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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
I liked the characters, but overall I don’t believe that they really had the depth that this kind of story really needed.
The use of mythology this way was intriguing to read about. I have never seen anything with this kind of adaption, with modern day war with Gods and hunters.
While there were certain parts that sort of fell a bit flat, there were also others that made this story interesting enough to keep me reading.
Ending was well tied for the most part, but did seem a bit rushed and slightly abrupt.
The use of mythology this way was intriguing to read about. I have never seen anything with this kind of adaption, with modern day war with Gods and hunters.
While there were certain parts that sort of fell a bit flat, there were also others that made this story interesting enough to keep me reading.
Ending was well tied for the most part, but did seem a bit rushed and slightly abrupt.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is one of those YA action powerhouses in which not a page goes by without intensity and betrayal and death. Overall it’s an awesome take on Greek mythology and an interesting twist. I really appreciated Lore and the cast of main characters, particularly Castor who just seemed good no matter what. My only critique was that some parts moved so quickly it was difficult to keep track of what was happening, other than that it was a good read.
In the time between buying and reading this book I've read many other greek mythology related/inspired books that were bad. So when I picked up "Lore" I was prepared to not like it. But GOD how wrong I was. This book has everything I love. Female character who's not weak and whiny, who's not annoying and who's not all over the love interest the second they met. Lore is a tough badass girlie and I love her character (of course she's the special/chosen one and her parents are dead, we're talking about a fantasy book here). I knew who the love interest would be at the moment we met him but I didn't mind it much. The love plotline is nice enough and doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story. I LOVE Miles and Van. I SHIPPED THEM SO HARD AND THEY KISSED <3333 They're amazing. I love their characters. And the plot itself was very interesting. Full of action and twists. Some I predicted but most I didn't. I couldn't stop reading and every time I stopped, I wanted to be reading again. I could say the end was a bit eh but not too bad. I'm really glad I'm starting the year with this book.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars: ★★★★☆
"How we are remembered is less important than what we do now."
In Lore, 17-year-old Melora must once again face the Agon, a deadly battle every 7 years between the 8 Greek Gods punished for disobeying Zeus centuries ago, who are made mortal and whose powers stolen by their killers for 7 days, and the surviving descendants of some of the greatest Greek heroes. Lore is the final survivor of the line of Perseus and is largely alone in the world after hiding from the Agon and its members for many years once her family was murdered by their opponents. Lore thinks she has escaped the Agon until one day she returns home and finds the goddess Athena, mortal and open to attack and the theft of her powers by anyone who kills her, bleeding out on her front porch.
Lore lets the goddess in, and so rejoins the Agon, its gruesome and unforgiving culture, and also some of the friends she left behind when she first tried to escape. Will this band of unlikely heroes; a descendant of Perseus, a goddess, a newly-ascended God after his theft of Apollo's powers, and a couple of clever mortals; finally bring about the end of the Agon after centuries of violence and suffering? Or will they, too, fall under the spell of greed when the power of ancient Gods is offered to them?
Oof. This book has everything! Ancient Greek myths. Violence. Sexual and emotional abuse. Fight scenes. Romance. Mystery. Betrayals. Plots. Secrets. Gods in disguise. This basically felt like if [b:The Lightning Thief|28187|The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400602609l/28187._SY75_.jpg|3346751], [b:American Gods|30165203|American Gods (American Gods, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462924585l/30165203._SY75_.jpg|1970226], and [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586722975l/2767052._SY75_.jpg|2792775] had a very violent baby. And while this may sound like a fascinating combination of books (and indeed it is), I will warn readers that there are so many plots and subplots and background information and dense world-building all wrapped up into this one book that I often felt myself missing things. And despite going back and rereading certain complicated or particularly important sections, I've still walked away feeling like I missed some things.
I respect that this tale was a massive undertaking for Bracken, and while I think it stumbled a little on its own complexity, it was still a page-turner that kept me engaged from the very beginning. It just took a little more effort than usual to keep up with all the details.
Oh! And I cannot forget to talk about Castor, a primary love interest (no spoilers ;) ) and very large and powerful but also very gentle and soft boy. We love Castor. My new book beau, I think.
Anyway, if you like The Hunger Games/Greek Mythology/ancient Gods in a modern world, you will probably like this book! Warning that it is very dark, violent, and includes some references to the sexual assault of underaged girls. But I think these things are used wisely and handled well, and I hope you will too. Lore is a solid addition to the YA world, and could probably pass as a pretty exceptional adult novel, too.
4/5 stars: ★★★★☆
"How we are remembered is less important than what we do now."
In Lore, 17-year-old Melora must once again face the Agon, a deadly battle every 7 years between the 8 Greek Gods punished for disobeying Zeus centuries ago, who are made mortal and whose powers stolen by their killers for 7 days, and the surviving descendants of some of the greatest Greek heroes. Lore is the final survivor of the line of Perseus and is largely alone in the world after hiding from the Agon and its members for many years once her family was murdered by their opponents. Lore thinks she has escaped the Agon until one day she returns home and finds the goddess Athena, mortal and open to attack and the theft of her powers by anyone who kills her, bleeding out on her front porch.
