Are you a god, hunter, blooded-or-mere mortal? In LORE, the Agon strikes every seven years, temporarily turning gods into vulnerable mortals. If a human kills a god in this state, then the human seizes all of their powers. It’s a never-ending, bloody battle that 17-year-old Lore (the last of the Perseides) sets out to finish with her childhood training partner, Castor (a fellow blooded-mortal who killed Apollo and is now a god), Adonis’ son Van, and her enthusiastic human bestie, Miles. In time, it’s revealed that former ally Athena is actually an enemy, guilty of murdering Lore’s family. If Lore doesn’t hand her the Aegis (the mighty shield of Zeus), she’ll destroy Lore’s friends and favorite place: NYC. Fortunately, Athena ultimately redeems herself. Not only does she help Lore defeat Wrath, the original villain, but she also has Lore kill her, thus transferring her abilities. Even though powers are cool, all Lore truly wants is to be released from the Agon. Luckily, Zeus hears her wish and turns Lore and Castor into mortals, now able to lead loving, normal lives. Led by a multilayered, badass teen girl, LORE is a captivating read that takes Greek Mythology and puts a NYC twist on it. It's high stakes and edge-of-your-seat action with comedy, stakes and drama. It's a bit cliche and I would have loved a little bit more world-building (how the Gods' behavior affects the city), but that being said, still worth reading if you're a fan of fantasy adventure.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a review for the entire book, not the chapter sampler that many received

You know those ancient Greek gods you learned about? Yeah, they're still around. Every 7 years, they become mortals and are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines during an event called the Agon. If a hunter succeeds at killing a god, they gain their power and immortality. Lore, our main character, left the world of the hunters after her family was brutally murdered during the last hunt 7 years ago. We catch up with Lore as she is shoved back into the world she wants to leave behind, intrigued by the idea of possibly getting revenge on her family's killer - a new god named Wrath, who wants to win the Agon once and for all.

I am not sure what to think of this novel. On one hand, this book was a lot of fun and I can see a ton of people really enjoying it. On the other hand, it was extremely confusing and info-dumpy. I would argue there isn't enough exposition. We need more development of what is happening and how it all came to be, but we are just thrown in and playing catch up the whole time. There were a lot of times during the action scenes where I felt I wasn't on the same page with Lore. She understood the world she was in, but I did not. As a result, many of the actions and reactions that characters had just didn't make much sense to me.

Flaws aside, I did think this was a unique story. Greek gods murdering everyone in NYC? That's definitely something I haven't read before. It is pretty brutal and graphic, so consider this a warning if that isn't your thing. 

I recommend brushing up on your knowledge of Greek mythology before diving into this one. I didn't and maybe that's where things went wrong. 

Happy reading!

(No Spoilers) I was given a sampler on here, which I loved... but now I read the whole book, and I absolutely loved it!

Alexandra Bracken’s stories are something that I’ve always loved since I read The Darkest Minds and saw the film. It was so good that I read the whole series soon after, and then her other series Passengers. I’ve been anticipating this one because Alexandra was writing a Greek story and I am Greek.

This story was beautiful and fun! I loved the main character, as well as the other characters, and I was immersed in the story from the get-go! This is definitely worth a reread and I’ll be picking up my copy on release day!

This was great, actually. As someone who wasn't exactly, the biggest fan of Miss Bracken's previous works (The Darkest Minds crew is amazing, but the plot was weak), I went into this with low expectations, honestly. But this surprised me. Miss Bracken managed to create a new world (or as much of a new world you can create inside of Greek mythology), and made me feel sympathy for characters I would normally hate. The plot was actually STRONG, and everything connected together and there were no plot holes (except for the ending, which somewhat left things up for grabs). The main character, OHMY, I loved her so much. She was strong, and didn't take no one's stuff, which was refreshing. But, as I said before, the plot was the most strong part of the book. Miss Bracken has shown that she can write a good plot, and for that, I commend her.

I was really excited to receive this book. I had gotten a sneak peak chapter and was really hoping to get the full book. Lore is a action packed nonstop story. There are a lot of characters/families to keep track of. but most of them are fairly familiar from mythology. There are a lot of twists and turns in this one. You never know who you can and can't trust. It was nice to see a solid standalone book for once, but i must say it did leave me wanting more.

