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A review by inkandplasma
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
5.0
Full review on my blog 28th January 2021: https://inkandplasma.com/2021/01/28/lore/
Trigger Warnings: murder (including graphic murder of children and murder of parents), death, misogyny, gore, terminal illness, abuse, arranged marriage, attempted rape.
I was absolutely heartbroken when I didn't get an ARC of this one (et tu Hachette) and so as soon as this one released I listened to the entire audiobook in one sitting whilst doing a particularly evil jigsaw. As long as it still counts as one sitting if I had to keep pausing it to pace in and out of the living room to yell about how stressed I was over this incredible Greek mythology based story.
I knew I was going to love Lore, but I underestimated just how much. I like anything with good Greek mythology to it, and this was spectacular. The premise of the Agon, where gods are made mortal for seven days and mortals allowed to kill them to ascend to godhood, is *incredible* and I am absolutely obsessed with it. The ever-changing roster of gods, each taking their predecessor's powers and choosing new names for themselves, is going to fuel my imagination for months. Hi, I'll be challenging Hades so I can *rule death.* Okay, Hades wasn't involved in the Agon, and I would instantly die, but that's not my point. I loved the way that the world was developed, it made perfect sense that families would train their children to make ascension easier and to make it easier to take down gods. I'm a sucker for an underground world that most people don't know about.
Lore was all my favourite types of character rolled into one. At the start of the book she's distanced herself from the Agon, drawn back in by the original Athena lying bleeding out on her doorstep (and oh my *god* Athena is so scary and sexy in this book) and I loved the way that her reluctance, trained duties and her own revenge mission drew her back into the world she'd left. She's tough and resilient and made strong by some absolutely heart breaking tragedies in her past, but still loving and loyal to her friends. I adore her, and her character arc is incredible. The romance in this book is well developed and even I, romance-hater, loved it a lot. I loved the queer side romance even more, I was shipping it from the first time we saw the characters on page and I was *not disappointed*.
I adore the prose here, and once I'm free of my book buying ban, I might have to go back and read Alexandra Bracken's earlier work. I'm impressed by how well this incredibly complex book is threaded together with information given to the reader in the perfect moments for emotional impact. The ending of this book wasn't what I was expecting, but I really liked it. It concluded this standalone in a fantastic way and I love that all the threads were neatly tied away. I know this is going to be one I reread and relisten to, a definite favourite. If you read audiobooks, I highly recommend this one. The narrator does a fantastic job and it's clear and well performed.
Trigger Warnings: murder (including graphic murder of children and murder of parents), death, misogyny, gore, terminal illness, abuse, arranged marriage, attempted rape.
I was absolutely heartbroken when I didn't get an ARC of this one (et tu Hachette) and so as soon as this one released I listened to the entire audiobook in one sitting whilst doing a particularly evil jigsaw. As long as it still counts as one sitting if I had to keep pausing it to pace in and out of the living room to yell about how stressed I was over this incredible Greek mythology based story.
I knew I was going to love Lore, but I underestimated just how much. I like anything with good Greek mythology to it, and this was spectacular. The premise of the Agon, where gods are made mortal for seven days and mortals allowed to kill them to ascend to godhood, is *incredible* and I am absolutely obsessed with it. The ever-changing roster of gods, each taking their predecessor's powers and choosing new names for themselves, is going to fuel my imagination for months. Hi, I'll be challenging Hades so I can *rule death.* Okay, Hades wasn't involved in the Agon, and I would instantly die, but that's not my point. I loved the way that the world was developed, it made perfect sense that families would train their children to make ascension easier and to make it easier to take down gods. I'm a sucker for an underground world that most people don't know about.
Lore was all my favourite types of character rolled into one. At the start of the book she's distanced herself from the Agon, drawn back in by the original Athena lying bleeding out on her doorstep (and oh my *god* Athena is so scary and sexy in this book) and I loved the way that her reluctance, trained duties and her own revenge mission drew her back into the world she'd left. She's tough and resilient and made strong by some absolutely heart breaking tragedies in her past, but still loving and loyal to her friends. I adore her, and her character arc is incredible. The romance in this book is well developed and even I, romance-hater, loved it a lot. I loved the queer side romance even more, I was shipping it from the first time we saw the characters on page and I was *not disappointed*.
I adore the prose here, and once I'm free of my book buying ban, I might have to go back and read Alexandra Bracken's earlier work. I'm impressed by how well this incredibly complex book is threaded together with information given to the reader in the perfect moments for emotional impact. The ending of this book wasn't what I was expecting, but I really liked it. It concluded this standalone in a fantastic way and I love that all the threads were neatly tied away. I know this is going to be one I reread and relisten to, a definite favourite. If you read audiobooks, I highly recommend this one. The narrator does a fantastic job and it's clear and well performed.