I've been very excited for this book and was happy to be able to read a sample. I'm excited to read the rest!

It was a nice and smart read, but I think people who know nothing about greek mythology would be lost. Also it was action packed, which is good, but I wish the story stopped from time to time to explain what was going on. I also guessed all the plot twists, but that's okay. Overall a nice read!

A little confusing in the beginning but I quickly became entranced by Lore and her story. I would like to see some kind of background story on the Agon to better flesh out this competition.

After reading this preview, I was SO LUCKY to get the chance to read the ARC of this book! I don't think I could have lasted until January 5th!

Fabulous story of the Greek Gods!

Mythology meets the Hunger Games... The hunt of the gods for 7 days every 7 years is an interesting and sometimes gory tale.

This book kept me up late into the night reading.

The ages on it may be a little low for some kids, but all in all middle schoolers should enjoy this book.

Lots of blood and a bit of gore but nothing too over the top. Fits right in with most kids gaming lives.

Give it a go! I'm sure not only your child but you will enjoy it!

And Lore.... wow is she a wonderful character!

The sneak peak that I have read (15% of the book or about 70 pages) was wonderful. I loved the mythology background and the fight scenes and am looking forward to the rest of the book. I will post a full review on social media sites once I read the entire book but I have been talking about the book on Discord channels and Facebook.

Technically, Lore would be classified as Urban Fantasy, but the incredible history and world that it encompasses defies a simple lable. The book is set in modern day Manhattan, blending mythology and reality so seamlessly, it's hard to separate the place from the characters. New York City has its own heart and soul in this book, and it made me view the city in a whole new light. I confess I'm not well versed in Ancient Greek mythology, but it wasn't necessary for me to be wholly sucked into the story, breathless from the first page to the last. Alex Bracken has another hit on her hands with Lore.
4.25 stars

Lore opened by showing readers gory beginnings of a new Agon, a sanguinary war between gods and mortals which occurs every seven years.

Lore Perseous’s family was gruesomely murdered in a past Agon and she has been successful in avoiding the hunt for many years.

But this year, she enlists Castor, a childhood friend she had believed to be dead for many years, and Athena, one of the last original gods, to fight their mutual enemies.

This book was fantastic! It’s a super immersive read for fans of Greek mythology or The Hunger Games. But beware, if you cringe at the thought of reading gruesome details of life and death you might want to pass on this one.

This chapter sampler was a great read. I really enjoyed the storyline of what I have read so far. I love reading books bout Greek mythology so I can't wait to read the rest of the story.

This chapter sample was engaging and got me interested in the remainder of the story. I will be reading the remainder of this book in the near future!

While this was only a sampler and not a complete arc, I enjoyed what I did get to read. I was able to purchase the completed book and I am eager to continue with the story and follow the growth of the characters.

While it’s hard to review just a chapter sampler I will say the first few chapters of this do a good job of setting up the plot in a way that is both understandable but is well written. I will say I look forward to reading the rest of the book when it is released to fully appreciate the book.

This was a chapter sampler, not the full book.

I loved the first few chapters I need to read the full book. It felt like the hunger games but with greek mythology. Lots of plot points and secret histories were introduced I need to know more. I will be reading the full book soon.

I received a preview of this book from Netgalley. I liked the preview but neglected writing a review, and then I realized the book was out. I had some spare time this weekend, got a copy, and picked it back up.

I liked this one a lot. It's a YA urban fantasy that leans heavily into Greek mythology. Yeah, while that might not be the most unique premise ever, Bracken took it in a really interesting direction.

Essentially, every seven years, the nine of the Greek gods will turn mortal for seven days. If someone kills the god during that time period, they take over that god's spot the next time around. There were nine houses, but by the time we get to the story (now-ish), we're down to five, more or less. We're definitely leaning less. There's one member left of the House of Perseus, and she's not in the game anymore. As you've likely guessed, Lore, our protagonist from whom we get our title and our (gorgeous) cover, is that lone remaining member.

From there, you can make some assumptions about the rest of the story.

What I'll tell you is it's nowhere near as straightforward as the preview made me believe. In fact, the preview, the first six chapters, was relatively meh. That's not to say the book starts off weakly, by any means, but compared to the rest of the book, the twists and turns and reveals along the way, it's played pretty straight. In fact, the first major twist isn't for a few chapters.

