I hadn’t thought I could get more excited for Alexandra Bracken’s new book. One of my favorite authors + Greek mythology? Match made it heaven. And then I read this sampler. I am so excited for Lore and reading the rest of this story. Definitely one of my most anticipated 2021 releases!

Even though I thought this was going to be the full book I really enjoyed this sample. I will be reading the full book when it comes out because the sample hooked me!

This is my most anticipated release for 2021 and this sampler did not disappoint! I love Alexandra’s writing style and this piece flowed seamlessly. I can’t wait to read the rest of the book!

Greek gods and heroes in the modern world cause my fantasy-loving mind to tingle with excitement. The first few chapters are full of action and the peeling back of just the first few layers of what promises to be an delightfully unique urban fantasy featuring classic figures of myth and legend. Lore struggles with so many inner demons, it will be inspiring to see her grow into the heroine she was always meant to be, and Miles, the ever-present faithful friend - well, I adore him already for his steadfast, practical nature that is an illuminating foil for Lore’s darkness and doubt. I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes and to traveling the dark and dangerous path with Lore.

A great little taste of the upcoming novel by Alexandra Bracken. I am so excited to read the rest of this book and can't wait! The story is already so intriguing and I really like her writing style. This snippet was a great sample of what is to come and I absolutely cannot wait!

Lore Perseous is an ex-hunter who has decided to abandon her old life after the annihilation of her entire family. She belongs to the House of Perseus, an ancient bloodline who have hunted down the gods over the course of centuries in order to steal their divinity. She's bitter, she's angry, she thinks she's done killing—until an old childhood friend and a bloodied goddess inconveniently show up to bring her back into the fold of the hunt.

Pros so far:
- Hot people doing hot things. The (I'm assuming) love interest character appears early on, and he's appropriately enigmatic and broody. Lore is a fairly standard "strong female character," so withholding opinion on that until later.
- Probably good for older fans of the Percy Jackson series, (of which I only read one book and then decided to DNF the rest). So go dive in if you don't mind a very loose interpretation of Greek mythology. Might also be good for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner... Basically YA of that sort of flavor.
- Apollo will hopefully make an appearance???

I picked this up primarily because I thought it had an interesting concept (reminds me a lot of the comics, THE WICKED + THE DIVINE) and I'm curious to see if Bracken will pull it off in the end. So far, a lot has already happened in the first few chapters and is developing fairly quick. This might just be a personal thing, as I like my introductions to characters + their motives to drag a little longer in order to set up the stakes properly, but if you are someone who wants to get into the meat of things really quickly then this won't be an issue.

Bracken favors a lot of action and then straight exposition, which I don't think I am a huge fan of—there is a lot of info dumping in the beginning that could have been woven into the overall novel in later chapters, especially in her conversations with Athena and Miles. A LOT of info dumping. But she's very talented at writing quick paced, high intensity fight scenes, which will probably be a huge feature of this book later on.

Overall, a highly intriguing concept. I've only read one other Bracken book (The Darkest Minds) and in just these few chapters I see a massive improvement in writing and characterization.

I'd be a bit concerned for readers unfamiliar with Greek mythology going into this story, as the starting chapters seem a bit info-dump heavy, but as someone familiar with the names and stories, I was hooked immediately.

I am excited to read the rest of this book someday. The Greek God pseudo-Battle Royale seems like it will be an intensely gripping story and I'm already so curious to know some of the characters that this snippet introduced.

I am a big fan of books that find a beautiful way of weaving in mythology. However, even though the book description is beautiful, the writing for the few chapters here didn't grab my interest.

This is SUCH an interesting revamp of some of my fave aspects of Greek mythology. It takes PJATO's half-blood world-building one step further: What if humans could become gods?

Well, in this world, they can.

Thousands of years ago, nine gods—Athena, Artemis, Poseidon, Dionysus, Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares—staged a failed revolution against Zeus. As punishment, they are doomed to face the Agon every seven years: they will walk the earth as mortals, and if they're killed by a Hunter, they forfeit their immortality.

It's essentially the bloodiest game of family-run Assassins you'll ever read.

Of the old gods, only Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Hermes remain. The rest have been slain by members of the nine Hunter houses (whose bloodlines trace all the way back to famous ancient Greek heroes—Perseus, Kadmos, Achilles, Herakles...). Lore is the last mortal member of the House of Perseus. She has no intention of returning to the ruthless world she left behind all those years ago, but when her supposedly dead best friend turns up, and the goddess Athena promises to help her kill the man-god who brutally murdered her family—Lore's drawn right back in.

