The Lost Hero (HoO 1) By: Rick Riordan Book Review

Rating: 3.5/5
The Lost Hero by: Rick Riordan 
Series: The Heroes of Olympus 
Page Count: 557 
​Genre: Middle Grade
Synopsis: 
​Jason has a problem.
He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret.
Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare about his being in trouble. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits during the school trip, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools.
When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about, and some camper who;s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. Does this have anything to do with Jason's amnesia, or the fact that Leo keeps seeing ghosts?

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Review: SPOILERS FROM NOW ON! 
Just I cannot express how much this book was to me, deciding to pick up the heroes of olympus after a few months of finishing PJO. Now, I am annoyed at myself for waiting, because OMG this book.

 We met Jason, Leo, and Piper of course in usual Rick style, having to go immediately on a quest. Cause that is what Rick always does, Jason has amnesia, given to him by  Hera. Always saying he'll get his memory back in due time. Which is annoying af to me. Also discovering that Thailia is his sister?! And known her his whole life, oh the smiles oh the happiness. It made me so sad when she joined the hunters, and now we can see her again. 

The battles, the battles... They were as usual so amazing, and heart wrenching at the same time. King Midas, just I loved that battle so much, honestly it's my favorite battle in this whole book. I didn't have too much hope that they would win. Especially after Midas turned Leo and Piper into gold, but then Jason used his Zeus powers. And OH. MY. GOD. I gasped so loud, in shock and laughing at the same time as Midas's son was gold statue and Midas was buried in gold. Then Hedge comes just walking in like nothing happened, cause he was a eating a SNACK?! I have serious dislike of Hedge, he is the most useless saytr I have ever read. 
And then the final battle, where Jason literally fought with a freaking piece of wood as a weapon after his lance broke. Let me repeat: A piece of wood. Rick pulling his usual, "I'll let you think a character is going to die, but nah I won't kill them". I was almost in tears when Jason had that spear hovering over his chest, with time going in slow motion. Just there is no words to properly express how much I felt in that moment.

The ending, I saw it coming legit halfway through the book. Since we know Percy is missing and Jason speaks in Roman terms, plus the tattoos. And the other camp, that means Percy is at the other camp for Roman demigods. I called it, read that part, and then proceeded to do a happy dance cause I figured out the ending. Yes, I like this plot twist, but I need Percabeth in my life. Now that Jason is figuring things out with his amnesia, in the Son of Neptune, we'll see amnesiac Percy. This will be fun, yes I mean fun. I know the name of the other camp, but I'm not going to spoil anything for Son of Neptune. 

Piper, her secret, she is my favorite out of the three. And she's a bada** for being a child of Aprohdite, I mean "arms go bye, bye" one of my favorite Piper quotes. Plus her father, and having to give up and give him the vial of memory potion, I felt so bad for her. 

Festus *insert crying emoji* I wish he didn't have to go, and he could've stayed a dragon. But, he is meant to be a ship, and at least we still have Festus in some way. Leo, has had struggles, and then has to lose Festus which effects him a ton clearly. While greiving for Festus, he still is able to be in battle. ​

Final Thoughts: 
This wasn't what I was expecting out of a Riordan book, yes don't get me wrong, I liked it. It was good, but slow, something that I have never expected Riordan to make, a slow feeling book. Yet I still highly suggest this series, especially after reading all of the books in the series (I read this back in late June, and have just procratinated on posting it.), it gets so much better, the pace quickens quite a bit. You get attached to characters, and just. . . there's more comments I have but I can't say cause spoilers for the other books. I'll say that in those reviews. PLEASE DO read Riordan if you haven't, I started out with The Kane Chronicles and that's what I suggest y'all begin with. Though starting with Percy Jackson and the Olympians is also a good option, to read this series you've gotta read PJO first.