The mystery and allure of Percy Jackson and Greek mythology meet the brutality and hardships of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games in this redemption story of a warrior seeking answers and an end to a deadly centuries-old game.

Overall, I enjoyed the take the author used on Greek mythology and having the idea of old gods being “reborn”. Lore herself was a great heroine to root for. She was strong, fierce, and fiery. Some parts of the story were easy to fall into and to get lost in the storytelling, while in some others, it went at a slower pace. The ending itself felt very rushed, and the character’s actions and certain plot unveils left me a little confused.

I did love how Bracken set up the character arcs really well. She dived deep into internal struggles and demons. I felt for the characters so much, and was cheering them along when they accomplished something great! This story also had a cute friends to lovers romance that was really sweet and just made my heart melt.

It was a crazy, wild ride full of adventure, heartache, secrets, and mystery, and I am sad this story is a stand-alone because I would have loved more books written in this world through these characters’ eyes.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Lore in exchange for an honest review.

Something about Lore feels distinctly different than Alex Bracken's other books. I'm not sure if it's just because Lore's what I'd consider a middle-fantasy (neither high nor low, I'm sure there's an actual term for it but I don't know it), but the narration is a lot more dense and actual plot based than character based. I'm not saying its not super character driven because it definitely is, but unlike Bracken's other work this one doesn't rely on anywhere near as many character bonding scenes so if that was your jam with her other work, just keep that in mind.

Lore is kind of Percy Jackson meets Hunger Games. Yes, I know mythology fans get mad we compare everything to Percy Jackson, but this is definitely a Greek mythos story in the style of Percy Jackson. Not everything is 100% accurate so if you're a Greek mythos purist (I'm not), beware. Basically, every 7 years the power/soul of the gods enter mortal bodies for 7 days during which hunters try to kill them to claim that power for themselves. Lore left the hunting life after her family was killed, but after stumbling upon a dying god, she and her best friend Miles get pulled back into it in an attempt to save the world.

This took me a while to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed this! Lore is very casually feminist with both its mortals and gods and so many of the individual lines were swoon-worthy. My main issue is that we're in Lore's head the whole time, but instead of simply accepting that the narrative tries to flesh out characters beyond her. Lore literally tells you "yup, this here is her found family now" but since we're in her head the whole time a lot of the characters are left really flat. In my opinion Miles is the worst case of this simply because of how much Bracken started out making it seem like he was going to be a huge part of the plot only to have him kind of just be there in the background. We even get a scene early on of Lore just casually overhearing Miles bond with another character and I figured that'd become a more regular occurrence but his role is pretty much reduced to nothing. There are a few other characters on Lore's team who were given a similar treatment but I feel like confirming any more of her allies might be going into spoiler territory so I'll just leave you at that.

This book was like an Olympian Greek God Hunger Games and it was sO GOOD I have never read anything like this!
Every 7 years for 7 days the Agon commences- during the Agon the gods all become mortal and the Hunt begins *dun dun dunn*
If you kill a god during the Agon you ascend and become that god, but beware for in the next 7 years you will also become mortal and hunted (not only by those that want to become a god, but that gods family/clan will want to avenge them and come for you as well)
This book immediately gripped me. Our protagonist Lore is mysterious, strong, clever and brave. She’s quick to protect those she loves after her family gets brutally murdered and she will not rest until they’re avenged. Our story begins during an Agon when now mortal Athena shows up at Lore’s doorstep- bloodied and on the brink of death- and asks Lore for help. In return, Athena promises to help Lore kill the man responsible for her family’s murder.
Then we have Castor aka the golden boy! I don’t want to say much about Castor but I am SO IN LOVE WITH HIM. From his tragic backstory, to his amazing build-up and arc, he has become one of my favorite characters of all time!!
Lore ends up seeking Cas’s help and they all end up in a very unlikely alliance (which ends up being super comical as both Cas and Athena can’t stand each other)
Then we have our villain- Wrath. Wrath’s mission is to get all the gods and their clans together to serve him and put an end to the Agon and thus guaranteeing him to be a god forever. Join him or die. ☠️(basically the darth Vader of the Olympian world- except Wrath is slightly worse)
This story was 100% action packed (your adrenaline will be PUMPING), filled with Greek mythology in a way that didn’t necessarily glorify the gods- Bracken was able to weave super heavy topics such as
child/woman trafficking, child brides, anti-feminism, and treating women as objects as well as sexual assault (TW!!!). It made me uncomfortable but these topics are so necessary and I’m glad that she was able to weave these topics into this book.
The storyline was extremely unique but I did have some trouble with the pacing. I felt like there was a lot of build up and I kept wanting to shake all the characters... like can you please just tell me the secrets already? The ending also felt a little rushed, however, I appreciated all the twists and turns along the way.
Over all this book is perfect if you love greek mythology, a strong female lead with lots of secrets, a cinnamon roll love interest, friends to lovers slow burn romance, and a lot of action!
3.5/5 stars from me

