Review: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
published by Hyperion in May 2016

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.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: The Trials of Apollo, Book #1 (spin-off of The Heroes of Olympus series)

The Story: Zeus holds Apollo responsible for the debacle that occurred throughout The Heroes of Olympus series and as a result, banishes Apollo to the mortal world... as a human. This is not the first time though that Apollo receives such a punishment and therefore, he knows the drill: find a demigod, pledge his servitude, accomplish required tasks and eventually, he'll regain his immortal status and return to Olympus. Except this time, Zeus must be really angry because Apollo retains none of his godly powers... even worst, he finds himself in the body of 16 years old Lester Papadopoulos, complete with acne and flab!

Apollo's streak of bad luck continues when he finds himself bound to Meg, a 12 years old demigod who seems clueless. In need of shelter and guidance, Apollo decides to head for Camp Half-Blood. However, Camp Half-Blood has its own problem: campers are disappearing...

My Opinion: I have to admit, when I heard that Apollo was getting his own series, I had my doubts. Let just say, Apollo hasn't been my favorite Olympus god in the franchise so far. After all, he's been behaving like you expect Apollo to: being narcissistic, egotistical and self-pitying. So really, I had no idea how Mr Riordan was going to pull it off... but of course, he did :)

Surprisingly, what won me in The Hidden Oracle is exactly what I feared the most... Apollo being himself! Usually, being narcissistic, egotistical and self-pitying is not a winning combination for a hero ^_^; However, it worked for Apollo because it gave him an unique and, quite frankly, refreshing voice. As much as I love Mr Riordan's writing and series, his heroes - Percy, Jason, Carter, Magnus - are starting to blend together. They all seemed to come out from the same mold... but not Apollo. What I saw as major flaws definitively set him apart and actually gave rise to some interesting and funny situations such as his belief that demigods are there to do his bidding and his despair at his new physique LOL. In addition, it gave him a lot of room to grow/change. You can behave a certain way when you're a god, but definitively have to adapt when you're human/mortal and in need of help.

For the most part, I enjoyed the story a lot as well. In many ways, The Hidden Oracle's purpose was to lay down the background information and set up for the rest of the series... and it definitively did the job because I'm really excited to read the next books and find out which trials await Apollo! :) What I like about this series so far is that Apollo's quest to recover his immortality is quite clear - he needs to restore the Oracles that many thought were lost. Also, Mr Riordan has come up with some very interesting and intriguing villains: 3 Roman emperors who have survived centuries because they believe themselves to be gods and have banded together to form the Triumvate. What makes them so dangerous is that they had years and years to amass resources and plot the fall of Olympus... and apparently, they are ready to strike. Apollo is definitively in over his head :) Previous series of Mr Riordan always felt a bit vague, readers never really knew in which direction the books were heading in; however, The Trials of Apollo is different and it's a welcome change.

What else did I enjoy about this book? First, I liked that most of the book took place at Camp Half-Blood. It was nice to stay in one place and get reacquainted with the camp. I think it allowed Mr Riordan to really focus on telling the story. I also really liked that there was no deadline. The characters are always rushed because they have to complete their quests by a certain date or else... And of course, they always make it ^_^; If that's the case, then do you really need a deadline? I don't mind one from time to time, but in every book? It eventually becomes wearisome. So I thought it was fun that there wasn't any in The Hidden Oracle. Of course, it's always fun to see old characters and we were quite spoiled in The Hidden Oracle :) Mr Riordan struck the perfect balance in my opinion. Give what the fans want, but without stealing the spotlight from Apollo... As if they could, LOL. Seriously though, I had fun seeing Percy, Nico and Will. Last but not least, it was awesome to see Apollo interact with his demigods!! LOL. How awkward it was, but lots of fun... and while Apollo is selfish, it's endearing to see that he does care for his sons and daughters.

As much as I enjoyed this book, there were a few minor flaws. I thought the story was a bit choppy at time, the transition between important events a bit awkward. It felt like parts of the book were the current adventure and other parts, to set up the series. The whole thing didn't feel quite organic... and except for the final showdown which was action-packed and fun, the book's adventure didn't captivate. There were also instances where some of the characters's decisions did not make sense ^_^; For example, campers are disappearing, but nobody is truly looking for them. Communication being down, but nobody really looking into it. It would have been fine if it was minors characters or minor events... but those were actually important and crucial! So it simply didn't make sense for me that it was being ignored. Finally, Apollo's new friend, Meg, was also not my favorite character. She was a hard to warm up to and just seemed off. We later find out why, but I'm just surprised nobody rang the alarm.

