The Magic of Rick Riordan's Demigod Series: A Review and Reading Update

As I sat down to record this video, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nostalgia. The demigod series by Rick Riordan has been a beloved part of my childhood, and as an adult now, I get to experience the stories in a new light. The books have always had a special place in my heart, and I'm thrilled to be re-reading them for the first time.

As a kid, I was absolutely smitten with Percy Jackson, and I devoured every book in the series. I loved how Riordan wove together Greek mythology and modern-day America, creating a unique and captivating world that drew me in from page one. As an adult, I've had the chance to revisit these beloved characters and storylines, and I'm blown away by just how much depth and complexity there is beneath the surface.

One of the things that strikes me most about this series is its ability to balance action, adventure, and humor with deeper themes and emotional resonance. The books are full of twists and turns, and Riordan's mastery of plotting keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. But it's not just the excitement and suspense that make these books so compelling – it's also the way Riordan explores complex emotions like friendship, loyalty, and identity.

As I made my way through The Last Olympian, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the scope and ambition of the series. This is a story that spans multiple continents, features an incredible cast of characters, and tackles some really big themes – all while maintaining its signature blend of humor and heart. It's clear that Riordan has spent years honing his craft, and it shows in every page.

Reading as an adult, I've noticed that my perspective on the books has shifted somewhat. As a kid, I was swept up in the excitement and adventure of the stories – but now, I can appreciate the complexity and nuance of the characters and plotlines. I love how Riordan subverts expectations and pushes boundaries, creating a world that feels both familiar and fresh.

I have to admit, reading about demigods as an adult has been a bit intense at times! Seeing young people put so much on the line to try and save the world is incredibly moving – and it's clear that Riordan understands the weight of responsibility that these characters carry. But even in the face of danger and uncertainty, there's always hope and joy to be found – and that's a message that I think resonates with readers of all ages.

One of the things I love most about this series is its ability to balance lightness and darkness. The books are never afraid to tackle tough subjects or explore difficult themes – but they do so in a way that feels both authentic and hopeful. Riordan has a gift for crafting stories that feel both grounded and expansive, like they're taking place in the real world while also tapping into something deeper and more mystical.

I've been reading The Last Olympian over the past four days, and I'm blown away by its scope and ambition. This is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish – but it's also one that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the feels in between. If you're looking for a book that will transport you to another world and capture your heart, then this is definitely the series for you.

I'm excited to continue reading through The Last Olympian and exploring more of Riordan's amazing world. In the meantime, I'll be focusing on catching up on some house chores – but mostly, I'll be getting lost in these incredible stories and re-discovering why they're so beloved by readers everywhere.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enguys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of a very extra special challenge based reading Vlog this reading Vlog is one that's honestly been one I've been meaning to do four years and it's very much inspired by the sponsor of this video which is moomins hi friends I'm so excited to say that this video is actually sponsored by moomins that's right one of the most iconic literary figures of our time is sponsoring this video and that is because moomins is working to make a Big Splash in America with a very special collection of items and books available now at Barnes Noble in stores and online now I'm going to show a preview of some of the items you're actually able to shop but first if you're not familiar a bit more about moomins and also how they're inspiring this video so moomins is again an iconic Illustrated figure first introduced in 1945. from there moomins exploded there's books there's television shows that has been adapted to over 120 different countries I personally grew up on the moomins cartoon it's just so fun and silly and Delight delightful and needless to say I have had a love for movements my entire life in general I would say I have always just kept and tried to Foster all of the loves of my childhood throughout my life not only does it make me feel nostalgic but I think just like constantly saving a space in your heart for those things that brought you Delight growing up for the first time I just think is important and very very special which is what this whole Vlog is actually going to be about movements is inspiring me to actually re-check out one of my all-time favorite series that I have not read since I read it for the first time when I was a kid which I'm really excited to explore and share throughout this video but before we dive into that in more specifics let's show off some of the amazing items you're now able to shop at Barnes and Noble first the physical items and I will of course include a close-up but I have this adorable little moomins notebook which comes with the cutest little pencil but not only is it just stunning and practical but it also has some fantastic little illustrations at the bottom of the page I love this this is going in my purse for any note taking I may need to have I also have this adorable little mug I can't wait to drink tea out of and it's just a really stunning little Illustrated piece we know I love to collect mugs and lastly I have this stunning little pin which will be going on my backpack right away and then of course we have books first up we have a novel by Tova Jansen because outside of Moomin she also has a variety of novels to read and enjoy as well which are available within the collection and this one is the summer book I also have mum and Papa's Memoirs which is a really really cute fairy tale esque chapter book which I can't wait to reread we also have moomins and the great flood and just something about the illustrations of this that just bring me back it's beautiful and then lastly I have Moomin and the Wishing Star another stunning illustrated book as I said this movement collection is available now at Barnes Noble in store and online and I will of course have a link down below if you guys want to shop The Collection shout out again to moomins for sponsoring this video I love you guys I will forever have moomins in my heart and now a fish actually in my life and on my bookshelf as well so for this Vlog and for this reading week I wanted to challenge myself to not only read a lot of pages but to also kind of go back to a beloved thing from my childhood and embrace it and just absorb myself in it once again this again I feel like goes right alongside the sponsor of this video which is Moomin which is a beloved figure character series from my childhood so I wanted to carry that into this reading Vlog and honestly I couldn't think of a better series to do it with than Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan that's right over the course of this week I'm gonna be rereading the entirety of Percy Jackson and The Olympian so let's get these books in order and we'll go through them one by one so obviously we have the lightning thief next is the Sea of Monsters Titan's Curse and the battle of the labyrinth and lastly The Last Olympian so funny thing about the Percy Jackson series is I have not reread them since I was a kid I've since then read pretty much every Rick Riordan book that has ever come out so that's carried me through most of my adulthood as I've experienced so far because he's just pretty prolific and writes a bunch but the original series which I encountered for the first time in fourth grade which shaped so much of my early reading my early passions my excitement Her Fantasy my excitement for going to the library my excitement around Greek mythology I haven't actually Revisited in so long so I just wanted to do that for this reading Vlog I'm gonna go in definitely with the mindset of dislike celebrating it embracing it because this is a series that I just love so much growing up obviously I'll be objective and if my feelings have changed we'll talk about it but I'm really expecting this to just be like a cozy really nostalgic good time and obviously with a new show or movie coming out on Disney plus I also feel like this is a rather apt thing to do as well but I'm excited to just revisit with Percy and all of his friends and it's just been so long like I can't believe I read this book for the first time literally 4 fourth grade I remember begging my mom at the time she worked at Barnes Noble and I was like please Mom please Mom can you pre-order like the next book in this series for me so I can get it right away when it comes out and she did absolute mom of the year for that one but nevertheless this is going to also be a challenge because this is a lot of pages I'm also thinking about getting an audiobook for one of them possibly because I do want to puzzle but I also don't want that to slow me down so I'm a little undecided but nevertheless this is the theme of this reading Vlog it's going to be all about embracing childhood favorites it's going to be all about revisiting a favorite series and all about reading as much as I can because I'm gonna need to stay focused as well but I hope you guys are excited about this reading Vlog I know I am but without