Netgalley was kind enough to loan me an early release copy of Lore by Alexandra Bracken. I haven't read this author even though I have one series a teacher requested for the Hutch library. I wanted to see what her writing is like so that I know which students would enjoy reading her works. I would list this novel as fantasy and appealing to later 7th grade graders to high school readers. Of course, if it interests you no matter your age, go for it!

Lore's normal life she's lived for seven years comes to an end. It's the Agon again. Every seven years, nine gods have to walk the earth and battle descendents of the other ancient bloodlines. There's a list in the book to keep up with who is who. Lore lost her family in the last Agon and just wants to pass it by. While participating in a fight for money, she sees Cas, whom she thought had died seven years ago. This event is one catalyst for her to join the Agon. She questions how he could be alive and discovers that he's the new Apollo. When the gods are killed, the person who kills them can ascend to become the new god. The question remains, how? Cas couldn't have killed Apollo. Lore needs to make sure he doesn't die in this Agon. Lore thought she could escape it and leave the losses behind her, but maybe she needs to face those losses and fighting the Agon would bring who she is back instead of hiding in a normal life.

The novel really isn't about the Agon, it's about the main character, Lore. Loss consumes her. She lost her family, Cas and the man who took her in, Gil. Gil left her his home and money. He also provided shelter to Miles, who becomes Lore's best friend. She's found stability in these last seven years and doesn't really want to participate in the violent chaos. Her consuming anger has been relegated to fighting for money. She's never learned to control her anger; this anger and her training from childhood to fight will help Lore ensure Cas survives. She can't lose him again. The other catalyst that pulls Lore into the seven day Agon is the appearance of Athena, who arrives severely injured at Lore's door. They form an alliance--if one dies, the other dies. With Cas comes another person they used to train with, Van, and plans begin to be made. Can they trust the god? Lore believes they can. Lore needs to control her anger, fight smart, survive, and make sure Cas survives. They have seven days.

The novel has flashbacks so that you learn about Lore, her family, and her relationship with Cas as well as what happened that made her run away. Everyone wants the aegis, which had been with Lore's family before another bloodline had it and then it was stolen during the last Agon. Many think Lore knows where it is--only few can wield it. Her family can. Would the power of the aegis end the Agon? Her family is dead, so no one knows if she knows where it is. In the end, everyone wants the Agon to end. The new Ares, Wrath, is determined to end it and be the one god standing. Others want to end it because of the brutality. Supposedly, there is a poem with the aegis that tells how. As the novel advances, they make discoveries about different people and make plans; there are fights and healing and surprises and broken alliances and a tiny bit of romance.

There's a lot going on. I didn't really keep up with the different families because all that matters is what happens to our main people: Lore, Athena, Cas, Van, and Miles (the only "mortal"). I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and went to bed late each night. I love that this novel is a standalone! I thought the ending was appropriate and supported the character arc. If you liked Percy Jackson and want something much higher level, try this.

One of my most anticipated reads and so excited to receive an ARC. Great plot and characters! Great for fans of mythology.