In terms of rep, so far we have several BIPOC characters—one of whom is gay and of South Korean descent!! Miles is Lore's best friend and such a funny foil to her intensity.

I've always found Alexandra Bracken's writing a little more verbose than your typical YA (this one's 480 pages y’all). In The Darkest Minds I found it made the story drag. In Lore, though, the descriptions of New York, mythological tidbits, and action scenes (Lore brawling in the ring, Athena bleeding out on her front stoop) keep the pace moving, and it really works.

I am SO excited to see where this heads!

Oh man, I was pretty interested in reading Lore, but now that I've read this sampler, I can't wait. I've always loved Greek mythology, so I'm very interested in exploring the world Alexandra Bracken has created. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for the full book on Netgalley once it is added.

I enjoyed this! Hard to say with a chapter sampler, though 63 pages was a decent enough time to get a nice introduction. Can't wait to see where this goes, feels like it will be a long wait all the way to 2021!

WOW this sampler was just not enough!! Lore seems like a reimagined, modern version of Greek Gods, where the power of the gods are reborn when they are killed. Lore is the last living descendent of a branch, but has been in hiding for 3 years. That all changes when she finds Athena outside her house, almost dead, in human form. Athena needs Lore's help, and Athena has something Lore wants, so they strike a deal and a blood oath to keep each other alive.

The action begins immediately in the first few chapters and the world is already fascinating. Set in New York City, but also hailing to ancient times, it's a wonderful combination of modern day and high fantasy. I've excited to be able to read the full version!

Wow! I need the full ARC! The mixture of mythology, modernity, and a Hunger Games-esque tournament are brilliant, and so is the world-building. In these first few chapters, Bracken had me hook, line, and sinker, and I cannot wait to read the entire story.

Based off Chapter Sampler provided by NetGalley.

The fact this was an Alexandra Bracken book is what hooked me in. I love every book of hers. You add in Greek mythology and a strong character like Lore? You can say I have been waiting in high anticipation of this book for a long time. I just finished the chapter sample provided by NetGalley and it has lived up to its hype and more. From the start, it’s a fast pace sequence of events that make you want to keep turning the page. There is a lot of world building in the first few chapters which can be a lot for some to read, but for me it made me more excited. I loved learning about the world Alex created with the geek gods and I wanted to make sure I understood every part of it, as I said, the beginning was fast moving. I cannot wait to dive more into the characters and the plot when the book is out in January!

I didn't realize this was a sampler when I requested it, and while I'm grateful to get the sneak peek, I don't like reading them because it just makes me want the rest of the story, haha. Can't wait for the full book tho!!

After reading the sample, I would certainly be interested in reading the complete book. The characters are engaging and the world easy to imagine. I enjoyed the intensity and always tend to love reading mythology based stories.

I wish I had the entire book right now. From the moment the sampler started I was hooked and that never stopped. I love the characters, the world, everything about it. I wasn’t sure what I’d think but WOW. I can’t wait for an ARC or the release date to finish this masterpiece. The characters are well-done and developed, this is definitely a new take, and overall it’s just so good so far.

I received a sampler of LORE thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

The story is truly fascinating. Gods and goddesses are sent to Earth mortal for 1 week every 7 years to be hunted. If they are killed, their killer gains their godhood. Only a few originals are still alive but with a new Agon starting that might not be the case, especially if Lore is able to avenge her family’s murders.

I am really looking forward to when I can read this book completely! It has the atmosphere of City of Bones (gotta love New York) with the mythology of Circe (Greek gods!).

So while I have not yet read the whole thing, the first six chapters have me hooked.

Didn't realize this was just a sampler! The little bit I got to read really captivated me though and makes me excited to read the rest of it.

It hurts a little bit that this is only a preview but DAMN was it a good one! Honestly, I flew through this as quickly as I could and now I am full of regret because I will have to wait to finish the whole story. Still, from the small sampler, I can tell just how much I am going to love this book and Lore herself. I absolutely love Greek mythology and knew from the moment I first saw a summary of this book that I needed it in my life.

The intro was intense, violent, and insanely brutal. How could a week long "hunt and murder" game be anything but? I want to re-read the sampler already.

Fingers crossed that eventually a full ARC is available to request.