Thanks to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this chapter sampler of Alexandra Bracken's upcoming novel, Lore!

First off, Lore already shows all the promises of what Bracken's fans have to come to recognize from her novels: tight-knit worldbuilding, stunning writing, and a fantastic cast of characters. Lore's voice is so clear and distinct, and I can't wait to follow her through the rest of the novel.

The premise of the book is thrilling, and the first few chapters certainly deliver. The mix of Greek mythology, a modern hunt, and the NYC setting has me counting down until the book's release. I will admit that I'm a bit shocked that so many of the original gods have been taken out during the course of the Agon, but I'm excited to see what Bracken will do what it.

To sum it all up, this is a brilliant sampler of what sounds like an amazing story, and I can't wait to read it in its entirety.

I really enjoyed reading this chapter sampler for Lore! Within the first couple of chapters, I was completely immersed into this world that simultaneously felt familiar and brand new. Greek mythology has always been so fascinating to me, and I love seeing that mythology interwoven into the modern world. I think the setting of NYC is perfect for this story and was described very well. I can’t wait to read the rest of this story!

Based on the sampler I received, it has come down to a 50/50 of whether or not I’ll be purchasing the final published piece.

The “epilogue” (of sorts) is a little too convoluted and confusing; I could not get my bearings in the story. The “lore”/world building needs to be made clearer before being thrown right in with seemingly staccato info-dumps.

As for the MC, I can see myself getting behind her. The story was just picking you when the sampler ended, and I am admittedly a smidge intrigued. I’ll give this time to settle, for there are many months still yet to go before the complete novel is available.

OMG y'all I freaking LOVE Greek mythology and I freaking love Alexandra Bracken so when she started teasing Lore forever ago, I was hooked right away. When Disney/Hyperion put Lore on NetGalley, I jumped on that request button so fast, I didn't even realize that it was just a chapter sampler (although I don't think they had actually marketed it as a chapter sampler anywhere, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who was confused). Anyway, I was approved for the chapter sampler and in my approval email, they said that they're going to put the full ARC on there in August/September sometime, so your girl is 100% going to put in a request for the full ARC then (I probably won't be approved for it, but a girl can hope!)- so thank you so much to Disney/Hyperion and NetGalley for giving me a chance to review this sampler early! 

I figured that since I have this sampler, I might as well read it and tell y'all all about it (especially since it's one of my most anticipated books for 2021, so I need to make sure it's really high on your lists too)! So let's get started-

First off, here's the summary of the book from Goodreads in case you know nothing about it- Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Since you've seen my featured image, you've seen the majesty that is the cover of this book- holy crap. I love it so much! I love the snakes and the marble and Medusa/the Gorgons have always been so cool to me (I really loved the one in Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty series). I don't know if the font in this sampler is going to be the font in the final book, but I'm not the biggest fan of it- it makes the lines kind of wavy which makes it a little hard to read.

I forgot how amazing Alex Bracken is at creating images out of words- I can picture absolutely everything that she's writing and I love it! Her writing is so lyrical and beautiful, but it doesn't take away from the plot, which is something that often happens when people get too caught up in imagery. Man, she's my favorite.

I just finished chapter 1 and I already love Lore and I love the hunters and this story is amazing so far. I can already tell that this is going to become one of my all time favorite books. The underground fight club in the basement of a Chinese restaurant is so out of the norm for things that I'm used to, but somehow I can totally picture New York having those, and why wouldn't the descendants of Greek heroes be there? I mean that only makes sense. Oooo I just met Castor and I love him! I think it's really shitty that he left Lore for 7 years without a word, but I'm sure there was a good reason (but like let's be real, if any of my best friends abandoned me for 7 years and then showed back up... we would 100% have words).

Oooooooo ok so I just finished the sampler (which is the first 63 pages of the book) and it's AMAZING and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of it! It's got the adventure you want, it's got drama, it's got Greek myths- we even met Athena in this sampler!- like what else could you need??? I already have so many thoughts about where things could go from here and who is really evil and who really killed Lore's family and man, I need the rest of this book PRONTO!!!

I was excited about this book before, but after reading the sampler this has jumped to one of my most anticipated reads of next year! I mean, GREEK GODS + MODERNITY + WEEK LONG MURDER BATTLE + BADASS FEMALE LEAD?! Sign me allllll the way up.

The premise for this is so fascinating and the first few chapters set up the world really nicely. I was a hit thrown by the fact that most of the OG gods don’t seem to be present, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the story progresses. Lore is such an interesting character with a lot of backstory to delve into, Miles is hilarious, Athena is...Athena, and Castor is mysterious! I CANNOT wait to get my hands on the rest of this!

A great start to the story - I can't wait to read the rest of the book! The imagery and beautiful detail is very promising. I love stories where gods interact with humans. I hope more of Athena will be in the book!

I was given a chapter sampler of Lore by Alexandra Bracken for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my word. You guys aren't ready. You aren't ready for how amazing this is.

The chapter sampler included the prologue of sorts as well as the first six chapters, and I devoured it as soon as it came into my possession. It's a wild ride straight out of the gate. Those that are predicting that it feels like a cross between The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson are right on. I'm picking up a taste of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, and something else I can't put my finger on.

It's awesome. You slip into it easy and it goes by quick. I can't wait until the full book comes out in 2021. What a way to start the year, for sure! The characters feel real. The setting is perfect. And although the story line is a little complex, it's completely and totally satisfying.

This just shot to the top of my most anticipated books of the new year. It's that good.

