User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
While I fully acknowledge
Lore will not work for every Reader,
I freaking loved it and am not afraid to admit it!
Aptly described as
Greek Mythology meets The Hunger Games, it's a meshing of ideas that truly worked for me.
Every seven years, the Agon begins. Essentially this event is a punishment created by Zeus for past rebellions.
During the Agon, nine Greek Gods are forced to walk the Earth as mortals, all the while being hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines.
If a God is killed during the Agon, the hunter responsible for their death gets to seize that God's powers and more importantly, their immortality, thus becoming a New God.
Melora, known as Lore, is a member of the line of Perseus. She is no longer participating in the Agon, however, having left that world behind.
She has successfully kept herself hidden since the last hunt left her entire family dead, including her two little sisters; murdered by a rival clan.
Living in New York City, Lore has done a good job blending in and has successfully flown under the radar of anyone related to the hunt. At least that's what she thinks.
One night a blast from her past, her childhood best friend, Castor, ends up tracking her down unexpectedly. Their brief conversation intrigues Lore enough to make her question whether she can really leave that life behind.
Their interaction really rattles her. She has suspected that Castor was dead, so to have him just suddenly reappear was a lot to swallow.
Little does she know, things are about to get a lot more interesting.
Arriving home, she discovers the Greek Goddess, Athena, one of the few remaining original Gods, injured on the front steps of her brownstone, pleading for help!
Before she knows it, Lore has rejoined the hunt, pairing with Athena and hoping to finally get revenge on the man she blames for the murder of her family.
Y'all, I loved this book from the very first chapter.
I was so intrigued about the whole concept of the Agon and absolutely loved getting to know these characters.
I think Bracken did a great job of building this out and keeping the pace steady throughout. There was always plenty of action and intrigue to keep me wanting more.
Lore is a strong character, who you can tell is hurting. As her past is slowly revealed, through chapters focusing on her childhood and the end of the last Agon, my heart absolutely broke for her.
Trust, this girl has been through it.
Over the course of the story, you watch her character evolve from a damaged soul to a true force to be reckoned with.
I loved the relationships within this story as well. The friend group, made up of Lore, Castor, Van, Miles and Iro, was so great to read. I loved their dynamic and the way their personalities played off of one another; particularly Miles, the only one not from an ancient bloodline.
The Agon, at its heart, is a competition; one of my favorite tropes. There was a lot of danger. I mean really, the entire time, Lore and her friends are on the move.
They're constantly in fear for their lives, which makes you constantly in fear for their lives.
This felt like a Superhero story and I was living for it. Towards the end, there are all sorts of surprising twists and reveals. So, so good!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Book Group, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate it.
Rating: really liked it
2.75/5 ⭐
Watch out, there comes an unpopular (personal) opinion!*sigh*
When I first read what
Lore was all about, I was sold. A mix of Medusa (who is one of my faves, I must say) and
The Hunger Games set in the present world?? Descendants of the OG heroes trying to kill the old gods to steal their powers of godhood?? That's nuts...and I loved it!
But honestly, as I started the first chapter, then slowly made my way through the story, I realised that I am: 1) confused and 2) bored.
Don't get me wrong, the idea of the plot was really, really good and I was desperate to like it, but it just didn't do the trick for me.
Greek mythology generally confuses me so that's not this book's problem, it's mine. But even so, contributing to my confusion was the
writing style of the author.
Honestly, sometimes it felt like she wanted to give us little sneak peeks of what's going to happen with the action, but wait! Not too much!
So she simply let us see glimpses of past actions while they were in the middle of happening.
I also had a problem with the characters. As I generally had no problem
per se with either of them, I simply could care less about them because they felt (to me) a little bit flat. It was nothing there to get me emotionally invested in them. Which, I think, it's sad.
Overall, my experience with this book was the same as the action of sitting in a boat in the middle of a lake with no paddles and no wind to carry me anywhere.
Nice and all, but after a while, you
need to get somewhere.