further Ado let's go ahead and Dive Right In and sit down and start reading the Lightning Thief where it all started you know let's do it actually obviously before I start officially reading I'm gonna make myself a cup of tea so pause and what tea are we thinking I'm trying to decide if I should have black tea like is it too late for caffeine maybe I think I'm gonna go with my black tea ooh scandalous but I do have a lot of pages to read so I feel like the caffeine is Justified to be determined though let's grab it a Cupid's organic Breakfast tea is still going very strong we're gonna Heat this up all right everyone it's all happening I'm not playing switch oh this is kind of awkward with one hand but I have my tea I have Millie of course I have Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief let's get started I've wrapped up work I've already read 50 pages flew through it obsessed It's All Coming Back to Me um but I've been making dinner I'm just making one of my go-to recipes from one of my favorite cookbooks which is the Molly baz cook this book cookbook it's great um and it's almost done it has 32 seconds left according to my timer it's just a chicken and rice with like a lemony yogurt with like pistachios and snap peas It's just honestly really easy really delicious so the countdown is on watching Real Housewives and obviously we'll get back to Percy Jackson I'll also do a sit down like initial reaction to restarting the lightning theme for the first time in so long officially in bed and I'm about to have myself a bit of a little mini reading Sprint clay leaves out of town for a work trip tomorrow so I'll definitely be doing a lot more reading over the next couple days but I'm going to read another chunk of the Lightning Thief and I love this book it's crazy to think I have not read this story since I probably read it I might have read it when I was reread it when I was a kid too but it's been probably since early middle school late Elementary School since I've read this book but it feels like so much time like it doesn't feel like that much time has passed like it's bananas to me how much of the story has stuck with me and so it feels so comforting to read it's also just so engaging right out the bat it's also so fun to interact with the Rick Riordan like origin story to this entire world in the series that kicks off into so many other books but we have Percy our lovable little idiot who always gets in trouble at all of the different schools he goes to and it's not because he's a bad kid it's because he's different and the different part about him is he's a demigod and he's about to go to this extra special summer camp with his BFF Grover and I just can't wait to see it all play out Percy's voice is just so likable and uh I don't know I'm just the first I'm just so Charmed by this and there's a reason why in general I love middle grade and this is just such good middle grade so anyway I'm gonna read more good morning everyone let's get a cup of coffee so funny story it's not the morning it's actually almost noon but I have been up since early this morning and I had like you know various appointments and meetings I actually went to an appointment I had that's not till next week so cheers to that um have is it the best of us but I am now officially gonna sit down and actually do some reading I have a very clear calendar today namely because I had that appointment that I thought was this morning um but it's not until next week as I just previously mentioned so I gotta move my schedule around a bit which helps me out I was able to read Matilda she's so cute I was able to read to page 100 yesterday Percy is just getting settled into Camp Half-Blood meaning Annabeth and the whole and the whole crew um obviously I have a lot more reading I need to do I have quite literally this in four other books I'm trying to read over the course of the next few days so I'm gonna stop talking get to reading and now that Clay's out of town I will have less distractions you know so let's read all right we're in the bird's eye view setting because I wanted to do a reading update so I am two-thirds done with the Lightning Thief I flew through the first like 200 plus pages of this book I'm having so much fun reading this um and it's honestly like super holding up very very entertaining so obviously this book follows Percy Jackson a well known and very beloved character he's delightfully kind of stupid which I think just makes him even more lovable in some ways very very funny but also in this series we meet Annabeth who is a daughter of Athena so smart absolutely saving the day all the time and then Grover the emotionally intuned best friend kind of rounding out the group this series is also just very entertaining because it utilizes a classic Quest structure and Trope and that is basically true for all of the books in this series and truth be told a lot of the books that are related to Percy Jackson which also makes sense because demigods have been going on quests since the beginning of time so watching them have to overcome different trials and tribulations uh meet different monsters solve different riddles and Mysteries it's just a really great setup and premise and book one is entertaining out the gate and I'm just having a really good time reading this book I love middle grade and this continues to be for sure one of the most entertaining middle grade series I've ever read from having the summer camp setting all of the different characters the relationships with the gods it's just so good so far so obviously on track to finish this today this is the debut if you will and there's much more Adventure to be found but I feel like book one is entertaining pretty much immediately and also has emotional Stakes immediately which we love to see so anyway making great progress I'll be finishing that this afternoon and then we're moving on to book two lunch is also a childhood favorite and that is grilled cheese and tomato soup always hits always is delicious also a quick bite which I need so I can stay focused on my reading truly Divine the weather is really nice so I've opted to take myself on a little Quest you know my own little Quest and that Quest is to go on a walk and enjoy the fresh air maybe get myself a little treat I have the audiobook of the Lightning Thief all cued up from the library so let's go on an adventure shall we alrighty folks officially in the home stretch of the Lightning Thief so we're gonna finish it up right now quick pause in the reading Vlog because I'm off to book club tonight which should be really fun we're discussing Burnham Wood which I recently featured in my wrap up I personally really liked it but I'm excited to hear what everyone else thought about it so I'm off Matilda is a beanbag Queen which we just love to see hi friends I'm officially home and laundered post book club this was our first Like official bookish meeting and discussion and I have to say I think it went really well which is so exciting did go a bit later then I think I initially like planned in terms of my readathon so it's pretty late at night but luckily I did finish the uh Lightning Thief before I left so I officially have a book down for this Vlog and this book is also like 377 Pages it's kind of long um so I'm going to just move on to the Sea of Monsters tonight which is book two the Percy Jackson series also flicking through this I think this one is not even 300 pages so I'm hoping to read this one very very quickly but I love the Lightning Thief I thought it was a great setup to a very beloved very entertaining middle grade series yes were some elements like could there have been more like fleshing out of some plot elements some locations sure definitely uh but I also feel like it's not necessarily necessary because this is middle grade it was entertaining great characters just great plot lines really really had a blast reading it so looking forward to see how the quest and prophecy continues to unfold in book two I also feel like the use case of Prophecy um and the Mystery of the prophecy is such a great way to not only keep the books that connected as the different quests like we get to play out but also just provide this air of mystery and uh being really exciting to like unpack if you know what I mean so anyway we're moving on to the next installment uh I don't know how much I love these new covers I like the old ones they're more distinct like these covers don't really look that different to me I mean they're beautiful but like I feel like I have to like really read the titles to know even which one I'm picking up you know versus I feel like the old ones were like so specific in their design but anyway I'm gonna go read now good morning everyone Matilda and I are just vibing um I wanted to do an update because I have read 100 pages of the Sea of Monsters so far and I'm gonna read this book so fast I feel like I'll have no issue finishing this book this afternoon I only have 179 pages left um it's funny I feel like I remembered a lot from The Lightning Thief and I do like the plot of the second book is coming back as I'm reading it but books three and four I feel like I remember the least about so I'm excited to re-encounter those books when I get to them probably starting later today um but let's talk about the Sea of Monsters book two I think if I recall correctly this is my least favorite of the five still very entertaining obviously we're introduced to Percy's half-brother um and we're going out on another Quest obviously it still maintains all of the reasons why the series is just so fun and easy to read the pace and the plot the plot pacing is very very fast um and everything is very compelling like from the small moments that you've experienced with Percy at Camp different competitions different character interactions to just like the different concepts that Rick Riordan brings in for like Quest locales um it's always fun to run into different mythical creatures if you will and also I feel like there's