Reviews with content warning for War - Lore

This is a super-fast paced book. Maybe even a little too fast paced for my taste. I also didn't care for the sections set in the past. However, the characters are real and flawed. They are honestly my favorite part of the book. There are some crazy plot twists, and the book is never predicable. The way the mythology influences the book is well thought out, and it makes the evens of Greek myths seem real.

Will I read more by Alexandra Bracken?: Honestly, this was too quick for my taste, but it wasn't bad. I won't seek her out, but I won't avoid her, either.

Who do I recommend this too?: People who like fast-paced books, lots of plot twists, violent books, urban fantasy, or fans of Greek mythology.

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mile's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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supaanhanh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Greek mythology meets The Hunger Games is how many have described it and I'm apt to agree with them. It is definitely not of the Percy Jackson vibe despite having the same publisher, it's much darker and much more violent. Blood flows like water and a lot of people die. It did take me awhile to really get into the story because the entire story is driven from Lore's POV. There's no backstory about the Agon, only that it came from Zeus' decree that every seven years, nine of the Olympian gods (Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, and Hermes) who had rebelled would be stripped of their immortality and hunted by the descendants of ancient Greek heroes (Odysseus, Perseus, Achilles, Kadmos, Herakles, Bellerophon, Jason, Meleager, and Theseus). Those mortals who were fortunate to slay a god would inherit their power and immortality and thus the cycle would begin anew. At the start of this Agon, Lore Perseus is the last mortal of her bloodline, her family brutally murdered at the end of the last Agon seven years prior, and she believes that new Ares, Aristos Kadmou aka Wrath, is responsible. Then Athena, one of the last of the original gods, who had managed to escape and outlast every last Agon, turns up mortally wounded at Lore's doorstep and asks for her help. And also, her childhood friend, Castor, who she believed dead also turns up, now imbued with the power of Apollo and no recollection as to how he managed to kill the god of prophecy.

Questions are asked and they aren't necessarily answered in the most straightforward of ways nor in a timely way. Because we depend on Lore's POV, we don't necessarily see why or how Castor made his miraculous recovery from childhood leukemia and lucked out with Apollo's powers until the very end when he somehow is able to beat through his memory block and recall Apollo's last moments.

I did enjoy the plot twist with Athena's betrayal and how Gil, the kindly old man that Lore took care of was actually Hermes in disguise.

But aside from that, there was a lot of killing and trauma and grief to work through. The setup to the many climaxes would be intriguing enough to make me want to read more but the payout was "meh". The plot had a lot of potential but it probably needed more polishing, especially if the author's intention was to attempt to reclaim Medusa's story and make it a feminist take on Greek mythology and the Greek gods. It failed to deliver on that.

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ngm's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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aelinfeyrebryce's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

”’I was born knowing how to do three things - how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.’’”

I can’t get over how much I love this book. I wasn’t expecting to love it this much because I thought parts of the plot were going to be predictable. It wasn’t until Athena’s betrayal that I realised how much I was enthralled!

I didn’t predict any of the plots regarding the Aegis throughout the book, only the Apollo storyline and what I thought would be the Wrath storyline. However, this book just subverted my every expectation and had me kicking myself for not realising things sooner. 10/10 would recommend this book to anyone!

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islandgirlw21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. I will say the writing style was not my favorite and I would get lost in the middle of some scenes - but maybe I had been reading to fast. The twists kept coming and I didn’t see them from a mile away (and I like to think I’m pretty good at seeing plot twists in other books). Overall, the story was great and I loved seeing the depiction of the Greek gods through this book. It felt more accurate to the true myths of the gods and the story of Lore and her friends was captivating and something great to root for.

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