The gorgeous cover for Lore drew my attention right away, and then when I read the synopsis I was even more excited. I don’t have a lot of experience with Greek mythology or novels that pull from that area of literature, but I had never heard of an idea like this before and so I had high hopes for this story. I can confidently say that I was not disappointed. I think that this book has a lot to bring to the table, and not only in terms of entertainment.

The book begins with Lore, the main character, on the first night of the current Agon (the seven-day long event where the Greek gods have their powers subdued as they are made into mortals and hunted by the bloodlines of ancient Greek heroes with the chance of obtaining the power of whichever god they kill). Lore gets confronted by both an old friend whom she thought to be dead since the last Agon with cryptic pleas for help, as well as a gravely wounded Athena who asks for an alliance to take down a common enemy in return for helping shelter her while she heals up. From there this book explodes into action and the uncovering of secrets. I will say that my only complaint would be that I think the beginning moved a little too fast and it was a bit difficult for me to sort out whose job was what, especially with the new gods names (the mortals who kill one of the original gods then take a new name, which I was slightly confused about right at the beginning), and the House names since I’m not as familiar with the Greek heroes as I am with the gods. This may also just be a personal issue due to my lack of source info knowledge, and once everything lined up in my head I actually had quite a hard time putting this book down. Once the plot starts to really get going, the pacing slows down just enough that events don’t feel rushed , but it stays fast enough that I was never bored and wasn’t ready to stop reading.

Bracken’s characters were a lot of fun to read about. In the beginning I was a little worried that Lore was going to feel a bit flat for me, but there’s such an intense transformation that she goes through during the story that by the time I got to the last page I was scolding myself for ever worrying about that in the first place. My favorite character was definitely Miles, though, as he is my favorite “best friend” character type. He’s funny without being loud and boisterous, and he has an intense sense of loyalty and affection for those he cares about. And then there are the gods. Bracken did a great job creating these powerful, overbearing entities that felt otherworldly while still having their own separate personalities.

I haven’t read anything by Bracken before, but I found it quite easy to fall into her writing style. It almost reminds me a bit of V. E. Schwab’s style, at least in the sense of how smoothly it reads. What I found to be most impressive about her writing was how she was able to create twists for the characters and the reader, as well as twists that were only for the reader. What I mean by that is since she wrote in first-person from Lore’s perspective, we get to be inside Lore’s mind. However, there are secrets that she is keeping from other characters and memories that she doesn’t want to touch, and so she ends up knowing information that doesn’t get revealed to the reader until later in the book, when she’s forced to confront said memories/secrets. I’ve always enjoyed when authors use this technique, as I just find it rather crafty.

Even though the story is set in New York City and it’s pulling heavily from Greek mythology, Bracken still had to do quite a bit of world-building in order to pull everything together and give the Agon a rich historical background. There are politics within and between the different Houses, as well as the deep influential hold that some of them have on the world due to whichever god’s power they may have access to. I found all of this really fascinating, and I loved the little tidbits that seemed to naturally fall into dialogue. What I think I loved the most was how Bracken made a hard push to create a conversation around feminism in this story. The Agon and the Houses involved are structured around the tradition of a strict patriarchy. Honor won in battle is the main measure of a person’s worth, women are not allowed to take a god’s life and ascend and must present the kill to a male member of the bloodline (most likely the archon), and often times young girls are sequestered away and groomed to be sold off/promised as bridal bargaining chips at a very young age. This all helps make up the world that Lore grew up in, and it’s also what causes great anger in her and other characters that are treated as lesser for one reason or another. There are several points made about toxic masculinity, and how a character with a chronic mortal illness is seen as “weak” and “useless” because he isn’t strong enough to keep up with the other warriors-training, or another character that simply does not want to be a fighter but instead makes himself very useful in other ways is seen as an embarrassment to his family. Yet both of these characters show strength in other ways and are incredibly important in helping Lore. Throughout the story Lore actively pushes against the suppression of women in the Agon, but there is a particular section that I really found powerful where the ancient Greek myths and women’s roles in those stories is heavily discussed. I just really appreciated how Bracken kept this theme woven through the entire story and how she made sure to highlight several different topics within feminism.

I usually am the type of person to complain that standalone fantasy novels should’ve been longer or at least a duology, but this is a rare occasion where I actually think this book is just fine on it’s own without added backstory or an extension of other plotlines. I am truly very excited for this book to be published because I think it’s one that so many people are going to enjoy. You’ve got a fast-paced plot, Greek mythology, a strong leading lady and prominent themes of feminism all wrapped into a unique premise creating an addicting and entertaining story. I hope you’re ready to pick up your copies on January 5, 2021, because this book truly is one heck of a ride!