some emotional depth too especially as it relates to Percy and his Heritage and the complicated relations many of the demigods have with their parents which I always appreciate that Rick includes this one has to do with the c a little bit of a sea adventure and uh it also just like the setup is really funny um so I'm looking forward to completing this one today again I still stand by I think this one's my least favorite but obviously I still loved it very much what about you Millie how do you feel about it guess we'll have to wait and see good news bad news good news I finished work for the day bad news I think I have a bit of a cold good news hold 9-1-1 T so we're making tea that's what this sound is and I also have Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters to keep me entertained and cozy um and I'm actually gonna go sit down right now and read a good chunk of this because obviously I need to start book three tonight to stay on track to finish all day number two and I think I'm gonna need four days to read all five books so I'm gonna try to go a little faster but now that I'm a little under the weather I do need to prioritize my sleeves so it's like I might I might give myself a an extension not that there is an actual deadline but you get the vibe so anyway I'm gonna make tea read more Sea of Monsters and then uh getting comfies have a good cozy evening together which is what we all need isn't it cheers it's going down in this kitchen we are making spam tonight the ultimate comfort food in this household also I have about 50 pages left of Sea of Monsters and I am liking it I forgot all about Percy Jackson's half brother like how did I forget about his hacker like once the book started I remembered very quickly but like completely gone for my brain so that sibling relationship is an interesting one obviously a good lesson about bullying and all different types of things there I remember reading it as a kid I was like so sad for him I'm sad for him as an adult too I want everyone to be so much nicer to him also what I appreciate too about Percy Jackson and I feel like this was one of the first series that like really blew my mind with this is like how each book really escalates itself with the plot um which means every book is entertaining but it then it scales nice nicely on itself and there's reveals and there's villains but there are like Dynamic things about the plot like the villains aren't just like all evil like sometimes they have a point or you're gonna have empathy for how the villains end up there and not root for them you know I just feel like Percy Jackson really has it all but Sea of Monsters is good I'd love to see Percy in his element obviously um in terms of the water and everything like that seeing him discover his various skills and just like the creativity and the humor of all of the different like ancient Greek interactions and things they have to overcome it's just superb like it's so funny it's so silly Percy is like totally a seaweed brain but he's a lovable seaweed brain and it's just such a delight so definitely on track to finish book two gonna start book three tonight and then we're gonna carry on to book four I feel like book four was my favorite if I recall correctly with the Labyrinth I just really loved um particularly that story and then it's use within the Percy Jackson series but we'll wait we'll wait till I'm done with all of them before I give my final right drinking but this is so fun so far and honestly lining up reading a childhood favorite with being kind of under the weather is perfect because there's no other thing I would rather be doing right now than reading Percy Jackson so true win my priorities are very straight we have Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters a faux fireplace and sour candy you know just uh doing the important things right now I finished book two two fifths done with my readathon honestly the ending of Sea of Monsters is absolutely iconic shocking um I remember being like Jaw on the floor when I read this and I completely forgot about the ending until I like basically encountered it again and it was amazing the second time around then ending the pacing the clever combat the brother relationship all of it was just so delightful in this book I still think I like the lightning thing the most I think there's some Nostalgia points there and I love the world building of Camp Half Blood that you kind of have in book one I think I gave the first one like a 4.5 and this one like a four star but they're both amazing and they both hold up um but yeah two books down I'm gonna immediately jump into the third book actually I'm gonna remove my makeup put some skincare on then jump into the third book but we're gonna keep this keep the good times rolling as they say so so I'm pleased definitely very pleased so this french fry bookmark we're going on to book three so cheers good morning everyone all done good morning everyone I have coffee cheers and I have my book cheers and I'm gonna sit down now and enjoy both of these I forgot that Nico appears in book three uh incredible I love that the cast is like slowly fleshed out um and a really sort of methodical way so you can fall in love with like each new character introduced and not feel like overwhelmed I guess so anyway I'm gonna read now but I love that Nico is here thank you hello so guess what 50 of the way through the Titan's Curse and I love the Titan's Curse I forgot a lot like if you were like Reagan what's the Titan's Curse about before starting this Vlog completely forgot everything but it all comes rushing back when you start these books first off I'm obsessed with the Artemis crew I always was since I was a kid and so to run into the book where they're kind of introduced like I was just like the girl group of it all I wanted to be a part of artemis's crew growing up I just love it again as I sort of briefly mentioned I feel like each book does such a great job introducing us to new characters and kind of fleshing out the world of Percy Jackson and I think the Titan's Curse really begins to accelerate that in terms of adding additional Side characters um to meet not only kind of unpack their complex like backstories and their motivations and all of these things but I think just provides like a more Dynamic nature to the story because we have more characters to root for more characters to try to understand and I think especially in this book with the introduction of Nico and his sister Bianca um and then obviously we have another character it's a line of spoilers within Percy Jackson I don't know but I also really love um thalia's character as well too I think she's particularly interesting I especially think as a foil to Percy I also think as the prophecy begins to kind of unfold further the expectations and the pressure put on a group of young kids um is a lot and you begin to see some of that begin to play out again it's so interesting read these books when I was a kid like I was reading these books as they were coming out and there's pop culture not very many but there are a few like pop culture references in all of the books and it's like from my childhood and so it's so funny like there's like a prom scene um at the beginning of this book and like they talk about the music being played I'm like yeah that was played at my middle school dance I recall um so it's kind of funny I do love that uh but anyway I'm flying through this book I just really love the characters and the quest in this is so good thankful you know I also appreciate too and I feel like I've maybe said this a few times but I do feel like each book not only has like different like villains and obstacles you have to overcome which I've mentioned a few times but I also feel like each book has like a different binary like Greek god that's sort of helping them out or centering the quest in some way which I always think is interesting too so like you kind of so in this one we have like Artemis and Apollo and the last one we had last one we had Hermes Saturday's name the first one we had like Aries and a little bit of some of the other gods too so anyway I just love that we kind of have these really cool God introductions as we go along it's really fun so I'm gonna finish this book this morning no problem and then move on to book four today we're really trying to speed this up a bit as I'm making my way to book five to wrap up the entire series each book gets easier and easier to read because the plot really does get rather accelerated and again it's not just like each book has a contained like beginning and end like obviously there are things specific to each book but the overall issue keeps ballooning so larger tension and Intrigue throughout the entire Series so anyway this is where we're at almost done with book three in the home stretch officially I have like 40 pages left of this book and then we're moving on to book four but a quick lunch break I ordered take out because I thought I deserved it because I've been really good cooking for myself I got some udon which I cannot wait to eat I'm about to go get dressed I promise but third book complete and my favorite of all of the ones I've read so far it was so fast-paced it was so interesting great plot twist great character development and just the intensity of everything definitely just increasing just the combination of like lovable characters such a fun and interesting concept absolutely Stellar I mean it's it's just it's been a delight to reread these and I can't believe it's been so long I haven't read this since I was a kid since this came out literally since this book came out I have not reread it may 2007 TBT baby TBT but anyway we're gonna just move on to book four I'm going to do my skincare get dressed um and then just keep reading we gotta keep reading we gotta keep going we're in the home stretch here my plan is to finish book four today and then read book five tomorrow and wrap up this reading Marathon situation that's going on so we're