Review: The Dark Prophecy

The Dark Prophecy
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

The god Apollo, cast down to earth and trapped in the form of a gawky teenage boy as punishment, must set off on the second of his harrowing (and hilarious) trials.

He and his companions seek the ancient oracles - restoring them is the only way for Apollo to reclaim his place on Mount Olympus - but this is easier said than done.

Somewhere in the American Midwest is a haunted cave that may hold answers for Apollo in his quest to become a god again . . . if it doesn't kill him or drive him insane first. Standing in Apollo's way is the second member of the evil Triumvirate - a Roman emperor whose love of bloodshed and spectacle makes even Nero look tame.

To survive the encounter, Apollo will need the help of a now-mortal goddess, a bronze dragon, and some familiar demigod faces from Camp Half-Blood. With them by his side, can Apollo face down the greatest challenge of his four thousand years of existence?

I was SO excited to get back to Apollo and what's going on with him, I've been really looking forward to this book and it didn't let me down! Genuinely, I am loving this series! I still haven't gotten around to reading Percy Jackson yet but I'm not having any problems reading this without having read them...in fact this series just makes me want to hurry up and get to them! I pretty much have every Rick Riordan book on my wishlist because after reading this and Magnus Chase I'm convinced I'm going to love each book and Riordan can do no wrong. I'm so here for all the mythology. 

I will say, I know that there are spoilers for the Percy Jackson series in this book, but I'm really not bothered by that, and if you're not bothered then go ahead! I genuinely think you can read this with no problems having not read PJ. I know enough about the series from various different things to recognise certain characters and I feel like there's enough in the narrative so  you won't be left scratching your head. 

As we start reading The Dark Prophecy we're straight in with the action and I for one, had everything from the first book come flooding back pretty quickly! Our little group, Apollo, Leo and Calypso are just arriving in Indianapolis and their arrival doesn't quite go to plan! We get some creepy new villains, and some fantastic new characters in the form of Emmie and Jo. I LOVE Emmie and Jo. I need a series that's just all of their adventures. Undecided on if I like Britomartis or not though! 

Speaking of Britomartis, I had never heard of her and she wasn't the only one in this book. I love mythology and Greek mythology is one of my big favourites, like that and Egyptian I've been obsessed with since I was quite young, along with Chinese, Norse is newish to me. SO I've read any book I can get my hands on that features Greek mythology, and I like to think I know a fair bit, I've even read a few non-fiction books about it. But I seriously didn't know who Britomartis and a couple of other ...beings where. So I loved being surprised with these little mythology tidbits that I had no idea about. I learned aaaalll kinds of cool things in this book and it really kept it fresh.

Right from the start there's plenty of action and intrigue and I love how easily this book carries on from the first book. It's like a rolling plot, it just keeps going..until you know...the last book but you know what I mean. I actually thought it was nicely paced, fast paced, and with enough going on to keep you hooked. And once again...this book is freaking hilarious. I love it. I was feeling really down and I actually purposely picked this up because I knew it was going to make me laugh. I just find myself sitting there chuckling as I'm reading. 

Apollo's narrative voice and his little haiku's make my life complete. So freaking funny. The book is always funny, with plenty of humour, but one of the main contributors towards that is Apollo's narrative. He speaks like a God. Of course he does, he was one. But because he's a Modern God, and he's totally with the times, Apollo has this mashup of God Speak, pop culture references and the odd modern phrase. It gives me life. I love it. I just love reading his voice. It's such a brilliant perspective. 

Apollo's character development in this book is brilliant. He's come so far since we first met him, and I've loved watching it. He's a God so of course he thinks the world revolves around him and he has a tendency to be narcissistic BUT in this book he really starts to think about others more and you can see he's starting to care about others, help others and generally not let them die, particularly those he's close to and interacts with a lot. You can see it multiple times in this book, particularly Meg. I haven't actually warmed up to Meg all that much so I haven't decided if his loyalty is misplaced or not yet. Like....she was a bit traitory and then she's so..mean? I don't know. Apollo is my little precious cinnamon roll. Anywaaaayyy it's so nice to see him growing and changing as the boos progress and I'm intrigued to see how he gets on with his sister as opposed to the rest of the Gods. I'm really excited to see where his character goes, I hope he still retains some of his narcissism though, he wouldn't be the same without it! 

The one thing bugging me is how mean everyone is to Apollo aka my precious bubba. Apollo's optimism and endless cheer is truly inspirational considering how much everyone gives him a rough time. He gets blamed for everything or at least most things, and seriously...Meg is so mean/rude to him. Leo and Calypso give him such a bad time too like some of it is just the friendship and is more jokey but there's so much that's like...okay guys. Let's stop picking on my cinnamon roll now. The thing is, I get why they would because of how he was..but he's getting to be such a better person now. He tries so hard with everything, and helps out, and I just REALLY love Apollo okay. He's such a refreshing main character.

I'm so excited for the next book, this is one of those series that I genuinely look forward to the next book with no chill whatsoever. I'm so impatient. The Dark Prophecy provides some great clues and insights and things to look forward to next book in general. I'm so ready to find out who the third emperor is and see Camp Jupiter for the first time! Unless of course I've made it to the PJ and Heroes of Olympus books by then, in which case switch out "for the first time" for "again". Things are promising to get even more interesting and even more awesome next book and you know...there's a PJ character that pops up right at the end and I knew immediately who it was and got so ridiculously excited. Like shrieked the name and jumped up and down excited. 

All in all The Dark Prophecy is another brilliant instalment in this series, more action, adventure, fun and humour. I'm loving Apollo's character development, and I loved watching him bond with Calypso and Leo more. I'm still a bit iffy about Meg, but we'll see what happens! Riordan is the King of mythology, I have to say! Especially in this one when he cracks out some lesser known mythology and educates us all! I'm 100% super stoked for the third book...if only it where out sooner waaaa!