I was provided and eARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid consumer of mythology I was thrilled to see Alexandra Bracken write a YA novel based around Greek mythos.  This book is almost like The Hunger Games meets Starcrossed or for those that have never read that Percy Jackson.The book can seem a bit muddling at first with the amount of information packed into the first chapters and the fast pace, but it is incredibly engaging. If you aren't knowledgeable about Greek Mythology there is back content you might want to read over before starting the book.  All of the characters are well developed  and to see Lore grow into herself over the novel from running from her past to embracing it and her future was freeing. Lore is the type of feminist character that embraces other women instead of climbing over them to reach her end goal or feeling like everyone has to be like her to get her support. The love story is well integrated into the plot without overwhelming the focus of the Agon and  fate..  The one thing I hated was that because it all ended in one book we did not get time as much time or interaction with the other characters as I would have liked.  Maybe in the future there will be spin-offs with the characters developed here which would be warmly welcomed. There is a lot of brutal violence and death in this book as well as sexual assault being mentioned so it will not be for all readers.

Alex Bracken is one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to get a copy of Lore.  This is not The Darkest Minds.  This is a fresh new take on a YA modern day version of Greek Mythology reborn in NYC.  It follows two main characters - Lore and Castor - childhood friends who were separated by tragic and violent means - who are now thrown back together in  a fight to save their lives.  It's an amazingly original spin on the traditional Greek Mythology and the stories we know and love.  LOVED IT!

OMG! I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I was looking forward to a new Alexandra Bracken book and it exceeded all my expectations. It is a book complete with twists and turns and tons of action that had me on the edge of my seat. The main character, Lore, is so badass and capable of anything she sets out to do; she is easily my favorite character that Alexandra Bracken has written. The supporting cast is phenomenal in their own right and their banter is gold. The book is very light on the romance which I think was a good call considering how action packed the book is. Did I mention the twists? Because I didn't see any of them coming and I was properly shook by them. I may even go so far and say that this has become my favorite Alex Bracken book to date. I felt the care and time that she took to research the mythology of the gods and I think that anyone with an iota of interest in Greek mythology will find this book intriguing. 

eARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I haven't read a YA fantasy like this in years! I ripped through Bracken's latest, absolutely absorbed by the intense world she created. It's brutal, bloody, and cruel, but Bracken doesn't pull her punches, slamming you over and over again. I couldn't put this book down, not just because of the relentless plot, but because of the beautiful character relationships (so cute!) and the thematic line throughout the entire novel. One of my favorite YA fantasies in recent memory.

This book is amazing. Its has the feel of Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games. The Agon is every 7 years, and hunters go and find gods to kill. If they kill a god they get the gods power. Its a very good book, you will not regret picking it up.

This book is probably my favorite book by Alexandra Bracken, and this is coming from one who loved The Darkest Mind series. I absolutely love this cover. The cover is gorgeous! 

At first I was confused about what was going on, but the more I read, the more I understood. This is because I haven't read much of Greek mythology before. This book definitely made me more intrigued on the subject, and I definitely want to do more research about it. I absolutely love that this book was based in present day NYC, a place I grew up in, and it made me realize some places in Manhattan that I have not visited it yet, and do want to visit now because of this book. Alex Bracken did great research on Greek Mythology and Manhattan and it definitely shows in this book. I remember when she first started writing it. She made Instagram stories about her research and her writing progress, and because of this, I was instantly intrigued about this book. To me, this book felt like a twist on the Hunger Games mixed with Greek Mythology and I was instantly hooked. One of the things that I loved about this book is the ending. Many books that I have read recently, the ending has felt rushed, and just thrown together, and this ended perfectly. Every time I picked up this book, I did not want to put it down. I can't wait to get my hands on my signed copy that comes out in January. Thank you so much Netgalley and to Disney Books for allowing me to read an early copy of this amazing book!

Not typically a YA reader, but I'm a sucker for anything related to mythology, and was not disappointed. Lore gave me Percy Jackson vibes with a dash of gore. Definitely worth the read!

Shoutout to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to have an ARC of this.

Story line is a mix of YA Fantasy and ancient Greek mythology. Not my typical genre but Disney Publishing caught my eye!
I did read "Passenger" and I liked it.
The setting is present day. Lore Perseous is our protagonist and lives in New York City, her entire family died in the last Agon.
Agon: As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals; this takes place for seven days every seven years. If you can kill one YOU become a god and take their power and immortality"
Lore has pushed away any revenge against the man now a god who is responsible for killed her parents. 
Hmmm
On the author’s web site 
http://www.alexandrabracken.com/lore
she states 
(Please Note: ”Given the darkness of the source material, this book contains more mature content than my past work in the form  of more graphic depictions of violence and discussion/mention of sexual assaults and therefore may not be the right fit for all readers.) 

Not sure how to describe this I do believe Ms. Bracken had ‘me’ in mind when she gave her warning!

I wanted to like this but it really did not work for me.
I am still giving it 3 stars as I liked the info at the end of the book. The descriptions of the Cast of Characters and I love the “Author’s Acknowledgments“ it is an inside story to the story!  

Want to thank NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this early release. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only. 
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 5, 2021

Lore - Alexandra Bracken

Once again, I want to give a huge thanks for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Now, where do I even begin? This book was...unbelievable, to say the least. It’s probably my new favorite book. Lore is a unique story that includes Greek mythology, and, as someone who’s never been into Greek mythology, this really surprised me.

Luckily for me, I had already read the first six chapters of this book through Netgalley, as an excerpt. This little sneak peek on the book made me so ready to dive right in, and let me tell you, I was hooked. 

Plot
The plot for this book was so creative and unique. I don’t even know where to begin. Well, let me explain the idea first. 

As punishment for a rebellion that happened long into the past, Zeus punishes nice Greek gods, and they are forces to walk the earth as mortals for seven days, every seven years. They are hunted by descendants of ancient bloodlines, and once killed, the hunter gains the power of the god, including their immortality. So begins the Agon. 

Lore Perseous, our main character, fled the Agon seven years ago when her family was murdered. Lore had pushed away thoughts and feelings of the brutal world, and revenge for the murderer of her family for seven years, but, as the new Agon begins in New York City, a childhood friend who she believed dead, and an ancient goddess find her for help. 

Lore is offered the chance to leave the Agon for good by taking a deal with the goddess to kill their mutual enemy, but Lore’s decision to take the deal may not be enough to end the Agon for good. 

Can we just talk about how amazing the storyline is? I’m sorry, but I’ve never read anything remotely similar to it, and I was so surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Hunters are literally running around New York City to become immortal gods! Like, how incredible is that? 

Characters
Let’s start with Lore. Lore is such a mysterious and powerful character. I really loved her. She was just an easy character to fall into the rhythm of, and it was cool to see her take on everything. Her love for New York City makes me smile too, I mean, who doesn’t love a character that loves their home? Along with that, her not wanting to actually take the power from the gods, but help people instead just makes her that much better a character. She’s a genuinely beautiful, good-souled character that deserved the world, but unfortunately, had a lot of dark things done to her. 

Castor Achilleos. My favorite! He’s just so adorable!! Castor is another super powerful character, not just in terms of literal power, but just overall. He has a huge influence on everyone. Castor was another character that was really easy to follow, and it was clear that he was good hearted from the moment he entered the novel. His character development is another thing that I have to mention. He grows into a completely different person from the beginning of the book to the end. He’s stronger, more powerful, more intelligent, just overall, more well-rounded. I always love a good character development. 

Let’s talk about Miles. Miles is just a little baby character like he’s just so cute! I want to protect him from the world and make him happy, but I also want him to go out and be a big strong guy who can hold his own ground. Miles’ affect on everyone in the group was kind of really adorable. He made everyone come out of their own shells, and he made the story just...better. He was just a really funny and welcome addition. Along with all of that, his knowledge of the city just makes him that much more important. Without Miles, I doubt the crew could have gotten very far, and for an “Unblooded” that means a lot. 

Evander was another character in the crew, but I have to say I didn’t like him until his robot bird came out of knowhere. I mean it was a pretty cool, what can I say? Also, his relationship development with Miles? Adorable! Literally so cute. 

I also have to mention the best friends to lovers trope in the book. It just made the book wholesome. Like come on, they were the perfect match from the beginning and it was clear it was going to happen, and it was so so worth it.

Setting
This book takes place in New York City, and it was honestly the best place for it happen. Big city where our main character knows where everything is? Perfect. Along with that, Central Park and many tourist attractions were mentioned so it was pretty easy to visualize too. 