three fits done and this was the best one yet I'd give this one like a 4.5 5 out of 5 Stars middle grade wise fantastic Matilda on her own Quest and journey of getting the most Sunshine possible which we respect documentation that I in fact got dressed and it's a cute little spring Cottage core number we love I couldn't zip it up all the way um so I'm just gonna leave it like that until I see my friend and she can she can finish me off but look at that dressed ready to go coffee has been reheated I also I'm gonna do the ceremonial changing of the guards of the French fry bookmark have these in order properly yes the battle of the labyrinth I think this is my favorite I I think I love book three but Annabeth isn't in it a lot so I think you know it could never be number one so I'm really looking forward to picking this one up Hello friends I have laundered but I wanted to talk about the Battle of the labyrinth because I have started it and I have just flown through it I think this is going to continue to be my favorite book of the series I just think it's placement in the plot Arc is always just so satisfying I don't know about you guys but like final books in the series I tend to enjoy and the final book of the Percy Jackson series is fantastic but the build up to the final plot situation is always just the best at least for me personally and that is what the battle of the labyrinth has to offer plus it just has one of the coolest settings this growing expanding Labyrinth retail it was always one of my favorites and how Rick Riordan kind of brings it to life this sort of modern setting is just so cool it's so cool then it's so cool now also it just as like a Percy Annabeth situation we see their relationship begin to develop and I think you get a lot more emotional depth starting in the last one and you see that carry through the back half of the series the series really grows up with the main character which I also like while still keeping all of the humor and fun Antics that you would expect within Percy Jackson it's just such a clever idea and I think just like starting to see the end game pieces come together is just fantastic and makes this book so hard to put down obviously we also have Nico who I love as a character and I also feel like his introduction in this series like is another like emotional one like this is a young kid having to go through something so difficult process it and the people he has to rely on are also other kids so it's like they don't really have the emotional intelligence like they're trying their best obviously but to like help Nico understand and face and process the feelings that he's feeling into so it's just you know there's a lot happening here and it's all very very good and it's just so dang entertaining but the mace is just so cool it's also starting to be the introduction of like the invention element that Rick Riordan definitely expands on in other series obviously especially the Heroes of Olympus series but you know thinking about like how Greek armor and Greek Innovation um that feels ancient can like take on itself within um a modern demigod-esque story like that element I feel like is kind of kind of has sprinkles in like other books but much more center stage in this one and then obviously in later series takes a huge center stage with the whole robotic dragon that enters the picture but anyway it's just so freaking entertaining and so intense um and I flew through a good chunk of this book so we're on the home stretch uh to finish this tonight and then obviously Clay is coming back in town and then I will finish the last book tomorrow and then we'll wrap this whole thing up we're on book four people excellent progress hello I'm in bed and we're about to finish Battle of the labyrinth um I have 100 Pages after this book let's talk about it uh I feel I worry I'm being repetitive because I really just enjoyed all of these books for all the same reasons like all the characters the plot lines but um this one especially it's interesting how record is also able to keep things fresh it could obviously the structure of all the books are pretty much the same some type of quest obstacles solution oh no there's still something larger going on but the solutions are always good and different which I think which I think he persists throughout all of his books which why they're all so readable um which I think prevents like the structure from feeling repetitive but instead like homey and also a part of just the universe perspects and it makes sense everyone's going on Quest it's a Greek tale and myth you know um fourth book is still continuing to be so flipping good I just even the cover of this is even good and I don't really love the new edition covers of these that much I have a literary fiction um retelling of the characters that surround this Maze and they're all referenced within this book um but it'd be so interesting to have like more of an in-depth retelling of that story so I'm very intrigued to possibly pick that book up soon uh again I have it on my shelf already too so also knocking one off the old TBR but anyway I'm gonna stop talking I'm gonna get to reading because if I don't read I'm gonna fall asleep and that's no good either good morning I have a blueberry cake donut and some coffee and Matilda and I are gonna go read it's so gloomy outside this morning I'm hoping it clears up a bit because I do need to get some other stuff done but for now I'm enjoying the rainy Vibes hi friends I owe you a reading update so let's chat so I have finished the battle of the labyrinth I finished this book last night I loved it it's also so interesting to Marathon this whole series because I really feel like you can see kind of the intensity growing and growing and growing with each book The Spirit stays the same but it definitely gets darker Percy Jackson is really interesting because it starts out true middle grade but then as Percy gets older the series sort of Ages up with him and I would say it kind of ends in a murky ground between a middle grade and Y A which I think is interesting um but yeah thing I want to say too is I feel like Rick Riordan can write combat really well most of the series we don't really get a lot of large-scale battle scenes but more so like individual one-on-one combat moments or like Percy against a few monsters or just trying to like escape a really dangerous situation but with the escalation of the plot with books four and five large-scale conflict like war and strategy definitely becomes more center stage and I'm just impressed with Rick's writing in regards to that but yeah I finished book four it ended so intensely and then obviously the plot begins to progress in the final and concluding novel book five the funny thing about book five and which in general just like last books in series they tend to be my least favorite but like I've already read 100 pages of this book and it's so intense I could not put it down I might have to rethink my perspective on this as I mentioned it's so dark like sad sad sad sad and we've had a lot of sad moments throughout the series but I think just like the intensity of the war element of this is like not something that Rick road is really trying to shy away from like showcasing the sacrifice a lot of these young demigods have to make which again lines up with the stories and the histories of demigod like in of demigods in like ancient Greece is something he's definitely including within this and it's heartbreaking and I also think reading this as a kid uh like maybe I think it was like 14 or 15 when this book came out I was really just in love with Percy but like it felt intense but I was their peers reading their as an adult now like seeing all these young kids put so much on the line to try to save the world is so sad and like I don't know obviously they're trying their best they're so brave but it's just like adults like where are the adults but this book is so good so far seeing like the strategy and the teamwork and obviously like Percy and Hannah pets miscommunication is just there's so much happening here um we finally know like the final prophecy we're finally seeing Percy take on his greatest uh fight yet and also we're going on a bit of a journey to try to unpack and understand even the origin of the conflict itself which I think is interesting prophecy has always been a huge part of the series and that is a thread that has stayed consistent throughout this book so prophecy again taking center stage and the last one it only makes sense but I feel like it's the right move overall I love it I love it so much it's going to be intense it's just so fast-paced like this I sat down and just like flew through this and I was like honestly tearing up it's intense oh my gosh wreck uh but I'm gonna get changed and place back so I think we're gonna go walk and get some lunch and then we're gonna come back focus look at Millie it's officially the weekend so I just have some house chores but predominantly the focus of today is to finish this book we're truly in the home stretch look at these look at the pages I've officially read I've read all of this over the past like four days and uh we're making our way through this and then by the end of this video all of this will have been read so definitely fixing my reading gold number for this year I've been a bit behind but five books in the first part of May will definitely help a girl out but anyway that's my reading update quick lunch break and guess who's back I have finished my errands for the day so we are relaxing Candle is lit and I am going to read another chunk of The Last Olympian it's so good I forgot how much the underworld was a part of this book and I always love when we visit the underworld at any capacity the river sticks that whole situation is just too flipping good and all the preparation ugh I'm flying through this this it's too soon to say but I am loving this book maybe it's my favorite I don't even know it's so hard to pick guys I finished all of