I requested this because I love 1) Alexandra Bracken and 2) Greek mythology. Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. I felt that the language was too dense and definitely didn't fit in with the modern NY setting. I kind of struggled to read this and it just felt too heavy and confusing. Maybe fans of hers and fantasy can overlook this, and perhaps I'll try again when the novel comes out, as sometimes books do get better after a few chapters, but for now, I did not enjoy this.

Thank you to Disney Publishing for granting me access to a sneak peek of one of my most anticipated releases of next year by one of my favorite authors! I've been looking forward to Lore since I first learned that Alexandra Bracken was writing it. Reading this sampler made me realize that my high expectations were not misplaced. Lore is an angry girl on the run from a past life that comes barreling towards her one night in a fighting ring. Thousands of years ago. Zeus's children rebelled against him, so he devised the Agon as punishment: an opportunity for mortals to hunt down and take the old gods power to become gods themselves. Lore lost everything to the Agon and has been determined to stay out of it, but when a goddess pleads for her help, Lore will have to confront her past and stop a new god's scheme to become more powerful than he is.
This sneak preview really immersed me quickly into Lore's world and the mythos within it. Already I can see the impeccable worldbuilding and the high stakes for Lore and the entire world. I also really like her as a character. She's guarded, but she fights back against a world that has tried to devour her. This book has a serious Percy Jackson meets Crescent City vibe that I am just loving and it makes me so excited. I cannot wait for this book, and I really hope that I get approval when the full book goes up for request, as I would love to review it. Lore looks so awesome and I am so hungry for more!

Wow-- I am so, so sad this was just a chapter sampler because oh my God, I'm hooked!

Every seven years, nine Gods are punished with mortality and hunted on Earth for their power. The time has come again for the hunt to take place, and Lore has no intention of getting involved. However, when her old friend who she thought dead turns up, Lore gets pulled back in as an ally to Athena. However, the stakes are even higher than even she could have imagined.

I am absolutely in love with Lore's character. She is feisty, strong, and clearly an amazing protagonist. All of the other characters seem pretty well developed too, even just in this 6 chapter preview, so I have high hopes for their arcs. I also really loved that readers are dropped in the middle of the action, and we Learn more about Lore's past as the story unfolds instead of experiencing everything linearly. I can't say too much about this as it is only a sampler, but so far the story is fast-paced and engaging. I was a big fan of The Darkest Minds books, but I think Lore will be even better.

The last mythology-goes-modern book I read was Percy Jackson, and I can already tell that fans of the Riordan books will love this. I was immediately intrigued by the plot of Lore just from reading the blurb, and my curiosity has only intensified. I have been looking for a similar book/series for an older audience, and I think I've finally found it!

Fingers crosse a full-length ARC is released soon.

Review will be released on Goodreads within a week of publication.

Nine God's want revenge . They will soon walk as men even as a soon time . Zeus wakes and feels mortal for the first time and describes what's going on. Interesting concept and I love stories about gods but I couldn't get reeled in by the descriptions or characters.

As a chapter sampler, I feel like I didn't get enough to fully rate the book or form my opinions on the book. I was interested in what was presented and definitely want to read more.

YESSS ALEX BRACKEN!! I wish i had gotten the full book but this will have to tide me over for now. Wow, this is so imaginative and vivid I'm so excited to finish this.

I'm sure this is really good. I'll wait for the full version to read it. As a rule I don't read excerpts/samplers for books because it's never enough. I was hoping I get the full version.

This excerpt was AMAZING. Considering I just finished the Percy Jackson series, I could not wait to get my hands on more mythology related stories. I am so excited to continue on this journey with Lore when the full arc comes out, or in January when the book is published.

I'm soo excited for this one, it sounds amazing and the first 6 chapters do not disappoint. I do wish this was the full thing but hopefully we can get the copy of the full thing when it is released next month or so. I'm intrigued so far!

I can't say much since this is only the chapter sampler. I'm really excited to read this book since I loved every single Alexandra Bracken book I've read in the past.

Although this was only a (surprise) excerpt - grrr - it served its purpose... I'm drawn in and want to know what's going to happen. Although I'm not normally drawn to fantasy, having the ancient Gods placed in New York helped ground me to the story (pun intended). The characters have depth and personalities. The plot moves at a pace that allows for understanding but also excitement and anticipation. I agree with other reviewers that fans of Hunger Games type stories will enjoy this, too.

Really enjoyed this excerpt but definitely need the full version ASAP! I love everything Alex Bracken and have been so excited for this one since she started working on it!

Lore, upcoming release from best-selling author Alexandra Bracken (you may know her from The Darkest Minds) takes advantage of the mythology craze and brings you another tale of the Greek pantheon of gods in our modern world. The trend has ridden the coat-tales of the Percy Jackson phenomenon, but this book is different than the many other pretenders.

Lore is busy prize-fighting, taking the edge off some grief, when an old friend stumbles into her path, an old friend who should be dead. Warned that her life is in danger, Lore half-heartedly plans to skip town before she and her housemate find a goddess lying in wait for them.

The Greek gods have been cursed, and every seven years their godhood is stripped from them, and for one week, they are forced to walk the mortal world, vulnerable. If one of the mortal hunters kill a god, they take on that god’s power. There are few of the original gods left, and the hunters are not merciful.

Lore is offered a choice: she can walk away from the world she’s been hiding from, or she can get the vengeance she has long desired. She can leave New York, where the battle has already begun, or she can stand her ground.

Lore is a great character, and her voice is refreshing. She wants to leave a world that has taken everything from her, but she also feels responsible for righting the injustices that have befallen her. She’s not a chosen one, she’s just trying to survive. It’s an exciting story that can’t come out soon enough.

Lore has the expected publication date of January 5, 2020. This review is based on an advanced reader edition, and not a complete version of the book.