5 out of 5 stars.

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan was absolutely riveting, holding my attention through all the trials and tribulations that Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of the crew had to endure.

I had been anxiously awaiting the release of this book since I finished the previous book, The Mark of Athena.

It did not disappoint.

At the end of the last book (CAUTION: SPOILERS) Percy and Annabeth were plunged into the pit (Tartarus, for those who don’t know). In this harsh and deadly environment, Percy and Annabeth struggle to survive, much less make it to the Doors of Death to defeat Gaea and her minions.

Hazel, Frank, Leo, Piper, and Jason are left to make a decision. Should they attempt to bring the massive statue of Athena back to Camp Half-Blood, or head to Greece to stop the apocalypse?

Torn between two horrible fates, the crew must decide what to do before it’s too late.

Gaea – one of the earliest forces, Earth – is rising from her slumber and threatening to destroy all of humanity.

The gods are divided – literally. Their Greek and Roman personas are fighting as the Greek and Roman half-bloods are, and they are useless most of the time. They can offer little help to the struggling group of demigods.

As they group tries to get to the Doors of Death to save Percy and Annabeth, they encounter monsters, formerly-evil goddesses, and crazy cow creatures on the streets of Venice, along with a couple of extremely irritating but also very useful dwarves.

Percy and Annabeth, along with the help of an old friend, do the best they can in their situation – try to survive and make it to the Doors of Death in time to save the world. They can only hope that their friends will be there in time as well.

House of Hades was one of my favorite books. It kept you on the edge of your seat, but was tempered by the romances of the ship members.

Readers will learn new and surprising things about the most mysterious characters, friendships will grow, and characters in previous books will make reappearances.

You better hold on to your socks when you read this installment of Rick Riordan’s bestselling Heroes of Olympus Series!