The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan

*Warning this review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series, The Hidden Oracle*

Series: The Trials of Apollo, #2

Publication: May 2nd 2017 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads Description:

Zeus has punished his son Apollo—god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more—by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo do anything about them without his powers?

After experiencing a series of dangerous—and frankly, humiliating—trials at Camp Half-Blood, Apollo must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships—with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . 

My thoughts:

I am so conflicted about The Dark Prophecy, on one hand I really liked the second half and on the other it took me ages to get through the first half. I really struggled at the start; I had to force myself to keep reading and I didn't know if I was getting told for Rick Riordan books or if it was because I read it at the wrong time when I'd just finished one of my all time favourite series (To All the Boys I've Loved Before- a review of Always and Forever Lara Jean should be up before this post!). But I don't think I am growing out of Rick Riordan books because I adore the Magnus Chase series and I did enjoy reading the second half of The Dark Prophecy.

I think Apollo's narration was a factor in my reading experience because at times he can be a bit immature and I found myself rolling my eyes at some of his comments. I thought he was hilarious last year when I read The Hidden Oracle and he did have some great one liners in The Dark Prophecy but it wasn't as funny as RR's other books.

As I said the plot was slow to start and it didn't pick up for me until after half way, after the half way mark though I couldn't stop reading, I was back in the swing of things and was enjoying the story.

We do get a good bit of Leo and Calypso which I liked. I was worried that they were only going to be in the start of the book but they stuck around for the majority of the story. It was nice seeing them trying to work as a couple and dealing with trying to live normal lives. If you are going into The Dark Prophecy expecting it to be all about them it's not, they are definitely side characters.

We are also introduced to some very interesting characters. The Hunter of Artemis play a big role in The Dark Prophecy which I loved because I absolutely adore the Hunters. I find them so much fun to read about! We even meet two ex hunters!

The ending of The Dark Prophecy was great and I have high hopes for the next book, which I am definitely picking up despite my weird reading experience with the start of The Dark Prophecy.

My rating: 3 stars

Thanks for reading,

A :)