I'm really struggling to know how to feel about this book. I was a big fan of Nico Di Angelo when I initially read PJO and HoO, not to mention now as an adult queer I often seek out queer romance. But this isn't what I'm looking for. And I fear I've just grown away from this writing style. Things feel ham-fisted and it's constant references to ToA made me exhausted. 

I didn't enjoy that series and didn't finish it, so maybe I was hoping it would mostly be ignored? But I imagine if I had finished them, it would also bother me that everything was constantly being summarised again. It felt like I was simultaneously being isolated as someone who didn't engage with ToA AND isolated as someone who knew what had already happened. Over explained and under explored? 

I felt like it was trying to be one of those companion short stories that felt like bonus scenes in a DVD menu but instead it became a full movie that doesn't really stand up alone. Is that a bad thing? For me, yes, I think so. I think I was looking for something different here. And I think I knew going in it wouldn't be what I hoped but I read it anyway.

The relationship is sweet in places and made me smile. If you're still deep into these stories and enjoyed ToA, I think you'll like this. I just think I unfortunately have to concede that new additions to the Riordanverse aren't for me anymore. 

This book is a beautiful telling, through a quest., of the complexity of personal change (through queerness) and grief. I feel like it healed something in me. It details the difficult of learning to live with your demons, grief, and trauma. I loved it so much. Nico and Will are my babies.

I'm gonna give it to you straight (even though we all know how not-straight this book is) (sorry): This book did not meet my expectations. 
Don't get me wrong; I love Nico and I've been dying to read this for YEARS. Unfortunately, the plot was clunky and there were scenes that should've been cut. There were also some mistakes towards the end which really should've been weeded out by a round of editing. These all made the book feel like an unpolished draft instead of a final version. Also, is it just me or do they pass out a lot? They're gonna give Jason a run for his money! 

Okay, now I've gotten that out of the way, I gotta give some praise to the book. I loved it mostly because IP works on me and Nico has been one of my favourites since The Titan's Curse, but that doesn't mean I don't love other things about it too. I liked Gorgyra, though I don't really know how to feel about how her segments were structured. And also, having this book be written by an author who isn't Riordan truly shows how different writing styles can be. It made me reflect a lot on my own writing (especially since Oshiro's voice reminds me of my own lol!)

All right, that's all from me. Bob says goodbye~ ⭐☀️

📖
I had a wonderful time reading this book. Nico and Will were adorable. I liked their relationship.