But 43 out of 50 isn’t so bad, is it? :P

My top pick has to be The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

#43 of my 50 Book Challenge

#42 of my 50 Book Challenge

I’ve got to say, I definitely missed Percy Jackson.

Son of Neptune brings us to another reunion with the familiar and an introduction to the unfamiliar. We follow dear old Percy and his newfound friends Hazel and Frank -who each have a secret or two to hide - on their quest to “the land beyond the gods” and back. We are taken further down the road to seeing the Great Prophecy fulfilled, which, to refresh your memory, foretells: “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.”

I wouldn’t consider these next few words a spoiler, seeing as the title of the book itself is quite telling, but (here they are) we finally get to see the Roman counterpart of Camp Half-Blood. I have to say that it’s quite impressive, perhaps even more efficient than its Greek parallel. I’ll not spare any more details than that. You’ll have to read the book yourself, of course (and reread The Lost Hero, if you must - I did).

I’ve to admit that I found this book more engaging than the first, but that may not be unbiased judgement. Like I said, I missed Percy. All that’s left to say is that this second installment in the Heroes of Olympus series concludes with yet another cliffhanger. I look forward to meeting our seven heroes again.

#41 of my 50 Book Challenge

#40 of my 50 Book Challenge

Harry’s and Ron’s notes sure added “an entertaining tone” to the book.

#39 of my 50 Book Challenge

The ninth and last book in the Alex Rider series, Scorpia Rising began and ended in ways I did not quite expect. For a while there I thought there had been a mistake, that another bizarre twist of events would prove me wrong, but nah. It really happened. What do I mean? You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out.

#38 of my 50 Book Challenge

#37 of my 50 Book Challenge

#36 of my 50 Book Challenge

As you’d have gleaned from the preview offered in I Am Number Four, here we are introduced to another of the Nine Garde, Marina. Without giving too much away at this point, I’ll just say that you won’t be missing John, Sam, Six and Bernie Kosar for long because we still get to follow their journey in this book. And not to mention that new characters will make appearances, as well.

I took a break from the Alex Rider series to read this, and I must say, readers of the Lorien Legacies are in for quite a ride in the books to come.

#35 of my 50 Book Challenge

#34 of my 50 Book Challenge

#33 of my 50 Book Challenge

#32 of my 50 Book Challenge

#31 of my 50 Book Challenge

This novel was made into a movie back in 2006, starring Alex Pettyfer, whom you might know from another adaptation, I Am Number Four.

Alex Rider is only fourteen years old, but MI6 has recruited him for a mission that turns out to be deadlier than anyone might have thought.

“In the end, the big difference between him and James Bond wasn’t a question of age. It was a question of loyalty. In the old days, spies had done what they’d done because they loved their country, because they believed in what they were doing. But he’d never been given a choice. Nowadays, spies weren’t employed. They were used.”

I’m doing a reread of everything before the latest novel - Scorpia Rising - in this YA series.

#30 of my 50 Book Challenge

This wasn’t as thrilling for me as the second book - probably because there was a lot of background information to the members of the Section and other characters - but this is still better than the first one. Not so much grisliness, and I definitely enjoyed reading Salander’s trial.