This review is scheduled to be posted on my blog, Instagram, and Goodreads on Friday Nov. 13th (links to all three social media accounts below).

This book is the perfect amalgamation of Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games. We take the atmosphere of New York, toss in a bunch of highly-trained warriors who want to kill the Greek gods, and just let them run wild! This book was a wild ride filled with rich Greek mythology, betrayals, combat, love, and redemption. Clear your schedules because once you pick this book up, you're not going to want to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lore quickly became my favourite book of the year. Fast paced, and high stakes made this book so easy to get into. I loved the urban setting with Greek mythology characters.
Lore is a hunter who left the game years ago after the murder of her family. When someone walks back into her world, as the new god Apollo, she has to decide if she’s in or out.

Such a fantastic book, I loved every second and was so sad to find out it was a standalone. I wanted more of this world, it was so fun to be in

I liked this book quite a bit. Bracken gave a new and interesting take on figures from mythology, and did a great job of writing fully realized characters. I find these books can often be predictable, but I found myself engaged in a story where I couldn’t necessarily see what was coming.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of Lore! I'd been waiting for this book forever and I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to read it early.

Lore is set in modern-day New York and features greek gods, bloodthirsty warriors, humans, hunters and so much more. Every seven years, greek gods are forced to walk on earth as mortals for a week. They are then chased by hunters who wish to claim their power and emerge as a new god. Thanks to the hunt, most of the original gods have been replaced. Lore, our protagonist, wants nothing to do with the hunt but gets pulled back into it thanks to Athena who needs Lore's help and offers her a deal she can't resist.

And trust me, the book does live up to this synopsis. The book slows a little just for a chapter or two but picks up again. As someone who devours, fast-paced, and action-packed books, I loved this one. I think it's very much a plot-driven book and keeps you guessing constantly. I'm usually good at predicting where stories are heading but Lore honestly surprised me so much.

Lore is an amazing heroine: she's flawed, impulsive, forgiving, bold, vocal, and empathetic. But above all, she's a fighter and won't stop until she rests her case! She has a very tragic backstory and I just wanted to hug her so many times throughout the book honestly. I think another character who really stole the show was Athena - who was just as clever and cunning as I'd imagined her to be! Her dynamic with Lore is so interesting.

The flashback chapters really packed a punch! I loved seeing how Lore and Castor's friendship started and evolved over the years. By the end of the book, I was absolutely rooting for this duo! And there's another very interesting couple in the book and I wish we'd gotten more of them? I'm so so curious about them honestly!

I really wish we'd gotten more bonding moments between the main gang! I think that's one place where I was just a little teeny bit disappointed but that was probably because I had black betty gang level of expectations when it came to the found family aspect of the book. (But I don't think this squad can be topped)

The story really comes together in the end and everything is resolved which makes sense as it's a standalone! But I wouldn't mind reading more about these characters in the future as there's scope! (Especially more about Lore and Castor's history, we love a good childhood friends to lovers romance!)

I loved Bracken's twist on greek mythology, I loved the way Medusa was represented in the book and I absolutely love the cover even more after reading the story and realizing what this whole story stood for! Trust me, folks, you really don't want to miss out on this one!

Thanks to netgalley for providing and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading and loving Bracken's previous series, I was so excited to read this new one. A mix of Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games, this urban fantasy has an interesting plot. Although it had a slow start and depended a bit heavily on reader background knowledge of Greek mythology, it picked up around the 30% mark and then I couldn't put it down. Definitely a slow start and a slow burn - this sweeping fantasy builds with enough suspense and mystery to keep you moving rapidly though the chapters.

My main gripe is that the main characters nearly died several times (which is an epic myth thing so I guess I shouldn't complain). It just felt a little silly for them to nearly die so often and then of course there was someone who could magically heal them. It took some of the suspense away as I never really feared for their lives.

Overall though I really enjoyed this urban fantasy and would recommend for anyone who loves Greek mythology!

Lore by Alexandra Bracken immediately captured my attention, pulled me in, and would not let me go. Bracken has taken Greek mythology to a whole different level. Pulling in myths and legends I was not familiar with. The story is unique, the characters likable, and world well developed and thought through.

Every seven years, for seven days, nine Greek gods become mortal and are hunted by warriors from the ancient bloodlines. The hunt is called the Agon and is their punishment for mistreating the followers of other religions. Lore Perseous is the only remaining member of her family line. As a child she dreamed of becoming a great hunter and ending the Agon but events that occurred following the last Agon has changed all of that. She believed she had escaped that life, she believed that she was free, she was wrong. Her desire for revenge, her need to seek vengeance for her family has drawn her back to the hunt. Will Lore find a way to end the Agon?

