also a contender for Charles, Earl of Lonsdale and a member of the league. Jane, mother of the Russells and current Lady Rochester, is a matchmaking mama and is promoting a match between the two. Ironically, Charles is also whom Audrey tries to seduce in the beginning of HWS so I am curious as to see what adventure Smith has in store for him. Back in London, Ashton, Baron Lennox, may have met his match with businesswoman Lady Melbourne – a seductress of the tallest order. Lastly, Cedric is paired with Miss Anne Chessley in the epilogue leading me to believe that his story is next in the saga.

It is no easy feat to keep the sheer number of characters and possible matches in a single novel but Smith manages this beautifully. And even with all the excitement found in the book – duels, accidents, murder plots, fires, hidden identities – she is able to infuse a warmth and familiar joviality and gaiety in the book. A competitive snow battle reminiscent of the Pall Mall game in Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgerton book 2) comes to mind, as well as Lady Rochester promoting a bit of devilry and sibling rivalry to push her eldest into action. Another scene is the founding of The Society of Rebellious Ladies – a bit of teasing and mocking by Emily, Horatia, and Audrey due to the high-handedness of the men of their lives.

We also can’t forget the story between our leads, Lucien and Horatia. Though both appear to accept their deeper feelings for each other, a rarity amongst the usual denial rakes favor in hisrom novels, it is more heartwarming to know that Cedric was the reason the two were so apprehensive to pursue their burgeoning relationship. It is usual with ladies to forge friendships that will test fire, especially during the Regency when ladies were not even considered their own persons, but a rarity with the men. I applaud Smith for sticking to her guns and showing us a story where friendship is the unifying factor.

If there is one thing left to say about Smith’s prowess in writing, it is that she weaves her wand and poof – you are entranced. Lucien and Horatia saw to that. Besides, who doesn’t love a man who buys his woman a dress, propriety be damned?

Book review: The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall

A couple of months back, I exchanged messages with a budding author in goodreads. The messages were short, sweet, and just filled with discussions about book genres and the like. A few days into the chat, she generously offered to send me not one, but two -- TWO -- advanced reading copies of her yet-to-be-published novels in exchange for honest reviews. I tell you, I could not believe it. It's hardly something I ever thought of, let alone consider, happening to me. I was ecstatic, of course! I've read and made a review of both books since then but I promised the authoress I wouldn't publish them until release date, or her go signal.

A week ago, she asked us to post one of our reviews on goodreads, even if the book technically doesn't reach your shelves until the 29th of September. Bearing that in mind, I figured it'd be okay to share my review with my readers already.

Hope you all enjoy!

**

The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall
by Lauren Smith

SPOILER HEAVY

To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past…

Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history.

Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.

Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.

Lauren Smith's The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall begins in Regency England, where Richard, the handsome Earl of Weymouth, wakes to find his weak bride out of bed during the rampage of a storm. Concerned, he checks on their month-old son, Edward, and tempers the little heir's sounds of distress. Not long after, he spies his much beloved bride standing in the cliffs near the castle, braving the weather, and in her apparent suicide. Heartbroken beyond repair at his Countess's, Isabella's, untimely passing, and confused by her reasons (or lack thereof), the Earl falls in a drunken stupor for months before succumbing to his death.

Thus so, we find ourselves at present day England following American grad student Jane Seyton. After years (6, to be exact) of horrible nightmares all regarding her fascination with the dark and imposing Stormclyffe Hall, estate of the Earls of Weymouth, and home to many paranormal-loving fans tales and urban legends, her academic life reaches its pinnacle when the current Earl of Weymouth allows her access to visit his family's haunted manor, and so allowing her to make a detailed and researched dissertation on her topic -- The tragic stories of some of Britain's ancient castles and manor houses with a particular emphasis on Stormclyffe Hall and its effect on modern day Weymouth England. His sole condition was for her to wait until renovations were completed. Jane, having estimated that 4 months is time enough, decides to brave the lion's den and heads on over to the feared hallowed walls of the castle.

