Ava Baldwin is ready for her second year at the Accademia del Forte. Now that she knows that her fellow classmates, descendants of the so-called Greek monsters, have been lied to by the Olympians, she’s ready to help them uncover their ancestors’ true stories—if only she can stay out of the way of the new headmaster, Perseus.
But laying low is easier said than done, especially when Perseus seems intent on trolling Ava, making it impossible to control her anger.
When Perseus banishes one of her friends, Ava must lead a rescue party on a whirlwind adventure from the Stygian Marsh of the underworld to the ice caves of Mount Etna with Ares and the spirits of violent death in hot pursuit. But the gods won’t be tricked so easily this time.
I didn’t love the first half of the story. It starts with Ava returning for her second term at the Accademia del Forte, excited to see her friends. She’s surprised to see her friend Layla has mastered her Empusa shape-shifting powers and has become one of the prettiest girls on campus. Ava is jealous of Layla’s new look and all the attention she is getting. She spends most of the story’s first half insecure about her appearance and fears losing her friends. To be fair, insecurity is a standard emotion for middle school aged girls. And Ava’s past experiences with her old friends ditching her explains her fear of losing her new friends. Thankfully, things pick up once Ava and her friends set off on their quest to save their friend.
The new headmaster, Perseus, was a huge blowhard. He spent most of the story bragging about what a big hero he was for cutting off Medusa’s head. If you’ve read the first book, you know this is a big fat lie. He’s like Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter with an even bigger ego.
The only problem I had with this story was how hard it was to keep track of who was who. There are so many gods, goddesses, and monsters in Greek mythology. A guide or family tree of all the Gods and Goddesses’ offspring would have been helpful. Zeus only fathered so many kids with different women.
Although the beginning was a bit slow, this was a strong continuation of the series. I wonder which monster’s truth we will learn about in the next book.