My Grade: A solid B+ read. It's been a while since I've enjoyed a Rick Riordan book as much as The Hidden Oracle. This book was a great mesh of the refreshing and the familiar and now, I can't wait till next May for the next book :)

New subcategory for historical genre needed

Nooo, I missed a day! :( I was doing so well, sigh. Yesterday evening, I had the AGM at the curling club. I had started writing a post and figured I'd be able to finish it once I got home. Except, the AGM ran from 7.45-11pm ^_^; Longest meeting we've had since I joined the club... By the time I got home, it was past midnight and I had this killer headache. Grrrr. I might double-post to make up for it, sigh. I'm just bummed to have missed a day now :(

Okay, so whenever I input books in a spreadsheet - whether it's books I've read, books bought, books I wanted, etc., there's always a column in there for genre. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one :) Lately, I've been wondering how long do we have to wait till a certain era/period qualifies as "historical" LOL. Or more bluntly: What genre do books set in the 1970-2000 belong?

Why do I bring this up? Well it seems like some authors are getting nostalgic, particularly of the 80-90s - and deliberately choose to set their books in that time period. I feel there's been such advances in technology starting around 2000 - internet, computers, cell phones, tablets and so on - that I personally feel like books set in that period of time should be categorized as contemporary...

By the way, I'm not talking about books that were written during that period. Take the Chesapeake quartet by Nora Roberts which was written in 1998. Those, I would still categorize as contemporary romance because they were... But authors who right now are choosing to set their books in the 80s or 90s because of nostalgia, because things were different, for example Eleonora & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Those are the books I'm talking about.

So, what genre are they? If the WWII era is historical, when does the 1970-2000 era become historical? Or perhaps we should simply find a new genre category for those books?

I don't have an answer to this, but I'm really curious to hear your thoughts about it! :)

Cover: The True North series by Sarina Bowen

I'm taking it easy today! Decided to share with you the covers of Ms Bowen's new series, True North. I know the covers have been floating around in blogland for a few weeks already, but I also want to know what you think about them!

Here are the covers:

Personally, I'm a bit ambivalent about these covers. If I didn't know Ms Bowen, I'm not sure I'd pick up these books based solely on the covers ^_^; I like that there are common elements throughout the three covers that mark them as part of the same series and I think the fir trees as the series' brand is well-thought out and eye-catching :) I like the title font; however, the color choices for Steadfast and Keepsake are a bit too neon and clash with the color scheme of the covers in my opinion. Also, I'm not sure it really matches the series... because from the darkness of the covers, my impression is that these books are going to be quite angsty and the titles looks to be, hmmmm, more cheerful. It's a good font for New Adult books though. Then again, I haven't read the series, so I have no idea what the mood of this series is going to be LOL.

I'm not a huge fan of the models chosen for the covers. Yes, they have great physiques, but men with naked torsos, bulging muscles and tattoos seem to be very in overabundance lately, especially in self-published books. Then again, that's my personal tastes ^_^; I'm sure a lot of fans are enjoying the eye-candies. Plus, the fir trees and sky backgrounds keep the covers from being too generic.

So there you have, my two cents for these covers :) Final verdict is that no matter what the covers look like, I'll be picking up these books because they are written by Ms Bowen LOL. Luckily, Bittersweet is released in less than a month, on June 14!

What about you? Your thoughts?

Review: Troublemaker by Linda Howard

Troublemaker by Linda Howard
published by Harpercollins Publisher (William Morrow) in May 2016

For Morgan Yancy, an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group, nothing comes before his job. But when he’s ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who’s after the members of his elite squad—and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he’s determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.

The part-time police chief of a small West Virginian mountain town, Isabeau “Bo” Maran finally has her life figured out. She’s got friends, a dog, and a little money in the bank. Then Morgan Yancy shows up on her doorstep. Bo doesn’t need a mysterious man in her life—especially a troublemaker as enticing and secretive as Morgan.

The harder they fight the intense heat between them, the closer Morgan and Bo become, even though she knows he’s hiding from something. But discovering the truth could cost Bo more than she’s willing to give. And when Morgan’s cover is blown, it might just cost her life.

Genre: Contemporary romance, Romantic Suspense
Series: Stand-alone

The Story: Technically, the story of Troublemaker happens as described in the blurb... but let just say the blurb is a tad more dramatic than the story ^_^; Let just say that keeping under the radar wasn't that dangerous a mission and that Morgan was very forthcoming with Bo LOL.

Morgan Yancy is an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group. Shortly after his return for a mission, Morgan is ambushed and almost dies from complication. Having no idea why Morgan was targeted, his supervisor sends him to a small town in West Virginia for recovery and to set a trap... and because it has the added bonus to annoy the crap out of his ex-stepsister, Isabeau "Bo" Maran.

