TRIGGER WARNINGS: the book includes mentions of: sexual assault, child death, violence, blood/gore
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I finished this book two weeks ago when it was released and have been having a terribly hard time writing the review... because all I want to do is scream READ IT READ IT READ ITTTTTTT! and end the review there.

Lore was everything I wanted it to be and more.

*WHAT I LIKED*
I obviously can't say everything (but yes, I loved everything), so I'll highlight quite a few things I loved about it:

- CASTOR FREAKING ACHILLEOS! Not only is he a swoon-worthy love interest for anybody to love, but for me, he had a little something extra. I saw myself in him. Which, to be honest, is quite rare for me. While I never had a terminal illness, I know exactly what it's like to live life weak and then feel weak even after you've been healed. So many of his feelings around his weakness and his strength were reflections of things that I've felt and thought. He even loves like I love, and so many of his selfless actions were things that I could see myself doing. He is an amazing character in his own right, but it's so amazing and special to see yourself in a character.

- Lore didn't lie. This might be a weird thing to highlight in a review, but I literally wrote it in my notes because I loved it so much. Lore didn't lie to her unblooded (regular ol' dude) friend when he overheard her talking to a literal Goddess. I feel like so many stories/movies have the protagonist lie to the non-magic, mortal friend and it becomes a thing and they find out the truth and #drama. And it just is so ridiculous. Bracken skipped all the drammmmaaa and Lore didn't beat around the bush. And it was a breath of fresh air to have all the characters know what was going on.

-The plot, the story, the concept, the twists/turns - all PERFECTION. I mean, it's an amazing concept and Bracken is a genius writer who is able to pull it off quite flawlessly. The story continues to build with each chapter and each part. My IG stories and my Goodreads updates kept getting more and more erratic from excitement. I went from "Already through Part 1 and really liking it so far. It's a lot to take in, but I'm excited to see what happens" to "HOW DO THE SURPRISES KEEP COMING?!" AKA: I lost my ever-loving mind reading this book.

*WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE*
Or really, what you might not like. These were things that I noticed that could definitely hinder a reader's enjoyment of the book, or at least things that they might think while reading it.

-Truthfully, what is the point of Miles? Now, I am not a writer. So, I think Miles serves a very important plot function of having a character to explain things to that the reader needs to know. So, if a reader needs to know what the Agon is, well then Miles asks "What is the Agon?" and someone tells him. But, is an entire character needed for that? I honestly don't know, because I'm not a writer and this might be the best way to do this. To me, it makes sense, but I did see fairly early on that he was there to fulfill that role. Bracken at least did try to flesh him out by giving him some action in the scenes and creating a love interest.

-It's a lot to follow. It starts off very information heavy. There are a lot of Gods, a lot of families, and a lot of players all introduced as quickly as possible so that the story can get going. The first part is definitely something many will need to trudge along through. It took me longer to read Part 1 than it did for me to reads Part 2-4 all together. Bracken does provide some nice references in the front and back of the book that help with the information overload.

-Possibly... she doesn't explain the Greek myths as much as some might want. So, this is a hard "flaw" for me, because I know the Greek myths pretty damn well. I also don't believe that the Greek myths play the largest part in this story, which sounds strange with it being a story about the Greek Gods. But, you don't need to know what the Greek heroes did, who the Gods are, or really any of that. All you need to know are the names of the Greek Gods and their powers, which Bracken does provide. But I have heard quite a few complaints from those that aren't well-versed in the Greek myths that they wish she had divulged more information about them. So, it might be something you dislike, but *shrug* I just think Bracken did a great job with this part.

The only thing that I personally truly didn't like was that I wish we had more of Lore's background earlier on. I am not a fan of there being first-person mentions of happenings without actually talking about the happenings. It always frustrates me, so I was 60% through the book and frustrated each time she would think about her past and not complete her thought or the story. But, once it was revealed, it was a really big moment. I just wish it had happened earlier in the story.