Rating: really liked it
↠5 starsGreek mythology meets the Hunger Games in this stunning fantasy standalone from author Alexandra Bracken. Long ago, nine Greek gods rebelled, and as punishment for this rebellion, the Agon was created. Every seven years those same gods would be stripped of their immortality and forced to fight against an onslaught of humans desperate to gain power and immortality in their death. Lora, an outcast from the supposedly wiped out line of the Perseides, is drawn back into the hunt upon the arrival of the famed Athena on her doorstep. Together the two will form a tethered bond, joining unlikely allies in search of revenge, and an end to the Agon forever.
I just want to start by saying how in awe I am of this. This book delivered in every sense of the word, flawlessly executing complex plot and strategy, all while developing the personal relationships amongst the main characters. The writing style is one that slowly took hold, enveloping me within the world like it was greeting an old friend. Upfront there certainly was a lot to digest in order to move forward, but it seemed necessary given the nature of the story and how thoroughly it was explored. The character of Lore, whose complicated past begins to hold power over current events and alliances, is just one example. The internal conflict of her seeking revenge for the death of her family versus escaping from the horrible legacy of the Agon was one of the most compelling aspects of the novel. Bracken surely drew out the revelations to her past in relation to the progression of the hunt and the meaning behind it all. There were definitely moments when I wanted to throw this book at the wall, as I came to terms with yet another expertly placed plot-twist. My only bone to pick with this is that I needed more of a definitive answer as to the point of the Agon. In the concluding events, what was the fate of the gods, and what was Zeus's plan all along? These are questions that needed to be answered for me to really feel like the book had concluded in a finite way. This truly is a book that will take the world by storm, and I look forward to witnessing it in January.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest reviewTrigger warnings: blood, violence, gore, attempted murder, murder, murder of children (graphic), murder of parents (graphic), terminal illness, abuse, attempted rape, arranged marriage
Rating: really liked it
its been awhile since ive read a book that is inspired by greek mythology, so i already knew i would enjoy this. adding that story gave me a very
mature percy jackson meets hunger games vibe, this was a lot more fun that i had anticipated.
i actually think readers will be surprised by just how brutal this story actually is. i mean, greek gods are violent beings, and this story definitely leans into that side of them. i think it made the concept of the agon that much more desperate and dangerous. it gave me anxiety, but in a good way.
however, i do think the story could have benefited from dual POVs. castors arc and development is too important to the story for him to just be a side character. i think if he had his own chapters, the world-building might have flowed a bit smoother and not have felt like it was crammed into confusing info dumps via lore.
but overall, this story is an exciting adventure and showcases a very unique side to greek mythology.
↠ 4 stars
Rating: really liked it
Finished copy provided by Disney-Hyperion "Nine gods have betrayed me and now demand cruel revenge."
Nine gods have been abandoned by Zeus as punishment for a rebellion filled with betrayal. Since the banishment, these nine gods are forced to walk among humans like mortals, while carrying out their bloodline. Yet, every seven years, the Agon takes place in a city for seven days, where all the descendants from all of these ancient bloodlines can kill the god they descend from and take their powers (and immortality) for themselves. And the start of a new Agon is finally here, and is going to take place in New York City, yet our main character is haunted by the last Agon where her family was brutally murdered.
➽ Melora Perseous (Lore) – of House Perseus, underground fighter, trying to block out the loss of her family in the past, and the recent loss of another loved one. Lore is also last of her bloodline.
➽ Castor Achilleos – of House Achilles, Lore’s best friend and fighting partner growing up, who had leukemia.
➽ Miles – Korean, queer, Lore’s roommate and best friend.
➽ Van – Black, queer, Castor’s best friend.
➽ Gil – Recently passed away, but the one who became a family with Lore and Miles these last few years.
➽ Athena – Betrayed by her sister, Artemis, and one of the last original gods, yet is wounded so badly at the beginning of this book that she makes a deal with Lore so they can both try to get revenge.
"I will help you survive this week, and you will destroy the god once known as Aristos Kadmou, the enemy of my blood"
And so, Athena and Lore’s lives in this Agon are forever intertwined, while they try to survive in New York City, and try to get the vengeance they so desperately have wanted these last seven years against a new god called Wrath. But things change even more so when Lore realizes she is a lot closer to another god than she realizes, and she also is quickly realizing that things are a lot more personal than she ever imagined. Especially when Wrath wants to kill all the gods, regardless of bloodline and regardless of transferring magical abilities and artifacts attached to those bloodlines.
