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emma7stirling's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I guess my biggest thing is that half way through, I started to realize I was loving the book just because it had Greek mythology in it. Everything else was interesting, but not always quite keeping me engaged.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Chronic illness
meloanpmc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
This story is essentially The Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson meets Scythe. It’s one of those books that you can’t put down, but once you finish it, you realize that it wasn’t that great. The suspense keeps you reading and helps you forget a lot of the inconsistencies, but after the (subpar) resolution, you’re left wondering why you were so enthralled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
rachrreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
<i>Lore</i> by Alexandra Bracken uses the gods from Greek Mythology in a way I have never seen before. Every seven years the Agon happens. Nine of the Greek gods, as a punishment from Zeus, are made mortal one week every seven years. They are hunted by those who wish to take their place as a god. These mortals are descendants of Greek heroes chosen by Zeus himself.
This book started off so well! Bracken did a great job of immersing you into this world; explaining not only the past of the Agon, but also the past of the main character. Lore, short for Melora, grew up learning to fight alongside Castor Achilleos. She was trained to believe it was an honor to kill the gods and take their power. Although, that was never a possibility for Lore. First off, her family was small, compared to the many other families in the Agon; they had no one to ally with. Secondly, she's a woman and the Agon is very set in it's patriarchy. She would only be able to wound a god and allow their patriarch to take the power.
This all changes when Lore's family is murdered and she is the only one left in her bloodline. Her family was murdered in the last Agon by the new Ares (known as Wrath). Lore runs from the Agon, believing she can leave it behind. She was fairly successful, until Athena shows up at her door bloody and asking for help. Athena offers Lore something she desperately wants; something she is unable to turn down.
The friendship between the main characters was so much fun to read and it didn't feel forced. Their bond was formed so easily, learning to trust each other when it mattered most. Each character had a role to play, no one was just there to fill a void.
This story was amazing! I kept wanting to read more and more. There is suspense and new twists at every turn, but the ending felt so rushed. Bracken spent so much time building the ending up, only for it to be done in a few chapters. This was a disservice to the characters and the story. I felt myself thinking "This is it? It's over?" I am disappointed in the many questions left about the ending and why it had to happen that way.
The ending is the one reason I had to put this as 4 stars instead of 5. Up until the last 100 pages this book was perfect to me. I would have gladly read a 500+ page book if the ending would've been more fleshed out. I will definitely be reading this again, though.
This book started off so well! Bracken did a great job of immersing you into this world; explaining not only the past of the Agon, but also the past of the main character. Lore, short for Melora, grew up learning to fight alongside Castor Achilleos. She was trained to believe it was an honor to kill the gods and take their power. Although, that was never a possibility for Lore. First off, her family was small, compared to the many other families in the Agon; they had no one to ally with. Secondly, she's a woman and the Agon is very set in it's patriarchy. She would only be able to wound a god and allow their patriarch to take the power.
This all changes when Lore's family is murdered and she is the only one left in her bloodline. Her family was murdered in the last Agon by the new Ares (known as Wrath). Lore runs from the Agon, believing she can leave it behind. She was fairly successful, until Athena shows up at her door bloody and asking for help. Athena offers Lore something she desperately wants; something she is unable to turn down.
The friendship between the main characters was so much fun to read and it didn't feel forced. Their bond was formed so easily, learning to trust each other when it mattered most. Each character had a role to play, no one was just there to fill a void.
This story was amazing! I kept wanting to read more and more. There is suspense and new twists at every turn, but the ending felt so rushed. Bracken spent so much time building the ending up, only for it to be done in a few chapters. This was a disservice to the characters and the story. I felt myself thinking "This is it? It's over?" I am disappointed in the many questions left about the ending and why it had to happen that way.
The ending is the one reason I had to put this as 4 stars instead of 5. Up until the last 100 pages this book was perfect to me. I would have gladly read a 500+ page book if the ending would've been more fleshed out. I will definitely be reading this again, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Chronic illness
Arranged marriage mentionannaelisa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
kenzyereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual assault
baechael's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was able to get a physical copy of this book through my job as a bookseller, though I am very grateful to Edelweiss and Netgalley for giving me access to the ebook version of it as well. That being said, all opinions are my own and I was not paid for this review.
If you must know anything about me it is that one of my absolute favorite fantasy sub-genres is “based on mythology” fantasy. It would be hard to find a mythology-based fantasy book that I didn’t enjoy. So with that being said, I absolutely loved Lore!! (Which I pronounced Lor-ay, I don’t know if that’s the way the author intended it to be pronounced but I figured it would be close enough to the Greek pronunciation to be correct.)
In it we follow Lore, who (after the brutal murder of her family) is the last living in the ancient line of the Perseides and is determined to stay out of the Agon, a week-long fight every seven years to kill and gain the powers of nine ancient Greek gods. Unfortunately, she finds a wounded Athena on her doorstep and is very quickly brought back into the game she tried to stay away from. Not only that, but her childhood best friend is now a god and a new Ares wants something from her.
I completely flew through this book! I loved the modern take on the Greek gods, and it was refreshing (though gruesome) to see the brutality of the ancient gods in a modern setting. I feel like the natures of ancient gods get watered down in modern retellings and it added just a bit more bite to see their more dangerous personalities. The ones where they don’t care about humans because they themselves don’t actually have any humanity. The Agon was an interesting setting and since I’ve read quite a few books set in New York City it added a little bit of *spice* and a new lens to view the city. The themes of friendship and family were really heartwarming, especially because this book is much more grisly than you may think. There are also some really sweet background romances going on which I absolutely loved! (I may have squealed a couple times.)
If you were, or still are, a fan of Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games but want something a little more grown-up I would definitely check this book out. Fans of Madeline Miller would find this a fun read as well.
If you must know anything about me it is that one of my absolute favorite fantasy sub-genres is “based on mythology” fantasy. It would be hard to find a mythology-based fantasy book that I didn’t enjoy. So with that being said, I absolutely loved Lore!! (Which I pronounced Lor-ay, I don’t know if that’s the way the author intended it to be pronounced but I figured it would be close enough to the Greek pronunciation to be correct.)
In it we follow Lore, who (after the brutal murder of her family) is the last living in the ancient line of the Perseides and is determined to stay out of the Agon, a week-long fight every seven years to kill and gain the powers of nine ancient Greek gods. Unfortunately, she finds a wounded Athena on her doorstep and is very quickly brought back into the game she tried to stay away from. Not only that, but her childhood best friend is now a god and a new Ares wants something from her.
I completely flew through this book! I loved the modern take on the Greek gods, and it was refreshing (though gruesome) to see the brutality of the ancient gods in a modern setting. I feel like the natures of ancient gods get watered down in modern retellings and it added just a bit more bite to see their more dangerous personalities. The ones where they don’t care about humans because they themselves don’t actually have any humanity. The Agon was an interesting setting and since I’ve read quite a few books set in New York City it added a little bit of *spice* and a new lens to view the city. The themes of friendship and family were really heartwarming, especially because this book is much more grisly than you may think. There are also some really sweet background romances going on which I absolutely loved! (I may have squealed a couple times.)
If you were, or still are, a fan of Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games but want something a little more grown-up I would definitely check this book out. Fans of Madeline Miller would find this a fun read as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Gore, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Sexual assault
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