Lore is one of my most anticipated books of 2021. It's full of ancient Greek mythology, but set in modern day NYC. Recently I have found that fantasies set in our world, but based on historical lore/myths are my niche! I expected to love this book. Unfortunately it ended up being more of a lukewarm read for me.

I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of Lore. Unfortunately that's when I started to notice that there were WAY too many action scenes. Honestly, to the point that it felt like a video game or an action movie...but with every move written down on the page. Sometimes it was hard to follow the action scene and characters would end up in different locations/positions than I pictured in my head.

The subject matter was dark, but I found it hard to connect to the characters because of the unbalanced pacing/frequency of action scenes versus character development. Even though there was a lot of death and destruction in the action scenes, the stakes for the main characters were pretty low. I can't say much else without going into minor spoilers.

Some of the big reveals were easy to predict, but still satisfying.
There were SO MANY villain monologues, which I know is a big pet peeve of a lot of readers (it doesn't normally bother me, but it was overdone in this book).

It felt like this was a script to a show or movie, that I would most definitely watch!

Overall, I am rating this 3 stars because I think the story is solid and many readers will end up loving it. It did seem to read a bit on the younger side of YA, even though it had some pretty intense scenes.

I would recommend this to fans of The Gilded Wolves.

CW for attempted rape of a minor, strong and explicit violence, murder, murder of children (sometimes graphic), child with terminal cancer, mutilation, murder of parents

Lore is a fascinating read that kept me turning pages far into the night. It sent me to the internet to look up mythology facts that I've known and forgotten. It reminded me of an edgier, more adult reader Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Lore exists in a modern world, where the Agon takes place. There are 7 gods who rebelled against Zeus and were punished to participate in the Agon where every 7 years they are rendered mortal (but still with god like powers) and are hunted by the bloodline descendants of Heroes (Achilles, Perseus, Heracles etc). If a bloodline kills the god, they ascend and become a god and bring glory to their bloodline-but will also be hunted in future Agons.
Lore, or Melora, is the last of house Perseus and wants out of the Agon after horrible things happened to her and her family in the prior sequence, but is dragged back into the world when a wounded god appears on her doorsteps and gives her an offer she can’t refuse.

Lore. Is. So. Good.

It has been a while that a book has completely hooked me from start to finish. Lore left me completely satisfied. I love the idea of adding this into my classroom library as a companion to The Odyssey!

Thank you NetGalley and DisneyBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All below opinions are my own.

I can honestly say, this book knocked my expectations right out of the park, I first received the first six chapters in the book, thank you NetGalley, and I just KNEW I needed the ARC once that was finished.

However, holy moly, this book was utterly gripping. I could not put it down, I had to know what was coming next in Lore’s story, I had to know if she fought her demons and came out on the other side.

Lore is flawed, pieces of her are broken and scattered. She is fierce, unrelenting, and definitely charismatic. I instantly loved Lore from those first six teaser chapters, but now that I have read the whole book, I can honestly say I adore her even more. The way she handles herself in such a confident manner is inspiring, especially after learning about her past demons.

Betrayal is inevitable, but the who, I did not see coming. I just knew from the beginning of the book who the real monster was and boy was I wrong. The anguish Lore feels lifts of the page and you really feel for her. It makes you want to relate to her, to help her fight those demons and put them away for good. To become her cheerleader.

Love, something Lore thought she had lost forever came to her in unexpected places. The slow-burn of the romance in this book really compliments the furious pace of the story.

Overall, this book is a masterpiece of Greek Folklore. The author really spun a powerful, dazzling story that you must read. If this is not on your 2021 TBR it needs to be.

Overall, this story draws you in with the way it remixes familiar myths. It keeps you reading by giving you pieces of the story slowly while still keeping the pacing fun. You stay wanting to know what happens because the characters are easy to connect and relate to- despite them coming from a world we can only imagine. The underlying conversations about women and their place in the world are familiar not just in Greek myth but also in modern life. While it was subtle, that message did not go unnoticed, and I truly loved how Athena played a part in all of it.

Full review 01/01/2021

It's been so long since I've felt so addicted to a book that I couldn't put it down, but that without a doubt happened with Lore!!! This book is so action-packed, so fast-paced, and just so GOOD.