The premise and set up was truly amazing, and I was invested after the very first chapter! But I will say, this book felt a bit too info dumpy at times for me, and I imagine if you didn’t know much about Greek mythos this story could get extra confusing, but I really did overall enjoy it each time I picked it up. Truly, it made me realize how much I do miss reading urban fantasy, and I think the New York setting was very genius for the Agon. I loved learning about all the different types of magic and all the different artifacts, but I do wish they were woven into the story a little better, even though I was being all sidetracked like “wow I love this shield and I’m going to spiral about
Dota AND the
Iliad because of it and my nerdy ways!” And even though I did love the New York setting, I would forget that this was set in modern times, especially any scene with Wrath and any scene showing us Lore’s past. Then we should see Castor’s medical treatment in the past, or they’d mention New York bagel styles and I’d be reminded, but a bit of whiplash while reading.
I also want to briefly mention, and I do not want to be too personal, but childhood cancer is something that is very close to my heart and something that impacts every day of my life, so reading a book about a boy who had to go through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and stem-cell transplants, for a cancer he had to fight twice, to get to see him be a modern-day Greek God… it was just very powerful. I can’t even think of another YA book where we get to see a young side character be impacted by cancer and see those around them be impacted by it too, and not have it be the focal point of a sad story starring it. I just wish we had more representation for this very real situation where people’s lives are so heavily influenced by this disease that impacts so many children every single day. (This is one of the few triggers I do personally have, but I thought it was very well done, and it made my heart very happy to read, and I wish more children and young adults living with cancer, or living in remission, could read stories that give happy and hopeful endings.)
"It’s okay to want good things […] and to believe that you deserve a good life."
Overall, I really liked this unique spin on Greek mythos, and I really enjoyed how this author intertwined this story in a modern day setting. I think it was a solid standalone, and I was very impressed with the characters, so many of the themes, and the central discussions of found family and second chances, and the constant reminder that there is no “right way” to heal from trauma and grief. Also, I will always love a good reclaiming of Medusa and her whole entire monster story. Be still, my
Circe loving heart. But I really enjoyed Lore and Castor’s relationship. I loved the Van and Miles and truly were amazing side characters.
"And now history remembers her as a villain who deserved to die."
Content and Trigger Warnings: a lot of blood depiction, murder, loss of a loved one, graphic torture depictions (some to children), graphic violence, gore, sexual assault, grief depiction, ptsd, child abuse, threat of pedophilia,, threat of rape, implied pedophilia, slavery, talk of cancer (leukemia), child cancer (and mention of chemo, radiation, stem-cell transplants, etc.), mention of heart attack, mention of cancer coming back, bombings, explosions, brief mentions of suicide, and war themes. This is a pretty dark book, and it surprised me a lot with the constant learning of the torture that happened to Lore’s family in the past, so please use caution and make sure you are in the right headspace.
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Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤
Rating: really liked it
TW: rape; pedophilia; gore; cancer
I wanted to enjoy this. I really did. But once I got to the end, I realized that I hated most of this reading experience.
This had so much potential and ended up being so incredibly flat. The world is supposed to be modern day, but you wouldn’t know it by how characters act and how incredibly misogynistic the hunter society is. Sure, they are more of an insular culture but you can’t honestly have me believe that they are living in NYC and totally cut off from modern society and norms.
Then I just didn’t buy most of the character dynamics and relationships. These people are supposed to be close and I just don’t see it outside of maybe Lore and Castor and Lore and Miles. But other friendships Lore supposedly have fall so flat and unbelievable. Without substance. And any conflict between “good” characters just get resolved. One of them tries to literally kill another one and it’s forgotten a few chapters later.
You know what else is flat? The villains. These are some of the worst, one dimensional villains I have ever read. It’s like the author thought: “you know how we make sure everyone knows villain bad? Make him a pedophile rapist.” It’s such lazy writing. And he’s not even the only rapist! Not only that, but the lack of adults in the world is apparent and yet the author doesn’t even try to explain that away. The only adults present are other gods who are all bad, and we just have these teens running around with not even a mention of adults who would be involved somewhere in the lower structure of hunter society.
So we have all these bad, one dimensional villains and then have the audacity for Zeus to be depicted as neutral good?! Excuse me?! Ancient Greece nerds disagree on a lot and we love a good interpretation but we all can agree that Zeus was shit.