*FINAL RECAP*
I mean, I said it at the very beginning of my review....

READ THIS BOOK!
*throws the book at your face with the strength of a Greek God*

I loved this book! There is plenty of action, some twists that will keep you guessing, a few swoons, and Greek gods...I flew through this one just to see what was going to happen.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. This is the time where nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals and are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines. If someone does, they seize the god's power and immortality.

Enter Lore. She has hidden herself from this world when a rival line murdered her family but now that the hunt is in New York City, she is being contacted by Castor, a childhood friend, and Athena, one of the last original gods. When Lore agrees to an alliance with Athena things become tricky.

As Lore falls back into her old world, she comes to realize she doesn't know who she can trust and believe me when I tell you, the entire time I was reading this book, I was second guessing everyone who was involved right alongside of her.

I enjoyed the flashbacks that Bracken included to not only provide context of Lore's background but it was great to better understand her relationship with Castor as well.

This was a great story and I love that it was a standalone too! If you're looking for a book with plenty of action, well developed characters, and an interesting story...grab this one up!

It takes a hot minute to immerse yourself in the world of Alexandra Bracken's latest, Lore, but once you do, it's quite the ride.

The ancient Greek Gods are not only real, but they also become mortal for 7 days every 7 years while humans try to hunt them to steal their power. Of course, the hunters are the human descendants of the ancient family lines who dedicate their lives to serving their god. It's part mafia, part greek mythology, and part Hunger Games. What's not to love?

I enjoyed this read very much, it wasn't really like anything else I've read recently, and yet it felt familiar and fun.

I don't usually read urban fantasy but this book got my attention from the beginning, after all I studied old Greek for two years. But I was also afraid that the author had somehow romanticized the myths as, let's not forget, Greek mythology is full of rapes and violence against women. To my surprise, she didn't. In fact the book has many strong feminist themes.

The plot is fast and well constructed and honestly, I couldn't stop reading. For some people it may seem a little confusing at the beginning but I loved that there isn't infodump and you make sense of the world as you keep reading.

Lore is a strong character but you can tell she is hurt by the guilt of what happened to her family and she is constantly in conflict within herself: she wants to be free of the Agon but at the same time, she longs for revenge. The rest of the cast: Athena, Castor, Van and Miles were also great and I loved their dynamics and friendship. Finally, the romance is the cutest friends to lovers I have ever read. Castor was really sweet and I loved him for it.

This book is a masterpiece in modern mythology, tracing ancient bloodlines and gods through the millennia to reach modern times, where a deadly game is fought every seven years. Whoever kills a god gets their power until the next game.

Lore is both the title of this book and the name of the main character. She is the last mortal descendent of Perseus and has been in hiding since the last Agon, when the rest of her family was killed. Lore has been through some tough stuff, as we slowly but surely find out over the course of the book. When an old friend finds her and asks for her help, she is once again swept up in the world of the hunters.

I thought all the character work was excellent. Each character is distinct and has clear motives for their actions. I love the found family aspect, as people from the different Greek families--Blooded, as they call themselves--come together to fight a common enemy. Lore gets the most page time, naturally, but through her eyes, we learn about her friends and watch their character development as well.

This book is also extremely high action. Although it's quite lengthy, it never feels slow. There is always something happening, either a short flashback to learn more about Lore's past, or a clear goal in the present, so the characters are always on the move and trying to get somewhere or do something. Although a lot of barriers are put in the way of their main quest, it never feels like those obstacles are there just because "that's what you do" and to increase a page count. Each "side quest," if you will, has its own purpose to either grow the characters or shed more light on the plot. It is intriguing from start to finish, with Alexandra Bracken placing little clues in to let you know there is still more to be revealed, but she never tips her hand too early.

This book is gruesome and bloody at times, so if you are at all squeamish or that is a trigger for you please steer clear. The fight scenes are extremely descriptive and leave little to the imagination. There is also a TW for pedophilia, with high-ranking members of several families expressing sexual attraction to Lore in flashbacks when she is much younger, starting at age 10. Nothing happens on the page and both of the characters who do this are clearly shown in the wrong, but if you are extremely sensitive to that then don't read this.

