Reviews - Lore | The StoryGraph

8.92k reviews for:

1.5 stars.

[Content warnings: blood/gore/violence etc (including beheadings and loss of limbs); sexual assault; death of family members. Nothing in this review].

I've had a few lacklustre books this year, but this one somehow felt like more of a slog. Maybe because it was so long, and because I was so unbelievably lost for most of it.

About that - I think Alexandra Bracken really overcomplicated what could have otherwise been a punchy and engaging idea. But there was too much going on. I don't know if Bracken just gave the average reader too much credit in terms of how much we know about Greek mythology, but having to get to grips with all of that and all the other fictional thinkings Bracken wanted to throw in was too big for my lil brain to handle, frankly. There is even a long scene where the gist gets laid out to a clueless character, and I still couldn't follow.

So I tried my best to follow along blindly, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't severely impact how much I cared about the story. It didn't help that I think a bunch of information was deliberately withheld from readers for too long just for the sake of twists and surprises later in the novel.

And then the characters...? I didn't care about them either, and I couldn't tell you much about any of them except Lore herself.

Smidge of appreciation for some hints of nice romance, and a nice use of setting.

theballer's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

annewrites's review against another edition

1.0

DNF (28%)

I love Greek mythology-inspired stuff, so I really wanted to like this. But, sorry, I was just kind of...bored. So I stopped.

bmspeaks's review against another edition

3.0

This book had some very good qualities. I really enjoy the Greek mythology of it all and the use of the various gods through the competition. I just thought it was too long. I was losing interest in the story towards the end. Overall, this is a good and interesting read.

kgocova's review against another edition

3.0

This was unfortunately a dissapointment for me. The book's not bad - it's just lacking something.

The characters are amazing, the plot's interesting, it's obvious that the author did a lot of research and preparing, her writing's also great...but it's just not the great greek adventure I was hoping for.

I felt like some things were barely explained and then some were so unneccessary complicated. Definitely a roller-coaster.

I love greek mythology and I'm always so excited about the books that are inspired by it, Lore seemled like it would tick all the boxes for me. I was expecting more mythological characters, stories and mostly references - little details that would make the nerd in me squeal with joy but that didn't happen.

sirensongreads's review against another edition

4.0

As the first book, I managed to complete since the worst of the slump took hold, I really enjoyed this one. This was a fun, easy read with characters that I enjoyed. While there wasn't anything particularly special or unique about this book, there was just something that kept me reading.