the books yes that's right I finished the Last Olympian last night and I cried I got emotional reading the end of this book it was such a stunning conclusion so much action it was thoughtful I just love Percy and all of his friends so much but honestly like the plot progression of the entire series but also the finale was incredibly impressive I might even say this is my favorite book of the entire series but obviously as a whole it was such a studying reread experience and just seeing um and honestly immersing myself in a lot of ways the plot progression of the entire thing built on itself the series just got bigger and bigger with each installment each one got better and better more things were introduced but like the heart of the story The Joy and the humor of the story was never lost even as it got darker and boy did it it darker like the last tail end of this series like the last three books especially very dark um all in all I read a total of 1708 pages over the last five days I want to say which I'm gonna say is pretty impressive like I'm starting the month of May with with quite uh with quite the dent off the old TBR but I also of course want to give a shout out to this video sponsor which is moomins once again big thank you to them to not only sponsoring this video but also inspiring this video humans was such a love of my childhood and I still love it to this day and with this new collection that is available now in Barnes Noble in store and online which I'll have linked down below if you guys want to check it out I just felt so inspired to continue to check out some of my childhood favors and just allow myself to live in that space and it was just so joyous and comforting which I feel like moomins would appreciate and celebrate as well but I hope you guys enjoyed this Vlog and I will see you soon with another one soon byeguys it's Reagan and welcome to the start of a very extra special challenge based reading Vlog this reading Vlog is one that's honestly been one I've been meaning to do four years and it's very much inspired by the sponsor of this video which is moomins hi friends I'm so excited to say that this video is actually sponsored by moomins that's right one of the most iconic literary figures of our time is sponsoring this video and that is because moomins is working to make a Big Splash in America with a very special collection of items and books available now at Barnes Noble in stores and online now I'm going to show a preview of some of the items you're actually able to shop but first if you're not familiar a bit more about moomins and also how they're inspiring this video so moomins is again an iconic Illustrated figure first introduced in 1945. from there moomins exploded there's books there's television shows that has been adapted to over 120 different countries I personally grew up on the moomins cartoon it's just so fun and silly and Delight delightful and needless to say I have had a love for movements my entire life in general I would say I have always just kept and tried to Foster all of the loves of my childhood throughout my life not only does it make me feel nostalgic but I think just like constantly saving a space in your heart for those things that brought you Delight growing up for the first time I just think is important and very very special which is what this whole Vlog is actually going to be about movements is inspiring me to actually re-check out one of my all-time favorite series that I have not read since I read it for the first time when I was a kid which I'm really excited to explore and share throughout this video but before we dive into that in more specifics let's show off some of the amazing items you're now able to shop at Barnes and Noble first the physical items and I will of course include a close-up but I have this adorable little moomins notebook which comes with the cutest little pencil but not only is it just stunning and practical but it also has some fantastic little illustrations at the bottom of the page I love this this is going in my purse for any note taking I may need to have I also have this adorable little mug I can't wait to drink tea out of and it's just a really stunning little Illustrated piece we know I love to collect mugs and lastly I have this stunning little pin which will be going on my backpack right away and then of course we have books first up we have a novel by Tova Jansen because outside of Moomin she also has a variety of novels to read and enjoy as well which are available within the collection and this one is the summer book I also have mum and Papa's Memoirs which is a really really cute fairy tale esque chapter book which I can't wait to reread we also have moomins and the great flood and just something about the illustrations of this that just bring me back it's beautiful and then lastly I have Moomin and the Wishing Star another stunning illustrated book as I said this movement collection is available now at Barnes Noble in store and online and I will of course have a link down below if you guys want to shop The Collection shout out again to moomins for sponsoring this video I love you guys I will forever have moomins in my heart and now a fish actually in my life and on my bookshelf as well so for this Vlog and for this reading week I wanted to challenge myself to not only read a lot of pages but to also kind of go back to a beloved thing from my childhood and embrace it and just absorb myself in it once again this again I feel like goes right alongside the sponsor of this video which is Moomin which is a beloved figure character series from my childhood so I wanted to carry that into this reading Vlog and honestly I couldn't think of a better series to do it with than Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan that's right over the course of this week I'm gonna be rereading the entirety of Percy Jackson and The Olympian so let's get these books in order and we'll go through them one by one so obviously we have the lightning thief next is the Sea of Monsters Titan's Curse and the battle of the labyrinth and lastly The Last Olympian so funny thing about the Percy Jackson series is I have not reread them since I was a kid I've since then read pretty much every Rick Riordan book that has ever come out so that's carried me through most of my adulthood as I've experienced so far because he's just pretty prolific and writes a bunch but the original series which I encountered for the first time in fourth grade which shaped so much of my early reading my early passions my excitement Her Fantasy my excitement for going to the library my excitement around Greek mythology I haven't actually Revisited in so long so I just wanted to do that for this reading Vlog I'm gonna go in definitely with the mindset of dislike celebrating it embracing it because this is a series that I just love so much growing up obviously I'll be objective and if my feelings have changed we'll talk about it but I'm really expecting this to just be like a cozy really nostalgic good time and obviously with a new show or movie coming out on Disney plus I also feel like this is a rather apt thing to do as well but I'm excited to just revisit with Percy and all of his friends and it's just been so long like I can't believe I read this book for the first time literally 4 fourth grade I remember begging my mom at the time she worked at Barnes Noble and I was like please Mom please Mom can you pre-order like the next book in this series for me so I can get it right away when it comes out and she did absolute mom of the year for that one but nevertheless this is going to also be a challenge because this is a lot of pages I'm also thinking about getting an audiobook for one of them possibly because I do want to puzzle but I also don't want that to slow me down so I'm a little undecided but nevertheless this is the theme of this reading Vlog it's going to be all about embracing childhood favorites it's going to be all about revisiting a favorite series and all about reading as much as I can because I'm gonna need to stay focused as well but I hope you guys are excited about this reading Vlog I know I am but without further Ado let's go ahead and Dive Right In and sit down and start reading the Lightning Thief where it all started you know let's do it actually obviously before I start officially reading I'm gonna make myself a cup of tea so pause and what tea are we thinking I'm trying to decide if I should have black tea like is it too late for caffeine maybe I think I'm gonna go with my black tea ooh scandalous but I do have a lot of pages to read so I feel like the caffeine is Justified to be determined though let's grab it a Cupid's organic Breakfast tea is still going very strong we're gonna Heat this up all right everyone it's all happening I'm not playing switch oh this is kind of awkward with one hand but I have my tea I have Millie of course I have Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief let's get started I've wrapped up work I've already read 50 pages flew through it obsessed It's All Coming Back to Me um but I've been making dinner I'm just making one of my go-to recipes from one of my favorite cookbooks which is the Molly baz cook this book cookbook it's great um and it's almost done it has 32 seconds left according to my timer it's just a chicken and rice with like a lemony yogurt with like pistachios and snap peas It's just honestly really easy really delicious so the countdown is on watching Real Housewives and obviously we'll get back to Percy Jackson I'll also do a sit down like initial reaction to restarting the lightning theme for the first time in so long officially in bed and I'm about to have myself a bit of a little mini reading Sprint clay leaves out of town for a work trip tomorrow so I'll definitely be doing a lot more reading over the next couple days but I'm going to read another chunk of the Lightning Thief and I love this book it's crazy to think I have not read this story since I probably read it I might