Yeah... Um... I’ll be doing a gripe about this. I have more to say.
Rating: really liked 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 or mentioning 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.
TW: torture, attempt at rape, blood and gore**I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**Follow Me Here Too:
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Rating: really liked it
100 days into 2021 and 100 books have been read. Check out my latest BookTube Video to see which ones are my fave!
The Written Review 
Just finished my January OwlCrate Unboxing & Review Video! I am blown away!!!
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Rating: really liked it
[1. First we have an awesome zippered book sleeve inspired by Circe
2. We have a cute wooden spatula with a quote from Lovely War by Julie Barry.
3. Next is an awesome enamel bookmark which depicts, Athena and a badass iron-on patch of Medusa
4. Next is a cute trinket dish featuring
Rating: really liked it
okay i have no clue how im going to structure this review, so i apologize in advance for any chaos.
trigger warnings:
sexual assualt, rape (a very present theme in this book), abuse, death, violence, gore*bear with me, this synopsis is terrible, but the plot is hard to explain* this book follows our main character, lore, who is a part of these like greek bloodline thingys that hunt the gods when they come down to earth as mortals for seven days to be killed by descendants of greek heroes. anyways like 10 years ago lore's family was killed and she was all like "nah id prefer not to die, im out" so shes not involved with this hunt for gods anymore but then
stuff happens and she gets thrown back into the world.
yall im so sorry that was the worst plot explanation ive ever given. but one of my new years resolutions is to not stress over reviews so whatever. i do this for me, and for the kind people who enjoy my reviews. theyre not gonna be perfect, but i try my best.
anyways moving on.
lore looked so promising! a greek mythology book that takes place in new york? sounds like my personal heaven. unfortunately, this book had so many flaws that i genuinely just could not overlook, and my overall enjoyment of the novel was not as high as i had hoped it would be.
before i start ranting,
i do have a few things that i really enjoyed about this book, and felt like should be mentioned.first of all, someone needs to go pat Alexandra Bracken on the back for her originality. a big issue in young adult fantasy, is reused tropes and plots. there are
so many YA fantasy books out there, that its hard to write a book that hasnt already been written. i know many people will see greek mythology and think "percy jackson rip-off!!!" which, i personally think, is totally unfair. (youll catch me being the biggest pjo stan, but not every greek mythology book is copying it) no one calls out authors when they use fae or witches or any other popular tropes or characters in their books, why should it be different now? i had many many issues with the plot and pacing of this book, but the general concept was so unique and had loads of potential.
another thing that was great about this story was the antagonist plotline. i DESPISE books with weak villains, but i didnt feel that at all. there were a few antagonists in this story, but theres one in particular who, i felt, was written very well.
there was only one other thing that i liked in this book, and that was the urban fantasy aspect. if you know me at all, you would know that new york is literally my favorite place on earth. like actually. i spend an unhealthy amount of time wishing i was in new york. so, obviously, when i learned this book took place in new york city, i was jumping for joy. i was disappointed by
many things in this book, but definitely not by the nyc parts. the way the storyline fit into the city and its people was awesome, and i really appreciated that the main character had such a deep love for her city. because, relatable. (i meant that its relatable in the sense that i love nyc, not my own city. i live in dc. i used to think it was cool. then the capitol got stormed and i could barely leave the house.)
ALRIGHTY TIME FOR THE FUN STUFF!
ill split this into like four parts to make sure i can cover everything. characters, plot, romance, writing.
so i guess that means ill start with
characters.
im not gonna do my character analysis that i would usually do for each character, because honestly i felt detached from them all. not one of the characters in this book had consistent personalities. the love interest was all over the place, the main character started out as this bad-ass fist fighter and then turned out to be annoying, and the side characters had no depth.
also, i have a question. were these characters supposed to be morally grey? because theyre not. at all. they were literally the OPPOSITE of morally grey and it got very annoying, very fast. theres nothing wrong with book characters that are good people (i do love my comfort characters, who are also murderers, but thats besides the point), but they have to have their flaws yaknow? each of these characters felt way too perfect.
overall i felt absolutely
nothing for any of these characters and could care less what happened to them.
next,
plot.ask me to explain what actually happened in this book. i think we can all tell from my synopsis that i really didnt get the story. i truly believe that this plot had so much potential, but the execution was awful.
the worldbuilding was horrendous. im not exaggerating. im a mythology nerd. I UNDERSTAND GREEK MYTHOLOGY. SO THEN WHY WAS THIS SO HARD TO FOLLOW?!?!? i feel so bad for anyone who read this book without any background knowledge, because i barely understood it. at the beginning of the book, the bloodlines that are trying to kill the gods were explained (in a very info-dumpy way) and then its like the author was just like "oh! well i explained it once! theyll get it now." NO NO NO NO NO. I WAS SO LOST DURING EVERY PART OF THIS BOOK. AND I SWEAR IM NOT STUPID. I UNDERSTOOD House of Earth and Blood AND THAT BOOK WAS LIKE INFO DUMP HEAVEN. but yeah, i would have appreciated a lot more explanation.
the other thing about the plot was that it was so fast moving, that it became boring. that statement really doesnt make much sense, but i can explain it. i hate slow books right? like if theres no action or plot then ill throw the book across the room and leave. this book was definitely not slow, but it always had something going on, to the point where i felt no suspense. all 400 pages of this book read like a climax, which ended up making the actual climax of the story underwhelming.
ill say it again, THIS PLOT HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL. WHY COULDNT IT HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER?!?!?!
now ill talk about
writing.
i dont have anything negative to say about this books writing, but i dont have anything positive to say either. it was nothing special. honestly, it was just insanely average.
there were definitely times that the things that characters said felt so unnecessarily
preachy. like there are quotes from this book that sound something straight out of a self help book.
for example:
"you have to start thinking about your future, otherwise your past is always going to hold you back."
its not that big of a deal, but i hate those quotes that were so clearly created for the sole purpose of sounding "deep."
the last thing ill discuss is the
romance.
the main romance in this book was terrible. there was a side romance that i thought was cute but the romance that was really focused on was atrocious. and dont even get me started on the love interest.
actually, do get me started. because i am
pissed. this book was marketed to me as a "feminist take on greek mythology." and i was like, "sick. lets go murder those misogynistic gods." the actual narrative on sexism in greek mythology was done pretty well in my opinion. BUT THEN THIS "feminist novel" JUST HAD TO GO AND HAVE A SEXIST LOVE INTEREST. castor, the love interest, didnt do anything obviously sexist. he didnt make any misogynistic jokes or anything, BUT THERE WERE STILL SO MANY DOUBLE STANDARDS THAT HE INCITED.
there was a point in the book where the MC starts killing some people blah blah, and castors all like "this isnt you lore. youre better than this. dont kill people." which is kinda annoying but like if you wanna be the ethics police, than sure, go be the ethics police. BUT THEN LATER IN THE BOOK, LORE'S IN DANGER AND GETS HURT, AND OF COURSE CASTOR, BEING THE Possessive Male Love Interest™ he is, hes all like "ill kill them." excuse me castor? i thought that killing was wrong? youre allowed to murder anyone who hurts your beloved crush, but said beloved crush cannot take revenge on the people who have caused her harm.
you cant claim to be a feminist novel and then have an important character be sexist. thats not how it works.
okay so thats all folks, i hope you enjoyed my review, because its kinda a mess.
the bottom line is, if this book was on your most anticipated releases list, cross it off. or dont. who knows, maybe youll love it, but i definitely didnt.pre-review:don’t you just love it when one of your most anticipated releases of the year is not that good? anyways i’m still debating about my star rating. probably two stars. maybeee three. i’ll think about it. rtc.
pre-read:ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS HERE!! i’m gonna try to start this tomorrow after i finish tog.
ahhh my pre-order of this book arrives tomorrow 😚😚
Rating: really liked it
This review contains no spoilers.RANTING AND RAVINGI really thought
A Court of Silver Flames was going to be my worst read of the year, but damn,
Lore really has a way of making me seriously question my life choices.
"omg
omg
omg
omg
this cant be
this cant be real
this is turning into my favorite book and i am QUAKING
pls let it last
pls be amazing
pls"At this point, I'm just laughing at myself, because that was one of my updates for this book, and now I just hate everything. I feel like I just wasted my precious eyes by reading the words in this damn book.
