I loved this excerpt of Rick Riordan's new book and it was wonderful to return to another story with these familiar characters! It's great that Nico is finally the central character in one of these books and I can't wait to read the whole book and find out how this story goes!

Thank you as alway to Netgalley and publishers for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will be completely honest, I am no longer the target audience for this series however, when I heard Nico and Will were getting their own book I immediately not only requested for an arc but went out to buy a physical copy. The Sun and the Star is a heartwarming book that follows boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace as they travel through tartarus and face internal and external demons This book is a love letter to the queer community, and while a bit different than expected for other Percy Jackson books, I absolutely adored it. This book series truly has my heart!

Nico has been hearing a voice, a voice he's tried to ignore calling from Tartarus. And when the prophecy insists he knows he has to go and rescue Bob the Titan. His boyfriend, Will, is going to accompany him, but can a child of Apollo, a son of the light survive in the depths and darkness of Tartarus. Nico barely survived the last time he was there and is not looking forward to doing what needs to be done. And what exactly is he going to have to leave behind?

Love Love Loved this peek at the first couple of chapters of Rick Riordan's new book! Can't wait to read the whole thing! Nico is such a fun character, having to deal with his looses but also with the darkness that comes from being a son of Hades. I love that not only does he have quite a bit of depression and pessimism the people who care about him are always there through everything. Whether he wants the help or not. Can't wait for more!

This was just an excerpt from the book, but it was enough to get me abundantly excited for the full thing. Nico and Will finally get a book of their own to not only explore their relationship, but to see how the two work together as the son of Hades and the son of Apollo. Talk about opposites attract.

Rick Riordan cowriting this with Mark Oshiro is what originally piqued my interest in this book, before I had even read any Percy Jackson. Oshiro has proven to be such a nuanced storyteller and the fact that Riordan knew their voice was the one needed for a queer character made me have so much faith and trust going in.

I'm fully invested in the hype of this book!

I love the Riordan universe. I had a great time reading this one. He never has a miss. A great continuation of the series.

. The characters were well thought out and the plot was paced in a way that made sense. I would recommend this book to others and would enjoy reading other novels by this author, as they are so breezy and easy to get through, I love love Nico so much

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this book. Unlike others, Nico isn’t an absolute favorite of mine. But just a few pages in, I got excited to read the book. I realized how little we really know about Nico-because he’s so closed off AND also because he grew up in another time.
I love that we got to see so many favorite characters-Mr. D, Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, and so many other characters we’ve gotten to know through the last 15 books. But we also got to know some of them more and continue to see them grow. Mr. D actually LIKES some of the kids! He built a relationship with Nico and WAS happy when he got back to camp. Even the small time we saw and heard about that relationship, Riordan and Oshiro grew that relationship wonderfully.
I love Will’s sense of humor and sass. And that he brings it out of Nico. Seeing those little interactions makes me laugh-because Nico isn’t this way with others. At least not much.
I felt like Riordan and Oshiro did an amazing job showing Nico’s growth-he WANTED to go back to camp, which he realized is home. I hope we get to see Nico continue to let people in and grow the relationships he’s been creating so far.

I forgot how much I love Rick Riordan's writing and world building. It has been so long since I read Percy Jackson (almost 10 years!) but it felt so good to fall back into this world. I haven't read anything written by Mark Oshiro, but I'm interest in checking out what he has written in the past! His contribution to the queer characters in this was really awesome. Nico was one of my favorite characters in the original series because I always imagined I would be a child of Hades. I do slightly regret not catching up on the rest of the series in the world because it did spoil me a bit for the series about Nero, but honestly, I'm not upset. For a middle grade book this had a ton of representation and incredible conversations about identiy, sexuality, and mental health that I'm sure kids can relate to. I did give up on the Nero series, but this has inspired me to go back and finish it just to be immersed in this world again. This was absolutely incredible and I hope more books get written in this series!

The Sun and the Star represented a move away from the previous work of Rick Riordan. While initially excited to see more of Nico Di Angelo with the assistance of a queer writer, this work feels more akin to fanfiction than a genuine piece of the PJO canon. The characters lack depth, the storyline is contrived, and Oshiro shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what makes Rick Riordan's work special. It was a letdown for a fellow queer fan, and a blot on an already troubled record of the sequel series produced in the aftermath of the initial Percy Jackson series.

I am very much a Rick Riordan fan. This one was my least favorite so far.

BUT it does important work and I can see it resounding with many, especially moddle grade and high school. I can also see the Moms for Liberty trying to ban it everywhere.

This book is a romance, like a Hallmark movie. 100%. ok, 99.9%. If romance isnt your jam and your tolerance for sappiness is low, pass on this. It can very much feel preachy or like an LGBTQIA+ affer school special.

If you only have aversion to romance books as a façade, you need to read this one. Nico and Will are on the quest, but it is very much Nico's quest. It's hard to elaborate without spoiling. The moral of the story is that everyone is darkness and light and that you must embrace both. There's a hefty dose of acceptance, very much LGBTQIA+ acceptance, but also framed within a much wider framework of acceptance and love (and happiness) more generally.

Be kind out there people.