have read it when I was reread it when I was a kid too but it's been probably since early middle school late Elementary School since I've read this book but it feels like so much time like it doesn't feel like that much time has passed like it's bananas to me how much of the story has stuck with me and so it feels so comforting to read it's also just so engaging right out the bat it's also so fun to interact with the Rick Riordan like origin story to this entire world in the series that kicks off into so many other books but we have Percy our lovable little idiot who always gets in trouble at all of the different schools he goes to and it's not because he's a bad kid it's because he's different and the different part about him is he's a demigod and he's about to go to this extra special summer camp with his BFF Grover and I just can't wait to see it all play out Percy's voice is just so likable and uh I don't know I'm just the first I'm just so Charmed by this and there's a reason why in general I love middle grade and this is just such good middle grade so anyway I'm gonna read more good morning everyone let's get a cup of coffee so funny story it's not the morning it's actually almost noon but I have been up since early this morning and I had like you know various appointments and meetings I actually went to an appointment I had that's not till next week so cheers to that um have is it the best of us but I am now officially gonna sit down and actually do some reading I have a very clear calendar today namely because I had that appointment that I thought was this morning um but it's not until next week as I just previously mentioned so I gotta move my schedule around a bit which helps me out I was able to read Matilda she's so cute I was able to read to page 100 yesterday Percy is just getting settled into Camp Half-Blood meaning Annabeth and the whole and the whole crew um obviously I have a lot more reading I need to do I have quite literally this in four other books I'm trying to read over the course of the next few days so I'm gonna stop talking get to reading and now that Clay's out of town I will have less distractions you know so let's read all right we're in the bird's eye view setting because I wanted to do a reading update so I am two-thirds done with the Lightning Thief I flew through the first like 200 plus pages of this book I'm having so much fun reading this um and it's honestly like super holding up very very entertaining so obviously this book follows Percy Jackson a well known and very beloved character he's delightfully kind of stupid which I think just makes him even more lovable in some ways very very funny but also in this series we meet Annabeth who is a daughter of Athena so smart absolutely saving the day all the time and then Grover the emotionally intuned best friend kind of rounding out the group this series is also just very entertaining because it utilizes a classic Quest structure and Trope and that is basically true for all of the books in this series and truth be told a lot of the books that are related to Percy Jackson which also makes sense because demigods have been going on quests since the beginning of time so watching them have to overcome different trials and tribulations uh meet different monsters solve different riddles and Mysteries it's just a really great setup and premise and book one is entertaining out the gate and I'm just having a really good time reading this book I love middle grade and this continues to be for sure one of the most entertaining middle grade series I've ever read from having the summer camp setting all of the different characters the relationships with the gods it's just so good so far so obviously on track to finish this today this is the debut if you will and there's much more Adventure to be found but I feel like book one is entertaining pretty much immediately and also has emotional Stakes immediately which we love to see so anyway making great progress I'll be finishing that this afternoon and then we're moving on to book two lunch is also a childhood favorite and that is grilled cheese and tomato soup always hits always is delicious also a quick bite which I need so I can stay focused on my reading truly Divine the weather is really nice so I've opted to take myself on a little Quest you know my own little Quest and that Quest is to go on a walk and enjoy the fresh air maybe get myself a little treat I have the audiobook of the Lightning Thief all cued up from the library so let's go on an adventure shall we alrighty folks officially in the home stretch of the Lightning Thief so we're gonna finish it up right now quick pause in the reading Vlog because I'm off to book club tonight which should be really fun we're discussing Burnham Wood which I recently featured in my wrap up I personally really liked it but I'm excited to hear what everyone else thought about it so I'm off Matilda is a beanbag Queen which we just love to see hi friends I'm officially home and laundered post book club this was our first Like official bookish meeting and discussion and I have to say I think it went really well which is so exciting did go a bit later then I think I initially like planned in terms of my readathon so it's pretty late at night but luckily I did finish the uh Lightning Thief before I left so I officially have a book down for this Vlog and this book is also like 377 Pages it's kind of long um so I'm going to just move on to the Sea of Monsters tonight which is book two the Percy Jackson series also flicking through this I think this one is not even 300 pages so I'm hoping to read this one very very quickly but I love the Lightning Thief I thought it was a great setup to a very beloved very entertaining middle grade series yes were some elements like could there have been more like fleshing out of some plot elements some locations sure definitely uh but I also feel like it's not necessarily necessary because this is middle grade it was entertaining great characters just great plot lines really really had a blast reading it so looking forward to see how the quest and prophecy continues to unfold in book two I also feel like the use case of Prophecy um and the Mystery of the prophecy is such a great way to not only keep the books that connected as the different quests like we get to play out but also just provide this air of mystery and uh being really exciting to like unpack if you know what I mean so anyway we're moving on to the next installment uh I don't know how much I love these new covers I like the old ones they're more distinct like these covers don't really look that different to me I mean they're beautiful but like I feel like I have to like really read the titles to know even which one I'm picking up you know versus I feel like the old ones were like so specific in their design but anyway I'm gonna go read now good morning everyone Matilda and I are just vibing um I wanted to do an update because I have read 100 pages of the Sea of Monsters so far and I'm gonna read this book so fast I feel like I'll have no issue finishing this book this afternoon I only have 179 pages left um it's funny I feel like I remembered a lot from The Lightning Thief and I do like the plot of the second book is coming back as I'm reading it but books three and four I feel like I remember the least about so I'm excited to re-encounter those books when I get to them probably starting later today um but let's talk about the Sea of Monsters book two I think if I recall correctly this is my least favorite of the five still very entertaining obviously we're introduced to Percy's half-brother um and we're going out on another Quest obviously it still maintains all of the reasons why the series is just so fun and easy to read the pace and the plot the plot pacing is very very fast um and everything is very compelling like from the small moments that you've experienced with Percy at Camp different competitions different character interactions to just like the different concepts that Rick Riordan brings in for like Quest locales um it's always fun to run into different mythical creatures if you will and also I feel like there's some emotional depth too especially as it relates to Percy and his Heritage and the complicated relations many of the demigods have with their parents which I always appreciate that Rick includes this one has to do with the c a little bit of a sea adventure and uh it also just like the setup is really funny um so I'm looking forward to completing this one today again I still stand by I think this one's my least favorite but obviously I still loved it very much what about you Millie how do you feel about it guess we'll have to wait and see good news bad news good news I finished work for the day bad news I think I have a bit of a cold good news hold 9-1-1 T so we're making tea that's what this sound is and I also have Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters to keep me entertained and cozy um and I'm actually gonna go sit down right now and read a good chunk of this because obviously I need to start book three tonight to stay on track to finish all day number two and I think I'm gonna need four days to read all five books so I'm gonna try to go a little faster but now that I'm a little under the weather I do need to prioritize my sleeves so it's like I might I might give myself a an extension not that there is an actual deadline but you get the vibe so anyway I'm gonna make tea read more Sea of Monsters and then uh getting comfies have a good cozy evening together which is what we all need isn't it cheers it's going down in this kitchen we are making spam tonight the ultimate comfort food in this household also I have about 50 pages left of Sea of Monsters and I am liking it I forgot all about Percy Jackson's half brother like how did I forget about his hacker like once the book started I remembered very quickly but like completely gone for my brain so that sibling relationship is an interesting one obviously a good lesson