This chapter sampler hooked me immediately, and I will definitely pick up the full text of LORE at my first opportunity. Alexandra Bracken's LORE is being pitched as an upper YA Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games, and it's clear why. Every seven years, the descendants of Greek gods have the opportunity to claim a god's power for their own during the Agon, a week-long hunt. If a hunter kills a god (the original god or the "new" god, a hunter who previously killed a god and claimed their power), they take their power and use it to their advantage in the mortal world.

Lore is the last remaining member of one of these bloodlines, but she wants nothing to do with the Agon or the gods' powers. So when the goddess Athena shows up on her doorstep, wounded and with a proposition for Lore, Lore is more than a little wary. But Athena offers something Lore has secretly craved for years: vengeance against the hunter who murdered Lore's entire family. And Lore can't say no.

Alexandra Bracken throws readers right into the middle of the action with a fast-moving, well-plotted story. There are a lot of details, from the rules of the Agon to names of gods and their houses, but everything is explained without feeling like an info dump. Lore herself is one of my favorite kinds of protagonists: one with unresolved issues and a take-no-prisoners attitude. She is a skilled fighter, a talent honed in underground fighting rings to escape her grief. There is so much hiding under the surface, and I cannot wait until the book is released next month to find out more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity to read this chapter sampler. (My rating and review are based on the first six chapters of LORE.)

I received a sampler copy from Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

WELL...why is January so far away?! I need to read the rest of this book now!

This was a fantastically written opener, there was wonderful world-building, intriguing characters (I love best-friend Miles already) and an interesting love interest who we've only had glimpses of so far. It's hard to rate a book based on only the first couple of chapters but I can already tell, unless something goes drastically wrong, that I'm going to love this one!

I couldn’t help but find myself intrigued with Bracken’s new novel, Lore. As a lover of all things Green mythology, I decided to give this one a shot. Unfortunately the sample I received was not enough to hook me. The beginning was very confusing and was not terribly interesting. The main character, as well, was pretty forgettable. This book was just not for me.

This sampler of Lore was pretty exciting! It sets up the stakes for a much larger conflict that I'm pretty excited to dive into. I've read pretty much all of Alex Bracken's earlier works, and this is a remarkable change in tone that I'm really happy about.

Bracken's world-building and character personas are some of my favorites. In this chapter sampler, I really enjoyed Lore's inner monologues as well as her dialogue with other characters. Very interested in reading the whole book!

From the chapters, I was able to read the story sounds very fascinating and well written. The writing style is captivating, the all lore behind the book sounds amazing I am very excited to be able to read the full book.

Yes, yes, yes!!!! Great, fresh story. I read the 6 chapter review and I am hooked. Gods and Goddesses, a strong young female character, and they must fight to the death to acquire their power? Um... yes, that’s how you write a great book. Everything is perfect about this book and I can’t wait to read the book in it’s entirety. Thank you to NetGalley for the 6 chapter preview.

I've already provided feedback on the full novel, but I wanted to mention that (in the case of this sampler), the first set of chapters from Lore really set up the world, the characters and the plot so well. I was immediately sucked in and definitely felt compelled to keep going!

This was such a fun sampler and first look at Lore, it left me wanting so much more and I cannot wait to check out the full book when it releases!

This was a chapter sampler of Lore, introducing you to a new contemporary twist on the Greek Gods and Goddesses. This sampler gave me a taste by introducing me to Lore and the world of the Agon and I can’t wait to read the full novel.

Every seven years, Zeus has sentenced the rest of the Greek gods to become mortals on earth, where the descendants of famed Greek heroes will hunt them in order to gain their power. The week of the hunt is brutal and violent so when Lore loses her family as a child, she runs away, determined to leave this world behind. Seven years later though, two potential friends and allies request her help - and offer her the chance at being done with the hunt once and for all.

This fast-paced fantasy is especially fun if you are a fan of Greek mythology, which I am. Bracken brings the fickle nature of Greek gods into contemporary times, with the characters' warring houses and ever-changing alliances. It reads almost like a modern Trojan war. In addition to finding herself thrust into the middle of this conflict again, Lore must confront her family's legacy and her own past. After seven years of turning her back on it, she's no longer a young child and realizes that not everything she believed was true. And if it's not true, what does that mean about who she is and what she's given up? These are classic coming-of-age questions, and Lore's painful background make for an interesting exploration. The ending is a little easy, and the violence is a little more savage than I'd recommend for younger teens, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.

I was completely intrigued by this chapter sampler and would definitely love to read the full book.
The premise was intriguing, the pacing was good and the action was engaging.
I was left with a great curiosity and desire to find out what happens next
Will definitely be keeping any eye out for this book and hope that I get a chance to read this one!

This pulled me in right from the beginning! Especially with me being a character person, I really enjoyed the descriptions and how their emotions felt real. Like I was their right along with them. Definitely going to read this book!

I loved The Darkest Minds series so I was very excited to hear of this new book! It did not disappoint. My only problem is that I didn't get accepted to read the full book! It was well written and good, it's just difficult to get into a book only to have it feel suddenly cut off as it was.

