Percy Jackson vs Heroes of Olympus Tag 🍵

Hello fellow bookworms 💖 Today we’re delving deep into the world of the Demigods, with a Tag that I uncovered and that fit perfectly: The Percy Jackson vs. Heroes of Olympus Tag!! I recently finished the latter series and immediately started rereading Percy Jackson, so there couldn’t have been a more perfect opportunity to do this Tag! I’m a big Rick Riordan fan and today I will face a hard game of would you rather, prompting me to choose between two characters/books/places from both Series … in the end only 1 Series can come out as the winner with the most points 😈 I LOVE both Series, but I do have a clear favorite, can you guess what Series it is?

I’m tagging 💖

• Cait @ paperfury
• Marija @ insidemylibrarymind
• Beth @ readingeverynight
• Margaret @ weirdzeal
• May @ foreverandeverly
• and YOU if you’re a Rick Riordan Fan 🥰

The Tag was originally created by Jessica Williamson!!

1. Favorite hero: Percy Jackson or Jason Grace

“I’d love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera. The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!”

© Viktoria Ridzel

Percy Jackson 🌊 No offense to my boy Jason (He really grew on me and is a great guy that always tries to do his best), but Percy was simply the first one to steal my heart. The original Percy Jackson books give me SO much nostalgia and I absolutely loved Percy as the protagonist. I really related to his intense loyalty for other people (definitely a Hufflepuff) and his big heart ❤ Percy’s sense of humor frequently spoke to me and his narration was what initially got me invested in the lives of the demigods. He was a true hero and will always be at the heart of the Rick Riordanverse as he’s connected to almost all of the books (even The Kane Chronicles and the Magnus Chase books, though he has the biggest part in the original Series and the Heroes of Olympus books)!

2. Favorite goat man: Grover or Coach Hedge

“”FOOOOOD,” Grover moaned, as the nature spirits carried him away. I figured he’d be okay.” 

“What about a compromise? I’ll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I’ll apologize.” 

 

© Viktoria Ridzel

Grover AND Coach Hedge 🐐 I’m sorry but I just couldn’t choose 😂 I kept thinking about it, but both deserve the spot, so it’s a draw – one point of Heroes of Olympus and one for  Percy Jackson. See I just reread the original Series and Grover has my entire heart: he’s such a soft satyr and I could really relate to his anxiety and nervousness, that he tended to exhibit. He’s a great friend to Percy and always trying his best, even when he is afraid. For that Grover deserves the spot, plus he later gets more confident and I’m very proud of him 💕 Coach Hedge on the other side is completely different, but great in his own way. He’s bold, rude and loves beating people up with his baseball bat. Though he appears rough around the edges, the Coach has a good heart and cares deeply for his demigods and will bravely defend them. His one liners are truly hilarious too!

3. Child of Hades: Nico or Hazel

“You will suffer, son of Hades!’ 
What else is new? Nico thought.”

© Viktoria Ridzel

Nico di Angelo 💀 I feel like I’m saying this with every prompt, but I really love Hazel (she’s fierce and cool, would love to be her friend)! I love all the characters, so choosing one doesn’t mean I don’t like the other. But Nico!! Oh, I loved him when I first read the books and my heart reached out for his situation 😥 As a son of Hades he is often scorned by his fellow demigods, as his dad isn’t really popular on Olympus either. Nico has lost a lot already and had a tough time rebuilding his life with grief and depression wreaking havoc. I’m very proud of his development now and where he ended up in the end. His strength to go on is inspiring and I love that he found his place, even though he felt like he didn’t belong. I would definitely read another Series starring Nico!

4. OTP: Percabeth or Jasper

“I imagined she was going to say, You killed a Minotaur! or Wow, you’re so awesome! or something like that. Instead she said, “You drool when you sleep.” 

© Viktoria Ridzel

Percabeth 💖 This was a close call as I like both ships (my favorite overall ship is Solangelo – obviously, those two deserve their own spinoff 🥰), but in the end nostalgia won again and I picked Percabeth. I loved the banter that Annabeth and Percy have from the get-go, it was always so fun to read about them bickering, especially as it was mostly good-natured! Of course, they are also adorable together and you can see how much they mean to each other early in the books. They become a great team despite their godly parents being bitter rivals and especially Athena looking down on their relationship. Percabeth have been through SO much together and you can clearly see that they have this special connection, almost like they were meant for each other!

5. Best villain: Kronos or Gaia

“Gaea?” Leo shook his head. “Isn’t that Mother Nature? She’s supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and deer and rabbits doing her laundry.”
“Leo, that’s Snow White,” Piper said.”