So happy to see Will and Nico back in print. If you haven't read The Trials of Apollo, you'll want to begin there; you can't just jump into this book. There are plenty of flashbacks, but most of it won't make sense without fully knowing these characters' history. I wish Rick had written it alone.

This story brought on so many smiles. Right after I finished this book I handed it to my 12YO son. He adored it, too! We are both Rick Riordan fans and this book, co-written with Mark Oshiro, did not disappoint. An absolute banger from a demigod duo of writers.

RICK YOU DID IT AGAIN! I don't know if anyone has seen the hard cover but it has BLACK PAGES. I just got my physical copy and I am TERRIFIED to read more, but gosh it is going to be so good.

Is this one of Rick Riordan's best books? Not necessarily. Did I rate it 5 stars because of my experience and not wholly on the writing and the plot? Absolutely, I had such a good time reading this. Could there be room for improvement? Yes, I think even the best books and authors can always improve.

I see that a lot of peoples issue with this book was that it didn't feel like a RR book, or that it's just Solangelo fanfiction. So what, that's what makes the book fun. It is a fresh book in the PJO universe. It's not just another quest with a couple at the center. The story has a lot more depth to it and I think people were a bit blinded by their high expectations for the book.

The plot of the story could have been developed some more. But I loved the back and forth into the present and the past. The open communication between Nico and Will was great to see in a story. Especially a story with young characters and for young readers. We all talk about hating the miscommunication trope, but I think it is rare to see an open, healthy relationship and with young people having that relationship.

Another complaint I saw a lot was how often Nico and Will talking about how they are in a relationship and that it's not the same Nico from the previous books. Yeah, but they're basically in the honeymoon phase of their relationship and can actually be happy without having a god war looming over their heads. And as far as Nico's character changing, I wouldn't say he changed more that he developed. Nico never talked about his past trauma because he buried it inside a lot and pushed people away so that he wouldn't have to talk about it. But that's the great thing about Will is that he doesn't let Nico push him away. He will try to get him to talk and when he does, he actively listens to him when he opens up and returns those sensitive truths with truths of his own.

I'd also like to acknowledge and show appreciation to Rick for recognizing that writing about a queer character while not being queer and not having those experiences was not authentic. It was so great having Mark Oshiro's writing in this and to have that authentic portrayal of Nico being queer.

4.25/5 stars! I adore the cover of this book and the Percy Jackson books were favorites when I was growing up, so I was really excited to read this. There was surprising depth in this story and at times it felt like it should have been an adult story. But overall, it kept me drawn in and I loved Nico and Will's relationship.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK. Nico & Will finally getting the spotlight! Amazing! Absolutley perfect for fans of Percy Jackson!

The preview had me more excited for this new entry in the Percy Jackson series.

Nico had always been one of my favorite characters and I was so excited to see that he was farting his own book.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would, how is that even possible?

Nico was probably one of the first gay characters I ever read in a book, and I felt the horror of his forced outing YEARS before I realized I feared the same thing. To read a book where this precious kid gets to find love, grow with a partner, and learn to be secure with himself was everything I wanted from this book.

I have always loved Nico for his quiet kindness, consideration for those that are often overlooked, and for his endurance. So it makes total sense that Nico would be the one to go back into Tartarus to save Bob, but this time he’s older, begun processing his traumas, and with his boyfriend Will. What could go wrong?

Oh how I love me a good exploration of the “light vs. dark” theme! The “destiny vs. choice” theme!

VAGUE SPOILERS:

The tension between Will’s toxic positivity and Nico’s appreciation for “darkness” (aka negative emotions and feeling them) was exquisite! Will makes so many comments that come off as passive aggressive, that clearly stab Nico in the heart and make him feel insecure about the darkness he carries around with him. His past traumas are what make him the person he is today and he may be cynical or pessimistic but those are not inherently bad qualities! Gorgyra says it best:

“Pain is a part of all lives, mortal and immortal… It is inescapable. We all must navigate this river to get where we want to be. …Pain helps us learn…It is unfortunate, but we rarely forget the lessons taught to us in moments of pain.”

It is so healing to see Will realize that the way he views things is very black and white, that he needs to try harder to empathize with Nico and share the pain as well as the joy!

Along with the incredible themes and life lessons that I’m so jealous of middle schoolers today for getting to read (if not fully comprehend??), Rick and Mark’s mixture of light and dark humor was SO GOOD and nostalgic and I just love that we got to see a dark side to Will where he basically said “I’m gonna do the opposite of heal!” and gave Nyx HAY FEVER

The Sun and The Star is a beautiful addition to the Half-Blood Pantheon.

It’s a little on the nose with its discussions around sexuality and gender identity, which, in my opinion, is necessary in todays current sociopolitical climate where elected officials are penalizing authors for their voice.

Nico DeAngelo and Will Solace’s relationship isn’t picturesque or perfect, it’s real, it’s emotional, and at times difficult. It skillfully walks the tightrope of YA first love with the realities of being in love as complex, complicated people.

The commentary around the choices we make in our lives and the way they impact us is nothing short of artful.

All in all, The Sun and The Star is a 10/10 read.