Oh my gods. Beautiful. Ladies and gentlemen, Rick Riordan is back. 
 First of all look at that gorgeous, lovely cover. I just love the covers that they've been doing for the Heros of Olympus series. They're so asthetic and beautiful and the coloring especially is gorgeous. 
 So first thing, the Roman camp. I love it. What's so good about the Son of Neptune is that the reader gets a perfect sense of new excitement and familiarity. Rick Riordan's humor and ability to intergrate old subjects like Roman mythology into modern day events and culture is absolutely brilliant. From the pillow pet stuffing auguaries to the Amazon's warehouse, this man has the best ideas. Now in the Son of Neptune you have Percy, a character you've already learned to adore over the course of an entire book series and all this knowledge and fondness for the Greek mythology introduced in the Percy Jackson series. 
 Percy's now he's thrown into this entirely new world, the Roman one but it just feels so right. Just in the first chapter alone, the Bargain Mart gorgons were so reminisant of Percy Jackson monsters and even tied in past events like Percy's slaying of Medusa. Then those little moments when Percy had lost his memory; the master bolt and the blue food were like little inside jokes with the reader. The tone and the style is just so simliar to the Greek, to the Percy Jackson series but still has unique qualities and details that define it as a new series. The Lost Hero was great, it an amazing book, but it wasn't RICK RIORDAN great. With The Son of Neptune though, I was SO happy and pleased with it. 
 Also, NEW characters! I hope that we get to know Reyna a little bit more in the next books though. She's got to have a soft side under all that stregth. Perhaps we'll see her in a new light when Jason comes home? Ella was a great addition too. She helps provide some comic relief and I couldn't help going aawww with Tyson and Ella at the end. And yes, the long in depth chapters did a fabulous job of allowing the reader to get to know all the background stories and personality of the characters a little bit more. These characters, Hazel, Frank, and even Piper and Leo from the Lost Hero all have really unique personalities and stories and I just CAN"T WAIT for all of them to meet. Oh my gods. Just thinking about it gives me chills. These seven are going to be such bad asses.