Demigod Diaries by Rick and Haley Riordan

Demigod Diaries: The Heroes of Olympus is four short stories with a few puzzles and pictures in the middle.  The first story is the Diary of Luke Castellan and chronologically takes place before the Lightning Thief. This is a story from Thalia and Luke's time before finding Camp Half-blood. Thalia and Luke follow a sheep's advice and end up trapped in a house with a cursed adult demi-god.

In Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes, the story occurs following the Last Olympian. In this story Hermes's caduceus has been stolen and he asks for Percy's help. Percy and Annabeth agree to help and Percy needs to find a way to celebrate their one month first kiss anniversary while trying to recover the staff.

In Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford, Leo's desk has walked away, taking with it a part he needs for the Argo II. If Leo, Jason, and Piper cannot find the piece in an hour, Half-Blood Woods will explode. Throw in the dryads crazy cousins and Leo will be lucky to make it out alive. This story takes place after the Lost Hero.

The first three stories were written by Rick Riordan and the last story, Son of Magic is by his 16 year old son Haley. Son of Magic is the story of Alabaster, son of Hecate, a demigod who sided with Kronos. Alabaster is hunted by Lamia, a daughter of Hecate and a monster who wants only to kill him. Alabaster befriends Dr. Claymore, a man who scoffs at religion and myths and studies the afterlife. Alabaster needs Dr. Claymore to help him find a way to keep Lamia in the Underworld, because for some reason (see Lost Hero/Son of Neptune for answer) she cannot be killed.

All the stories were just as good as the other books in Riordan's series, but Haley's surprised me the most. I loved his take on how the Mist was created and why monsters can find demigods. His writing was excellent and maybe even more mature and definitely a little darker than his dad's. I like that he did not shy away from the religious questions myths often create and even though he did not show his own beliefs, he did not attack others. If he is writing this well at 16, I can't wait to see what he writes as an adult.

Favorite Character: I could pick a character from each story, but I will just pick two. I have always liked Annabeth and her loyalty to Percy. She is all the good traits of Athena, with a few of the flaws, but she always is drawn to Percy and the two complement each other well. I also liked Alabaster, even though he chose the wrong side. He believes strongly in his causes and seems to want what is best for demigods and he wants to make his mother proud. I hope he shows up in other books.

Favorite Quote: "That is not the Bacchanalian Jingle! That is the theme song for Psych!"

I loved this short story collection, but then I haven't read a Rick Riordan book I didn't like yet. 5 bars of chocolate for sure!

Holding on to Zoe by George Ella Lyon

I received an e-galley of this from Netgalley.com, that is the only compensation I received for this review.

Jules's life has never been easy. Her dad left when she was really young, leaving her with a mom who selfishly ignores Jules's problems. On top of her bad homelife, now her boyfriend has left town. Unfortunately for Jules, he left after he found out she was pregnant. For Jules, Zoe offers her redemption, Zoe is her baby. Jules would do anything for Zoe and anything to keep Zoe safe, even when holding on to Zoe means putting her own health and sanity on the line. Jules will need her friend Reba, Reba's mom, Dr. Douglas, and even her own mother to put her life back in order.

This book was not what I expected at all. Without being too spoilery, Jules has problems on top of problems. Her problems run the gamut of selfish mom, absent father, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, abandonment issues, and mental health issues. I picked this up as a book about teenage pregnancy and it is so much more. At times her problems seemed like too much, but it was nice to see her mother finally start acting like a mother in the end, which made her problems seem more real. Thankfully Jules's best friend, Reba sticks by her and Reba's mother is like a real mother should be.

I love George Ella Lyon's picture books and her author presentations are great as well. This was a very different book compared to her usual stories, but it was still well-written.

Favorite Character: Reba was an ideal best friend. She was willing to stick by Jules no matter what and there was so many things she had to deal with regarding Jules.

Favorite Quote: "And what if the babies grow faster? What if they outgrow their moms? Can that happen?"

This is not my usual kind of read and at times Jules's problems seemed like too much, but overall it was well-written. I give it 3.5 bars of chocolate.

Bout of Books wrap-up

I enjoyed participating in this read-a-thon. I wish I could have done more challenges and kept more regular update posts, but maybe next time. I did finish The Strange Case of Finley Jayne and Persuasion, which surprises me. I should probably do more read-a-thons, because I tend to read more during these events. Thanks to  Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal for hosting the event!

Persuasion by Jane Austen thoughts

 I did finish Persuasion today, but will save most of my review for when I finish For Darkness Shows the Stars. This is the first Jane Austen book I have ever read. I know, I know, how could I have not read Jane Austen before! I have watched Pride and Prejudice (mini-series and movie) and Emma (movie), but never actually read the books. I had one friend tell me I started with the worst one, but I really liked Persuasion. The romance seemed mature and well developed and I enjoyed the characters. Anne and Captain Wentworth have a relationship that stood the test of time and influence. I liked the setting and I love reading books from this time period when people worried about silly things like social standing and talked about poetry. There are some great quotes in this book as well. I hope to read more Jane Austen at a later date, but for now I have other books waiting to be read.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross

Finley Jayne wonders if she will ever be employed again, after punching out the governess at her last place. Granted Finley was only protecting the little boy the governess was continually abusing, but no one will want a girl with superhuman strength. At least that is what she thinks until meeting Lady Morton. Lady Morton needs a companion for her daughter Phoebe and even though she knows Finley's past, she wants her. The job is one seems to be too good to be true, and it just might be as Finley finds out the upper class has problems of its own.

This is a unique twist on the story of Frankenstein and Finley is a take on Jekyll and Hyde. I loved seeing more into Finley's character and learning how deep her loyalty runs. I also liked seeing her with her mother without the feelings of betrayal that were in The Girl in the Steel Corset.

Favorite Character: Finley is a great character, both strong and loving.

Favorite Quote:"'If there's anyone in here, just clear your throat and I'll go back where I came from,' she said. Better to feel foolish for talking to an empty room than accidentally spy a gentleman's naked backside."

I liked this novella and the insights into Finley's past. I give it 5 bars of chocolate, because I do like the character of Finley.

Bout of Books update

So I should never say the week will not be busy, as busy, etc. I ended up having three late nights this week in a row, but tomorrow is the last one. I did however finish the novella for the read-a-thon. I also did the book word search at The Musings of ALMYBNENR. I enjoyed it and it took longer than I originally thought. I love word searches though. Hopefully I can review The Strange Case of Finley Jayne tomorrow. I have made progress in Persuasion, but not much. However, now it is time to go to sleep!

Bout of Books 5.0

This is a read-a-thon hosted by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal and can be found at this blog. Technically I am supposed to be reading books for my other challenges, but this looked like fun. So the challenge is to read more books than you usually would in a week, but to go at your own pace. I am going to use at least one of my other challenge books in this one. I usually do not even finish a book a week, so I think I will make my goal two books for this week. I want to read Persuasion by Jane Austen as the first book. I am having a hard time getting into it, so I think using it for the read-a-thon will help. The other one I am choosing is a novella and that is the Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross. I really enjoyed The Girl in the Steel Corset, so I would love to learn more about Finley. Hopefully I can finish these, since this week is not as busy as last week.