I am so glad I read this book, and got swept away on this high energy adventure. Now it's time for a relaxing cup of tea and a nap, because this book took a lot out of me!

This was a really interesting and fun standalone YA fantasy! In this book we follow Lore, whose family is part of a line hunters in the Agos. Every seven years, Greek Gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals and are hunted for their immortality. During the las Agos, Lore's family was murdered, and Lore has vowed to not participate in Agos. But with the mysterious return of a friend she thought was dead, and the appearance of a Goddess who needs her help, Lore is roped back in to the Agos for one last time in hopes to end it once and for all.

This was a super interesting take on a Greek mythology story! The actual mythological stories were well woven into the modern, New York City setting in a way that people who don't know a lot about them. I also enjoyed the idea of the hunt and thought it was well fleshed out. I just wish we had gotten more about the families themselves and their backgrounds, but this is a standalone story, so I get why she didn't go into it too much. There was also a lot of action throughout the story that helped me read it really quick. This book also deal a lot with themes of perseverance, family, grief, and more.

I also really enjoyed how headstrong Lore was, how she always jumped into each problem head first, and how she was willing to do so much to protect her friends. I also loved how loyal and brave Miles was, and even though he was a minor character, he was always there to help out as much as he could. Castor was probably one of my favourite characters. He had gone through so much in life and I really enjoyed the arc his character went through.

In the end, this book is a great standalone fantasy story about Greek mythology that is action-packed and a lot of fun.

Wow! This new spin on the gods of Greek Mythology makes them human for one week every seven years. Whoever kills a god, claims all their powers but will be hunted in the next cycle. Lore was trained as a hunter for years and sought to earn glory and bring honor back to her family. When it turned deadly in the last cycle and her family was murdered over an ancient, powerful relic they had hidden, Lore escaped to hide in New York City. Now an old friend, a dangerous alliance with Athena and the newly minted god, Wrath, focused on her destruction have brought Lore back into the current hunt that threatens to destroy her and her friends. But trust is tricky because everyone is playing a strategy and all of them involve Lore. Full of surprises and unexpected twists, this wildly propulsive read packs a tremendous amount of world building in the first fifty pages. With the pace of the hunt and revelations of secrets old and new, the story moves quickly but leaves enough room for well built characters. A great pick for fans of Rick Riordan looking for new stories. Likeable and complex characters struggle with fate and work to make choices to free themselves from the violence and others’ expectations. Tension and action propel readers in this high stakes, intense read. Recommended for grade 9-12 readers. References to a past sexual assault and some of the violent fight sequences may be too much for younger readers.

LORE
Alexandra Bracken
YA novel

Alexandra Bracken’s LORE boasts a killer premise. Every seven years, as punishment for an ancient rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of Greek heroes. The seven days of hunting is known as the Agon, and whoever kills a god will seize their divine power and immortality — at least until the next Agon begins, and they in turn are hunted.

Long ago, Lore Perseous turned her back on the Agon. This teenage girl is the last of her line, her family having been murdered by a rival faction. She hides out in New York City, wanting nothing to do with the world of gods and heroes, although she does keep her warrior skills sharp in underground fight clubs. But as the next hunt dawns over the city, her past comes to find her.

First, a long-lost childhood friend named Castor, shows up at the fight club to warn her that Wrath is looking for her. Wrath, the hunter who killed the god Ares and assumed his powers, may have been the one who ordered her parents killed. Lore rejects Castor’s help, only to return home and find the wounded goddess Athena on her doorstep.

Athena tells Lore that Wrath is seeking the Aegis, or shield of Zeus. It contains a new version of the origin poem that established the Agon, and if Wrath finds it, he will learn how to kill the other gods and claim ultimate power for himself. Binding herself to Athena, Lore sets out to find the poem before Wrath can.

