<b><i>“You can gain immortality by becoming a god, but you can also gain it through glory. Kleos is the honor that comes from becoming a legend—someone others keep alive through stories and songs. Your body can die, but your name will live forever.”</b></i>

<i>I received an excerpt of Lore from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Lore is the newest standalone contemporary fantasy novel by the author of The Darkest Minds, Alexandra Bracken. The book will be released on January 5th 2021. In this fantastical new book, the story is described as “sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love, and redemption” which takes place in New York City. The main character of the story is Lore Perseous, one of the last surviving family members from the House of Perseus. Lore is a young girl that has avoided the Agon, a ritual that is held every seven years for seven days where nine gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals to be hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines so the bloodlines can ascend as new gods themselves.

Before I start my review I would like to say that I’m very thankful that I was given the chance to review the first six chapters of the book through NetGalley. I’ve never read any books by Alexandra Bracken so this is a truly blind review.

<b><i>“For seven days, every seven years, the gods walk on earth as mortals. If you can kill one, you become a new god and take their power and immortality”</b></i>

Lore’s family is one of the nine bloodlines of Hunters that participates in these rituals and during the last Agon her whole family is slaughtered by a rival bloodline. Since Lore lost her family, she turned her back from her old life and the promise of eternal glory from the hunt. She doesn’t want the immortality or the divine powers from ascension, her only motivation is to avenge her family and kill the head of her rival bloodline.

One day, Lore’s best friend, who she thought was long dead, Castor, shows up to warn her that the one who subsumed Ares (Aristos Kadmoud) is out hunting for her. Not only that, the goddess Athena, one of the few surviving old gods, lay bloody near her doorstep. With the return of her best friend and the help of the wounded goddess Athena, she is then pulled back into her old life as she realizes that this is the best chance she has of claiming vengeance on the ones that murdered her family.

The premise of gods being slaughtered by mortals who seek ascension into godhood is a interesting twist on Greek mythology, all in an urban setting. The plot of the book starts off running and the author provides context for the setting as the story progresses. There were many instances where the author gives such context in a overwhelming way. This makes the author’s world building feel inaccessible for the reader, as many of the names and terms that are introduced are a burden to remember. Specifically, I found it difficult to remember the names of the characters, as many of the characters have names similar to their house names but different (i.e. Kadmoud and Kadmos, Perseous and Perseus). A neat feature but needlessly tedious for the reader.

We are introduced to a few characters that will later play a big part in the story besides Lore. One of those characters is Miles, Lore’s best friend, Miles is a Korean American queer character that lives in the building Lore tends to. There’s also the ever mysterious dead friend that came to back to life, Castor; and Athena, the goddess of war.

Looking at the cover with medusa front and center, I wondered how this plays into the story. It is later explained in story that the medusa is referring to the legendary weapon Lore’s family owns. A shield called the Aegis that used to be held by Athena, bearing a head of the gorgon Medusa. There is also this snippet of conversation between Lore and Athena where Athena calls Lore ‘little gorgon’ that may or may not be foreshadowing something.

<b><i>“The Spartan . . . they called you,” Athena breathed. “Little Gorgon . . . I searched for you . . . chose you . . . knowing that skill . . . knowing that you are no longer one of the hunters. . . . But you have . . . never been weak . . . never powerless.”</b></i>

My verdict after I finished reading all six chapters, I’ve decided that I will continue reading the book after it is released. These six chapters is solid in peaking my interest to crave reading more of the story. I highly recommend this book to readers that is a big fan of YA fantasy inspired by greek mythology looking for a new unique twist in the prose of gods and goddesses. I’m definitely putting this book on my radar for 2021 anticipated new releases.

Thank you for reading!

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

This post will be quite short, unfortunately, I was not accepted to read the book but was accepted to read about a 100 pages of the chapter sample, and boy did it build my expectations for the rest of the book…..

Lore starts of very strong, straight into action and murder, then it takes a small step back and starts to introduce the main characters to us. Lore is obviously one of them, Miles her best friend and we will be able yo meet some gods as well. I mean if you love mythology and Greek culture I think this will be straight up on the top of your reading list.

The characters seem to be interesting and like-able as far as I read the book, I am really interested to see how the book will evolve into the story and what will happen next. As well as, I feel like I have to mention this stunning cover… Just beautiful. I can’t wait to hold a physical copy in my hands.

Honestly cannot wait for a pre-order link to appear for this book, I even told my sister to keep her eyes open and to inform me as soon as she sees one available.

All in all, what I have read so far is very promising. It will have some very strong characters. The pot line seems to be very promising as well and I am just hoping that we will have some amazingly good villains as well. I am a sucker for a good villain.

Thank you for reading, I will do a proper review of the book once read.

This was an exciting and interesting beginning of a book I'm sure I would enjoy! Alexandra Bracken is a favorite author of mine, so I can't wait to read the entire book!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

I LOVED THIS!!! 5 STARS!!! . The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing.

Really enjoyed the short teaser of this book! In the first few chapters you get a good look into the protagonist and what kind of obstacles she is facing. The supporting characters also seem promising so I have high hopes for the rest of this book. Very excited to read the full version of Alexandra Bracken's newest page turner!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.
This is for a chapter sampler.

