The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1)
by Rick Riordan

4 out of 5 stars

Zeus punishes Apollo by turning him into a mortal human. Apollo must complete various trials and serve a demigod, so that he can regain his godly status. The first demigod he meets is a street urchin named Meg, and she claims his service. He agrees to take her to Camp Half-Blood, hoping they will be safe there, but when they arrive, campers are missing and Apollo starts hearing strange voices. The Oracle can’t see the future, so they are blind and can’t authorize any quests until the Oracle is freed.

I really loved the hilarious narration from Apollo’s perspective! He is so ridiculous, and I was laughing through most of the book. I was not sure how there could be any believable character development for Apollo without losing his signature swagger and arrogant personality, but little by little the story shows us greater depths to Apollo’s character as he reacts to being a helpless human.

I was delightful to see a few scenes with Percy Jackson and Leo Valdez. They have these little cameo appearances with all the sass and sarcasm that I have come to know and love.
We also see a few scenes with Will Solace and Nico di Angelo who are dating. Apollo admits that he likes to see his son in a gay relationship, because Apollo himself is bisexual.
But we don’t see much from those characters, because most of the book is focused on Apollo, Meg, and the other campers having adventures and trying to find the missing Oracle.

The adventure is exciting, and I loved learning more about Apollo’s backstory and his famous exploits. I read this book in two days, because it was just so much fun and such a quick read.

To see minor violence and other sensitive content in this book, you can check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-hidden-oracle-trials-of-apollo-1-385344