LORE delights in backstabbing gods and heroes full of hubris. But above all, this book is a love letter to the New York City that Lore calls her home. In passages like the following, the reader can sense Bracken’s own love for the Big Apple:

“Even when the streets were empty save for a handful of early morning cabs, she knew they still had a pulse. That there was water rushing through the pipes below. That trains were pulling their empty cars from station to station. Buried power lines hummed a song that only the cement could hear.”

The novel’s premise is a strong one, and Bracken does a terrific job populating her tale with Lore’s friends, enemies, and temporary allies, often dipping into past wounds that influence the present. The writing is occasionally choppy, as in the in medias res opening, but the storytelling is strong enough to carry the reader through. Lore is a resourceful, though flawed, protagonist, and the reader roots for her to succeed.

Recommended for any fans of Greek myths and female-driven action movies.

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm a fan of Greek Mythology so I was super glad when I got the chance to purchase this book. It's a refreshing YA take of Greek Mythology in a modern setting. I loved the twist on how the gods can turn mortal and face mortality just like any humans. This was an action-packed book with so many twist and turns. Highly recommend!

I'm in the minority with my opinion, but this YA urban fantasy did not do it for me. I wanted to like it more than I did, but I just don't connect to Ms Bracken's characters, as the same sort of separation happened when I read her book The Darkest Minds. Though I didn't feel invested in the characters, I did continue with it and the revealed twists were unexpected.

If you like books like this, urban fantasies and mythology, I recommend The Immortals series by Joanna Max Brodsky, which is an adult fantasy also set in contemporary New York.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

<i>The imagined her hideous because they feared to meet the true gaze of a woman, to witness the powerful storm that lives inside, waiting.</i>

I loved this tale. I honestly wasn’t sure if the concept would work. I read another book that had mythical gods within a more modern tale that was just an “okay” book for me. I was afraid I might have a similar response to this one. I was pleasantly surprised.

I loved all the characters, along with the twists and turns the story took. The story was full of adventure and even had some laugh out loud moments. The pacing of the story never slowed down, but it wasn’t rushed either. I will say it did take me a few chapters to figure out how this world worked. So if you start it and find yourself a little confused, just keep going. It’s worth it!

Lore is a great character. She is strong, brave, and flawed. Her character arc is well done. She is a character that has really experienced a lot of trauma in her life that leaves her angry and full of guilt. She is her own obstacle in many ways. She comes a long way through the course of the novel. I enjoyed how her relationship with a certain character develops as well. Their relationship was incredibly sweet. I loved how they supported and cared for each other.

The rest of the characters are really great too. There is a character that is your classic “bad guy” that is obsessed with power, but the rest of the characters (even those that do terrible things) are well-developed.

I also liked how the gods were depicted in this story. They were powerful and sometimes cruel, but they still struggled with many of the things that humans struggles with (envy, hatred, anger, pride, etc). I felt like Bracken did well with making them inhuman while retaining their very human characteristics.

I almost wish this wasn’t a stand alone, but it is. It as such a fun book to read!

My only real criticism is that I didn’t really see why only men could be victors of the Agon. It was explained, but it seems really strange considering there were female deities. It didn’t quite make sense to me.

This story does include some things that some readers might find disturbing - murder/violence (involving children) and rape/sexual assault.

This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank-you NetGalley, Disney-Hyperion, and Alexandra Bracken for allowing me to read this book!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53375824-lore

I received and ARC of Lore through Netgalley and since it has not yet been released, I will just say that it was delightful and a must-read for any Greek mythology fans.

This action-packed book kept me entertained the entire time. Lore placed Greek mythology into the modern way in a unique way. The Greek Gods become mortal for a small period of time and those who kill the mortal God gain their powers. The completion and danger fill every corner of this book. The characters had depth and many layers and secrets that were enjoyable to slowly discover.

What qualities and elements do you like to see in ancient Greek myth retellings?