A legendary adventure featuring Greek mythology. Lore Perseous wants nothing to do with the Agon, the time every seven years where the Gods walk the earth as mortals, and can be killed and their power and immortality seized. But when Athena offers herself as an ally, and the chance at revenge of the God who killed her family, she gets drawn back into a life she swore to leave behind. With her oldest friend Castor, now the God Apollo, and other characters who help her find the meaning of family again, Lore fights for honor, humanity, and to write the story of her own life. Adventurous and romantic, this novel will entertain and make you believe legends never die.

Thanks so much to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my top reads of the year - there were very, very few things that I didn't love about this book. The cover is STUNNING and was what first drew me in. I am a huge fan of books influenced by Greek mythology, and I knew I would be into this book as soon as I read the description. It's very Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games, but with strong feminist themes.

The book is very fast-paced (which I loved); there is a LOT of plot and plenty of twists and turns to keep things exciting. I loved the dynamic between Lore and Castor; I really love the subtle gender role swap with a harsher, aggressive female lead and Castor, who is so sweet and caring that I would probably literally die for him. The villain(s) were engaging and relatively well-developed, which is always nice to see. However, hands down my favorite part of this book was the world-building/setting. The Agon was a really interesting and fun backdrop to the story, with humans becoming gods, gods becoming humans, and everybody running through NYC in what is essentially a very gory, very ancient version of assassins (for real though, Bracken does NOT shy away from gore). I was thrilled with the way the mythology was incorporated into the world-building; the bloodlines and the Agon and the gods and goddesses felt very believable based on what I know about Greek mythology.

Honestly, my biggest criticism of this book would be that I wish there was more of it. I found myself so drawn into the world and the characters and felt like there just wasn't enough time for me to get to know them as well as I would've liked. It's a great standalone, but I still would've liked to have seen more of the Agon and more of Lore and Castor as kids - I'd be all over a prequel! It is also pretty heavy on Greek mythology and readers who aren't familiar with it to begin with may have a bit of trouble following.

Overall, this was a really fun read and one that I have already recommended to several people. It's a must-read!

*This book was provided as a digital galley by NetGalley and Disney Worldwide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

LORE was just so unique. I love Greek mythology and I’ve read a lot of books including it, but LORE was just so different from the rest.
One thing necessary in all books, but especially standalones because there’s less content, is remaining unpredictable. While I guessed at the relationships and a very early plot twist, everything else truly remained a mystery until it was on the page. I never like main characters but this crew was so amazing.
I feel like I need to devote a special section in this review to how empowering LORE was. The patriarchy was a big factor in the Agon, the seven day fight between all of the hunters and gods, particularly because of how large a role tradition played. One of my favorite parts of the book just had two powerful women talking about the strength men only took advantage of and couldn’t see.
The greatness of LORE is just beyond comprehension. READ THIS BOOK.

<i>"Your fear will feed him," Athena told her. "It will bring him pleasure. Do not grant it. He is as mortal as you these next six days. If you falter again, remember what he took from you. He may possess power, but you have righteousness. And should even that abandon you, remember that I am beside you, and I will not let you fail. </i>

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For as long as I can remember greek mythos was always at the top on my "reads" list and this one was no exception. What do you get when you cross Percy Jackson with the Hunger Games?

Lore.. truth be put.

This story gives you a girl named Lore, who has lost everything and has desperately scraped herself out of the Greek world, and has tried to start anew, only for the next Agon to roll around and find herself thrown back in.

Lore is a badass character who doesn't fear the world. She believes, so she does.

This is one of those books that I am torn though between four and five stars. The beginning of the novel was a little difficult due to the world building, about around 35% it started to make sense so for that reason, I would give it about 4.5 stars if we are being technical.

At the end of the day, it did fans of greek mythos so proud and I can't wait to add it to my own collection at publication.

I have received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was so fun I couldn’t put it down. The plot was fast paced and the characters were so interesting to read about. I loved the concept and I was very satisfied with the ending.