LOVED this chapter sampler, my full review for the entire ARC is on my Goodreads account linked below!
I gave this story a 5/5 stars, and plan on purchasing myself a copy, and my sister.

*Note that these quotes come from an uncorrected eARC and are subject to change upon publication.*

"I know my fate," she whispered to him.
And I will change yours.

I'll tell you what, Alexandra Bracken never ceases to amaze me with how well she writes. I may not always entire love the story, but writing wraps me up and has me feeling things throughout the entire span of the novel.

This one in particular was not exactly what I had expected....and that's to say that I guess I didn't even entirely know what to expect other than this was going to be pretty heavy on the Greek mythology. While I'm no expert by any means, I have always had an interest and appreciation for it and I am an AVID reader of Lore Olympus on Webtoon (sorry Castor, I have an unapologetic hate for Apollo from that, lol). So, that being said, even though I personally didn't remember what every god and goddess stood for, or what great deeds each hero had accomplished, I really enjoyed doing my own research as each character arrived on the page. Even if I wouldn't have, there is enough information and context clues that that wouldn't have really been necessary, anyway. I'm just a tru librarian to my core and always need to know more, more, more.

"It's a good thing, then," Iro said with a small smile, "that neither of us has ever been afraid of a fight."
She opened the door, only to turn back. "By the way, that sword has a name. Makhomai."
I make war.
Lore smiled.

The biggest part of this story that I didn't expect was just how fucking VIOLENT it was going to be. Now, I've talked about this a lot with my blogmate, Chelsea, and both of us has said that ever since we've had kids, we can't read the same thing as we used to. This, I think????, was a prime example of this. Since it's in the summary, I'm not spoiling anything by saying her family dies a brutal death. Now, this may sound bad but if It had just been her mom and dad, I think I could have been okay....but no. It was also her two LITTLE SISTERS. Not going to get into it because it makes me sick to my stomach even thinking about but I will just say that the sheer violence that continually crops up in this book is hard to read.

Bracken does not shy away from details and I could vividly picture each death, each cut, each blow. It just got to be a lot for me and that really took a little bit away from the story for me (honestly though I should have known better and prepared, Ancient Greek was savage and we all know it).

Alone. She was alone...
"Stay with me." Lore let out a choked cry, sobbing for breath and relief at the crush of it all. Don't leave me...
They didn't.
She felt her family around her--the soothing touch of them, brushing her cheeks, wrapping around her center. And beyond them, the presence of unseen eyes.

Other than that though the only thing that tripped me up was the fact that in my head this wasn't a standalone so I wasn't picturing everything wrapping up so neatly at the end, lol. Also my bad.

ANYWAY, let's get on to the good stuff. The characters. It shouldn't surprise you when I say she wrote an excellent leading lady (Lore), a best friend I wish I had (Miles), and ~the~ love interest (Castor). Also many other great supporting characters, AND villains (hooooo let me tell you that betrayal fucking STUNGGGG), but the mains are my favorite of course. I do wish we could have gotten a little more of Lore and Castor...I don't know...happy interacting in the present??? but I lived. Still many heart-pounding, butterfly inducing moments.

The story, as I said, wraps up neatly by the end and while I at first was like waittttt, this was too easy??? I've been thinking about it more and I'm like nooo, girl. Lore has seen SO MUCH death. She needed an ending like that. I also liked the ongoing mention of the Fates and the talk and dwelling on what people are fated to become and how fate can't be changed and how Lore at the end finally thinks to herself "There was nothing fated. Lore had not been chosen for this; she had chosen to come here herself. Every step she'd made, every mistake, had led her here." I just think that was such a HUGE moment for her to realize that her life DIDN'T have to be ruled by these crazy ass gods/goddesses or the Agon. She made her own decisions and could be the person that she chose to be. Ahhh gives me shivers just thinking about it.

So, overall. I did really enjoy this but sadly my tender heart can't take the violence anymore and I had to take a star off. Totally a personal preference (but it does also make me wonder if this is really being marketing for YA lolll).

"You may be a god," she told him, relishing the sight of his struggle. "But I'm the Persides."


Huge thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest feedback.♥

I really enjoyed the introduction to this world and I can't wait to read the rest of this book! It promises to have tons of action and some great characters with interesting stories!

Lore is the perfect book for fans of mythology and bad-ass babes. Lore has left behind her family's all-consuming brutal culture. She feel safe in anonymity, until old friends and even older fiends appear before her, seeking help only she can offer. What follows is a twisty turny journey through modern day New York, replete with fights and magic enough to keep the reader guessing and gasping. Highly recommended.

I love the sample that was provided. Athena is a great goddess, and I like the choice that's put forth to Lore. Actions (and choices) have consequences, whether good or bad, and it's an important thing to learn through life. I'm looking forward to reading the whole book.

This review is based on a "sneak peek" of a few chapters via NetGalley, so when I read the whole thing I'll update!
These early chapters had me yelling at my ereader at midnight. Why why why didn't I wait until it was out? The first chapter of prologue is a bear, nearly unreadable due to density and some weird narrative choices, but once Bracken gets into the actual story it's non-stop and really fun (and very murdery) world-building.
If Lore's life is this much of a mess right now, I'm looking forward to reading how her new pact with Athena ups the stakes.