Book Review: The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy

                                                    The Dark Prophecy Review

The Dark Prophecy is the second book in The Trials of Apollo series and this one starts with Apollo along with Leo and Calypso arriving in Indianapolis in hopes of finding the next oracle before Nero or one of the other emperors do. Soon after arriving the group realize that an emperor named Commodus has already taken over the city and since Commodus is someone that Apollo has a history with he's even more unwilling to have to face him without his godly strength considering that he killed him.

Towards the beginning of the book the group is rescued by Hermithea who lives in a near by magical waystation with her lover Josephine who were both once hunters of Artemis but left the hunt after they fell in love with each other. The two women end up helping Apollo, Leo and Calypso but they also want them to help rescue their daughter Georgina and their griffins from Commodus's control. While rescuing the griffins Apollo reunites with Meg McCaffrey who has escaped from Nero's control and had decided to help Apollo out after seeing him at risk of being killed.

The last act of the book has Apollo and Meg getting ready to find the dark oracle and to get the next prophecy while the rest of the main characters of this book get ready to fight to protect the waystation from the attack that will certainly be coming from Commodus the next morning. Both of the missions the characters are taking are of course highly dangerous ones that don't quite go the way that the characters hoped they would.

Overall this was a good book, I think it had a good story to it and I continue to love the characters and I love that I get to learn more about them each book and to explore the world's mythology even more with each book I read in this world. Please tell me your thoughts about this book in the comment section below.

Book Review: The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle

                                                    The Hidden Oracle Review

The Hidden Oracle is about how Apollo wakes up in a dumpster in New York City months after the war with Gaea to discover that Zeus has turned him into a mortal because Zeus has decided that Apollo is at fault for the war with Gaea and this is his punishment for that which is something that has happened multiple times to Apollo in the past. Apollo ends up having to serve a young demi-god named Meg who is a daughter of Demeter and has yet to go to Camp Half-blood, as part of his punishment. Once they get to the camp they discover that the prophecies still aren't working and that campers have been going missing Chiron wants Apollo's help on this matter but Apollo would rather they focus on his issues both because he's self centered and because he doesn't even know how to help without his godly powers. Apollo may not want to help the camp but Meg seems to think he should so since she's in charge of him she can order him to help out whether he likes it or not.

While at camp Apollo ends up spending time with his children who he know looks the same age as which is a bit weird for all of them but they are supportive of him which is something that causes Apollo to bond with them a bit more than he has in the past. It soon becomes clear to Apollo that the campers going missing and the Oracles not working any longer are connected to each other and once two of Apollo's children that he bonded with earlier in the book go missing Apollo decides to go on the quest to find the one oracle that couldn't be taken or controlled by the villains. Apollo and Meg go on the quest to save the missing campers and find the last oracle that they can possible use together.

Overall I really liked this book it was a bit strange to have a god as the main character of the book even if he isn't a god at the moment but he's a pretty entertaining narrator who gives an interesting perspective on the series. I really liked what we saw of Apollo's character arc so far with him learning to care about others, being able to see his own flaws and him becoming willing to actually work on improving himself by the end of the book. I enjoyed Apollo and Meg's relationship as well and I liked getting to know characters better that were mentioned in previous books but were never really focused on before. Please tell me your thoughts on this book in the comment section below.