This book is an ode to New York City and Greek Mythology and Women and Friendship and your weekly reminder that men just ain’t shit folks.

Firstly- many thanks to Netgalley for this arc I damn near had a stroke when I saw it sitting on my NG bookshelf.

Secondly. So I think maybe this is more of a 3.5 situation but I stayed up till god awful hours of the morning to finish this book so that deserves a solid rounding to 4 stars.

This was very well done! So well researched ! I really loved the characters and their nuances and how their relationships developed. Lore is a very classic Bracken character , she stands her ground and her feminism isn’t “I’m not like other girls” and railing against anyone not like her.

I feel like the pacing was a bit off and I wanted more time overall with the characters. I think this book would have heavily benefited from shifting POVs. I wanted a bit more of van and miles. Definitely wanted more on her friendship with Iro. I feel like her character got snubbed a bit and I didn’t like all the constant back and forth with that.
And I wanted to see Lore working with everyone more I suppose? This has been a common theme in my reading as of late, I really just "want more" from the stories and I can't seem to get as invested in them.

The ending felt very rapid fire and rushed in comparison to the rest of the book.

Definitely an entertaining and fun read and A STAND-ALONE. Which is worth a star in and of itself tbh.

Can’t wait to see the beautiful cover in real life in book form in January!

This book was so not what I expected and i loved that! I couldn't put this down and finished it in a matter of hours highly recommend this book.

Lore Perseous attempts to flee her past only for it to come full circle in this sorta young adult romance.

Lore was rage personified. While she had moments of clarity and insight, the majority of the novel focuses on her inability to look beyond her own volatile emotions and her misguided impulsive actions. She goes down a rabbit hole of her own making, but eventually pulls herself out of her own self-destructive cycle. I didn’t particularly like her most of the time, but I did respect Lore’s journey into the darkest part of herself and eventual redemption.

The world-building was utterly confusing. Someone with a knowledge of Greek mythology will probably not be nearly as confused by all of the houses, gods, and mythos packed into it. Violence, gore, and sexual assault all make an appearance – I’m amazed this is not being marketed as New Adult rather than Young Adult. While several romances develop over the course of the novel, the true romance is the setting. New York is written about in loving detail, whether it be the trash on the street or the indomitable spirit of the people.

It does have two positives – it’s a standalone and that book cover is on point!

tl;dr While I may not have loved the story, I did respect Lore’s journey into the darkest part of herself and eventual redemption.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

Thank you to the publisher! THANK YOU!

4 stars to Lore!

I really love that this a standalone first off, we don’t get a lot of those and it’s a breath of fresh air.

Okay, so Lore is about a game/competition that occurs every seven years involving greek gods and goddesses. Lore our main character has removed herself and escaped the game after her whole family has been murdered and she is hiding out from them all when her supposedly dead best friend shows up, as the new god Apollo.

When a hunter or player in the game kills a god he gains their power and becomes the new god to be hunted, but you can’t kill your kin and you can only hunt during the game.

The only reason I’m giving this book 4 instead of five is because of the Game, it took me forever to understand it all.

The only original gods left are Athena and Artemis by the time this new one starts and it’s a battle to the death, when Lore is given the chance to avenge her family she joins in and is off to try and kill the new Ares.

Lore was a great character, I understood her and her motivation throughout the book, her pacing and development was great. Her need for revenger and how fighting made her great and terrible at the same time made sense. We watch her struggle with everything that’s happened to her. Her human friend Miles was a good balance for her as well as Castor.

Castor is the new Apollo and while we slowly learn about him it’s easy to see how much he loves Lore from the beginning when the reader first meets him.

Although this takes place in NY it really seems like Alexandra put a lot of thought and study into the Greek Gods and Goddess, I wish we got to see more of them other than the two who were still in the hunt. They were really well written where even though they weren’t main characters they encompassed their personalities well and everything they did made sense.


I want to say I want more, maybe an epilogue but the story is really solid and strong on its own. It’s a good standalone. I love the story on its own as a standalone but I would also love more stories within the world, maybe a prequel.