{Side note: I'm glad people are realizing how shitty this book is.}
*Long, weary sigh*
That was the sigh of a person who was initially excited for this book. That was the sigh of a person who was screaming and raving about how good this book was in the beginning. That was the sigh of a person who was tricked.
Can this book just fucking die? Please? I would start a petition to have this book banished from history and to wipe anyone's memory of this horrible book. OH MY GOD. MY HATRED IS UNBEARABLE. If this book was a person, I'd murder it.
The beginning of this book (AKA the first fifty or so pages) really had me fooled. I thought Lore was a completely strong, badass, resilient, sarcastic fighter who spoke only with her fists, but then...there was
nothing about her I could really like. No matter how hard I tried to like her, I just ended up hating her guts.
The sad part is that this book had so, so much potential. Normally, I love every book with Greek mythology, and I'll admit that the synopsis of this book was fascinating and appealed to me. But Bracken completely ruined it. This is what everyone's been saying about
Lore:
"Greek mythology meets The Hunger Games." Me: *chokes*
No, sweetie. No. I got absolutely no HG vibes from this book whatsoever, and the Greek mythology portion was absolutely horrendous. The only thing this book succeeded on was making me hate every single character and every single god and every single word in this damn book.
WORLD-BUILDINGThere was so much info-dumping to the point that everything just became really confusing. Sometimes I would be reading a passage and it would be a whole fucking page explaining something to me, and I'm like...Bracken, do you think I'm stupid? There was absolutely no need for the author to add the amount of information that they did. It was completely unnecessary. I won't go far to say that the
world-building was nonexistent, but it was definitely...nonexistent. I mean, it was
there, but it's definitely not the type of world I would yearn to live in. It's not even the fact the fantasy world is
dangerous, because obviously I'd love to visit District 12 with Katniss. It's just the simple fact that Bracken's world is utterly plain, dull, boring, stupid, pointless, and not appealing to me at all. The only thing we learn about Lore's so-called "world" is that she has a weird obsession with New York. Um...right. I get it. New York
is beautiful and amazing, but repeating it ten times isn't going to thrill anyone.
Bracken missed the entire scope of the New York setting. In her novel, it was just, "rainy days", "exciting adventures", "don't stay out after dark, monsters shall eat you alive." That sort of thing. I don't know what New York you're talking about, Bracken, but I don't think we're living in the same time period. I
live in New York, and it's not fucking like that. At all. I get it, she hasn't lived there her entire life like the rest of us, but if you don't know a place fully well then don't write about it. If you don't know what you're talking about then don't talk about it. Simple.
PLOTI'm sorry, did you say
plot? No. No.
Lore is just 400 pages of anticlimactic bullshit. The first half of the novel is preparing you an exciting, thrilling event of these stupid fucking teenagers hunting down
gods, like teenagers are strong enough to actually destroy them, and that shit doesn't even happen. Or it
does happen but it disappoints you so thoroughly that you just wonder why you ever bothered investing your time in this book in the first place. You mean to tell me I pushed myself through this book only for the ending to be completely unsatisfying and bland? The reader gets absolutely no reward for pushing through the beginning of the book. It was just, "Hey, here's my book. I put the most effort in the beginning, that's why it's absolutely enticing, but towards the middle and ending I got superrr lazy and I decided, hey, you know what? Fuck it. People will read anything nowadays. Let me just wing the remaining 300 pages of my book. People are bound to love it anyway."
I'm sorry. That's not how it works here, sweetie.
ROMANCEThis disappointed me on every level possible.
The biggest disappointment for me (and trust me, there were many) was definitely the romance. The romance in this book?
Laughable. It was a fucking comedy. If I was depressed, I would read this book and feel better about my life.
The love interest is a joke. The characters are a joke. I liked Castor at first. I did. I liked him because of his very first interactions with Lore, and I thought they were a good match. But again, the storyline went and destroyed every exciting thing Bracken had planned for us. There was
nothing, absolutely
nothing between Lore and Castor. NOTHING. It was a mixture of insta-love and slow-burn romance, which I know makes absolutely no sense, but which I shall explain now. Bracken tried this thing where Lore and Castor were childhood friends, and I agree, that's a pretty sweet thing. Apparently they hadn't seen each other for eight years, blah blah blah, I don't really care, their story puts me to sleep. So these bitches haven't seen each other for eight years (which is ample amount of time to fall out of love with each other) and yet...the moment they see each other, they're...in love? Oh my god. I wanted to die.
