What a tease! I didn’t realize this was a sampler when I applied so slightly disappointed by that. But oh my god it’s so nice to be back in the world of Percy Jackson!

Even with this short little taste, I will be salivating for this book. Sign me up for all the pre orders!

So from the little I have read I can tell that this book is going to be really good. It's definitely a 5 star prediction and I can't wait to finish the book!

Nico DiAngelo and his magical glowing boyfriend are back! The world of Percy Jackson is back, and I gotta say, while nothing will ever top the original for me, I don't think I'll ever get tired of visiting and re-visiting this incredible world. Rick Riordan's characters are so wonderfully complex, lovable and relatable not in spite of their flaws, but because of them. Nico is the epitome of this--my favorite grumpy little ball of darkness! Only 50 pages in and already I'm dying to know more!

A short sample, but enough to make me want more! I’m so excited to return to the world of Percy Jackson and from the perspective of my favourite character. For years I’ve been wanting a more in depth adventure with Nico and Will and I’m really looking forward to this book delivering that. Will definitely be picking up a copy when it releases!

The Sun and the Star Sampler by Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro. Disney Hyperion,, 2023.
Thank you Disney Hyperion for providing an e-book copy through NetGalley.

Rating: 1-5 (5 being a starred review) 5
Genre: Fantasy

What I Liked: Everything about this book looks promising: An intimate adventure between two main characters of the Percy Jackson series, a trip through the Hades (you’ve got to love the journey-to-the-underworld tropes), and more mature dialogue that handle harder topics that teenagers can relate to. Nic has always been one of my favorite characters, but I really like how Riordan and Oshiro handle his perspective, from his voice to his mental illness to his love and fear for Will. I’m definitely picking this book up when it hits the shelves so I can finish!

I have always been a Percy Jackson fan: Mythology fiction is my favorite genre, and it started with The Lightning Thief. I consumed all of Rick Riordan’s books as soon as I could…until I outgrew them. Sometime in my junior year, I hit a certain point where I couldn’t read the author’s books anymore because I couldn’t stand the writing style/voice of the characters. There was nothing wrong with it, but the voices were too immature for me, a haughty I-am-not-a-kid-anymore-mom teenager. So I stopped reading them, and I have seen many teenagers follow this trend as well. So it was a relief when The Sun and the Star managed to provide a different voice to the Camp Half-Blood Universe, one that’s more mature and suited to older readers who won’t immediately shy away.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing!

Who Would I Recommend This To: Teenagers who love the Percy Jackson series and want more, but in a more mature writing style. Or, teenagers who want mythology fiction in general.

Review Date: May 1, 2023

This is only a partial review as I only got the read the first 50 pages with the preview. But of what I have read, I can say I'm so happy to finally have another Rick Riordan book to read! I can defiantly feel a different writing style with it and The Sun and the Star doesn't read as the typical Rick Riordan book. I sure that this is because the book was also written by Mark Oshiro. This book has a much more serious tone than others; as jokes and the random silly stuff is far less featured. However, I feel that this tone and writing style works better with the main character of Nico than previous Rick Riordan characters.

This was a 60 page excerpt of the first 60 pages of The Sun and the Star. I love Nico and Will with all my heart and this book seems to capture what we all wanted from it. My only this is that in parts, it didn't sound like Riordan and the other worlds of PJ, so it pulled me out a bit because I could tell someone else wrote it. But, I'm excited to read the full thing when I get the chance!

Riordan and Oshiro have done a great job of portraying the mixture of affection and cringe that are teenage relationships. The focus on developing and exploring aspects of someone who was previously a side character is highly anticipated by old and new fans of the Percy Jackson series alike.

This sampler of The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan Mark Oshiro contains all of the humor and heart I remember from reading the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as a child and reading it left me all the more excited for what the rest of this book has in store!

This excerpt is absolutely amazing. Rhiordan does an amazing job of pulling you into his world so completely, and then he also makes sure to leave enough clues from previous books to help bring the reader up to speed. I am so SO excited to read the full book when it is released.

I have read every book of Rick Riordan out there and so I was excited to receive this book as an ARC. Sadly, this was only a short excerpt of the beginning of the book.

I have been looking forward to this book, since I saw Mr. Riordan was publishing a book in the Percy Jackson universe specifically featuring Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace. These are my two favorites! And, their interactions always produce such humor. As in "my significant annoyance"-still makes me laugh so hard!

Plot: It is the end of the summer season, shortly after the Trials of Apollo series, at Camp Half-blood and Nico and Will save to say goodbye to Will's half siblings Kayla and Austin and now are the only demigods remaining. It is a well earned break at last, and yet Nico knows it will not last because of the Prophecy and the Voice.

Alas! But, on the positive side, our favorite boys get a quest of their own to the most dangerous place imaginable. Tartarus.

I love Nico. Even while he is happy during a break, with his boyfriend of nearly a year and his friends, safe at Camp Half-blood, he is a little ball of darkness. And, Will is such a steadying presence. Love him too. Mr. D adds his own brand of sarcasm to the mix. And, I would be happy to just read about their everyday life there at camp. But we get a Quest. SO, now I am glad the book comes out officially next week.

After a couple of pages, I realized this was a preview and quit reading. It could be good, it could be bad. There are too many books on my want-to-read list to waste time on a mere handful of chapters. I will wait until the book is published to read this one.

My second most anticipated release of the year (followed only by Chalice of the Gods) and I cannot wait to devour the entire thing on release day. Rick Riordan could seriously write a grocery list and I would give it 5 stars. Will and Nico mean so much to me and I'm so excited to read the rest and get to learn more about them.

This review only encompasses the first few chapters released as a teaser though I do look forward to reading the whole book eventually.

I'm not sure if it's because Riordan has a writing partner on this one but the voice feels different and a bit more mature than his other books. Nico and Will have been fan favorite characters for a long time so I think readers will be excited for them to star in their own story. That said, Nico isn't the same type of narrator as Percy or even Apollo so readers should go into the book knowing that. I'm definitely excited to read the rest of the book but I don't know that it will be a favorite.

Definitely one of my most highly anticipated of the year. I don't normally torture myself with samplers but I caved. Can't wait to continue!! Getting close now!

I liked it so much. I was disappointed when I found out it is just the first chapters. Please make the whole book available to request.

This was AMAZING!!! I was so sad that this was just a snippet of the book, and not the whole thing. Can't wait to read this full book!

I’m so excited to read the full book. I can’t wait to see all of what Mark Oshiro brings to the mix. I think it was an excellent choice for Riordan to work with another author on this one, given how many books he has written in this universe so far. As much as I love Riordan’s writing, I’m excited to see what a new voice will add. I get the sense from this preview that this book will have a different tone from the others and I’m looking forward to it.
I’ve already preordered this book and can’t wait for it to arrive!

I can't wait for the full release! This chapter sampler scratched an itch that I had for more CHB adventures and then left me wanting more! The first five chapters will certainly hook you into the next installment with some of the most lovable characters! It has classic Riordan humor and suspense from prophesies. All goes to say, this has the perfect amount of ingredients and a beginning to be a great novel.

Cute chapters. Love the Percy Jackson universe and am happy to see more books for Nico and Will coming!