Gaia 🌳 Of course I hate both big Bad villains (my favorite villain? Probably the Emperors from Trials of Apollo or Loki if we’re looking at the other books as well), and it was a hard choice as I had no clear favorite, but I think that Gaia was definitely the bigger threat and more powerful and dangerous than Kronos. She’s mother earth so she has a lot of control over all of land, even protected spaces like Camp Half-blood. The situation was also more dire during her time as a villain with everything else going on, so I think that she rightfully wins this round. Kronos was a good villain too though, especially how it was set up (if you’ve read the books you know what I mean) in the end.

6. Better first book: Lightning Thief or The Lost Hero

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” 

The Lightning Thief ⚡It’s time for the nostalgia factor again. The Lightning Thief is what jump started my love for Percy Jackson so obviously I had to pick it. The Lost Hero is also a good Series starter (I will forever love the Piper, Leo and Jason trio, they were iconic) and does a great job setting up stakes for the Heroes of Olympus Series. However, The Lighting Thief just was the introduction to the world of the demigods, gods and monsters for me, so it has become a comfort read to me. We saw Percy, Grover and Annabeth for the first time and slowly uncovered how things work when you’re a half blood alongside Percy. It brings up all the nostalgia for me and I still adore this book, I recently reread it for the third and definitely not last time 💗 This time around I’m seeing so many more amazing details and I’m so glad this exists!

7. Best female sidekick: Clarisse or Reyna

“You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. […] She forced herself to meet the giant’s gaze. “I don’t define myself by the boys who may or may not like me.” 

© Viktoria Ridzel

Reyna Ramírez-Arellano ⚔ Sorry Clarisse, but this was an easy one. Reyna has not gotten as much page time as the Seven demigods of the prophecy, but she really grew on me and I’m very excited to see more of her in The Tyrant’s Tomb! I love Reyna’s dedication to Camp Jupiter and her role as praetor, I think that she’s a fantastic leader and cares so much for keeping the demigods under her command safe. There is something strong inside her, even when she’s having doubts and I deeply admire her will to keep going and protect those she cares about. Reyna is incredible and yet vulnerable too; I deeply hope that she’s going to be able to move on from her past. It was also very cool to see a roman demigod that had a godly parent (Bellona) that has no Greek equivalent! 👍

8. Demi God Home: Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter

Camp Half-Blood 💖 100%! I liked the idea of Camp Jupiter that the author brought up and how very different it is from Camo Half-Blood, but I don’t think that I would want to go to Camp Jupiter if I were a demigod. It’s too strict and well … Roman for my tastes. I much prefer the cozy summer camp vibe of Camp Half-Blood, especially as that was the first camp for demigods that we got to see. The cabins, the big house, the canoe lake, the pavilion, the strawberry fields etc. have just stuck with me, so it feels more like home than the opposing camp that we also haven’t seen for as long.

9. Better Last book: Last Olympian or Blood of Olympus

“You can’t choose your parentage. But you can choose your legacy.” 

The Blood of Olympus 🩸 My favorite first book was from the Percy Jackson Series, but my favorite last book is from the Heroes of Olympus. I just finished reading the Blood of Olympus and it’s what got me in the mood for demigods again and also prompted me to finally reread Percy Jackson again. I had heard mixed Reviews, but the finale was fantastic and really well done!! It wrapped up things nicely, still held tension and stakes and managed to make me root for all the characters. The book was well crafted and very believable with enough fighting to seem realistic, but also with a hopeful note. I like The Last Olympian was well, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the prophecy was resolved and for me personally The Blood of Olympus was a bit less anticlimactic in that regard. Nevertheless, they are both great finales!

10. Final Battle: Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus

Percy Jackson 💖Annnnd Nostalgia wins!! Not really unexpected, but in my heart the Percy Jackson books are my original love and I will always remember them fondly. I love rereading them as that feels like coming home. I’m glad that I finally finished the Heroes of Olympus, as those books were really good and introduced us to many more cool concepts like the Roman demigods/gods and new enemies a well as allies. However, when in doubt I would always go with Percy Jackson first, as the other books aren’t able to trump the nostalgia factor and the fact that they are such great comfort reads 💕

The Final Results …

Percy Jackson 🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵

Heroes of Olympus 🔴🔴🔴🔴

➡ The Winner is … Percy Jackson!

Have you read Percy Jackson/The Heroes of the Olympus? What choices would you have made? Who is your favorite character? 💖