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spiderdragon15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Compelling read that twist and turns with ever page. Beautiful relationship development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Gore, Violence, Misogyny, Death, and Child death
rebeccamgwck's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A dark, grim re-imagining of Greek mythology which explored the brutal side of both the godly, immortal figures and the plain old humans with their burning ambition. The plot was intriguing; watching the characters unravel thread after thread and often ending up with more questions than answers. The full cast of characters were well-developed, though frustratingly bad decision makers (someone had to advance the plot, l suppose). The ending felt slightly rushed, and a bit jarringly sunshine-and-rainbows compared to the previous fifty-odd chapters .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse and Ableism
sabrinakent's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Pedophilia, and Misogyny
tawnypelts_gf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, Torture, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Rape
crystalsparkles's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual assault, and Violence
wavesofpages's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
aviery's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
darquedreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This one was captivating enough to keep me reading until the end, but it definitely had its problems. I feel like it lacked more back story and explanation for the agon and the history of the gods and why the hunters were hunting them. I wanted more about hunters killing the gods and ascending with their power and more explanation about the bloodlines. There were several moments of confusion to be had during the story.
For the most part, I enjoyed the characters, but there were also a lot of moments of "ugh, really?" Lore seemed strong and capable through most of the story, but also had her fair share of unlikable attributes. And, there was just no chemistry between the "romantiship" (yes, I'm making it a word) characters. The feelings felt forced, like, "oh, this is a fantasy ya, we need a little romance."
I also wish there had been more to the plot and the hunt itself. This story could have been a duology so we could have gotten the back story we needed, along with the plot we were promised. Though, I enjoyed the gore and the shocking moments, I felt like there wasn't enough story flow, and there were too many predictable and eye rolling moments.
The ending was pretty lack luster as well. It felt like someone said, "oh no, if we don't wrap this up now, we'll need another book," and then decided to be done with it. We had almost 500 pages in this thing, and had like one chapter for "resolution" which left a few issues unresolved and unexplained.
I just wanted, and expected, more. In the moment, Lore kept my interest, but now that I finished it, I feel disappointed. The excitement and hype while reading was fleeting and I'm left with missing what drew me in.
For the most part, I enjoyed the characters, but there were also a lot of moments of "ugh, really?" Lore seemed strong and capable through most of the story, but also had her fair share of unlikable attributes. And, there was just no chemistry between the "romantiship" (yes, I'm making it a word) characters. The feelings felt forced, like, "oh, this is a fantasy ya, we need a little romance."
I also wish there had been more to the plot and the hunt itself. This story could have been a duology so we could have gotten the back story we needed, along with the plot we were promised. Though, I enjoyed the gore and the shocking moments, I felt like there wasn't enough story flow, and there were too many predictable and eye rolling moments.
The ending was pretty lack luster as well. It felt like someone said, "oh no, if we don't wrap this up now, we'll need another book," and then decided to be done with it. We had almost 500 pages in this thing, and had like one chapter for "resolution" which left a few issues unresolved and unexplained.
I just wanted, and expected, more. In the moment, Lore kept my interest, but now that I finished it, I feel disappointed. The excitement and hype while reading was fleeting and I'm left with missing what drew me in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Cancer
wadebittleston's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
annaparente's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Several years ago, I read The Darkest Minds, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t love it. The premise was great, and I recently flipped through the beginning of the first book, finding that, while it’s compelling, it ultimately falls short. The characters didn’t feel much like real people, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about them. Similarly, I felt the book would have been much more enjoyable to read had it been written in third person rather than first.
Consequently, I was hesitant to buy Lore, knowing I wasn’t a huge fan of Alexandra Bracken’s writing. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised. Lore is everything The Darkest Minds wasn’t. It’s quick-paced, compelling, and well thought-out. The relationships between the characters are much more nuanced, and the characters have complex backgrounds that really play into the plot and their own character development. The third person perspective was a perfect fit for the narrative.
I would recommend Lore, while I would not recommend The Darkest Minds. Regardless, it wasn’t a perfect book. Here are a few of my critiques:
- Miles was so sidelined. He played a pretty significant role in the first third-ish of the book, but after that he just disappeared — literally. I’m pretty sure there’s a whole hundred pages where he isn’t even mentioned. He started out as such a great character and then just devolved into the token mortal: the only character who was wholly tied to the real world.
- The foreshadowing felt really weak. I can’t fully describe it, but it either wasn’t suspenseful enough, or I guessed what would happen before it did.
- Pacing-wise this book falls into the same trap as The Darkest Minds. It’s the same medium pace throughout the book, not picking up when it should. Especially in the end of the book, I thought the punches could have been pulled faster, just one surprise after another. Instead, there was too much empty space between plot points. 30 pages could have been cut.
- It definitely had something to do with the pacing, but the ending left something to be desired.
What I loved and would totally recommend about the book:
- The third person perspective works very well.
- Lore and Cas are the most fleshed out characters in the book, and I adored all the flashbacks with them together. Their friends-to-lovers arc was so predictable but also so wonderful, and I loved following the complexities of their relationship throughout the book.
- Lore’s own battle with her internal conflict was wonderful. The balance between destiny and choice, and grappling with wrong choices made in the past… It was all handled very well. I really appreciated the discussion of sexism in ancient Greek culture/mythology as well. Thematically, a great novel.
- THIS BOOK IS BASICALLY PERCY JACKSON FOR OLDER TEENS. I know you could probably say that about any mythology-based book, but seriously. The amount of research that went into this book to make it mythologically accurate, the setting (NYC!), and the constant action — it was giving off strong Percy vibes for sure.
Overall, this was a very fun read. It definitely seemed like it was trying a little too hard to be something it wasn’t, but I sped through it pretty quickly and I had a good time. It wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t not recommend it, you know? Percy Jackson and fantasy fans will enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny