Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

84 reviews

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Violence, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

Minor: Genocide

darquedreamer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one was captivating enough to keep me reading until the end, but it definitely had its problems. I feel like it lacked more back story and explanation for the agon and the history of the gods and why the hunters were hunting them. I wanted more about hunters killing the gods and ascending with their power and more explanation about the bloodlines. There were several moments of confusion to be had during the story.

For the most part, I enjoyed the characters, but there were also a lot of moments of "ugh, really?" Lore seemed strong and capable through most of the story, but also had her fair share of unlikable attributes. And, there was just no chemistry between the "romantiship" (yes, I'm making it a word) characters. The feelings felt forced, like, "oh, this is a fantasy ya, we need a little romance."

I also wish there had been more to the plot and the hunt itself. This story could have been a duology so we could have gotten the back story we needed, along with the plot we were promised. Though, I enjoyed the gore and the shocking moments, I felt like there wasn't enough story flow, and there were too many predictable and eye rolling moments.

The ending was pretty lack luster as well. It felt like someone said, "oh no, if we don't wrap this up now, we'll need another book," and then decided to be done with it. We had almost 500 pages in this thing, and had like one chapter for "resolution" which left a few issues unresolved and unexplained. 

I just wanted, and expected, more. In the moment, Lore kept my interest, but now that I finished it, I feel disappointed. The excitement and hype while reading was fleeting and I'm left with missing what drew me in. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Grief and Blood

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Cancer

lqvekanej's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Grief, Violence, Ableism, and Death of parent

jacq_benoit's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Blood, Sexual assault, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness

grace_reads13's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, War, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Sexual assault

anhe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Completely different to what I expected. Greek myths and deities reimagined in our modern world. I liked the world that was created and the little hints and jokes to myths. At times I was confused and wondering whether I had missed some important information. You find out about the world and it's history and rules throughout the book so the first about 100 pages I had no idea what was going on and felt very confused. As a mystery it was good and you got to know bits and pieces of the backstory every now and again.
It was much more violent than I expected. There are a lot of graphic fight scenes and deaths.
The ending felt a bit rushed and abrupt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Murder and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault

elntastic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Chronic illness

withlivjones's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

I was originally daunted to start this book considering how long it is, but let me tell you I could not put it down! A thrilling storyline, compelling characters, and so many twists that I had no clue what to expect next! 

I think that Lore is a wonderfully developed protagonist with a lot of flaws but who nevertheless manages to be very likeable through her love of New York and her attachment to those she loves. Miles is your typical quirky best friend and I love the fact that his knowledge of the mortal realm helps massively within the plot. I also loved witnessing the development of his relationship with Van, and I would honestly jump at reading the exact same book again but told from either of their POVs. Aristos Kadmou - or Wrath - is an absolutely terrifying villain that exemplifies what happens when you give power to the wrong kind of person. The one character I didn’t really connect with was Castor, his characterisation was a little inconsistent for me and by the end he kind of came across as a golden retriever boy with no flaws to use as a character arc. That said, I still really enjoyed the romance between him and Lore. 

The plot twists are really what gives this book its oomph. They just keep coming and each one hit me like a truck, but at the same time they’re done in a clever way and actually serve a purpose rather than just being there for shock factor. The unreliable nature of Lore’s POV and how information is revealed very slowly adds to the fact that you honestly can’t fully trust any of the characters, not even the protagonist. 

For such a thrilling storyline, the ending felt a little underwhelming for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the action of the final fight scene, but everything seemed to move very quickly after that with the rest of the Agon being resolved “offscreen” as it were, and there are a few loose ends that are left, or that were tied up too conveniently. Who was Van’s source within the Kadmides? Why do the rest of the Kadmides suddenly decide to truce with the hunters they had been fighting with so eagerly, even with the suspicion that they had been betrayed? Could they really be so ready to abandon their leader and his cause? And how do the final lines of the poem fit with what actually happens to end the Agon? Considering how much detail is included in the rest of the book, I would have loved a little more elaboration at the end.

 

Overall, this is an action-packed book for mythology-lovers. I don’t know if I’d call it YA, and I think it might be better suited to older teenagers due to certain content in the story, as well as the complexity of the worldbuilding and how deeply it dives into Greek mythology - prior knowledge of a fair amount of mythology is definitely recommended in order to understand all the references and discussions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol and Gun violence

blissofalife's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

Bracken does a wonderful job weaving a new story out of Greek mythology and explaining background while not treating the reader like someone completely unfamiliar with the tales. No loose ends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Rape, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and War

Minor: Vomit, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Cursing, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Cancer

daniisrevding's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Torture, Rape, Misogyny, Vomit, Murder, and Cancer