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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Mostly a note for myself so I remember I tried this and wasn't a fan:
I only got 100 pages in and returned it to the library. I really couldn't gauge what age group this book was meant for. The writing seemed about middle school level, which is typical for a lot of the YA I've been reading lately, but based on other reviews it seems the content got a lot more graphic than I think middle school readers should be exposed to. I also found it difficult to keep track of the bloodlines (which were alive, which had ended) and had a similarly difficult time with the idea of "new gods" and transfer of power.
I only got 100 pages in and returned it to the library. I really couldn't gauge what age group this book was meant for. The writing seemed about middle school level, which is typical for a lot of the YA I've been reading lately, but based on other reviews it seems the content got a lot more graphic than I think middle school readers should be exposed to. I also found it difficult to keep track of the bloodlines (which were alive, which had ended) and had a similarly difficult time with the idea of "new gods" and transfer of power.
Let me be clear: when I rate Lore by Alexandra Bracken 4 stars I am really rating Melora "Lore" Perseous, daughter of the Perseides, last of her bloodline, 4 stars. And from what I'm seeing of other reviews, they feel the same way. Everything else is nonsensical and haphazard.
Honestly, one of my favorite fantasy novels I've read in a long time! It feels like no part of character development, world building, and plot went untouched and I walked away after reading feeling excited and relieved for our main characters.
Definitely on the gore-y side throughout the book, but it's done in a way that brings both purpose and humanity to the table, which only adds to the main takeaways of the main characters and highlights important themes I think Alexandra Bracken wants us to consider as readers.
Will be recommending this to all my fantasy-loving friends, but especially those who love Greek-inspired fantasy!
Definitely on the gore-y side throughout the book, but it's done in a way that brings both purpose and humanity to the table, which only adds to the main takeaways of the main characters and highlights important themes I think Alexandra Bracken wants us to consider as readers.
Will be recommending this to all my fantasy-loving friends, but especially those who love Greek-inspired fantasy!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have made a habit recently of reading mythology books that are geared toward teenagers because they are so action packed. Lore is an excellent addition to this canon.
Melora Perseous is a descendant of Perseus, the hero that slayed Medusa. As a descendant of a hero, she is bound to participate in the Agon: the event that turns the Greek gods to mortals, allowing them to be hunted and killed, and for the mortal that kills them to become the new god. In the last hunt, her family was murdered by a rival line. She vowed to get away from this world. Instead, she gets pulled back in by her childhood friend, Castor, and the goddess Athena, one of the last original gods in the Agon.
This book is plotted so carefully - information is revealed to the reader sparingly, increasing the mystery of the the Agon and of Lore's history as each page turns. Lore is a wonderful character, who grows and changes over the course of the book as her world shatters and is rebuilt around her.
This book is a little more mature than a lot of the other YA mythology books, but I highly recommend it!
I have made a habit recently of reading mythology books that are geared toward teenagers because they are so action packed. Lore is an excellent addition to this canon.
Melora Perseous is a descendant of Perseus, the hero that slayed Medusa. As a descendant of a hero, she is bound to participate in the Agon: the event that turns the Greek gods to mortals, allowing them to be hunted and killed, and for the mortal that kills them to become the new god. In the last hunt, her family was murdered by a rival line. She vowed to get away from this world. Instead, she gets pulled back in by her childhood friend, Castor, and the goddess Athena, one of the last original gods in the Agon.
This book is plotted so carefully - information is revealed to the reader sparingly, increasing the mystery of the the Agon and of Lore's history as each page turns. Lore is a wonderful character, who grows and changes over the course of the book as her world shatters and is rebuilt around her.
This book is a little more mature than a lot of the other YA mythology books, but I highly recommend it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Fear is a foreign land I shall never visit and a language that will never cross my tongue.”
The idea of this book is fantastic. Hunger games meets Greek mythology.
“I was born knowing how to do three things - how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.”
Pros:
- the mc didn’t piss me off, didn’t make any outwardly dumb decisions or keep things to herself
- the plot twists were great, it made sense and wasn’t just thrown in there for the hell of it
- loved the personality of Athena and her character journey
- the lgbt+ representation, it was just there and was never spoken about directly
- feminism and climate change managed it’s way in there too
Cons:
- I like my men morally grey and as lovely as Castor was, he was too nice and a bit annoying not letting Lore do what she needed to do
- couldn’t keep up with all the Ancient Greek mythology stories(?). Sometimes it felt like an information dump
- if you are not familiar with the Greek gods/goddesses you might want to brush up on the main ones before reading
- ending was not what I wanted at all
- could’ve been a fantastic duology!