Lore lets the goddess in, and so rejoins the Agon, its gruesome and unforgiving culture, and also some of the friends she left behind when she first tried to escape. Will this band of unlikely heroes; a descendant of Perseus, a goddess, a newly-ascended God after his theft of Apollo's powers, and a couple of clever mortals; finally bring about the end of the Agon after centuries of violence and suffering? Or will they, too, fall under the spell of greed when the power of ancient Gods is offered to them?
Oof. This book has everything! Ancient Greek myths. Violence. Sexual and emotional abuse. Fight scenes. Romance. Mystery. Betrayals. Plots. Secrets. Gods in disguise. This basically felt like if [b:The Lightning Thief|28187|The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400602609l/28187._SY75_.jpg|3346751], [b:American Gods|30165203|American Gods (American Gods, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462924585l/30165203._SY75_.jpg|1970226], and [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586722975l/2767052._SY75_.jpg|2792775] had a very violent baby. And while this may sound like a fascinating combination of books (and indeed it is), I will warn readers that there are so many plots and subplots and background information and dense world-building all wrapped up into this one book that I often felt myself missing things. And despite going back and rereading certain complicated or particularly important sections, I've still walked away feeling like I missed some things.
I respect that this tale was a massive undertaking for Bracken, and while I think it stumbled a little on its own complexity, it was still a page-turner that kept me engaged from the very beginning. It just took a little more effort than usual to keep up with all the details.
Oh! And I cannot forget to talk about Castor, a primary love interest (no spoilers ;) ) and very large and powerful but also very gentle and soft boy. We love Castor. My new book beau, I think.
Anyway, if you like The Hunger Games/Greek Mythology/ancient Gods in a modern world, you will probably like this book! Warning that it is very dark, violent, and includes some references to the sexual assault of underaged girls. But I think these things are used wisely and handled well, and I hope you will too. Lore is a solid addition to the YA world, and could probably pass as a pretty exceptional adult novel, too.
I initially thought I was enjoying this book, but after I finished reading it…wtf was that ending??? Not only was the ending trash and didn’t live up to all the “stakes” that were thrown around lazily throughout the book, but the one good thing that I thought would come out of it was Castor and Lore’s romance and the author FAILED ME! Like the childhood best friend/ protector to lovers to plot had so much potential and she ruined it my God. In my opinion it actually would have been better if Lore and Castor had become immortal at the end of the Agon. Like how much hotter would their romance be if they were both gods that got to spend eternity together(despite them being hunted every 7 years, which I’m also not sure if what they did actually ended the Agon or not). Miles, love him, I really do, but I definitely have always hated the “human trying to run with the ‘big boys’ “ trope (see Elena Gilbert). Like it’s okay for you as a human to sit down when your counterparts are literally trained fighters and one of them was a new god. Vance and Miles felt a lot like queer baiting because there’s a way to do enemies to lovers and this was NOT it. Vance went from so much hostility towards Miles being human, to all of a sudden being overtly worried about him and actually caring about his safety in a way that we were meant to see as endearing, but I was genuinely confused. Athena being the one to kill Lore’s family…when I tell you I was quite literally sick to my stomach! It was just too much. Lore definitely suffered a lot, and she liked to be by herself which is why even if her life depended on it, I don’t really see her as the type to bind her life a god’s seeing as how she despised them. The oath didn’t make sense, and due to the common trend in this book of plot lines having little to no payout, it was ultimately fake and meant nothing. I enjoy Greek mythology and the cover of this book was really pretty so I bought it. Do I regret reading it? No, but only because I needed to see for myself what the book was actually like after the BookTok recommendations. They were very ecstatic and enthusiastic about the greatness of this book and after some reflection, I no longer see it. Someone on TikTok said that the author gave us little to no reason to actually care about the characters and their well-being’s, and I understand where they were coming from, because the characters have no development. They’re just constantly betrayed, almost killed multiple times, and then kind of, maybe, possibly succeed at what they were initially trying to accomplish in the first place? Like what did I as a reader gain from reading this book? The short answer is nothing. This book is not for people who aren’t already familiar with Greek mythology because author just throws a whole bunch of jargon in there and expects you to already know and understand it. I don’t know, it was just underwhelming.
A Beautiful coming of age story of coming to terms with grief, rage, and acceptance in a modern myth twist. Lore explores themes of family, loyalty, betrayl and so much more. This book kept my attention from beginning to end - even between taking a long break. The environment that Bracken creates immerses you in the world of NYC from the lens of Greek mythology. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fantasy novel set in modern times and an action-packed adventure.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 stars
I wanted to love this one but it fell short for me.
I wanted to love this one but it fell short for me.