Writing
I’ve never read an Alexandra Bracken book before, but I really loved it. The writing style was unique and it was a refreshing change. It was also really clear and easy to read. This book is a genuinely fun read, and it’s super high on details...but not in a bad way. 

There’s also the way that Lore’s backstory was introduced. Instead of getting everything at the beginning, there were chapters scattered throughout the entire book, and we find out more and more about what happened that night and why she is the way she is while also following the story. I actually loved the way that this was written. It was really cool to see Lore’s backstory as she also progressed in the present. 

In Conclusion…
This book is definitely one of my new favorites. All I can say is, you have to read this. It’s got romance, a tragic backstory, greek mythology, betrayals, plot twists, everything you need in an incredible story. The writing was so unique and different than anything I’ve read before, and it was a feel-good book that made me laugh, cry, and get goosebumps all over!

5/5⭐

This one is not my typical genre but I found it to be a worthwhile read. LOTS of action and adventure. Great if you're a fan of Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games and don't mind a bit of gore.

Thank you to Disney Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a pre-release of this novel. My feedback is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

This was a fun book to read. It was fast-paced, easy to read and full of snarky one-liners that made you feel as if you were there fighting along with all the Gods of Mythology. My earlier review here on GoodReads indicated I received an advanced sampler from Disney Hyperion in late July & not realizing this and I was crestfallen when it abruptly ended. I knew this was going to be a book I was going to get because I had to know how it ended. 

A few weeks ago I received a package with an ARC and a personalized note from the author. After work I spent all my free time in the evening finishing this book and LOVED it.  I loved it so much that this coming Winter I am pulling out my Edith Hamilton book of mythologies and re-reading it.  Thank you Alexandra for reminding me how beautiful the mythology stories are and for following your muse to write this wonderful story.

I was really excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC, however, it just didn't deliver for me. The writing itself was fine, but I found it extremely boring. I don't typically find many books that boring, I enjoy plenty of books that drag on for others, such as The Grapes of Wrath. Yet, I just couldn't get into this one. I love dystopian and I love mythology, but I did not love this. I kept reading then stopping and trying to come back to it until I decided I wasn't going to waste my reading time on a book I didn't enjoy at all. It just did not get better for me. I'm not sure if it was situational, the constant starting and stopping or just general incompatibility with characters and/or plot, but it didn't work for me. Two stars because the actual writing itself was not bad.

Lore starts out with a bang along with plenty of blood and gore, and never slows down. Its multitude of characters all have integral parts to play and are interesting and memorable. While the storyline is somewhat of a cross between Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, the overall concept is completely unique. The only reason I’m giving this only 4 stars is because for the first fifty or so pages I was confused about the history and rules of the Agon. I think there needed to be a smoother and more complete explanation rather than finding out things piecemeal. Otherwise, Lore was highly entertaining and I read it in two days despite it being almost 500 pages. I unhesitatingly recommend this to Greek mythology enthusiasts who are looking for a fresh take on the old legends.

“You have to start thinking about your future, otherwise, your past is always going to hold you back.”

DNF @ 15% (75 pages)

This was my very first experience with a teen novel written by Bracken. I’ve tried her middle-grade series and it was okay. Nothing that I would brag about. I just thought this one would be a great place to start because I love mythology stories being twisted into modern-day life.

I hate to say this but I wasn’t impressed. Bored is more like it. I tried to push through to read more of the book but I felt myself backsliding into a reading slump. That’s a place I don’t want to go to right now. So I stopped.

This was my third attempt at trying to read this one and I have to admit that this book just wasn’t for me. I was expecting action-packed scenes from page one with crazy twists but none of that was there.

Here’s the thing, I know other readers are going to say that I should have held out longer but if a story doesn’t grab me in within the first seventy-five pages, I’m not going to waste any more of my time reading a book that may potentially put me into a slump.

Lore had the potential to be powerful but it just wasn’t there for me. I felt as if I was watching multiple tennis matches at once and I wasn’t here for it. I hope other readers have a better experience with this book but it just wasn’t for me. Life is too short to waste on books you don’t like.

Definitely going to recommend this to my students that enjoy reading.  I am constantly on the search for strong female characters for my students to read about, and this book fit the bill!!