Sadly I struggled to connect with most of this book, as I was quite looking forward to it. However, I have felt this way with a lot of this author's work, so I think it's more me than anything. The writing was well enough, the mythology aspect is woven well, but my biggest issue with the protagonist, and how flat I felt she was compared to what I wanted. Overall, this is not a bad book, but I wish that the character & motivation had been pushed a little further to enrich the overall arc more.

Lore's family was killed when she was a child, leaving her wanting absolutely nothing to do with the family legacy - protecting the House of Athena from the houses of the other gods and goddesses. Of course, this doesn't stop a gravely injured Athena from showing up on her doorstep, forcing her to create an alliance with an old friend she thought long dead, and step back into a world that she thought she had left behind forever.

My notes: I really wanted to love this. I mean, "Greek Mythology meets the Hunger Games?" Sign me up! Unfortunately, for some reason I was incredibly bored by this story. I would finish a few paragraphs and go check Twitter; read a page and go see what was on tv. It absolutely refused to hold my attention.

Every 7 years the Agon begins and lasts for 7 days. The Agon is a punishment for the gods from Zeus for betraying him. During the Agon all gods are turned into mortal beings. They may be hunted and murdered and the one that kills the god will ascend in their place and gain the god's powers. If a god murders another god their powers are lost forever.

In an attempt to attain the power and status of gods families train their children from young ages to be hunters. They are trained in physical as well as mental battle. Their ultimate dream is to attain, kleos (fame and glory). These families have leaders of their bloodlines who also hold much power and guide their "house" between, as well as during, the Agon.

From the start this Agon is different, from the beginning this one is darker.

Lore is a young woman who has lived through immense tragedy and wants to put her past, and the Agon behind her. An injured goddess has other plans for Lore and so she is drawn back in for, what she hopes is one last time.

And that is about as simplistic as I can summarize the whole concept. It takes time to build this complex world and as such it took me some time to fully get into this book. Once I did however I was hooked. The story has twists and turns, action and adventure. There are a lot of names and families to keep track of, overall there is just a lot of information to keep track of (old gods, new gods, bloodlines, connections, powers, etc). All of this contributes to a book that can truly immerse yourself in.

After finally escaping the Agon, a deadly contest in which 9 households compete to gain the power of the exiled Greek gods, Lore is living the closest thing to a normal life she knows how. That all changes when her old friend Castor, who she thought to be dead, finds her to deliver a grim warning: “He’s looking for something, and I don’t know if it’s you”. Days later, after the Goddess Athena appears wounded on her doorstep, Lore must make a choice: be pulled back into the game that took her family from her, or abandon any chance of avenging them.

As soon as I saw this was written by Alexandra Bracken, I was 1000x more intrigued. I really liked the Darkest Minds, and was eager to see what she could do with my all-time favorite genre (Greek Mythology). I have to say, I was completely taken off guard. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked her other books, but Bracken’s writing style has progressed SO much.

My complaints from her other works were slow plot, unnecessary filler, and a slightly unlikable main character, none of which were present in Lore. Absolutely every second of this was action-packed, and the buildup was so, so entertaining.

And I fell head-over-heels in love with all of the characters. Miles, the kind optimist (I wanted to be friends with him so bad). Van, the guarded tech master and protector of the group. Castor, the underdog and long lost love. And Lore, the fierce, determined, and ultimate embodiment of female power. I loved her arc, and the way Bracken showed her reclamation of power throughout the story.

We get to watch Lore on an amazing journey from anger, to healing, to destiny. I loved the idea of kleos (glory), and the way Lore redefines it for herself throughout the book. I’m a sucker for a good message, and there were about fifteen of them packed into one very well-executed story.

The only thing that keeps this from being a five-star read was that I felt a little bit confused in spots, and wish some things had been addressed earlier. I won’t give anything away, but the ending left me wondering a lot of technical details as well. I also missed that connection to Olympus we frequently get to see in these kinds of stories, but, on the other hand, understood why it was necessary. And I hope it will be remedied with a sequel!

