Okay so as I pretty much binge read this entire series I decided to review the entire series as one. Not going to lie - I can't really distinguish one book from the next. If you haven't completed the series I am warning you now there will probably be spoilers.
I really, really enjoyed these books. I love looking at religion and gods, so bringing the Greek gods into modern times is bound to appeal to me. I love how we got to know the different gods. I really liked Hermes and Hestia, and although he was a complete ass I loved Ares. He just really didn't care what anyone thought and was just so blunt. It was quite refreshing in a world of prophecies and ambiguity.
I did find it amusing how a lot of adaptations to do with Greek gods make Aphrodite into either a bad guy or a bitch. Not that I disagree - but I'm glad her half-bloods were *slightly* less selfish.
I did not like Zeus or Hera. To me they both acted like spoilt brats throwing their dummies out of the pram.
The overall story lines of the series were fantastic. In some cases you were left guessing right up until the very end, and the cryptic prophecies were interesting to try to decipher and guess, though invariably I mainly got them wrong.
Our main group of Half-Bloods were brilliant. Percy wasn't completely helpless all the time (though he did have a lot to learn) and was quite entertaining. Annabeth, our tough warrior queen with a hidden soft side was probably one of my personal favourites. I loved the relationship between Grover and Tyson.
Rachel was a great addition to the story. When she was introduced we were given far too much information about her, even though she was only in the book for a single scene. I knew she had to come back, and play a big role in some way. I was a bit worried that she'd actually be the one Percy ended up with, not going to lie. I totally ship Percy with Annabeth so I'm glad that didn't happen. Rachel's part I didn't manage to guess until right before it was revealed.
I enjoyed Luke's character development, from friend to bad guy to victim to saviour. All the way through I liked him to some extent and I'm glad he changed in the end.
The way the series wrapped up was brilliant. There isn't too much death so it's good for slightly younger readers and everything works out well. Its a nice ending (which is refreshing every once in a while).
My only real issue with this series is that Percy doesn't come across as 12 years old. The series spans four years - starting as he's twelve and finishing when he's 16. I don't know if my issues with this are because I had seen both films before with Logan Lerman so was picturing him in my mind as I read the books, but it really didn't sit well that he was only twelve when he started his journey.
Overall I loved these books and can't wait to get my hands on Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series.
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