the percy jackson/heroes of olympus book tag!

Hello, friends!

I am really thankful for Olivia for tagging me to answer this one. I absolutely love the Riordanverse and I’ve been meaning to answer this one for a while, so now I have the perfect opportunity.

RULES

• Link to the original creator: May @ Forever and Everly. Please note that she made the artwork/graphics, if using them.
• Match books with the given prompt.
• Tag however many people as wanted!
• Copy-paste the rules and list of prompts.

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer completely fucked me up, so I hope y’all don’t mind me screaming about it for a while longer.

I loved everything about this book and found it to be addictive, realistic, hard-hitting and layered.

I think Brigid Kemmerer may have officially ruined the contemporary genre for me, because I can’t help but compare every other book to this one, which is probably why I have no other 5 star this year.

 

Every time I read mysteries I am left 👁👄👁.

I am the *worst* at predicting and figuring things out, so I am always shook when I read any mystery book. Truly Devious didn’t even have that much of a resolution in this first book, but I was still left shook because the characters are really smart and I could never.

 

I think Not So Pure and Simple was a release that was pretty much slept on, which is such a huge mistake. I liked this book a ton and genuinely think should be required read in schools.

Not only because of its very smart discussion of sex education, but because it challenges double standards, toxic masculinity and the idea of the “nice guy” SO. FUCKING. WELL.

(Okay, I am cursing a lot in this post, sorry).

And the fact the author also intertwined social media SO well throughout the book, and was hilarious as well? The iconic jumped out.

 

Everyone I’d seen talking about Aurora Rising said they were disappointed, but I actually *loved* it?

It was hilarious, dynamic, action-packed and pretty much everything I could’ve wished for. I loved all the characters and their interactions were absolute gold.

Also, I don’t know if y’all are aware but this book has a scene of: “let’s pretend we’re making out so the guards don’t catch us”, but make it gay, and I may or may not have legit flipped.

 

I could answer Percy Jackson, but I’ve recently been in a To All the Boys mood and I just remembered how much I fucking adore this trilogy.

I’ve re-read these books more often than I should and I constantly think about picking them up again. They just feel so good, like revisiting your favorite spot or an ice-cream cake.

 

And Nic Stone does it again.

But, seriously, Rico has such a sweet relationship with her little brother. She’s very protective of him and willing to do whatever it takes so he can have as much of a normal childhood as possible, even though her family is struggling so much.

Her little brother also happens to be the funniest character on this book and he had such witty comebacks the entire time, which was a *gift*.

 

I know I finished this book in just a matter of days, and I don’t even remember reading it that much? I wasn’t consciously reaching for it all the time because it was so addictive, I think time just really flew by because of how engaging it was.

These characters are fantastic. Leah Thomas crafted such interesting characters, that I got to know so personally even though I was only reading their letters to and from each other? Amazing.

 

When I read Radio Silence last year, I truly understood the hype.

This book is well-loved for a reason, that’s for sure. The characters are amazing, their dynamic tugged on my heartstrings as much as any romance I’ve ever read even though they were purely platonic, it was hard-hitting and still hopeful and realistic.

Plus, the relationship between Frances and her mom? Unmatched and I shall never shut up about it.

 

I was just introduced to the word “marooned” because of this tag, so thank you.

I am only choosing this book because I found it to be so ridiculously entertaining. Plus, I’m sure the Greek gods have answers about how to survive or how to get out of a desert island, right?

Preferably that do not involve gods disguised as horses, definitely, but still.

 

I am definitely expecting to give 10 Things I Hate About Pinky 5 stars for a few reasons:

• Fake-dating, which, YES.
• I already loved Samir in There’s Something About Sweetie and his banter with Pinky was A+.
• It’s Sandhya Menon.
• Everyone I know that has read this already loved it, soooo…

If this does not turn out to be a favorite, I will have to be passing away.

 

I have quite a lot of anticipated releases for the second semester, but I will talk about Cemetery Boys because… yes.

Ever since I watched Adri’s vlog where they read this one, I’ve been hooked. I am not a fan of fantasy, at all, but I believe the characters will be really compelling and I am always here for supporting more Latinx authors, so if I can have this already, I’ll be forever thankful.

 

 

Marie was the one to convince me to read You’d be Mine and I’m soooo thankful.

This book was a lot darker than the premise initially sells you to be. It dealt with topics such as addiction and suicide, but it was all handled very well.

It was after reading her review + posts where she mentioned it that I realized this was just not a case of a pretty cover, and I was 100% right.

 

I didn’t want to be here talking about Rick Riordan ONCE AGAIN, but what can I do? The man is a master.

I recently read This Burning Maze and I’d forgotten how chaotic Apolo is. I laughed out loud with this book and even the haikus at the beginning of each chapter are hilarious.

I think I’ve cracked the code as to why I keep reading these books: they’re honestly too funny to be true sometimes.

 

 

I read Wonder in 2014 and it’s still one of my favorite books. Especially after watching the movie.

I recently decided to re-watch it, which always has to be a very well-crafted plan because it makes me cry so hard I have to be prepared to not leave the house for the following 24 hours because of how swollen my face gets.

Yes, this book is everything people say it is and I still love it to pieces.

 

As I mentioned in my post about the “premonition sex”, I remember really not wanting to read more of All the Bright Places because I knew something bad would happen the minute they had sex.

I was right.

Nonetheless, I was already scared of what would happen as I knew this book was very sad, so I definitely was not anticipating reaching the end of it.

 

First, I’d like to know: who in their right minds would hate Reyna? Lol. She was my favorite character we’re introduced to in the HOO series and I’d literally do everything for that woman.

But I digress.

I found this to be the hardest question to answer, because the way I tend to diverge from the majority is by hating hyped books, not really the other way around.

So I’ll answer with my default answer: The Maze Runner, which I know is a series a lot of people hate, but I personally love with my heart and entire soul.

Honestly, at this point, it might as well be my fault more than anything, lol.

Everyone I knew was giving this book 2 stars and I still read it because apparently I hate myself??? But I guess I just wanted to see it through and it really is bad.

The world-building is non-existent, it is supposed to discuss GANGS and yet it felt like we were talking about Divergent factions, plus all the characters are unlikeable.

 

I actually really liked the romance in The Dangerous Art of Blending In!

It’s friends to lovers, or as I like to call it, bros to bromos. It was very sweet and believable, plus I really liked how open Evan could be around Henry and how much Henry wanted him to be, and was willing to support him whatever happened.

They were really solid and a breath of fresh air in the midst of everything else that’s happening that was really bad.

 

We’re 1.5k words into this post, and I am so sorry, lol. Tell me a hated book you actually love & the best romance you’ve read recently. Oh, and your most anticipated release for 2020 as well!