- not much closure
“Fear is a foreign land I shall never visit and a language that will never cross my tongue.”
The idea of this book is fantastic. Hunger games meets Greek mythology.
“I was born knowing how to do three things - how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.”
Pros:
- the mc didn’t piss me off, didn’t make any outwardly dumb decisions or keep things to herself
- the plot twists were great, it made sense and wasn’t just thrown in there for the hell of it
- loved the personality of Athena and her character journey
- the lgbt+ representation, it was just there and was never spoken about directly
- feminism and climate change managed it’s way in there too
Cons:
- I like my men morally grey and as lovely as Castor was, he was too nice and a bit annoying not letting Lore do what she needed to do
- couldn’t keep up with all the Ancient Greek mythology stories(?). Sometimes it felt like an information dump
- if you are not familiar with the Greek gods/goddesses you might want to brush up on the main ones before reading
- ending was not what I wanted at all
- could’ve been a fantastic duology!
- not much closure
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Lately I am just having a long string of finding books with fantastic starts and great middles, but that quickly go downhill towards the end. Sadly, this is one of those stories.
To start with; can we stop with unnecessary sexism in stories?
It would make sense if the story was set in old times or if it was a selected few who believe women inferior. But no, this is a modern day setting with bloodlines that extend to dozens of families (and people who marry into these families). So apparently dozens of modern day people still believe in ridiculous ideas like men have a natural upper hand on women? And on top of that, in this very story there are two original Gods still going. Athena and Artemis. That's right, the female Gods are still fighting in this story where women are seen as less than.
There's also one part of the story where the evil-old-enough-to-be-Lore's-father villain wants ten-year-old-Lore as his childbirde. It's gross, it's weird, it doesn't fit in the modern day setting and it doesn't even go anywhere! Both this trope and the unnecessary sexism have explanations behind them but let's be clear, they're very weak explanation because they don't even go anywhere. It's just thrown in because heaven forbid we have a female main character who doesn't have to prove her worth because she was born with a vagina. You could easily cut both these tropes out and the entire story would continue without pause.
Last moan involves the ending so I'll put under the spoiler tag for anyone who wants to experience it themselves.
Right near the end it is reveal that Athena is the one who brutally murdered Lore's family, including her toddler and infant sisters. This comes out of nowhere, with no build up or foreshadowing or anything that would actually make it a good twist.
And maybe this is more a pet peeve, but even if it had been hinted at, I still would have hated it. The author did a pretty nice job of sticking to original Greek Stories and keeping the Gods in character to how they have been described throughout the years. Now, by all means, someone correct me if they know a story I don't but I've never heard any tale where Athena slowly tortured a baby.
On top of it being a genuinely gross choice, it also doesn't even work with the rest of the story. She tortured Lore's family but chose not to torture Lore because she wanted the Shield? So why torture Lore's family in the first place? For her location? Well why not just wait for her to return (like she ended up doing!) when the family obviously doesn't know? Why torture a baby?! Even if she wanted to torture one of the kids for the parents, why torture them both?! And then brag about it like some horror movie villain?
And after all that, she isn't the bad guy in the end? I mean, she tecnically is but Lore seems to forgive her and it even feels like the story is trying to suggest we're actually meant to feel sorry for her during her final moments. Like she's been struggling for daddies praise, for her lost pride, and we should feel sad that she's been put through so much? She tortured a baby!!!
When her end finally comes, it doesn't feel like a great sacrifice. It doesn't feel deserved. It doesn't really feel anything except uncomfortable and extremely disappointing.
On other thing. And again, this could be another nit pick but it bothered me. Throughout the story, Artemis is shown to be losing her mind and the excuse given is that she has lost one half of her soul (Apollo). But then the end of the book reveals Apollo willingly sacrificed himself for Castor and ascended... That just feels so unsatisfying because all I can think is, is Apollo affected by Artemis' death? Is he going crazy now? I mean, Artemis murdered a bunch of kids but if that's why she doesn't get a happy ending then why the hell does Athena who also butchered children? Was this meant to be a happy ending for them?!