I really enjoyed this, and think it will be perfect for all of us Percy Jackson kids who are all grown up.

Rating: 4.5/5
Content warnings: sexual assault, violence, death of family members

I loved this story! This was a Hunger Games mashed with Greek mythology, with a badass female lead and it had me hooked from the beginning. The author did an amazing job creating the New York Lore lived in. You felt like you were with her every step good or bad, and don’t worry if you don’t know much about the Greek god’s, there is enough history telling throughout the story that even if you didn’t know anything about them you would still throughly enjoy this book.

The premise of this book is intriguing. For one week every seven years, rebellious Greek gods are forced into mortality, and the descendants of ancient bloodlines have the opportunity to kill them and take their power – and become the hunted seven years later. (Although if I think about that real hard, if the mortals who seize power and become gods are then the hunted, is it still the original rebellious gods who are on the hot seat? Maybe not….)

Modern day New York City and ancient Greek gods and goddesses. It’s an interesting juxtaposition. I’ve seen it described as Greek mythology meets the Hunger Games, and I can kind of see that. Lore is the last of her line, as her family was brutally killed in the last Agon. She is a hot mess of conflict, y’all. She wants out of the fight entirely. But she wants revenge on the man who killed her family. She doesn’t really know what she wants. But when a seriously wounded Athena, last of the original gods to survive, shows up on her doorstep and asks for Lore’s help in going after her family’s killer, Lore takes the opportunity.

The early part of the story was almost enough to make me give up on it. It was a lot of information without a real framework in which to fit it. The glossary helped, though, at least with keeping the families and the characters straight.

And once you got past that first bit, it got better. Sure, Lore was conflicted, but she’s also a teenage girl. How many of us really knew our own minds when we were teenagers?

There’s a little bit of romance with her childhood friend Castor, but it isn’t the main focus of the story. Had it been left out and had they stayed friends, the storyline wouldn’t have suffered. There are some entertaining fight sequences, but it was a little bit of a stretch to me to think that all of that devastation would take place in New York City and there would be no real comment on it.

Lots of action, plot twists, and a main character for whom you can’t help but feel a little sympathy make for a very readable story – once you slog through the setup. A good choice if you’re a fan of YA fantasy and into mythology.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the advance reader copy. All opinions here are my own, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t really like.

Review: 5/5 stars

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

What I liked:
-Greek Mythology meets the Hunger Games where the descendent of Ancient Greek hero’s are running around New York trying to kill one of the nine gods in order to take their power for themselves. I freaking loved it!!
-It’s action packed and the world building is insanely good!
-I loved the way the mythology was woven into the story! You don’t have to know a lot about the mythology to enjoy this story because it subtly explains thing as it goes without it feeling like an info dump.
-the feminist vibes! I feel like the majority of Greek mythology focus on the men so it was nice to see the females pulled to the forefront without them being strictly the damsel or the villain.
-this is officially my favorite friends to lovers book now! It’s seriously the cutest!!!

Overall, this is a five star read for me! I was hooked from the first chapter and I was so invested in Lore and her friends! I can see how this book may not be for everyone but I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!

4.5

my expectations weren't high for this book — despite being written by one of my all time favorite authors — just because i'm not a big greek mythology person and i know very little about it all. well let me say, alexandra bracken i am so sorry and i will never doubt you again my queen.

the prologue to this book had me kind of ??? but by two chapters in, i was hooked. something about bracken's writing style just CLICKS with me and always pulls me in. while it did take a little before the plot concept clicked in my head, i found this really digestible for someone that knows next to nothing about greek mythology, though i'm sure that there are connections others could make that went over my head. at the heart of this book, like most of bracken's novels, are great characters with excellent dynamics, a swoony romance, and the best found family vibes, all while the plot is NONSTOP. literally, i was concerned for my new babies. when were they sleeping?!