Here she meets Sebastian Carlisle, Earl of Weymouth and playboy-academe extraordinaire. Having long since forgotten about his promise to the American scholar, Bastian is not thrilled to find himself having to deal with a nosy American chit hellbent on exposing his family's dark secrets and tragic pasts, on top of personally overseeing a renovation to a cold manor home with seemingly insurmountable problems (and plumbing), and managing a staff that trembles at the mere sight of their own shadow.

At wits end, he comes face to face with his great great grandmama's spitting image in his drawing room. Great. Rankled and with no good humor in the near future, he girds himself to kick the striking scholar out of his home and away from his family's private business. With a heart broken from her months-long failed engagement, the firecracker of a miss is determined to see her research through and refuses to kowtow to the arrogant Earl's demands that she leave. Sparks immediately fly between the two and both are left to wonder if it was just an immediate case of lust that threatened their just-promised co-existence or if something otherworldly permeates the air.

Without giving too much away (as well as the various plot twists!), I bow down to Lauren Smith's amazing aptitude for spinning words into tales that enchant and ensnare the reader in its trap. The chemistry between our h/h is sizzling at its lowest and scorching at its best. With none of the propriety strictures of Regency England between the two, we are instead given a realistic take on two people determined to avoid each other fall prey to their strong attraction.

Jane is no milk-and-water miss and isn't afraid to go out there, guns blazing, for what she wants. It must be the American in her. Bastian, on the other hand, is every girl's dream come true. A dark and brooding hero one moment, and a charmingly teasing rake the next, he embodies the term dreamboat. A perfect blend of what we love with the arrogance of regency england's titled peers mixed with a modern day playboy, he hits every fantasy come to life. The good, the bad (and I mean baaaaaaad), the beautiful, and the ugly. A real man with real concerns and burdens.

As the two explore the inexplicable pull they have for one another, they also explore the manor's history and secrets. It is no surprise that with so beautiful a setting, the two find themselves falling deeper and deeper in its trenches, as well as each others'. That is exactly what TSoSH does to the reader. It takes you to the edge of your seat, fingers locked in a death grip, and you feel yourself getting lost deeper and deeper in Smith's work.

A truly wonderful read, you can't help but be glad you picked up Lauren Smith's gothic romance. And like the winds whispering, calling your name, you follow gladly. And you will be all the better for it.

The White Queen

Men go to battle; women wage war.

Just finished reading The White Queen, the first book in authoress Philippa Gregory's take on the infamous Cousins' War, The War of the Roses, a bloody battle between two rival branches of the House of Plantagenets; Houses Lancaster and York (the red rose the former, the white the latter).

Gregory's story follows that of one of England's most controvesial Queens, Elizabeth Woodville, through whom will begin Kings and Queens of the most famous royal line, The Tudors.

Elizabeth Woodville is also the mother of the famous Princes in the Tower, her two sons by the beloved York King Edward IV, as well as Queen Elizabeth who marries Henry Tudor (Henry VII) and is grandmother to historical England's greatest queen, Elizabeth I.

You would think that with so rich a historical basis that Gregory would build herself an enchating world of drama and political intrigue. In this instance, Gregory fails the Yorks. The first half of the book is woefully banal, even more disheartening as the two most interesting characters, Jaquetta Rivers (mother of EW who was tried and executed on charges of witchcraft) and the Earl of Warwick (widely known as the "Kingmaker") is featured heavily in it.

The second half picks up in pace which makes it a better read but one cannot help but grow bitter at the self-aggrandizing and ambition of the beautiful but prickly Elizabeth Woodville.

One can only hope that the next 4 books aren't as dull and lackluster as this one.

A Review: Something Borrow

WARNING: This particular review will contain tons of spoilers and opinions. If you are faint of heart or easily offended, I suggest you stop reading this post immediately. P.S. Don't say I didn't warn you. Thank you! Enjoy!

I first picked up Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed over a year ago, in between reading hordes of historical fiction. It seemed light, fluffy, and easy to read - the perfect transition in between two such verbose and informative material.