After a house flip gone back which left her with tons of debts, Now the chief of police of Hamrickville - doing only the administrative part of the job, Bo is finally pulling her life back together... and the last thing she needs is a man who needs tending.

What neither expected was the attraction building as Morgan recovered.


My Opinion: As I've mentioned many times, I was hesitant to pick up Troublemaker based on Ms Howard's last few releases, but the good reviews convinced me... Plus, I was curious to see in what shape Ms Howard is doing her comeback :)

 Overall, I thought Troublemaker was a pleasant read. Ironically, I felt the pacing was very similar to The Obsession by Nora Roberts as in the majority of the story was focused on Morgan's recovery and his cohabitation with Bo, their day-to-day lives and routines. Readers really got to witness Morgan and Bo's relationship, from being two strangers to becoming roommates, then friends and eventually lovers. As a reader who doesn't like my H/H falling into bed and love instantly, I really appreciate the slow build-up. In addition, Ms Howard fleshed out the little town with nice characters - nothing too stereotypical (except for the rich offspring jerk) and Troublemaker had a great dog character, Tricks :) Actually, in many scenes, Tricks completely stole the show LOL. No worries though, as awesome as Tricks was, she didn't get her own POV :P

However, I don't think this pacing was as successful for Ms Howard as it is for Ms Roberts, mainly because the story and the author's voice were quite flat, almost monotonous. It's not a feeling I got while reading the book, but after I was done. For example, I'm sitting here writing this review and am realizing I don't really have a grasp on Morgan and Bo's characters. I don't know what made them the persons they are. Readers were told a lot of things - for example: Bo and Morgan's supervisor detesting each other, Bo being in debt, Bo having friends, Morgan being a leader - but we were shown little and nothing was expanded, developed... and at the end of the day, I wonder what I read ^_^;

There was also a lack of passion, feelings in Troublemaker. The romance was also a bit flat, because Morgan and Bo were already living together. There was no courting, no dating... There wasn't much differences between Morgan and Bo being friends and being in love, except for them starting to have sex. While I enjoyed witnessing the growth of their relationship, I needed it more in the romance department.

Finally, the suspense was a bit anti-climatic. There was some "action" in the book that happened and had nothing to do with Morgan and his ambush.  All I have to say is the "rich offspring jerk" plot is getting old... and in the case of Troublemaker, I was dumbstruck because it's a bit ridiculous ^_^; As for the book's overall suspense plot, it was disappointing because everything wrapped up in less than 20 pages, when the book is 300+ pages. So really, you can't help but wonder "that's it?" and that's why I found everything so anti-climatic.

My Grade; Initially, right after finishing it, I thought Troublemaker was a B- read. Good book with some flaws and definitively better than the last few books by Ms Howard that I've read (and from what I've heard, the ones I've skipped since Veil of Night too). However, the more I reflect on it, the more flaws and faults I find... and I don't think I should overlook that because this was better than the last releases I've read. Therefore, Troublemaker gets a C+ from me. Despite all my complaints, the book was enjoyable - just not memorable.

Aspiring Green Thumb - not me!

I had planned to write a review today (no idea for which book though); however, I spent the day running around and am quite exhausted ^_^;  Instead, here is what I did today :)

First, for some reasons, I woke up insanely early ^_^; The worst is that I wasn't the only one as one of my chatrooms started to buzz with messages LOL. At least, I got to spend some time with my parents before we all went about our businesses.

I don't know if it's a new trend or craze, but in the past couple of years, I feel gardening has become really popular again. Or perhaps I have this feeling because more people around me are gardening and really enjoying it. First Ames, then V and XH and now my sister. Two years ago, my sister bought a basil plant... didn't survive really long LOL. Last year, she still bought basil and added a few other herbs... had more success with it. This year, she decided to start early and as a result, we went bright and early this morning to a seedling sale. She had told V about the seedling sale and it so happened we arrived at the same time. So I got to spend some time with V and my sister this morning :) We also went to Home Depot because they had a sale.

Let see, Emilie got lots of basil (one of the booths was giving it away free!) as well as thai basil, thyme, lavender, black prince tomatoes, golden zucchini, bell peppers, hot peppers and cucumber plants. We'll see how everything grows and if we're going to be able to harvest anything LOL. 

After parting ways with V, we went home to unload our loot and grab a bite to it. Then, went to pick up EmK to go shopping some more :) EmK was looking for shoes and now that I have a dress for the wedding, I kind of need some shoes to go with it. Sigh, it never stops LOL! Emilie finally got into the mood of trying dresses...

I thought it was nice, but she ended up not getting it. After dropping EmK at her place, we went home again. Ended the day with a work-out and sushi :)

How was your day? I had a good time today, but I'm kind of glad we still have Sunday to rest LOL.