two things that brought this a little down for me: one, the ending felt really rushed. like, i was reading, seeing how few pages i had left, and thinking, HUH?? this book is already almost 500 pages, i don't see why it couldn't have spared some more for the end or at least given an epilogue!! the second is that i LOVED the romance, but god i wanted MOREEEEEEE. i know the characters had a lot going on, but pls miss bracken i am lonely and desperate. this was some childhood friends to lovers excellence but i need moreeeeee.

otherwise, i really, really loved it. i haven't finished a book this quickly, let alone not falling asleep while reading and reading 200+ pages in ONE DAY in sooooooo long. alexandra bracken did THAT. go read this bad boy. or should i say bad bitch, because lore is indeed one bad bitch!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a really good YA Fantasy that is a mash-up of urban fantasy and Greek mythology. While most YA Fantasy books all seem to have the same basic premise (strong young female must overcome great odds/conquer evil/rule the nation while resisting falling in love with the boy that is either her childhood friend/enemy/new mysterious over protective friend), this is a refreshingly original take on that premise.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. In the last Agon, 10 year old Lore's family was murdered. Afterwards, she fled the world and turned her back on that life and the promise of power and glory, as well as revenge on the man - now a god - responsible for killing her family.

As the new hunt begins, Lore is sought out by her former best friend Castor, who Lore thought died during the previous Agon. He's now a god and wants her help to end the Agon. Athena, gravely injured and one of the last original gods, also seeks out Lore's help. She offers Lore an alliance to help kill the man that killed Lore's family and a way for her to leave the Agon forever. Lore's decision to rejoin the hunt has deadly consequences, and secrets long buried will come to the light and will change Lore's life forever.

This book immediately caught my attention. The author does a good job of world building and provides information about the various gods and their stories in a way that doesn't seem like you're reading a text book. The author uses flashbacks between the previous Agon and the present to explain the relationship between Lore and Castor, as well as provide context for Lore's current mind set. The author does a good job of character development with Lore, and it was fun to see her growth as the book progresses. The minor characters are fairly well developed and provide support and a counter to Lore's perspective. At times I had a hard time keeping some of the gods and their story's straight, but that could have just been because I was reading a bit too fast.

Overall, this was a fun, interesting and original take on the classic YA Fantasy genre that I recommend you pick up today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a ride! I actually feel mixed reviews on this one. The first half seemed to drag for me, and I struggled to get invested. The second half blew me away, and I couldn't out it down! I enjoyed the Greek Mythology aspects, but because it was a totally different take on it, I missed the essence of the original Greek gods. I also found this book to be really gory and violent which made for some great fight scenes, but also made me cringe at times. With all of that being said, I would still give it a go! It was a great ride with some unexpected moments!

Lore is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 so when I tell you I squealed at seeing an ARC on my NetGalley shelf, I’m not lying. It did come to me on January 4, the day before release, so I knew no matter how hard I tried I wouldn’t be able to get out a review ahead of the fifth. I wanted to enjoy the book, not just sit down and devour it. Though, it’s a very easy book to devour.

I love Greek retellings. Honestly, I’d read them 24/7 if I could. I know some people see retellings as reductive, but I don’t believe that to be the case. Some retellings are more different than others, others choose to stay more true to the myth. Lore is unlike any Greek retelling I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot).

It’s literally a Greek Hunger Games. The gods and goddesses aren’t even themselves, except for a select few. In total honesty, I found it kind of hard to follow the families and how the Agon functions. It does become easier to tell who the new gods are meant to be (with names like Heartkeeper and Tidebringer that parts easy to deduce) even if “classic” gods refer to them as “fake Aphrodite” and “fake Poseidon.” I still can’t tell you the function of the families as it seems they can kill whichever god is unlucky enough to be caught by their hunters but maybe I missed that.

Bracken is also exceptional at plot twists; there isn’t just one either! I saw only one twist coming but until the very last page she continues to switch things up.

For a book published by Disney I was genuinely surprised at how violent and graphic Lore is. There’s a lot of fighting, graphic details about dead bodies, and even literal medieval torture/killing methods. I’m particularly hung up on the repeated mention and details of gouged out eyeballs. This definitely isn’t a book for those with weak stomachs. And even though there isn’t any major character deaths (technically) there’s a lot of dying.