The minute I picked it up, I was immediately hooked. Ms. Giffin certainly has a way with words. She is able to write and create characters that are so relatable, you feel like these are ordinary people that surround you in your daily life. Reading her work, meeting her characters, feels too much like catching up with old buds. Her characters are obviously human beings - they are flawed, they are repentant, but not overly so. Their world moves fast, just as ours. There's no time nor luxury to wallow in self-pity. It's difficult to find fault in a scenario so carefully and meticulously carved that it closely mirrors our own.

However, beneath the enjoyment with her world and words, I found myself suffering with mixed emotions regarding her characters, as well as her plot. Clearly, Ms. Giffin's gift is not just in writing but in storytelling as well. In case you haven't surmised as much, this is not your run of the mill chick-lit. Maybe in some aspects, there will always be similarities within all romance-centered novels, but there's something about Emily's books that provokes thought. It is not something that just passes your time; it stays with you. You mull over it. You ponder. To think, it has now been a year later, with a film adaptation coming out this May, and I still can't decide on how I well and truly feel about these novels (there's a second book called Something Blue).

"Rachel White and Darcy Rhone have been best friends since childhood. They've shared birthdays, the horrors of high school and even boyfriends, but while Darcy is the sort of woman who breezes through life getting what she wants when she wants it, Rachel has always played by the rules and watched her stunning best friend steal all the limelight. The one thing Rachel's always had over Darcy is the four-month age gap which meant she was first to being a teenager, first to drive, first to everything

... but now she's about to be first to thirty. And Darcy still has a charmed life. On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Rachel is shocked to find herself questioning the status quo. How come Darcy gets a glamorous job at a PR firm and the perfect boyfriend, while Rachel grinds away at her despised job as an attorney and remains painfully single. Is it just luck? Or, looking back at their friendship and their lives together, is it a bit more complicated than that? Then an accidental fling complicates everything, and it's time for Rachel to make a few hard choices. And she's suddenly forced to learn that sometimes true love comes at a price ..."

To summarize, perennial good-girl Rachel, and her BFF wild-child Darcy have always had a friendship alien to most females. There's no competition. Or so they thought. While Rachel thought and felt she has never begrudged Darcy the limelight, nor does she mind taking second place next to Darcy, there was always that slight resentment brewing after every silver medal. Now, years later, Rachel finds herself in love with Darcy's fiance, Dex - the man Rachel has loved ever since they attended law school together, and way before Darcy ever came into the picture. When a drunken, or rather not-so-drunken on his part, chance fling occurs after her tete-a-tete with Dex on her 30th birthday, Rachel comes to realize that you have to fight to get what you want in life, and the cost can kill you in the attempt.

To begin, what kind of person sleeps with her bestfriend's fiance? Rachel was written as a paragon of virtue, a person you should aspire to be. However, can you really juxtaposition a sin this big beside a saint? It is a testament to Emily's skill as a writer that she was able to do this. Rachel, our protagonist, was sold as a good girl. She was a victim of circumstance, and I guess you could say the same about both Darcy and Dex as well.

Darcy, on the other hand, has always been the devil-may-care type. She was selfish, narcissistic, and rude. But can you truly say that she deserved what was done to her by the two people she loved and trusted the most? She had her failings, but does that mean that the punishment was Rachel's and Dex's to give?

Yet no matter how large the faults of our two female leads may be, none of them compare to that which belongs to our leading man, Dex. Dex justifies him cheating on Darcy with Rachel by admitting that he has always carried a torch for Rachel, but never thought she returned the sentiment. He felt like it was a crime against nature not to act on the feelings he and Rachel had for each other. How very much like a man to not consider that there was more to this torrid affair than him cancelling his wedding. Never did he think of the effect it might have on Darcy's and Rachel's relationship.