This story is well written. You do not need to have a deep understand of mythology to follow along; Bracken does a great job of providing explanation. I highly recommend.

While Lore just wasn't my cup of tea. I think it may play out better in a movie. It was well written with a good story line, but there were a few parts where it was confusing to me. This book will definitely appeal to a certain group of people and I have a feeling it will be a book you either like or don't like.

Lore is a great read from beginning to end. Bracken shows her skill at writing and telling a story, keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It was difficult for me at the beginning to keep track of all of the families, but once past the early going, it was hard to put the book down.

4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, mostly fast-paced, with relatable characters (even though I have never experienced a world like theirs). I particularly liked the idea of an Agon and the cycles of god hunting. Very creative.

There were a few parts that I thought dragged and the ending was... interesting. I'm not sure that I loved the end (or at least parts of the end), but overall really enjoyed the story.

I would recommend this book to people who love to read YA UF with strong mythology threads.

While I do not proclaim to be a self-professed expert on all things Greek Mythology, I certainly have read my fair share of tales and stories that would fall into that category. This story was captivating from the very start as I learned ball about the Agon, which is an event that happens every seven years when Greek gods (nine, in total) must walk the earth as mortals. This particular story takes place in New York City, one of the most captivating cities in all the world. This story, though familiar in the hints of various myths interwoven throughout, takes a fresh concept and it feels as though it is being made unique to Bracken's writing ingenuity. I enjoyed this tremendously and the plot twists and turns kept me engaged and entertained. I will highly recommend this to my students because I know they will find tremendous joy in it! Well done!

This book was such a great read! Every 7 years greek gods (both old and new) become mortal and are hunted for their powers. I am not familiar with much greek mythology and haven’t really read any books surrounding greek mythology so I enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the main character Lore! She’s smart, strong, brave and an all around good person. Her best friend Miles is hilarious and such a loyal person and I really enjoyed watching their friendship grow throughout the book.

Castor, her BFF from her old life returns. He is the sweetest character and I love him. Because I love him I knew something bad was going to open to him so I was trying to mentally prepare myself. Then he dies and I still wasn't prepared. Thankfully, he lives! Lore and Castor have the cutest friends to lovers romance.

I did have to chuckle a little at some of the names of the “new gods.” We also spend a lot of time with Athena, and I’m surprised to say I didn’t see the twist coming.

The cover of this book is gorgeous and I would have picked it up based on that alone. I’ve read four of Alexandra Bracken’s books and loved them so I knew my feelings on this one would be no different.

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

As a lover of Greco-Roman mythology, the concept of this book was a major draw. While it didnt quite blow me away, it was still a great read that I would definitely recommend. I will say that I am glad I read this as an eBook, because I often found myself clicking names and words to get more info/definitions, thanks to the heavy dose of mythology involved. It was hard to follow some parts without a deeper knowledge of the actual history, so I was glad wiki was just a click away.

Lore was a great MC and I really did enjoy following her. Castor was perfectly swoonworthy, Miles was perfection, and the other side characters lent their own charm to the story. The plot was complex, with plenty of twists and turns, and a few surprises I didnt quite see coming.

All in all, a definite must-read for mythology lovers everywhere.

I love Greek Mythology. Ever since I was a kid I inhaled every book on Greek Myths that I could get my hands on. I still have hard time passing by any book on the subject without making a purchase. So, when I saw the cover for this book and read the summary I knew I needed to read it, Such a creative and new premise. It was a bit confusing at first getting all the Houses and new gods straight but well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed almost everything about this book. The heroine, Lore is complex and flawed and a little crazy, but no less likeable. Her cast of supporting characters are great, especially Miles and Castor. There are definitely some dark and super violent parts that I was not quite expecting, but the story moved along and had enough twists and turns and surprises to keep it interesting. I actually went and double checked that this was intended as a YA novel because of the level of violence in it. The wanton violence was unexpected. I guess it was needed to show the ruthlessness of the characters, but it really did take me aback. Also could have done without the overall treatment of girls and young women by disgusting old men in power - another element that was unexpected in a YA book and not particularly welcome. I wish there had been a little more at the ending but I was satisfied overall.