Castor and Lore are amazing characters. I didn’t expect to like Lore all that much after the first chapter, but Bracken does a great job of making the reader feel her pain and her desire to simply leave the life of hunters and the Agon. There’s a lot of discussion of her traumas, from sexual assault to her murdered family; it’s a lot for one person to handle and Lore literally can’t escape the memories because the Agon is holding onto such old, traditional thoughts and beliefs that everyone and everything basically takes her back to those moments. Castor, on the other hand, is the sun to Lore’s dark; he’s sweetness to Lore’s bitterness; forgiveness to her vengeance. They’re opposites but they work so well, romantically and as teammates. Honestly, they get a happy ending which is something you wouldn’t expect in such a dark book. The side characters are meh for me. I like them but if this was just about Lore and Castor I’d be a-okay with that too.

Bracken’s gods and goddesses were so genuinely different and unique from other retellings. They’re evil and vengeful for some wrongdoing against Zeus, which is why nine of them have been punished (and ultimately killed) by the Agon. The remaining original gods, Artemis and Athena specifically, were feral and so removed from humanity, it’s amazing to read characters meant to be two dimensional but somehow aren’t. I also appreciated how Bracken didn’t make the new gods and goddesses conform to sexist stereotypes; the new Aphrodite is a man and the new Poseidon is a woman, for example. I really like these gods and goddesses and would love to see more of this world, but don’t get me wrong I’m very happy this is a stand-alone- there’s so much action you can’t catch your breath! It’s always moving, running from one fight to the next.

So, despite the confusion the beginning provided me, I would read this again in a heartbeat. 100% deserves to be on my anticipated reads list!

Lore is the first piece of work that I've read by this author, whom I have heard much about. Her writing lives up to her reputation as it serves the story and main character well. As a New Yorker, it was great to wander throughout Manhattan with the characters and even made me pause in consideration of the small symbols and artistic whorls that I've likely missed in the very same blocks that the characters visited. I enjoyed both the characters and the plot, including the slight twist. While this book is unlikely to be in my top books for 2021, it was interesting enough for me to maintain interest in any futures works by Bracken.

I don’t know what to say about this book, I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it. I’ve had trouble falling into fantasy worlds during the Covid-19 pandemic and I was hoping this book would pull me out of that funk. The world in Lore wasn’t developed enough and it relied too heavily upon the already established worked and stories of New York City and Greek mythology. I really needed more world building from this. The importance of Agon fell flat because the introduction to the houses and what the stood for was not enough. I needed more history of the world and of Melora worked into beginning to really get interested in the story and believe in it.
I didn’t really buy into the story from the beginning I feel like I needed more of Lore’s mortal life lived in the book rather than told in flashback. For me this book would’ve benefited from hearing her story first so that I was rooting for her. I also didn’t buy into the romance because I didn’t get enough of Lore’s and Castor’s history shown to me, I was just told. I enjoyed the Greek gods element but it didn’t provide the drive that I needed to really fall into this world. Something about Lore just didn’t click with me and I am I disappointed. 2.5/ 5stars

Lore
Alexandra Bracken
January 5th, 2021

Going into this book, I was hoping for a YA version of Percy Jackson with a female protagonist in NYC. What I got was sort of that- but much more confusing, and with subpar characters that I had a lot of trouble connecting with.

I do want to start out with the positives. I liked the idea of this book. It was an interesting premise for a book- a hunger games like completion between old Gods and new Gods that have killed old Gods and taken their powers. I liked a lot of the set up of the various houses and it mostly felt like a lot of thought had gone into the logic of the organization of the word. I also really appreciated all the ways this book kept me on my toes. Every time I thought I knew what was going on there was a new twist that I didn’t see coming.