The biggest problem I have with this book, and the cause of my apprehension, is how I feel it romanticizes and glorifies cheating. Rachel, someone who is so great, cheats with her bestfriend's fiance. Yet amidst the tawdriness of the entire scenario, it is difficult to not root for Rachel. She is an underdog and she doesn't mind. It's about time she received something she deserves... but at what price?

Some of the questions I found myself asking after reading this book is how far could you go for love? And how far should you go? And would you go? At what point do you tell yourself, I have crossed the line and I'm not willing to go any further? Or would you rather throw caution to the wind and not care about who you run over in the process, including the person who loves you the most? What sacrifices can be fairly made for love? Can cheating be justified when it involves real, honest to God love? Is it okay to purposely hurt someone if you feel they aren't good enough people?

Something Borrowed, while truly an amazing novel, is a book that can be misconstrued as a justification to cheating, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's important to me to have clear feelings with my novels and characters as I tend to re-read and re-visit and re-connect with these friends of mine. I always learn something new from them, and they just seem so full of knowledge and wisdom -- a veritable fountain of never-ending advice. As of right now, I still haven't re-read Something Borrowed and I'm still unsure of my feelings. I guess, with more time, I'll come back to see if my view on it stays the same.

A Review: The Lost Hero

I haven't written a review in forever but it's Rick Riordan, who, sadly, only gives me two opportunities a year to gush, so I gotta seize the day.

"Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper. His best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god."

Let me start out by saying that The Lost Hero is amazing. Rick Riordan is amazing. And I'm going to tell you how and why without giving anything, at least anything major, away.

Written in the third person, The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 01) volleys between the individual and combined experiences of Jason, Leo, & Piper, three out of the seven demigods involved in the new prophecy, revealing the secrets they keep, even from each other. The perspective changes between the three every two chapters and I think it translated better here than it did with The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles, Book 01). This style also keeps the book from feeling like a total PJ rip-off although there are a handful of glaring similarities which one cannot ignore. That said, the tone is slightly older than early PJ and R. Riordan does acknowledge, later in the story, that Percy and Jason serve as counterpoint to each other. As for the prose, well, this man can write. It just flows.

Jason starts out as the most intriguing character of the three for three main reasons: 1. The story opens with him, 2. The mystery surrounding his presence, and 3. the circumstances of his birth. However, R. Riordan fangirl I may be, I do think that he could have done more to make the Jason character meatier. By the end I wasn't as interested with him as I was in the beginning which is a shame, really.

Leo, now this guy, he was the dark horse of the story. Think Nico minus his Prince of the Undead charm. I found him pretty obnoxious initially but his vulnerability, ingenuity, and all around likability makes him, easily, my favorite of the three.

The weak link, in my humble opinion, is Piper who is neither offensive nor spectacular (although it felt like I was being constantly told that she is) but is definitely more likable than other leading-lady type demigods out there. Her godly parent is...blah...but she, at least, isn't as
useless as her cabin mates. The one thing I really did like about her is that she knows what she wants and isn't afraid to own up it. *side-eye Annabeth*

Familiar characters from the PJ books make an appearance, Camp Half-Blood does become their base after all, but they do not figure prominently in the story. Percy is not a part of The Lost Hero at all but his presence, or lack thereof, is keenly felt. By the end, one cannot help but speculate on what his role is going to be in the next installment. There is no question that Percy, who may or may not be "The Son of Neptune" (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2), will be in the next book but I'm positive it's not gonna be his story. The one spoilerish thing I'm going to say about this series is that R. Riordan meshes Greek and Roman Mythology so beautifully and seamlessly (not that much of a spoiler since you'll catch on early anyway) that you don't even question it. The emphasis on how the same God could be two separate deities, genius! Plot-hole problems - solved!

Yipes, already I'm going on and on about the next book in the series - obviously October 2011 cannot come soon enough - so let me end my verbal diarrhea with this: The Lost Hero is amazing. Rick Riordan is amazing. Flaws and all.

The Verdict: A-

****

Review was grabbed (with permission :P) from Reader Reads of The Scarlet Corset, one of my favorite review sites ever.