Dress shopping

I have weddings in June, September and October to attend this year... as a result, I need something to wear, preferably a dress. A friend of mine has a ball to attend to in a few weeks and therefore, also needs a dress. We both, separately, asked K to go dress shopping with us, as she's the fashion guru of the gang. K has decided to kill two birds with one stone by shopping with the two of us at the same time... and well, this has turned out into a shopping adventure because all the other girls want to join :) So the gang is going shopping this afternoon!

Hopefully, later this evening, I'll update this post with what I bought today :)


UPDATE:

Mission accomplished!! EmK and I both found dresses! Yay!!

This was quite an intense shopping adventure. I swear, I must have tried on close to 25 dresses. For a girl who almost never wears one, it's a lot! Basically, I would go in the cabin to try one and the girls (EmK, K and my sister) would just keep bringing more. Because EmK was looking for something for a ball, her choices were more limited and therefore, had more time to look for me LOL.

Going to start with EmK's dress:

Since it was for a ball, we kept telling EmK to go for something a bit more daring or at least, colorful. She tried on a few dresses, but none that brought a smile on her face like this one :) Unfortunately, the curse of being short - she'll have to have the length altered. Hopefully, in time since her event is in 2 weeks.

And now, here is my dress:

This is not something I would have picked for myself... but that's why you go shopping with friends right? The print is not my style... and I guess I had something else in mind. But all my friends agree this was the nicest dress I tried on and the fit is really nice :)

However, what do you think: yay or nay for a wedding? My sister voiced her concerns that perhaps it's not chic enough for a hotel wedding reception...

After shopping, we went for a bite and just stayed at the food court for a couple of hours, talking. It's been a while since we've been together, so it was really nice. Just too bad one of us couldn't make it, but hopefully, soon ;)

Movie: Captain America - Civil War

Last night, I went out with some friends and my sister to see the latest Avengers movie. I'm not a huge movie-goer... not even a big movie fan LOL, but now that curling is over, I need some activities to keep me busy. Plus, I've been wanting to catch up with friends :)

Anyway, I thought Captain America - Civil War would be the perfect topic for today's post :)


For those interested, here is the synopsis:

Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes superheroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side.

I'm not a die-hard fan of the Avengers. I've enjoyed the movies I've seen, but I've also missed quite a few such as the two first Captain America movies, the last Iron Man and Thor, Ant Man, etc. ^_^;  So for Captain America - Civil War, I pretty much went into it blind. I don't think I even saw the trailer LOL.

In my opinion, fans of the Marvel franchise will be satisfied. Captain America - Civil War was an enjoyable movie. Supposedly, it's a Captain America movie which is why he's the prominent character, but... this was really an Avengers movie. There were so many superheroes in this one and with big roles too, not simply cameo appearances, and that worked for me. I thought the dilemma was interesting. Perhaps not the way it was handled by everyone, but it definitively added depth to the movie. It was more than simply going after a villain and saving the planet. Then again, the scriptwriters have done an awesome job at adding twists and turns, coming up with good plots and staying away from stereotypes.

I thought it was interesting the positions that Captain America and Iron Man took, choice/freedom and UN respectively. Perhaps it stems from their background... Captain America used to be part of the military and look how it turned out for him. He knows first-hands that higher-ups have agendas and people are not always the priority. As for Iron Man, he grew up wild - did what he wanted, when he wanted, etc. So for once, he's looking for supervision. Of course, neither position is absolutely right or wrong... Wished they could have come to a consensus - perhaps if they had more time? I also felt Captain America was quite rash and a bit condescending, but I don't really know the character well enough to judge.

Between, there was a ton of action in the movie! And good action to boot! I watched it in 3D and at times, I thought it was quite dizzying ^_^; It was great fun to see the superheroes fighting each other - as they know their weaknesses... One of my complaints though is that great, the superheroes want to reduce the deaths their fights cause - awesome! They're being made more aware, yay! But what about material collateral damage? Also, there was one scene where the Winter Soldier and Captain America fought against a SWAT team and cops... You might not kill them, but the injuries you're causing? Those are going to be life-changing and not in a positive way. Just saying...

My last comment will be that the movie had a more serious tone than most Avengers movie. Yes, there were moments where I smiled/laughed out loud... but not that many. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but humor is something I expect in these movies.

Okay, I lied. Here's my last comment - I appreciate that they kept the baiting at a minimum. They introduced some new characters that apparently will have movies... but they weren't pushy or heavy-handed and that was nice.

Want to know a funny thing? The whole movie, I kept expecting to see the actress Olivia Munn... I thought I saw her in the trailer, so I kept waiting and waiting... Turns out she's in X-Men. Oups ^_^; In my defense, costumed people with powers!