“Maybe Mars is different than Ares. I don’t think Ares can read” lmao. Are we surprised I liked this book more towards the end when Percy got his Per-sass back? I am having the weird experience with The Lost Hero and this of: I’m reading these books for the first time but I’ve read fanfiction of them before. It definitely gives me a Gotcha moment every time they mention a detail that I learned through fanfic, sort of like walking through the Uncanny Valley. All that aside, The Son of Neptune and The Lost Hero definitely did a lot of set up character wise, and it feels like that. I’m hoping The Mark of Athena feels more whole with the entire crew united and the dynamics finally settle in. Idk man, so far the new characters are fine?I don’t feel overly attached to them the same way I did to the PJO characters after two or even one book. The old characters feel slightly off, maybe cause they’re older, Percy had amnesia, Annabeth was busy looking for her boyfriend. They had a lot on their plate. These first two books feel more like doing the set up for the characters and the world building and I will continue the series for the sake of nostalgia but just know that the expectations are kind of low.