The popular Heroes of Olympus series by New York Times #1 bestselling author Rick Riordan finally came to a conclusion with the release of The Blood of Olympus on Oct. 7. This epic sequel series to the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series ended with a heartwarming and bittersweet bang that left readers daydreaming about the futures of the united Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

After following the ultimate ten-novel journey of Percy Jackson, a young New Yorker who has discovered he is the son of the Greek sea god Poseidon, we the readers come to closure with his story. In this last book, we see the development of his relationship with Annabeth Chase, learn about his plans for the future, and delight one last time in his sarcastic sense of humor and overall loveable personality.

Much to my own disappointment, this book includes neither Percy’s nor Annabeth’s point of view, but that is made up for by the moments of romance distributed throughout.

The book is mainly written in the perspectives of Jason, Piper, and Le, three old-timers, and two new perspectives, those of Reyna and Nico. With the first three main characters, we learn more about Jason’s conflict between his Roman and Greek side. We learn a lot about Piper as she discovers her role in the group of seven and unlocks her powers as a daughter of Aphrodite that she did not realize she had. One of the most thrilling stories we see develop in the book is Leo’s romantic interest in Calypso, a girl he is never supposed to see again. We watch Leo devise a plan to make it back to the island that no man finds twice and rescue his dream girl, even though his fate has already been sealed by the Prophecy of Seven. We also learn a little more about Frank and Hazel.

The two new perspectives of Reyna and Nico, which we have never seen, reveal the innermost thoughts of two of the most complicated characters in the book. Reyna, the praetor of Rome, has a rocky past which we finally learn about. We visit her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico and learn about the events that took place there that made her want to give up her family name. We also learn more about the dark, mysterious, and isolated Nico di Angelo, a young and brooding son of Hades, as he struggles with his secret crush on Percy (who is completely oblivious to Nico’s feelings and is unavailable), his sense of self-worth and acceptance among his fellow demigods, and his physically taxing mission to transport a 30-foot statue across the Atlantic Ocean. For the first time we the readers get an inside look at what Nico thinks about himself and others and watch him deal with his hardships alone.

Finally, The Blood of Olympus includes bits and pieces of many lesser characters’ lives. We once again hear from Thalia, Hylla, Phoebe, Kinzie, Clarisse, the Stoll brothers, Octavian, and Will. Though most of these characters are only present for a few sentences at most, a few of them play a very key role in one of the main character’s lives.

The Blood of Olympus is a fast-paced novel without a single dull moment. It kept me hooked and eager to turn the page throughout. It was full of little surprises and details that really made me feel like these characters were coming to life. They are depicted in realistic, relatable ways that suck you right into the adventure with them. Almost every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger-like style that leaves you anxious to return to that part of the story as you jump back and forth between the happenings on the Argo II and the quest with the Athena Parthenos.

Overall, The Blood of Olympus is an excellent read and strong conclusion to an amazing series. It has a little something for everyone: plenty of sweet and lovey-dovey moments for the secret-romantic-fan-girl in you. It is pack-full of combat scenes and sword wielding for the action lovers, and keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense for the mystery seekers. There are cool Greek myths and legends for the intellectuals, and enough whimsical, witty, sarcastic, cute, and corny jokes to make even Thanatos roll on the floor laughing (and his job is to drag stubborn, wailing dead people’s souls to the Underworld all day).

If you need something entertaining to read for fun that you can also use as an ‘educational read’ for school, stop by your local bookstore or library and pick up The Blood of Olympus. Just make sure you pace yourself, because, seriously, you won’t be able to put it down.