After finishing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, I wasn’t sure how to feel about starting this new series. Percy Jackson was just such a complete story arc and I didn’t really see the point in having a whole new series starring the same characters. It just felt like it should have been an extension of the original series rather than being The Heroes of Olympus. I will say though, I was totally wrong and I could not be happier. This series just elevates everything I loved about Percy Jackson and put an interesting twist on the structure of the mythology from the original series. One thing I loved about the original Percy Jackson series is that we got to go on this journey with Percy while he is just stumbling around trying to figure everything out, and I am so happy that we didn’t lose that at the beginning of this new series. 

     As in any Rick Riordan book, the plot of this story just gets going! We are basically thrust into the middle of a situation and are playing catchup at the beginning of the book, but Riordan manages to write it in an entertaining way that does not have you feeling lost. From there, the plot just does not slow down and we are once again, as in true Rick Riordan fashion, taken on this fantastical journey with these fun new characters, but the fun difference is that we are also seeing some old familiar characters. It’s nice that Riordan is actively connecting the two series, but still allowing each to stand on their own. From what I’ve read so far, having read the Percy Jackson series certainly brings insight to the Heroes of Olympus, but it is not necessary. 

     Personally, I never really felt that strong of a connection to Percy, Annabeth and Grover, but I am really connecting with Jason, Piper and Leo so far, I just think they are so much fun to follow. I have heard a lot of people saying they wish this first book had more Percy in it, but I think we needed this book and the opportunity to get to know the new characters without the looming presence that is Percy Jackson, or even Annabeth for that matter, as she’s not extremely present for the majority of this book either. I know in the future books we will see more of a merge between the new and the old characters, which is something I am looking forward to, but I want to know the two groups separately before they merge so I know who they are more so as individuals. 

     One aspect about this book that I think is super interesting is the introduction of Roman mythology as well as Greek. The way that the two are being blended together while still justifying the separation of them in the past is very clever and a great way for Riordan to expand this universe and keep this new series exciting and interesting. I think there needs to be some caution taken in the upcoming books, it may be hard to follow both sets of mythology. Of course, this could just be because I am listening to the audiobooks for this series, but I worry about the confusion the two sets of mythology may cause. 

     Overall, I was actually very pleasantly surprised by this book. I did enjoy the Percy Jackson series, but I think it was missing a sense of maturity for me to love it. I understand that I am a 23-year-old reading a middle-grade book series, but the point I am trying to make is that I think the Heroes of Olympus and The Lost Hero, in particular, elevates and improves the original series. I don’t necessarily think this book needed to be as long as it was, which is why I can’t quite rate this 5 stars, but I am very excited to continue with this series. 4/5 stars to The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.