Unfortunately, one of the most important things for me in loving a book is loving the characters. I don’t have to connect/identify with them, but I do need to remotely care what happens to them, and for some reason the characters in this book just felt really bland and I had a hard time investing in them. There were also a lot of side characters that I felt like had a lot of potential that were introduced and then faded into the background never to be heard from again. Most importantly, I almost DNDd this book about 20% of the way in because I was 1/5th of the way through the book and I still didn’t understand what the heck was going on. While the premise is interesting, it isn’t very well explained in the beginning, and that felt incredibly frustrating. The loose ends and unanswered question I had at the end were also a bummer.

Overall I don’t think it was a bad book at all, I will still be recommending it to others, but it just wasn’t my favorite. My hopes were very high and maybe I needed to lower my expectations.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was fantastic. Will be great read alike recommendation for fans of Percy Jackson who are aging up or those who enjoy urban fantasy books. This world building mythology was fun to follow with characters I was rooting for. And I appreciate a stand-alone!

I love Alexandra Bracken’s versatility in her speculative fiction writing. From time traveling to fiber arts magic to Greek gods and hunters, she really can flex that creative muscle. Lore is Alexandra Bracken’s latest. It’s a bit of a door stopper, but do not let that stop you from reading this excellent story. I have had to adjust my expectations of how long some books take me to get through and while this one does take a little bit longer than normal for me, the journey is well worth it.

Lore is about an event called the Agon that happens every seven years. The Greek gods become mortal as punishment for trying to depose Zeus. There are different lines of Hunters, descended from the Greek legends, who hunt the gods in hopes of attaining the power and immortality of the god that they kill. Lore is the last of her line – the Perseides. She believes she is out of the Agon. She makes her money engaging in fights at underground boxing rings.

One day, there is a blast from her past. Her old friend Castor, whom she thought dead, shows up. Even more wild? He is now the new Apollo. Meanwhile, Lore is on her way home when she is accosted by the goddess Athena who happens to be gravely injured. Athena asks Lore to bind her fate to Athena’s. In exchange, Athena will kill Wrath, the new Ares, who basically killed Lore’s family seven years ago.

Together, with Castor, her friend Miles who is not a part of the Agon and considered an Unblooded, Van and an old friend from a different line of Hunters, Lore will take on the Agon and take on Wrath. After all, he is up to something that could spell disaster for mankind at large. There are twists and turns and action and anger and just a dash of romance in Bracken’s latest book.

Even though Lore took me longer to read than typical (6 days), I was quite hooked by it. First, this book is nearly 500 pages, it clocks in at 466. Yet, it really does go by kind of fast. I liked that I wasn’t just handed a big info dump pile. Instead, it took quite a few chapters to understand and realize the scope and magnitude of the Agon and Lore’s story. It felt like this book was so richly detailed when it came to world building. I could imagine the hunt and the different gods so well, and especially the concept.

Also, Lore is such a compelling character. She’s really dynamic and I just loved seeing her come into her own and the different realizations she made. AND OMG okay the side characters are wonderful too, I fell for Castor, Miles, Van, and Iro. Overall, Lore by Alexandra Bracken was certainly a must read. Oh and did I mention this is a standalone? It is SO worth it.

I have read a lot of books in my years. The majority of them being YA.  A great many of those books have been formulaic and full of tropes. It has gotten to the point that I can almost always figure out all the plot twists and reveals long before it comes. But, let me tell you, I had no idea what came next in this book. Every time I thought I knew where it was all going, something else came up that turned everything on its head.

And yet! It was not enough to make me love this.

Because while my expectations were challenged, every twist was met with indifference. Things would happen, and all they would get from me was a slight raise of the eyebrows. For the life of me, I simply did not care.

My main problem with this book was that it was both too long and not long enough. It was all very fast-paced, nonstop action. And yet, there were moments when the story lulled within the action. It all started blending together. Despite that, I wish there had been slower moments to better know the characters and history of the world. There is a perfect balance between action and rest that I like, and this book didn't quite reach it. 

