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morwen1031 's review for:
Lore
by Alexandra Bracken
A five star rating doesn't necessarily equate with a "perfect" book. This book was not perfect in the literary sense - the ending felt rushed, the plot was muddled at times.
What this book was, however, was FUN. I had such a great time reading it, and if that doesn't deserve 5 stars, I'm not sure what does.
The "Hunger Games meets Greek mythology" descriptor is accurate, so I'll just get that out of the way. The Agon seems somewhat more flexible in its rules (i.e. you don't really have to die) than the Hunger Games did, however.
Lore, the title character, is all sorts of great. She's kind of your typical strong female, but she's seriously flawed, which I appreciate, because everyone hates a Mary Sue (SJM, I am looking at you).
There are enough twists and turns to keep me engaged, and there's a dash of romance, but nothing overbearing (SJM, again looking at you).
I'm also a sucker for a fantasy story overlaid over a real-world setting (in this case, NYC) because it lends a little more realism to the story. I know that sounds kind of antithetical when we're talking about a fantasy story, but I like a dash of realism, because it almost makes the escape seem that much more possible, you know? I know when I'm reading about unicorns and crap like that, I'm likely never going to see that stuff IRL, but reading about a Greek god throw-down in Central Park is going to make me look twice every time I walk through it, and give me that itsy-bitsy sort-of-but-not-really hope that maybe, just maybe, there is a little bit of magic out there.
Lastly, I don't usually appreciate standalones, because lord knows I have attachment issues and once I decide I like a character I don't want to let them go, but there's something to be said for a story that this fun that has a clear beginning and end - said ending is a decent enough resolution for the story, but is open-ended enough to allow for your own head-canon and dreams about what comes next. It was rushed, sure, but I think I'd rather have it rushed than dragged out ad nauseum over a bunch of subsequent books that really only amount to filler and money grabs.
So again, not a perfect story, but I dare you not to have a good time reading this. I loved it, and I look forward to revisiting it in the future.
What this book was, however, was FUN. I had such a great time reading it, and if that doesn't deserve 5 stars, I'm not sure what does.
The "Hunger Games meets Greek mythology" descriptor is accurate, so I'll just get that out of the way. The Agon seems somewhat more flexible in its rules (i.e. you don't really have to die) than the Hunger Games did, however.
Lore, the title character, is all sorts of great. She's kind of your typical strong female, but she's seriously flawed, which I appreciate, because everyone hates a Mary Sue (SJM, I am looking at you).
There are enough twists and turns to keep me engaged, and there's a dash of romance, but nothing overbearing (SJM, again looking at you).
I'm also a sucker for a fantasy story overlaid over a real-world setting (in this case, NYC) because it lends a little more realism to the story. I know that sounds kind of antithetical when we're talking about a fantasy story, but I like a dash of realism, because it almost makes the escape seem that much more possible, you know? I know when I'm reading about unicorns and crap like that, I'm likely never going to see that stuff IRL, but reading about a Greek god throw-down in Central Park is going to make me look twice every time I walk through it, and give me that itsy-bitsy sort-of-but-not-really hope that maybe, just maybe, there is a little bit of magic out there.
Lastly, I don't usually appreciate standalones, because lord knows I have attachment issues and once I decide I like a character I don't want to let them go, but there's something to be said for a story that this fun that has a clear beginning and end - said ending is a decent enough resolution for the story, but is open-ended enough to allow for your own head-canon and dreams about what comes next. It was rushed, sure, but I think I'd rather have it rushed than dragged out ad nauseum over a bunch of subsequent books that really only amount to filler and money grabs.
So again, not a perfect story, but I dare you not to have a good time reading this. I loved it, and I look forward to revisiting it in the future.