about bullying and all different types of things there I remember reading it as a kid I was like so sad for him I'm sad for him as an adult too I want everyone to be so much nicer to him also what I appreciate too about Percy Jackson and I feel like this was one of the first series that like really blew my mind with this is like how each book really escalates itself with the plot um which means every book is entertaining but it then it scales nice nicely on itself and there's reveals and there's villains but there are like Dynamic things about the plot like the villains aren't just like all evil like sometimes they have a point or you're gonna have empathy for how the villains end up there and not root for them you know I just feel like Percy Jackson really has it all but Sea of Monsters is good I'd love to see Percy in his element obviously um in terms of the water and everything like that seeing him discover his various skills and just like the creativity and the humor of all of the different like ancient Greek interactions and things they have to overcome it's just superb like it's so funny it's so silly Percy is like totally a seaweed brain but he's a lovable seaweed brain and it's just such a delight so definitely on track to finish book two gonna start book three tonight and then we're gonna carry on to book four I feel like book four was my favorite if I recall correctly with the Labyrinth I just really loved um particularly that story and then it's use within the Percy Jackson series but we'll wait we'll wait till I'm done with all of them before I give my final right drinking but this is so fun so far and honestly lining up reading a childhood favorite with being kind of under the weather is perfect because there's no other thing I would rather be doing right now than reading Percy Jackson so true win my priorities are very straight we have Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters a faux fireplace and sour candy you know just uh doing the important things right now I finished book two two fifths done with my readathon honestly the ending of Sea of Monsters is absolutely iconic shocking um I remember being like Jaw on the floor when I read this and I completely forgot about the ending until I like basically encountered it again and it was amazing the second time around then ending the pacing the clever combat the brother relationship all of it was just so delightful in this book I still think I like the lightning thing the most I think there's some Nostalgia points there and I love the world building of Camp Half Blood that you kind of have in book one I think I gave the first one like a 4.5 and this one like a four star but they're both amazing and they both hold up um but yeah two books down I'm gonna immediately jump into the third book actually I'm gonna remove my makeup put some skincare on then jump into the third book but we're gonna keep this keep the good times rolling as they say so so I'm pleased definitely very pleased so this french fry bookmark we're going on to book three so cheers good morning everyone all done good morning everyone I have coffee cheers and I have my book cheers and I'm gonna sit down now and enjoy both of these I forgot that Nico appears in book three uh incredible I love that the cast is like slowly fleshed out um and a really sort of methodical way so you can fall in love with like each new character introduced and not feel like overwhelmed I guess so anyway I'm gonna read now but I love that Nico is here thank you hello so guess what 50 of the way through the Titan's Curse and I love the Titan's Curse I forgot a lot like if you were like Reagan what's the Titan's Curse about before starting this Vlog completely forgot everything but it all comes rushing back when you start these books first off I'm obsessed with the Artemis crew I always was since I was a kid and so to run into the book where they're kind of introduced like I was just like the girl group of it all I wanted to be a part of artemis's crew growing up I just love it again as I sort of briefly mentioned I feel like each book does such a great job introducing us to new characters and kind of fleshing out the world of Percy Jackson and I think the Titan's Curse really begins to accelerate that in terms of adding additional Side characters um to meet not only kind of unpack their complex like backstories and their motivations and all of these things but I think just provides like a more Dynamic nature to the story because we have more characters to root for more characters to try to understand and I think especially in this book with the introduction of Nico and his sister Bianca um and then obviously we have another character it's a line of spoilers within Percy Jackson I don't know but I also really love um thalia's character as well too I think she's particularly interesting I especially think as a foil to Percy I also think as the prophecy begins to kind of unfold further the expectations and the pressure put on a group of young kids um is a lot and you begin to see some of that begin to play out again it's so interesting read these books when I was a kid like I was reading these books as they were coming out and there's pop culture not very many but there are a few like pop culture references in all of the books and it's like from my childhood and so it's so funny like there's like a prom scene um at the beginning of this book and like they talk about the music being played I'm like yeah that was played at my middle school dance I recall um so it's kind of funny I do love that uh but anyway I'm flying through this book I just really love the characters and the quest in this is so good thankful you know I also appreciate too and I feel like I've maybe said this a few times but I do feel like each book not only has like different like villains and obstacles you have to overcome which I've mentioned a few times but I also feel like each book has like a different binary like Greek god that's sort of helping them out or centering the quest in some way which I always think is interesting too so like you kind of so in this one we have like Artemis and Apollo and the last one we had last one we had Hermes Saturday's name the first one we had like Aries and a little bit of some of the other gods too so anyway I just love that we kind of have these really cool God introductions as we go along it's really fun so I'm gonna finish this book this morning no problem and then move on to book four today we're really trying to speed this up a bit as I'm making my way to book five to wrap up the entire series each book gets easier and easier to read because the plot really does get rather accelerated and again it's not just like each book has a contained like beginning and end like obviously there are things specific to each book but the overall issue keeps ballooning so larger tension and Intrigue throughout the entire Series so anyway this is where we're at almost done with book three in the home stretch officially I have like 40 pages left of this book and then we're moving on to book four but a quick lunch break I ordered take out because I thought I deserved it because I've been really good cooking for myself I got some udon which I cannot wait to eat I'm about to go get dressed I promise but third book complete and my favorite of all of the ones I've read so far it was so fast-paced it was so interesting great plot twist great character development and just the intensity of everything definitely just increasing just the combination of like lovable characters such a fun and interesting concept absolutely Stellar I mean it's it's just it's been a delight to reread these and I can't believe it's been so long I haven't read this since I was a kid since this came out literally since this book came out I have not reread it may 2007 TBT baby TBT but anyway we're gonna just move on to book four I'm going to do my skincare get dressed um and then just keep reading we gotta keep reading we gotta keep going we're in the home stretch here my plan is to finish book four today and then read book five tomorrow and wrap up this reading Marathon situation that's going on so we're three fits done and this was the best one yet I'd give this one like a 4.5 5 out of 5 Stars middle grade wise fantastic Matilda on her own Quest and journey of getting the most Sunshine possible which we respect documentation that I in fact got dressed and it's a cute little spring Cottage core number we love I couldn't zip it up all the way um so I'm just gonna leave it like that until I see my friend and she can she can finish me off but look at that dressed ready to go coffee has been reheated I also I'm gonna do the ceremonial changing of the guards of the French fry bookmark have these in order properly yes the battle of the labyrinth I think this is my favorite I I think I love book three but Annabeth isn't in it a lot so I think you know it could never be number one so I'm really looking forward to picking this one up Hello friends I have laundered but I wanted to talk about the Battle of the labyrinth because I have started it and I have just flown through it I think this is going to continue to be my favorite book of the series I just think it's placement in the plot Arc is always just so satisfying I don't know about you guys but like final books in the series I tend to enjoy and the final book of the Percy Jackson series is fantastic but the build up to the final plot situation is always just the best at least for me personally and that is what the battle of the labyrinth has to offer plus it just has one of the coolest settings this growing expanding Labyrinth retail it was always one of my favorites and how Rick Riordan kind of brings it to life this sort of modern setting is just so cool it's so cool then it's so cool now also it just as like a Percy Annabeth situation we see their relationship begin to develop and I think you get a lot more emotional depth starting in the last one and you see that carry through the back