This book has some big twists. It has some hard punches. There are scenes that I really didn't see coming, but I totally should have. Having also just read a YA book where the foreshadowing was done pretty poorly, this was a breath of fresh air in that regard. Lore, our protagonist, is definitely our most developed character. After that, the host of side characters in her group are pretty well done. The antagonists throughout the story are all pretty cartoonish, but honestly, it's not hard to see with the power the antagonists have.

There's an expected dose of girl-against-the-world in here, but if you pick up a YA urban fantasy book with some dystopian themes with a woman protagonist, that's pretty much a staple-of-the-genre trope (and a good one, might I add!). It's done well, in my opinion. On that note, a few other fairly standard YA tropes go pretty unquestioned here. That's not a bad thing, in and of itself, and I can definitely state that there's no love triangle to contend with.

Oh, and Miles and Van? Such great side characters. I really enjoyed the scenes where they were most themselves.

All in all, this is a pretty solid page-turner of a YA urban fantasy book. As I said before, there are some dystopian themes, even though the broader society isn't a dystopia. It's a little cookie-cutter in some places, but I think it was a good balance that brings some familiarity. Honestly, if you're into YA and Greek mythology, you'll most likely enjoy this one.

I also want to note this is probably on the upper end of the YA age range due to some fairly dark topics (murder, sexual abuse, overall violence). The author makes a note of it on her website based on her previous works lacking that darkness, based on what she's said, as I haven't read them.

Thank you so much for the chapter sampler. Ever since I heard about this book I have been intrigued. A sampler isn't enough! Lol I will be purchasing this book soon. Greek mythology meets hunger games. Thank you again for the sampler.

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the chapter sampler. I was extremely intrigued and I already purchased a physical copy for my library.

I did not want to review this until I read the whole book (which is what I thought this was until I saw it was a sampler). Lore is fabulous and definitely worth the read. I could be completely wrong about there being a lack of mythology books circulating the YA world, but I'd say the fact that I have yet to come across it shows how little it is still being done. This book was all kinds of exciting. My friend described it as a bloodthirsty Percy Jackson and I think that is exactly right. Lore wastes no time in throwing you right into the start of the action, but that doesn't nearly come close to what lies ahead. I really did not know what to expect at ALL when I started this, but I think that's what makes reading all the better. I hate trying to guess the ending before I'm even close. Not knowing where this was going, but enjoying the entire adventure to get there...? How do you not enjoy this? I LOVE SURPRISES.

This sample was a great introduction to the story. It gave me just enough to want to read more. I can not wait to get my hands on this book and read more.

I recognize that Lore is not a book everyone will enjoy, but as someone that loves Greek mythology and grew up at the height of dystopian fiction, I enjoyed this so much! It feels like this premise was written specifically for me.

The best part, this ambitious mythology premise is backed up by strong writing and even stronger world-building. The characters operate in a morally grey area that keeps you on your toes at all times. There are SO many twists in this book and while you might be able to predict one or two, not a single one of these gasp-worthy moments will disappoint. I'm still not over some of them!

I would describe Lore as Percy Jackson meets Shadowhunters meets Hunger Games. The author’s use of New York’s landscape as a gritty playground is one of my favourite aspects of this story, and the choice to include these fascinating city historical sites in the hunt that are actually real locations made the experience so much more authentic for me.

The lore of this world is established really well and I had no problem following along with the rules of the game, or the mainstream mythology Percy Jackson cultivated so early on for young readers. But there's also a lot of social commentary and equality discussions that allow Lore to start an important dialogue about women and the cultural traditions that look to oppress them. Lore’s rage is all too familiar in this context.

Lore and Castor’s relationship was easily my favourite part of the story. Not only did I root for them to find their way back to each other, but the drama keeping them apart was rather juicy. That being said, Castor constantly blaming Lore for crossing the line was not as easy to love. There’s nothing more annoying than a love interest that constantly reminds the protagonist of how awful she’s acting. That coupled with slower pacing near the back half of the book hindered the story from reaching its full potential.

All in all, Lore exemplifies everything I could want from a more mature mythology premise while proving that there’s still new territory to tread in the dystopian genre. I’m glad this book wrapped up the story in a satisfying way, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more — so much more!