A lot of YA seems to be focused on immortal figures and/or youth who are trained to kill one another to protect their families; Lore is certainly well within this genre. While some of these are ok stories--because the characters are multidimensional, Lore is not. It's boring. The characters aren't particularly compelling, and the language is often stilted and at odds with itself--one moment trying to be current and fresh, then ext portentous and speaking of "the ancient tongue" and other cringe-worthy constructions. The action drags, and the gods--or their mortal forms--come across like villains from low-budget 70s movies. And there are other issues. Lore's BFF is a "magical Negro." None of the women in the houses or bloodlines ever rose up against the misogyny and abuse? Why is anyone accepting the idea of "bastardy" in the 21st century? Why isn't Lore at least a little smarter? Why is the plot and info about it so repetitive? Why did I spend the time to finish this? I don't know, but I can tell you: don't bother.

Fierce Lore trained her whole childhood to participate in the septennial Hunt, when the descendants of Greek heroes stalk the temporarily mortal Olympic gods to murder them and take their powers. This tradition is just as bloody and treacherous as it sounds, which is why Lore is the last of her line and hoping desperately to avoid the whole thing. Then her best friend returns from the dead and a wounded Athena offers Lore a chance to avenge her slaughtered family. Scads of action, violence, and betrayal, but also well-wrought secondary characters, strong women, and a staunch found family.

Move aside Percy Jackson, it's Lore's turn. Alexandra Bracken fuses the ancient Greek Gods with modern New York City. The gods rebelled millennia ago and the result is the Agon- a seven day event certain gods are mortal and families of hunters can hunt them for their immortality and godhood. Lore, was born to one of these families but she got out. Thrust back into the world of Gods and Hunters by her childhood best friend and a mortal formed goddess, Lore has to survive the hunt. Bracken's take on the Greek Gods is witty while also being true to their mythology. For fans of the video game: God of War, of Greek Mythology, and of course both Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games.

The writing, the world, the take on such a well-known myth. It was all perfect. I wasn't sure how I would feel when I started reading, however the further I got into the book, the harder it was to put down. Definitely worth the binge read

3.5 stars.

I think my expectations were a bit too high for this one and I continue to go back and forth over whether to rate this 3 or 4 stars. I love love LOVE any and all things Greek myth, so this book quickly shot to the top of my anticipated books for next year, even after reading the short chapter sampler and realizing that this wouldn't be what I initially thought. Maybe I'm just too picky about my Greek myth stories now. But though I still managed to enjoy most of this book, it fell a little flat overall.

Most authors who write fictional stories involving Greek myths can please me by just GIVING ME MORE GODS. I WANT ALL THE OLYMPIAN CONTENT. When I read the chapter sampler, and *slight spoilers here* realized that most of the OG gods were already dead, I was disappointed, especially after Hermes (my FAVE god) is killed literally in the first five pages. And then most of the "new" gods weren't even heavily featured or fleshed out at all. I also felt that the background of the Agon and what Zeus and the other remaining gods do could've used more detailing. The gods that take center stage in this are Athena, Apollo and Artemis.

Which, lemme go on a slight tangent about: I am getting SO SICK of Athena and Apollo being the featured gods in every myth-inspired story I read. MY GOD AM I SICK OF THEM. They're two of my least favorites yet every author seems to loooove writing about them. Give me someone else, PLEASE. MORE HERMES! ARES! APHRODITE! ANYONEEEEE. Athena managed to be a bit more palatable to me in this one, surprisingly, but it didn't last.

OK, back on track. I did like Lore, though it was frustrating to see how many straight up DUMB decisions she makes. I also liked Castor a lot too, and their romance was one of the highlights of the book. Miles and Van were suuuch great side characters, too! Overall the premise of the Agon was really fun and exciting but the background info just made it a bit confusing, and there was too much information about all the different bloodlines. There were parts of the first half that felt a bit slow, but the second half really picks up and it's FULL of twists. *THAT* betrayal was a punch in the G U T, even for me. But the ending was also a bit flat and kind of random. I wish we got more closure about what happens afterwards, especially in terms of the gods.

This seems like a looot of nitpicking for a book I ended up rating 4 stars, but these are fairly small problems that seem bigger to me because of how much I love the subject matter. Overall, I did enjoy this despite my grievances and will probably look to try out another Bracken book in the future. Heads up that this book was a bit darker and more gory than I expected, and there's a lot of violent language and descriptions of murders/injuries!

TW: blood, death, murder, rape, terminal sickness, gore

Lore
by Alexandra Bracken
Disney Publishing Worldwide
You Like Them
Hyperion
Teens & YA
Pub Date 05 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 05 Jan 2021

This is a book I've really been looking forward to reading. Great Young Adult Book to recommend.
Looking forward to its release in January.

Thanks to Disney and NetGalley for the ARC.
4 star