The Sun and the Star by Mark Oshiro and Rick Riordan

Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus in their attempt to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure - set in the funny, mythical and action-packed world of Percy Jackson. As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life - literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that's been the case so far . . . Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades's realm. Nico's dreams and Rachel Dare's latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico's mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to 'leave something of equal value behind?' Nico will have to face demons both internal and external as his relationship with Will is tested to the core in this standalone adventure featuring two of the most popular characters in the Percy Jackson saga.

i love this and what it stands for

An okay installation. I haven't picked up a Rick Riordan book for at least a year now and was looking forward to this book. It was definitely more emotionally deep than I expected, with a more detailed look into Nico's past scars, with some mentions of the struggle with coming out as well. There was also much more relationship-related stuff than Percy Jackson novels.

The book was able to juggle both the quest with the heavier topic of facing your inner demons. Will and Nico are one of my favorite couples, and I'm glad to see their characters develop throughout the book. And yes they fought, but talked it out later (communication for the win!!). I was surprised to see the villain was Nyx, since she was ancient, powerful, and one book was definitely not enough to defeat her but I was wrong and she was dealt with nicely. I also really liked the inclusion of Will and Nico's little ‘stories' about their relationship. The struggle between Will and Nico and trying to accept each other's different judgments on the Underworld was real. Persephone, though, unexpected savior??
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But some issues held me back. First, Will. I didn't like that Will's POV suddenly popped up in chapter 10. As the book went on, Will's POV kept popping up randomly. It was really abrupt and hard to adjust, especially if the last couple chapters were all Nico. Also, I feel like Nico's portion took over most of the time. Will didn't really get to shine as much. Persephone said Will should share his darkness. That never happened or was elaborated on. Will felt alone sometimes too. What? When? Why? Answered only briefly and in one sentence.

Second, the pacing. The plot dragged on for the first half because they were all dominated by dreams and flashbacks, so the quest barely made any progress, then really accelerated in the second half. Plus the switches between the present and the dreams were a bit messy and confusing.

Third, the writing style. Maybe it's just me because this is YA and I've basically been consuming adult fiction for the past months, and now I'm older than when I first came upon Percy Jackson, I feel that the dialogue did get cringey at times. Naming the cacodemons 'Cocoa Puffs' ? Really? And the babyish nicknames... Imo it was too childish. I believe that Nico, who's about 14-15, and Will, who's a year older, would use more grown-up vocabulary. Especially since they've been through multiple battles and should have a more mature mentality. And honestly the fighting just felt...anti-climactic. Maybe because it was co-authored? I haven't read a Mark Oshiro ever before, so the writing may be understandably strange. It didn't help that a lot of the plot entailed of trudging back and forth and sleeping.

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Another thing: this book is best for people who've read the all prior series (Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo). There were a lot of mentions and appearances of other characters from those said series that new readers would definitely not know about. I didn't read the last 2 books in ToA, so there were characters and events referenced that I didn't get.

I know that many people loved this book, but it didn't hit the spot for me, so 3.5 stars it is.

can goddesses even get hay fever?

I forgot how much I love Rick Riordan's writing and world building. It has been so long since I read Percy Jackson (almost 10 years!) but it felt so good to fall back into this world. I haven't read anything written by Mark Oshiro, but I'm interest in checking out what he has written in the past! His contribution to the queer characters in this was really awesome. Nico was one of my favorite characters in the original series because I always imagined I would be a child of Hades. I do slightly regret not catching up on the rest of the series in the world because it did spoil me a bit for the series about Nero, but honestly, I'm not upset. For a middle grade book this had a ton of representation and incredible conversations about identiy, sexuality, and mental health that I'm sure kids can relate to. I did give up on the Nero series, but this has inspired me to go back and finish it just to be immersed in this world again. This was absolutely incredible and I hope more books get written in this series!

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.