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dominikag's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Terminal illness
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
We all need more standalones in the world, yay! I’m just gonna be really straightforward and say if you loved Percy Jackson as a kid, this is kinda like that but much more violent and a little less humorous BUT it has a nice side of snarky gods. I did find myself bookmarking a number of quotable sections that had me reflecting a bit about friendship and weapon choices, and war— you know those weekend time-passers. This is a story of finding belonging in a harsh (brutal, masochistic) community, testing loyalties, believing in friends, and most importantly reckoning with past mistakes—so there’s like 5% romance which I also loved to see the focus slide away from. It’s super fast paced with lots of twists—an ideal book to get you out of a book slump.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Terminal illness, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault
katsudonburi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Terminal illness
daisyneja's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really loved this book. It's been a while since I read a YA fantasy so I was completely surprised by all of plot twists. I loved that Lore's romance was included but it was not the center of attention through most of the book and I really liked how she wrote the antagonist's story. The ending could have been a little bit more spread out, but I still like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Grief, Death, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Rape, and Sexual violence
thebookwormadventures's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
mearaisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Vomit
jamieleepilk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Violence
emilyhays's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I went into this book only knowing that it had greek mythology elements and I was really pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the "game" aspect of the plot. It's super violent, but I really don't mind that in books, and the main character has a really angry and violent outlook on life, which 15 year-old me related to hard. Overall, I would recommend it and will recommend it to people at work, and teenage Emily definitely saw no flaw in it, so in that aspect I think it's great!
24 year-old, Emily, however, saw some issue in the development of the characters, and the lack of female friendships and diversity. I also had some issue with the pacing, it's an extremely fast-paced book for how long it is, and things are constantly happening one right after the other. There are a few mysteries going on in the background and I found that because of the quickness of the book, twists kept getting thrown at me and left me a little bit confused as to what was going on.
I think this book would've benefitted to have the Agon be like, a month instead of 8 days, that way all the plot could have happened still, but there would have been breathing room to better contextualize the modern fantasy elements. (idk if that makes sense, I'm rambling.)
I was disappointed in the lack of diversity of the characters as well, even though all of them are Greek, it takes place in modern-day New York City, one of the most diverse cities ever (plus, who says Greek people have to be white, anyways).
As for the lack of female friendships, it really bothered me that all the female characters, including Lore, the main character, [minor spoilers] all eventually had ulterior motives going on that never really allowed those female alliances to happen, when there is literally a whole conversation in the middle of the book talking about the blatant misogyny that goes on within this world.
24 year-old, Emily, however, saw some issue in the development of the characters, and the lack of female friendships and diversity. I also had some issue with the pacing, it's an extremely fast-paced book for how long it is, and things are constantly happening one right after the other. There are a few mysteries going on in the background and I found that because of the quickness of the book, twists kept getting thrown at me and left me a little bit confused as to what was going on.
I think this book would've benefitted to have the Agon be like, a month instead of 8 days, that way all the plot could have happened still, but there would have been breathing room to better contextualize the modern fantasy elements. (idk if that makes sense, I'm rambling.)
I was disappointed in the lack of diversity of the characters as well, even though all of them are Greek, it takes place in modern-day New York City, one of the most diverse cities ever (plus, who says Greek people have to be white, anyways).
As for the lack of female friendships, it really bothered me that all the female characters, including Lore, the main character, [minor spoilers] all eventually had ulterior motives going on that never really allowed those female alliances to happen, when there is literally a whole conversation in the middle of the book talking about the blatant misogyny that goes on within this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Gore, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
eliza_jo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
How do you cope if you don’t really like yourself, and want to escape your destiny? Melora (Lore) has ghosts haunting her, and it’s fair to say there’s the looming possibility of death that hovers over her as well.
This book has a really intriguing concept. It’s Greek mythology meets the Hunger Games in modern New York City.
Lore is a kick-ass feminist YA fantasy novel that combines intrigue and action while developing a rich protagonist. Lore’s an intriguing character who’s wrestling with a lot of demons. She’s haunted by choices she’s made and regrets she has, and she’s scarred by loss. These factors inform a lot of her decisions. When someone from her past (that she believed was dead) shows up, she feels her old life imposing on the new life she’s carved out for herself. She’s still determined to avoid her past, but circumstances prevent that. When she finds an injured god on her doorstep, she has to make some tough choices that pull her back into the Agon, where she has to fight for her life against the descendants of the ancient bloodlines, old gods, and new (false) gods who remain.
The tension between Lore’s old life and new life affects her motivation and choices throughout the entire story. On one hand, this is an action-packed book. Lore has to sneak into buildings, spy on enemies for information, and flee for her life on multiple occasions. There are also a lot of fight scenes. It isn’t enough that Lore’s own life hangs in the balance; her roommate is a potential target who doesn’t have supernatural abilities and has no idea what he’s been pulled into. As the last of her bloodline, Lore has to scramble to find allies wherever she can, and trust isn’t easy to come by. It doesn’t help that there are a lot of secrets Lore’s keeping, and she’s still wrestling with her guilt.
One one level, this is a story about epic battles and rival bloodlines, with sinister gods who will do anything to win the Agon. On another level, there’s a deep love between Lore and Castor that’s evident from the start of the story, but there are a lot of obstacles that make it hard for them to trust each other, and the possibility of a future seems hopeless. Their focus is on surviving the Agon, and as events progress this seems less and less likely.
Lore also has a rich character arc. She comes to terms with her past, and the choices she’s made that have affected her life and her relationships.
The multiple layers of the story had me thoroughly engrossed. I felt like no part of the story lagged, and I was just as interested in their recon operations and battles as I was in her history and how it impacted the present. Honestly, after a number of great reads, I couldn’t put this book down. And it’s important to note that none of the critical storytelling elements were sacrificed. The character development was as comprehensive as the plot and subplots, and there were plenty of surprises along the way.
Lore is also one of the strongest feminist stories I’ve read in a long time. I thought it was intriguing that the author raised the fact that history is written by the victors, and that as the rulers within their society, men determined what myths were passed on and changed the substance of them. There were a lot of bloodlines and names to keep straight, and I think it would have been easier to read this in hard copy, because there was a directory at the back. I had an e-arc, so I didn’t flip back and forth. Still, the volume of names and groups didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story at all.
Bracken uses an immersive writing style and takes you right inside the character, allowing you to feel her pain and uncertainty as she wrestles with the choices she’s forced to make, and this suits the story very well. It would have made my top 5 reads of the year if I’d read it earlier, but since I finished it after our best of lists were done, it counts as my first 5/5 read for my 2021 list.
Review originally posted on Sci Fi and Scary
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Terminal illness, and Sexual assault
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