I have never reviewed a chapter sampler so here goes nothing. I think this has a really interesting premise. This was for the first six chapters and honestly there is a lot of potential already for this to be an amazing book. I will say, that I was quite confused on the over concept of the Agon. It does get explained a bit, but I think I'd understand more when I read a full copy. There was enough for me to already be interested in the characters. Lore is definitely a mystery that I am enjoying. Her friend seems like a cinnamon roll which is always nice. Overall I like this enough to want to pick up a copy when it gets released.

Adorei essa prévia.
Logo de cara ela te fisga e te mantém curiosa pela continuação.
Sem dúvidas estou ansiosa para ler todo o livro em 2021.

Very very good from the preview! I love the greek god framing device and I am very excited to read the rest of the book!

January 2021 needs to get here immediately. After reading this I can confidently say that this book just jumped to the top of my most anticipated books for 2021. Alexandra Bracken is back and I could not be more excited!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3432416603?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The minute I got my hands on this preview, I devoured it. Alexandra has once again managed to put a unique and engaging twist to a well-known and beloved type of narrative. I cannot wait to read the full book and follow along with Lore and Athena as they navigate a modern mythological setting.

Alex Bracken has a really good intro to what I hope will finish excitingly in this mythological story. I’m annoyed I was only given a sampler but I’ll definitely be buying the book as it was addicting!

I read the Lore sampler in one quick sitting and it definitely seems like a promising premise! Of course it ended right when I was really getting engaged in the story, but that’s how samplers work haha. I really enjoyed the mythology and the fact that Athena seems like she’s going to be a prominent character, but I’m not loving Lore as a *main* character so far. Then again, it’s still the beginning of the book. I can see myself picking this up when it’s published!

Okay, so I knew I would probably run into this problem if I ever tried a chapter sampler. Now I need the whole book! I love Alex Bracken's writing, and she is an auto-buy author for me. Lore promises to be no different. I loved the introduction to Lore's character, as well as the world she is trying to escape but gets sucked back into anyway. I am not as familiar with Greek mythology as some readers might be, yet I had no trouble following what was happening. This sampler definitely sets us up for an epic standalone full of action, adventure, and high stakes for well developed characters. I can't wait to read more!

I absolutely loved this sample. I found the plot gripping and impossible to put down. The modern take on Greek mythology was amazing and completely different from anything else I’ve read before. It was a much darker twist on the mythology I knew already. I really liked the writers style, world building and characters.

Every seven years the Agon happens, and nine Greek gods are forced to walk on Earth as mortals while being hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines intent on killing the gods for their powers and immortality. The protagonist, Lore, is one of the descendants of the ancient bloodlines, but she has hid for years, avoiding this secret world of the Agon and the deadly hunt for gods. But, as the next hunt begins in New York, Lore is pulled back into the world she has spent years running from.

I am intrigued to see how the story progresses and can’t wait for the book to be released so that I can finish it.

The concept for this story is very interesting, and the world building seems solid. Alexandra Bracken's writing has been hit or miss for me in the past. I really enjoy the ideas and characters she comes up with, but sometimes end up bored by the writing. So, I enjoyed the chance to sample a bit of this book. I'm still not sure if I'll pick it up when it comes out or not. It was definitely interesting.

This is definately be the book to watch out for the beginning of next year!! The authors writing flowed almost musically! The world building was beautiful and timeless, and the details aren't overwhelming the story... I can not wait to read it in its entirety!!

I know Alexandra Bracken from her earlier novels - I've read the entirety of "The Darkest Minds" trilogy and really enjoyed it and the "Passenger" duology, which wasn't my favourite. So, safe to say, Bracken's books have been hit or miss for me, and I proceeded to read the sample of "Lore" with caution and low expectations.

In the novel, we meet our young protagonist, Lore, who is in the process of coping with grief by participating in illegal ring fights. Unexpectedly, she meets an old friend who reminds her of the past she so desperately would like to forget. Soon after, she meets no other than Athena herself, wounded on her doorstep. The goddess sends her on a quest that could change the power relations between the houses and gods that still remained on Earth.

For a sample, the seventy-something pages of Lore gave me a clear understanding of what the novel is about: Greek gods still fighting for influence on Earth. And since I love everything Greek mythology related, I was hooked from the first pages. The writing style, as in other Braken books, is quite accessible and enjoyable (although I struggled a bit with the opening chapter). The story seems to be well organized and thought-through. Lore's point of view is quite enjoyable to read, and hopefully, it stays that way for the whole novel. And finally, the plot itself. I think I heard of some book that brings Greek gods into the modern setting (aside from Rick Riordan's impressive bibliography), but "Lore" - full of vengeance and gory rivalry between the descendants of gods and gods themselves - is something else entirely.

I'm actually really intrigued and curious about how the story evolves. I would definitely check out the rest of the novel when it comes out early next year.

This sneak peek of Lore definitely has me hooked! I am very intrigued and I can’t wait to find out more. The first chapter starts with a bang and totally grabbed my attention! I am looking forward to reading this!

She just continues to amaze me! I enjoy her work so much! This was really good! I liked it so much! I really liked her writing, and I just wanted to keep reading! I was sad when the excerpt ended! I wanted more!

Loved this Sampler!

Such an intriguing story so far. Can’t wait to read more. Such a unique story. Very excited.