half of the series the series really grows up with the main character which I also like while still keeping all of the humor and fun Antics that you would expect within Percy Jackson it's just such a clever idea and I think just like starting to see the end game pieces come together is just fantastic and makes this book so hard to put down obviously we also have Nico who I love as a character and I also feel like his introduction in this series like is another like emotional one like this is a young kid having to go through something so difficult process it and the people he has to rely on are also other kids so it's like they don't really have the emotional intelligence like they're trying their best obviously but to like help Nico understand and face and process the feelings that he's feeling into so it's just you know there's a lot happening here and it's all very very good and it's just so dang entertaining but the mace is just so cool it's also starting to be the introduction of like the invention element that Rick Riordan definitely expands on in other series obviously especially the Heroes of Olympus series but you know thinking about like how Greek armor and Greek Innovation um that feels ancient can like take on itself within um a modern demigod-esque story like that element I feel like is kind of kind of has sprinkles in like other books but much more center stage in this one and then obviously in later series takes a huge center stage with the whole robotic dragon that enters the picture but anyway it's just so freaking entertaining and so intense um and I flew through a good chunk of this book so we're on the home stretch uh to finish this tonight and then obviously Clay is coming back in town and then I will finish the last book tomorrow and then we'll wrap this whole thing up we're on book four people excellent progress hello I'm in bed and we're about to finish Battle of the labyrinth um I have 100 Pages after this book let's talk about it uh I feel I worry I'm being repetitive because I really just enjoyed all of these books for all the same reasons like all the characters the plot lines but um this one especially it's interesting how record is also able to keep things fresh it could obviously the structure of all the books are pretty much the same some type of quest obstacles solution oh no there's still something larger going on but the solutions are always good and different which I think which I think he persists throughout all of his books which why they're all so readable um which I think prevents like the structure from feeling repetitive but instead like homey and also a part of just the universe perspects and it makes sense everyone's going on Quest it's a Greek tale and myth you know um fourth book is still continuing to be so flipping good I just even the cover of this is even good and I don't really love the new edition covers of these that much I have a literary fiction um retelling of the characters that surround this Maze and they're all referenced within this book um but it'd be so interesting to have like more of an in-depth retelling of that story so I'm very intrigued to possibly pick that book up soon uh again I have it on my shelf already too so also knocking one off the old TBR but anyway I'm gonna stop talking I'm gonna get to reading because if I don't read I'm gonna fall asleep and that's no good either good morning I have a blueberry cake donut and some coffee and Matilda and I are gonna go read it's so gloomy outside this morning I'm hoping it clears up a bit because I do need to get some other stuff done but for now I'm enjoying the rainy Vibes hi friends I owe you a reading update so let's chat so I have finished the battle of the labyrinth I finished this book last night I loved it it's also so interesting to Marathon this whole series because I really feel like you can see kind of the intensity growing and growing and growing with each book The Spirit stays the same but it definitely gets darker Percy Jackson is really interesting because it starts out true middle grade but then as Percy gets older the series sort of Ages up with him and I would say it kind of ends in a murky ground between a middle grade and Y A which I think is interesting um but yeah thing I want to say too is I feel like Rick Riordan can write combat really well most of the series we don't really get a lot of large-scale battle scenes but more so like individual one-on-one combat moments or like Percy against a few monsters or just trying to like escape a really dangerous situation but with the escalation of the plot with books four and five large-scale conflict like war and strategy definitely becomes more center stage and I'm just impressed with Rick's writing in regards to that but yeah I finished book four it ended so intensely and then obviously the plot begins to progress in the final and concluding novel book five the funny thing about book five and which in general just like last books in series they tend to be my least favorite but like I've already read 100 pages of this book and it's so intense I could not put it down I might have to rethink my perspective on this as I mentioned it's so dark like sad sad sad sad and we've had a lot of sad moments throughout the series but I think just like the intensity of the war element of this is like not something that Rick road is really trying to shy away from like showcasing the sacrifice a lot of these young demigods have to make which again lines up with the stories and the histories of demigod like in of demigods in like ancient Greece is something he's definitely including within this and it's heartbreaking and I also think reading this as a kid uh like maybe I think it was like 14 or 15 when this book came out I was really just in love with Percy but like it felt intense but I was their peers reading their as an adult now like seeing all these young kids put so much on the line to try to save the world is so sad and like I don't know obviously they're trying their best they're so brave but it's just like adults like where are the adults but this book is so good so far seeing like the strategy and the teamwork and obviously like Percy and Hannah pets miscommunication is just there's so much happening here um we finally know like the final prophecy we're finally seeing Percy take on his greatest uh fight yet and also we're going on a bit of a journey to try to unpack and understand even the origin of the conflict itself which I think is interesting prophecy has always been a huge part of the series and that is a thread that has stayed consistent throughout this book so prophecy again taking center stage and the last one it only makes sense but I feel like it's the right move overall I love it I love it so much it's going to be intense it's just so fast-paced like this I sat down and just like flew through this and I was like honestly tearing up it's intense oh my gosh wreck uh but I'm gonna get changed and place back so I think we're gonna go walk and get some lunch and then we're gonna come back focus look at Millie it's officially the weekend so I just have some house chores but predominantly the focus of today is to finish this book we're truly in the home stretch look at these look at the pages I've officially read I've read all of this over the past like four days and uh we're making our way through this and then by the end of this video all of this will have been read so definitely fixing my reading gold number for this year I've been a bit behind but five books in the first part of May will definitely help a girl out but anyway that's my reading update quick lunch break and guess who's back I have finished my errands for the day so we are relaxing Candle is lit and I am going to read another chunk of The Last Olympian it's so good I forgot how much the underworld was a part of this book and I always love when we visit the underworld at any capacity the river sticks that whole situation is just too flipping good and all the preparation ugh I'm flying through this this it's too soon to say but I am loving this book maybe it's my favorite I don't even know it's so hard to pick guys I finished all of the books yes that's right I finished the Last Olympian last night and I cried I got emotional reading the end of this book it was such a stunning conclusion so much action it was thoughtful I just love Percy and all of his friends so much but honestly like the plot progression of the entire series but also the finale was incredibly impressive I might even say this is my favorite book of the entire series but obviously as a whole it was such a studying reread experience and just seeing um and honestly immersing myself in a lot of ways the plot progression of the entire thing built on itself the series just got bigger and bigger with each installment each one got better and better more things were introduced but like the heart of the story The Joy and the humor of the story was never lost even as it got darker and boy did it it darker like the last tail end of this series like the last three books especially very dark um all in all I read a total of 1708 pages over the last five days I want to say which I'm gonna say is pretty impressive like I'm starting the month of May with with quite uh with quite the dent off the old TBR but I also of course want to give a shout out to this video sponsor which is moomins once again big thank you to them to not only sponsoring this video but also inspiring this video humans was such a love of my childhood and I still love it to this day and with this new collection that is available now in Barnes Noble in store and online which I'll have linked down below if you guys want to check it out I just felt so inspired to continue to check out some of my childhood favors and just allow myself to live in that space and it was just so joyous and comforting which I feel like moomins would appreciate and celebrate as well but I hope you guys enjoyed this Vlog and I will see you soon with another one soon bye\n"