Title: The Lost Hero

Author: Rick Riordan

Pub. Date: October 12, 2010

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

JASON HAS A PROBLEM. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and his best friend is a guy named Leo. They’re all students at the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids,” as Leo puts it. What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? Jason doesn’t know anything—except that everything seems very wrong.

PIPER HAS A SECRET. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out, whether she wants to or not.

LEO HAS A WAY WITH TOOLS. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason’s amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

This will be a spoiler free review. I listened to the audiobook via Audible.

Well, I guess 10 years late is better than never, right?

I recently read/re-read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and enjoyed it – you can check out my reviews here – so I figured it was high time that I finally dove into this series. I’ve had all the book sitting on my shelf for years, so I figured why not? I’m stuck at work, so what better time to inhale some Greek Mythology. Now, this series has been out for so long now, that I know *some* spoilers and I’m kind of dreading what’s to come. Everyone says that these book break hearts so I’m nervous.

I’m also super into Percabeth, so imagine my disappointment to not get them in this book.

Yeah, I know, it’s almost like next generation and Percy and Annabeth can’t always have center stage, but still!

I really wasn’t a fan of the younger cast – which if I’d read the books when I was younger, I probably wouldn’t have minded so much. But I was excited for them to be teenagers.

But I’m starting to digress.

It was fun being back in this world and now with the compounded element of the Roman side, it’s a wild ride. This book starts off with a bang and then just keeps going. I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the introduction of the Roman aspect of the Gods, but ultimately, I enjoyed how it altered the world Riordan had created. It expanded it in a way that makes total sense and just adds to the epicness. I ended up liking this book a lot more than I initially figured I would. I spent most of it bored, not really caring about what was happening. I was bummed about there being no Percy. Knowing what I know now, I’m actually excited to dive into the second book.

And that’s not to say that I didn’t like the new characters. I liked Jason, Piper and Leo. I liked their dynamic, their friendship and how well they worked and complimented each other. I liked their quest and the slow reveal of what they’re up against and what this new prophecy has in store for them. They grew on me, and while I’m not as attached to them as Percabeth, I’m sure that’s bound to change, and I love Piper and Jason. Like Percy and Annabeth, they’re just so easy together. They give each other crap, but they are 100% there for each other. Leo is a comedic genius and such a goofball. I thought he was going to be like Grover (who, tbh, I found really annoying, though that might have just been the narrator) but I legit love him.

Their character arcs are really good in this book as well. From where they started to where they’re at by the end – they each come into themselves more, and it’s so satisfying.

This book also had some really great one-liners and I found myself more than once, snorting while at work in attempts to not actually laugh out loud. Between Gleeson and Leo I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

Overall, this book ended up surprising me. The plot was steady and good, leaving enough unexplained for the reader to put two and two together, but also giving detailed explanations as to how the world changed. I really love the inclusion of Rome and Roman Mythology. While I’m a huge Greek Mythology fan, I do have a healthy interest and fascination for Rome and the mythology. I think Riordan does a fantastic job of intertwining the two and creating something that’s easy to understand and easy to get behind. I cannot wait to see what happens next. I’ve already downloaded The Son of Neptune and I actually already started it. I was impatient and now that Percy is back, I’m truly excited to find out what happens next.