Generally, I prefer modern settings that explore ancient themes and ideas to books that try to “reimagine” the ancient world. The latter can be extraordinarily difficult to pull off, as it requires a willingness to enter into the ancient world seeking understanding rather than judgment.

Lore, which I received from NetGalley for review, is a kind of middle ground between the two. It’s set in the modern world, complete with modern technology, but features ancient Greek gods as characters. As punishment for rebelling against him, Zeus strips nine gods of their immortality and sends them back to earth as mortals to be hunted in an Agon, from the Greek word for contest or struggle. The mortal who manages to kill that god assumes his or her power, and the cycle of hunting repeats seven years later, with the new god now being the one who is hunted. Old gods who manage to stay alive return to the Agon every seven years. There is a fragment of poetry that may hold the clue to what it will take to end the Agon for good. Main character Melora was raised to be a hunter but walked away from that life after a personal tragedy. A new cycle, an old friend, and an ancient god draw her back in, and the story sets off from there.

What was the nature of the rebellion, and why was this punishment deemed appropriate? Who penned the poetry fragment, and what answers does it hold? At the end of the book, we still do not know the answers to these questions. The novel as a whole suffers from these sorts of convoluted inconsistencies and lack of internal logic. It circles around interesting ideas and questions but fails to substantively grapple with and develop them, changing direction or throwing in a new plot twist, seemingly out of nowhere and without resolving the preceding one. This was especially frustrating with a subplot involving Athena that devolves into caricature and is resolved too abruptly to be convincing. The level of graphic violence also felt a bit gratuitous for my taste.

For the positives, I enjoyed Bracken’s prose. It was also interesting to see and debate how she incorporates ancient Greek ideas and figures. This kept me turning the pages to the end with interest.

This was an action-packed adventure!
I love YA Fantasy and Lore really delivers.
It was a bit slow to start because I'm not well-versed on Greek mythology. I had a hard time keeping track of all of the gods, goddesses, and the different houses in the story. However, once I was able to keep everything straight I flew through this story.
I love the characters and the new mythology the story takes on. It was a really great first fantasy read of the year!

Thank you so much to Disney-Hyperion & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was such a fun read. I don't know my mythology that well, so I can't speak to how this story departs or stays true to the original Greek characters, but I did appreciate the list of the houses at the beginning of the book.

Melora, or Lore, is a flawed badass main character. I loved her, even when she was ridiculous (see: flawed). I loved her friend Miles and really, we all want more Miles in this story, but I'm not downgrading for that. I didn't think any of the romance was necessary, but it wasn't too overdone. I didn't really connect with most of the other characters, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of this fast-paced story.

There's an interesting feminism chapter that is really kind of a highlight in this story, but as I considered that feminist touch with the overall story, I realized that this is not a feminist book. Lore is primarily relying on her group of guys; the female support characters are not adding to the "Lore is a badass with great badass girlfriends" vibe. But I love Lore and Miles and this is YA, so I don't even care. It was fun to read.

Absolutely fascinating! I loved reading this and devoured it immediately! The cover is stunning. I've long loved Alex Bracken, but this book quickly became my clear favorite of hers. I wish it was a series rather than a standalone. Lore's character is so unique and intimidating. She's so sure of herself and yet insecure simultaniously. But I loved her, and the relationships surrounding her.

Lore is part Hunger Games, part Fight Club, part D’Aulaire’s Greek Myths and all a love letter to New York City and found families. Come for the fight scenes, stay for the laugh out loud snark. It’s like this book was written for my kid. I loved it.

A very intriguing interpretation of Greek myths and gods. I was hesitant at first but Bracken convinced me quickly enough. The gods were given a sort of humanity from their inhumanity and cold cruelty. Highly recommend to those who are interested in complex characters and twists.

I had such high hopes but this one just didn't hook me. It was good but not great. I've been told that I need to give it longer because it gets better. Who knows I might go back and finish it but I might no.