The Battle of the Labyrinth

I enjoyed this addition, but there were some drawbacks in my reading experience. I think some of it is just me being an adult reading a middle grade book. Most of these are not knocks on the book, just subjective opinions I had while reading.

First, I really enjoyed the character dynamics throughout this book. All of the character and relationship development that happened felt very rewarding as a reader. The plot was interesting, but I think there wasn't enough stakes in the Labyrinth. The way it was described, it was this terrifying, ever changing place that was near impossible to traverse. One camper went mad from being in there. However, Percy and co. all got through basically unscathed. While they faced challenges, they all seemed easily bested. I know this may be a product of the genre, but I feel like with Percy getting older, the stakes should also get higher. They felt pretty high in the last book. Maybe I'm just being picky.

I also find the narrator of the audiobook frustrating. Now this I know is a product of the target age group. The villains all just have very stereotypical voices and it makes them seem way less scary and evil and they just sound comical. Again, this is just me reading as an adult. I understand why this would appeal to a younger age range.

Overall, I did actually enjoy this book. I liked the character progression and I think the plot is going in an interesting direction. There were just some things that annoyed me within.

TW: abelism, death, depression, fire, grief, loss of loved ones, manipulation, PTSD, sexism, skeletons, suicide (mentioned), torture, violence, war