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A review by baechael
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was able to get a physical copy of this book through my job as a bookseller, though I am very grateful to Edelweiss and Netgalley for giving me access to the ebook version of it as well. That being said, all opinions are my own and I was not paid for this review.
If you must know anything about me it is that one of my absolute favorite fantasy sub-genres is “based on mythology” fantasy. It would be hard to find a mythology-based fantasy book that I didn’t enjoy. So with that being said, I absolutely loved Lore!! (Which I pronounced Lor-ay, I don’t know if that’s the way the author intended it to be pronounced but I figured it would be close enough to the Greek pronunciation to be correct.)
In it we follow Lore, who (after the brutal murder of her family) is the last living in the ancient line of the Perseides and is determined to stay out of the Agon, a week-long fight every seven years to kill and gain the powers of nine ancient Greek gods. Unfortunately, she finds a wounded Athena on her doorstep and is very quickly brought back into the game she tried to stay away from. Not only that, but her childhood best friend is now a god and a new Ares wants something from her.
I completely flew through this book! I loved the modern take on the Greek gods, and it was refreshing (though gruesome) to see the brutality of the ancient gods in a modern setting. I feel like the natures of ancient gods get watered down in modern retellings and it added just a bit more bite to see their more dangerous personalities. The ones where they don’t care about humans because they themselves don’t actually have any humanity. The Agon was an interesting setting and since I’ve read quite a few books set in New York City it added a little bit of *spice* and a new lens to view the city. The themes of friendship and family were really heartwarming, especially because this book is much more grisly than you may think. There are also some really sweet background romances going on which I absolutely loved! (I may have squealed a couple times.)
If you were, or still are, a fan of Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games but want something a little more grown-up I would definitely check this book out. Fans of Madeline Miller would find this a fun read as well.
If you must know anything about me it is that one of my absolute favorite fantasy sub-genres is “based on mythology” fantasy. It would be hard to find a mythology-based fantasy book that I didn’t enjoy. So with that being said, I absolutely loved Lore!! (Which I pronounced Lor-ay, I don’t know if that’s the way the author intended it to be pronounced but I figured it would be close enough to the Greek pronunciation to be correct.)
In it we follow Lore, who (after the brutal murder of her family) is the last living in the ancient line of the Perseides and is determined to stay out of the Agon, a week-long fight every seven years to kill and gain the powers of nine ancient Greek gods. Unfortunately, she finds a wounded Athena on her doorstep and is very quickly brought back into the game she tried to stay away from. Not only that, but her childhood best friend is now a god and a new Ares wants something from her.
I completely flew through this book! I loved the modern take on the Greek gods, and it was refreshing (though gruesome) to see the brutality of the ancient gods in a modern setting. I feel like the natures of ancient gods get watered down in modern retellings and it added just a bit more bite to see their more dangerous personalities. The ones where they don’t care about humans because they themselves don’t actually have any humanity. The Agon was an interesting setting and since I’ve read quite a few books set in New York City it added a little bit of *spice* and a new lens to view the city. The themes of friendship and family were really heartwarming, especially because this book is much more grisly than you may think. There are also some really sweet background romances going on which I absolutely loved! (I may have squealed a couple times.)
If you were, or still are, a fan of Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games but want something a little more grown-up I would definitely check this book out. Fans of Madeline Miller would find this a fun read as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Gore, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Sexual assault