Lemme start off by saying I am not writing this off because it is a knockoff Percy Jackson. The Kane Chronicles were knockoff Percy Jackson, and they were still entertaining and funny, full of life. 
 I went straight back and reread the very first Percy Jackson book to see if my suspicions were right. And they were. This book is a lackluster effort. To be sure, the writing is okay, but it is missing a vital ingredient: life. It's like Mr Riordan was just filling in the spaces in his formula. Underdog half-blood demigod: check; in the dark about his true identity: check; monsters out to get him: check; he's the only one who can stop doomsday: check; etc. 
 Same formula as the Percy Jackson series. What's missing here is the sense of wonder and joy in writing you get from Percy's book. You got the sense that if nothing else, Mr Riordan was having the time of his life bringing Ancient Greek religion into the modern world. With Magnus, he's just filling in the formula for creating his newest cash cow. No Mr Riordan, you can do better. Much better. 
 Another thing that didn't work too well for me was the breaking of the fourth wall and talking to the audience. Eh. Magnus didn't sound like a 16yo boy to me, but then again, I am neither 16 years old, white, male, or the offspring of European deities, so what do I know? 
 Other than that, the story progressed well enough, and the characters are okay. I thought it was pretty cool that Magnus and Annabeth are cousins (I didn't make that connection from the last name at first). And I liked that we had a Muslim character included. Yayy! Not everyday white males and females. Some days let ethnic and religious minorities flourish too. 
 Not bad, but could've been much better. If you wanna read it, consider getting it from your local library.