Another problem I had was with the characters. While I generally liked them all, I was never fully invested in them.  The most interesting character to me was Athena, by far. I wish we could have gotten more from her history through the many Agons past. Everyone else, Lore included felt 'meh' to me. Lore, in the beginning, was contradictory and hard to get behind. She wanted to be free of the Agon, but she wanted revenge against the new god, Wrath, but she also wanted glory, but she wanted to stop fighting? Girl, pick a struggle, and stay with it. All the other characters had amazing potential, especially Iro and Van, but we never got to see it

There was a bit of romance in this novel. Worry not, the romance takes the seat furthest in the back of this story. It doesn't distract, and it doesn't take away from the story. And yet, it felt forced. The romance is between Lore and Castor, two people who haven't seen each other in seven years, having last spoken when they were children. And now, after a few days together, you want to tell me they are in love? No. I don't buy it. It would have been best if the romance hadn't existed at all, and they had remained friends. It literally would not have affected the story if it hadn't been there at all.

Lastly, there were so many loose ends. So many unanswered questions. So many things that I wanted to be explored that were simply left as they were. I wanted more! Especially from the ending. I kept looking at the dwindling number of pages in worry because it simply could not end in such a rushed, unexciting way!

Also, just as a side note, the civilian body count in this novel is astronomical. I wish there had been an epilogue because the ruin the gods left in their wake made it seem like they had all but entirely destroyed New York City, and no one was questioning it.


All of that having been said, this book did have a  lot of good parts. I loved the idea of the plot. Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games is such a cool concept, and I think the author did a great job of making it flow. The mix of mythology with modernity was well done. I also enjoyed the writing. This was my first time reading one of Alexandra Bracken's novels, and I truly liked her writing style. My favorite line was, "fear is a foreign land I shall never visit and a language that will never cross my tongue.” The moment I read it, I was like, damn, I wanna write lines like that.

Ultimately, this novel wasn't bad. It just wasn't what I wanted.  I know that this is not a story that will stay with me or that I will ever want to return to. It was an ok way to pass a few hours and nothing more.

Siiiigh.

In the year 2021, is describing a book as being like The Hunger Games even a good reference any longer? Especially since, if you're really looking for an on-the-nose comparison, Highlander would be much more appropriate?

I suppose I'm focusing on the petty business of book marketing because I don't want to address how disappointing this book was to me overall. It's blurbed as being The Hunger Games (sigh) only with Greek gods in modern-day New York City, and if that isn't a cool as Tartarus description, I don't know what is! Especially since the heroine is essentially a cage fighting orphan who thought she'd gotten out of the world of the Agon, only to reluctantly get dragged back in again when old friend/flame Castor shows up at one of her matches with a cryptic message, swiftly followed by the appearance of the wounded goddess Athena herself, begging for help. Athena promises that she'll get Lore, our titular heroine, out of the Agon for good, as long as Lore helps her survive this latest in the cycle, due to end in seven days. Lore grudgingly agrees, binding her fate to Athena's for the duration. Hijinks ensue.

Really great premise, completely undermined by the fact that nothing about the Agon makes a lick of sense. Some distant time ago, nine of the Olympian deities rebelled against Zeus, and in retaliation he cursed them to be mortal for a week once every seven years, during which any non-god who killed them would gain their powers instead. The bloodlines of ancient heroes train for these hunts but also seek to protect their own immortals, should one of their (male) heroes slay a deity, as the powers of a god grant not only immortality but also mystical power and influence. In the 21st century, only a few of the original gods remain, the rest having been slain and their powers usurped by humans, who have not always survived being hunted by other bloodlines themselves. Apparently, tho, should a god kill another god, the slain deity's powers dissipate into the aether.

Actually, after typing all that out, the Agon does make sense (inasmuch as Hellenic infighting can) but it honestly took me struggling my way through the book and sitting down to write this review to figure that out, still leaving questions like, "Does the killer <i>have</i> to be someone from the bloodlines? Why don't the gods band together against these assholes? Sure, they lose their immortality, but they still have all their powers, so why not turn the hunt around? And why would people think only men would be able to inherit the powers of Aphrodite or Athena or Artemis, how does that make any sense?" Which leads to the second disappointing thing for me about this novel: the very, very awkward attempt at feminism.