This isn't necessarily a bad story. Lore's a good character (except for forced "I'm a monster" moments which come and go whenever convenient but doesn't really play a consistent role in the story) and the side characters are all good, interesting and unique in their own ways. I actually liked what it was doing with Athena and Artemis at the beginning (it was just the end that was a let down). The romance was meh. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either and that in and of itself is a pretty good achievement and the writing and plot is still very well done for the most part.
Unfortunately the whole book is still let down massively by the unnecessary tropes and cliches that don't even go anywhere in the story. They're just sort of thrown in for the sake of it or as if to pad the pages out. That, and the fact that I just wanted so much more from this story means I can't give it more than a 2 and a half star.
To start with; can we stop with unnecessary sexism in stories?
It would make sense if the story was set in old times or if it was a selected few who believe women inferior. But no, this is a modern day setting with bloodlines that extend to dozens of families (and people who marry into these families). So apparently dozens of modern day people still believe in ridiculous ideas like men have a natural upper hand on women? And on top of that, in this very story there are two original Gods still going. Athena and Artemis. That's right, the female Gods are still fighting in this story where women are seen as less than.
There's also one part of the story where the evil-old-enough-to-be-Lore's-father villain wants ten-year-old-Lore as his childbirde. It's gross, it's weird, it doesn't fit in the modern day setting and it doesn't even go anywhere! Both this trope and the unnecessary sexism have explanations behind them but let's be clear, they're very weak explanation because they don't even go anywhere. It's just thrown in because heaven forbid we have a female main character who doesn't have to prove her worth because she was born with a vagina. You could easily cut both these tropes out and the entire story would continue without pause.
Last moan involves the ending so I'll put under the spoiler tag for anyone who wants to experience it themselves.
And maybe this is more a pet peeve, but even if it had been hinted at, I still would have hated it. The author did a pretty nice job of sticking to original Greek Stories and keeping the Gods in character to how they have been described throughout the years. Now, by all means, someone correct me if they know a story I don't but I've never heard any tale where Athena slowly tortured a baby.
On top of it being a genuinely gross choice, it also doesn't even work with the rest of the story. She tortured Lore's family but chose not to torture Lore because she wanted the Shield? So why torture Lore's family in the first place? For her location? Well why not just wait for her to return (like she ended up doing!) when the family obviously doesn't know? Why torture a baby?! Even if she wanted to torture one of the kids for the parents, why torture them both?! And then brag about it like some horror movie villain?
And after all that, she isn't the bad guy in the end? I mean, she tecnically is but Lore seems to forgive her and it even feels like the story is trying to suggest we're actually meant to feel sorry for her during her final moments. Like she's been struggling for daddies praise, for her lost pride, and we should feel sad that she's been put through so much? She tortured a baby!!!
When her end finally comes, it doesn't feel like a great sacrifice. It doesn't feel deserved. It doesn't really feel anything except uncomfortable and extremely disappointing.
On other thing. And again, this could be another nit pick but it bothered me. Throughout the story, Artemis is shown to be losing her mind and the excuse given is that she has lost one half of her soul (Apollo). But then the end of the book reveals Apollo willingly sacrificed himself for Castor and ascended... That just feels so unsatisfying because all I can think is, is Apollo affected by Artemis' death? Is he going crazy now? I mean, Artemis murdered a bunch of kids but if that's why she doesn't get a happy ending then why the hell does Athena who also butchered children? Was this meant to be a happy ending for them?!
This isn't necessarily a bad story. Lore's a good character (except for forced "I'm a monster" moments which come and go whenever convenient but doesn't really play a consistent role in the story) and the side characters are all good, interesting and unique in their own ways. I actually liked what it was doing with Athena and Artemis at the beginning (it was just the end that was a let down). The romance was meh. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either and that in and of itself is a pretty good achievement and the writing and plot is still very well done for the most part.
Unfortunately the whole book is still let down massively by the unnecessary tropes and cliches that don't even go anywhere in the story. They're just sort of thrown in for the sake of it or as if to pad the pages out. That, and the fact that I just wanted so much more from this story means I can't give it more than a 2 and a half star.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When I first began reading this book, I felt as if I was left out of a joke or a story everyone else knew. However, as I got further and further into it I wanted more than just a sample- I wanted to read the whole book and figure out what happened to her family and if she gets revenge. One of the things that drew me in was the greek mythology, so I imagine this will attract many more readers.
exited for the release- will read depending on the cost!
exited for the release- will read depending on the cost!