Hope is a mythical creature, Sphinx, hiding away as a typical teen. But she and her mom have been on the run a long time, and when her mother dies, Hope seeks refuge in a small town. There are typical teen issues with Hope wanting friends but also fearing that she will be found. Curious combo of modern life but overlaid with Greek gods as reality. ( )

I loved both of these books so far in this series. There is Demigods and Monsters and The Curse of the Sphinx. Any teenager who has a love of Percy Jackson will fall in love with these books. There is the paranormal element, mythology, and the mission. For the girls, you also have some romance, but it is well balanced so it is not so much the boys won’t enjoy the book. It is well written and the story is solid. I can’t wait for the third book to come out so I can find out what is happening after she overhears a conversation she isn’t supposed to. I guess that is what you get for eavesdropping though. Also, I am curious who will turn out to be more trustworthy? Will it be Athan, whom she has a history with but may have his own motives? Or will it be Xan, who proves so far to be a loyal friend, but also may have his own motives? I also want to know if she will finally be the one to break Apollo’s curse, which has struck her family for generations now. I hope you come to love these books as much as I do. ( )

I loved both of these books so far in this series. There is Demigods and Monsters and The Curse of the Sphinx. Any teenager who has a love of Percy Jackson will fall in love with these books. There is the paranormal element, mythology, and the mission. For the girls, you also have some romance, but it is well balanced so it is not so much the boys won’t enjoy the book. It is well written and the story is solid. I can’t wait for the third book to come out so I can find out what is happening after she overhears a conversation she isn’t supposed to. I guess that is what you get for eavesdropping though. Also, I am curious who will turn out to be more trustworthy? Will it be Athan, whom she has a history with but may have his own motives? Or will it be Xan, who proves so far to be a loyal friend, but also may have his own motives? I also want to know if she will finally be the one to break Apollo’s curse, which has struck her family for generations now. I hope you come to love these books as much as I do. ( )

Curse of the Sphinx is a somewhat fast-paced story with one of my favorite types of mythology, starring the wonderful and somewhat sheltered Hope. The prologue was wonderfully written, but the following couple of chapters became bland. I feel like I should have had some sort of emotional connection to some of the characters, but I didn't, and it's unfortunate because if I was invested emotionally to this book, it would have gotten a higher rating from me.

I really love different spins on mythology and this story was no different, especially since I haven't read a story with sphinxes yet... (more via website) ( )

This was an intriguing story. Hope has just lost her mom, and is feeling a little lost. Bearing the curse of the Sphinx has kept them on the run for most of her life, isolating themselves for fear of being hunted by demigods or forced into a relationship with Apollo or his sons in order to avoid the cost of being the sphinx. When her aunt, last known connection, goes searching for answers to her mother's death, she must set off on her own. Except she's still a teen and must attend high school. Her new life in Goldendale is supposed to follow the same prescribed path as the rest of her life, but without the watchful eyes of her mother, Hope may be tempted to break her isolation, especially if Athan, the cute guy who keeps bumping into her, has anything to say about it.

I enjoyed many aspects of this. I loved that the Greek gods were an acknowledged part of humanity, so much so that they even had a class on the subject, much like a history class. The writing and emotional draw were also well done.

Where the story fell flat for me was Hope and Athan's actions. We get a glimpse from Athan's point of view at the beginning of the story before switching over to Hope's. What Athan learned in that first scene should have left him much better informed. It took him longer to realize what was going on than it should have, and in fact, I kept wondering how he didn't know. I mean, seriously.

And the struggle of the book was more in Hope finding her way out of isolation to start really living than in anything else, which didn't make for the most compelling plot, in my opinion. Hope was also dense, denying her intuition about Athan and totally ignoring a "coincidence" at the end. For both Hope and Athan being "smart" characters, they really didn't act so bright most of the time.

But the writing is solid and the other books may be more enjoyable, I just couldn't quite get into this one. ( )