There's one really excellent chapter in the book, when Lore and Athena are discussing rape, that made me think Alexandra Bracken has her heart in the right place, but the utter lack of female solidarity in the A-plot otherwise made it seem more performative than instinctive. Sure, sure, you can argue that Iro is Lore's friend, but she's barely on the page and mostly grudgingly, it feels. I'm also weirded out by the fact that Tidebringer, the only female usurper, was given such short shrift, as that's one character I thought would have been really interesting to learn more about. Mostly, Lore runs around and relies on dudes for any and all meaningful assistance and interactions -- Athena is both practically sexless and weirdly ambivalent about other women, so their connection hardly counts either. I do not have time for girl power narratives where 90% of the main actors are dudes, especially so soon after reading Stina Leicht's wonderfully female and nonbinary-focused <a href="http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/01/04/persephone-station-by-stina-leicht/">Persephone Station</a>.

And, y'know, maybe I would've been more forgiving about the lack of female representation (and complete lack of nonbinary, which is a misstep given how Greek myths famously gave the Western world some of its earliest exposure to representation of same) had it not been for the fact that most of the male representation is deathly dull. Castor is hot and mysterious, Miles is Lore's can-do best friend and Van is Castor's sullen best friend who doesn't trust Lore. Give each a couple of cool tricks, and that's about the extent of their personalities (granted, Miles' relationship with his family is adorable.) Ms Bracken's writing doesn't do much to give depth to any of her characters, nor does it care about smoothing out the tangle of plot lines and info dumps into a story of clean lines and aha moments. Instead, this story is like a primordial mass: you know there's good stuff in there somewhere but isn't that the author's job to form it into something that both makes sense and entertains? I should be able to enjoy the story as I'm reading it instead of having to sit and re-write the elements afterwards so it all finally makes a modicum of sense.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken was published January 5th 2020 by Disney Hyperion and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781484778203">Bookshop!</a>. Want it now? For the Kindle version, <a href="https://amzn.to/3n8E1pa">click here</a>.

LORE was a fast-paced, action packed and fiery feminist gem of a read. Melora Perseus is the last of her line after her entire family was brutally murdered by the new Ares, Aristos Kadimides. Seven years later, Lore has said goodbye to her life as a member of one of the ancient bloodlines and the Agon where Greek gods walk the earth as mortals are hunted down and slaughtered so humans can take their power as a punishment for an eons old betrayal. But when the Agon is held in New York City, Lore finds that the ghosts of her past have returned to haunt her, and she is confronted by a boy who she thought was long gone and a goddess known for her cunning. Now, Lore must return to the world she sought to leave behind and take revenge on those who took everything from her, but in the process she learns that everything she has ever known about her life and family, and her world, is not what it seemed, and that the path to stopping the new Ares and ending the Agon for good is not one to walk alone.
My summary does not do this book justice. It is brilliant. LORE has some of the best pacing I've ever seen. There isn't a moment where the plot lags at all. The action and the twists and turns just keep going and going, but not in a way where you get lost. I read so many books, even ones that I love, that have pacing issues, so this is a really monumental achievement for Bracken, whose Passenger series set me on the course for falling in love with YA again. I loved Lore as a main character, someone who is feisty, prickly and a little damaged but who takes crap from no one. I am not usually a big fan of the friends to lovers trope but with Lore and Castor I thought it was really adorable. Bracken doesn't just revitalize the myths of Ancient Greece, but turns them inside out on their heads by reexamining them through a feminist lens and calling out the patriarchal and sexist legacies inherent in many of them. It's a very strong message. So Lore was a win for me. LORE is one of those stories that keeps you reading, one full of action, anger and heart. A story about one girl whose entire world is defined by the legends of Ancient Greece, and whose actions in turn change the world that molded her forever.

I thought I had already written my review for this but I guess I dreamt it lol. This was a really great story. I truly enjoyed each character and chapter. Even though it took me longer to read it because of work, when I was reading I couldn't put it down.