When he started looking back on the war with Kronos as the good old days - that was sad. He kept hoping things would get better for Annabeth and him, but their lives just got more and more dangerous, as if the Three Fates were up there spinning their futures with barbed wire instead of thread just to see how much two demigods could tolerate. 
 Seriously! Wow. These poor kids just get nothing but hardships and monsters. I think it's safe to say that 90% of the time their strife is because of either something awful their godly parents did or because their godly parents won't get up off their big butts to solve the problem themselves. Basically, the gods are a bunch of dicks. But I digress... in The House of Hades our band of demigods are continuing their quest to stop Gaea from destroying the world. Along the way these teens are coming into their own and learning what it is they want out of life. 
 I think "coming of age" and puberty in general plays quite a large part in The House of Hades. All of our demigods feel awkward or they don't know how they fit into the world. I could go on and on with specific examples but it would just get entirely too spoilery. However I do want to address three new developments that really change the characters. 
 1.	I noticed that the demigods' powers could potentially be pretty scary if they were the bad guys. I always wondered just how far Percy's powers could go. (view spoiler)[While in Tartarus Percy was literally controlling the water that composed Akhlys's body. Since humans are about 98% water, I always wondered if Percy could control that water as well. Turns out he can. (hide spoiler)] Luckily, Percy has such a kind heart otherwise he could be one of the worst villains of all time. 
 2.	(view spoiler)["I had a crush on Percy," Nico spat. "That's the truth. That's the big secret." 
 Nico is gay. It really explains a lot about him as a character. He's always so moody and distant because he's been having such a struggle coming to terms with the fact that he's gay. He's already an outsider because he's the son of Hades and on top of it he's gay too! It's a lot to come to terms with. I think his future character arc will be so interesting. The only thing I didn't appreciate was that he was bullied by Cupid into admitting it. Is it good that he faced his fears? Yes. Was pushing him to do it when he may not have been ready ok? NO! (hide spoiler)] 
 3.	(view spoiler)[ "I'm coming back for you, Calypso," he said to the night wind. "I swear it on the River Styx." 
 Leo ended up on Ogygia and met Calypso. For all of Leo's life he's been on the run and on his own. So it's really heartwarming to know that he finally has something he will be running towards. (hide spoiler)] 
 As with every new addition to the Percy Jackson world we meet some new friends along the way. Without giving away too much: Iapetus comes back as Bob, there's a friendly giant named Damasen, one of those saber tooth kittens from the Smithsonian comes along, and there's a farting weasel named Gale. All of these characters play important roles and I don't want to talk too much about them for fear of spoiling everything. All I'm going to say is that I hope there are happy endings to be had here. Otherwise it would be a really shitty thing to do in a YA book. 
 This is different, he told himself. We're the good guys. But were they? 
 Last but not least, The House of Hades kept its wonderful sense of humor despite the darkness following the demigods. I'm just going to quote a few bits that had me actually laughing out loud. 
 She squeezed Percy's hand. "Ready?" 
 "For What?" After a pause, he grunted unhappily. "Poseidon's underpants, you can't be serious." 
 Leo scoured the aisles, looking for things he could use. He didn't know the Italian for Hello, where are your dangerous chemicals, please? But that was probably just as well. He didn't want to end up in Italian jail. 
 Nothing like waking up screaming, kicking off your covers, and dancing around your cabin while a weasel scampers between your feet, screeching and farting. 
 Overall I really liked The House of Hades even if it got pretty angsty at times. I'm excited to find out how everything is going to turn out in the end. This has been an incredibly long and dangerous quest and I just want it to be over for all the demigods' sake. Now, on to The Blood of Olympus!