"Lore, I was born knowing how to do three things—how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.”....
Is that line supposed to be
romantic? Because all I did was cringe.
Castor and Lore basically fall back in love after like, two days -- which makes absolutely no sense, seeing as how they haven't spoken in
eight years. Literally Castor & Lore throughout the whole book: tIME dOESN'T mEAN sHIT bECAUSE oUR lOVE cONQUERS aLL.
Cringy? No, never that.
Can we talk about the interactions between Castor and Lore for a minute? This is how most of their conversations went:
Castor: I'm not fit to be a god. I'm unworthy.
Lore: Yes you are. You
are worthy.
Castor: Stop lYING to me, Lore. Be honest.
Lore: Cas, you're honestly the best person I've ever known. You have the most beautiful heart.
Castor: But I don't know what to-
Lore: cASTOR. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN THE TIME COMES.
I despise characters that have no self-confidence. I fucking hate them. I understand everyone has insecurities but characters who make self-deprecating comments 24/7 just isn't my forte.
CHARACTERS The characters can
all fucking die. I would read their deaths just to amuse me.
The story began progressing, and supposedly the rising action had kicked off, and there was just...
nothing. There was absolutely nothing about Castor, or Lore, or Miles, or Athena, or Van, or
anyone for that matter, that I could bring myself to like. I tried understanding them and trying to see if they resonated with me in any way. And there was nothing underneath. I felt absolutely no attachment. Every character in this book could literally drop dead and I would laugh. This book did a terrible job with the characters. They were flat, one-dimensional pieces of shit that I couldn't care less about. If you're here to get attached to some really lovable characters, this is not the book for you at ALL.
Lore is, in all honesty, one of the most irritating pieces of shit I've ever had the displeasure of reading in my life. In the beginning of the book she acts tough. She
is tough. But the reader only gauges that because she's fighting in a ring against a boy and punches the shit out of him.
...I'm sorry?
So you mean to tell me a girl has to knock out a guy in order to be "strong"? No. I do not fucking approve. A girl can love wearing pink dresses, likes painting her nails and all that girly shit, and she can still be the toughest, baddest bitch in the show. My point is,
a girl doesn't have to do something "mannish" (like wrestling/fighting in a ring against a man) in order to be considered strong. Her dress code has nothing to do with it, growing up with older brothers has nothing to do with it. All these stupid ass tropes need to fucking die because you're teaching girls the wrong thing.
WRITINGThe writing was absolutely terrible. It was pointless. This
book was pointless. I'm sorry, but Bracken has no voice whatsoever. I mean, she
does, but it's not enthralling at all. Her words put me to sleep. Her style is so bland and stupid that even the supposed "exciting" points didn't move me at all. Her writing style sucked all the good elements of this book dry.
ADDITIONAL POINTSThere was nothing about this book that made me want to turn the page. Everything was coated in a seemingly interesting storyline that had a lot of potential, but it just ended up being extremely disappointing in the end.
Also, where was the Medusa part in this book? When did that come into play in this novel? That's a genuine question. I'm not being sarcastic. I DNFed this shit so I probably shouldn't ask that, but I got more than halfway, and I heard not a
whisper of Medusa anything???
Is there anything good about this book at all? Yes. The first fifty pages. After that, put it down. The rest isn't worth it. The character growth is barely there, and it doesn't even
matter because there's no point in having character growth if the character is so dull.
OVERALL... Overall, if you're here for a really excellent read, run. Greek mythology,
run. If you're here for the romance,
run. If you're here for the plot,
run. You won't get
any of that except a mouthful of sorrowful disappointment. And if you're here for the "Greek mythology meets Hunger Games",
go get your fucking money back. You've been lied to.
This read was devastating because the beginning had me thinking it was going to be another favorite of mine.
Alas, I have been disappointed yet again.
Rating: really liked it
I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.Oh HELLO, Medusa!!! :o
I was lucky enough to receive a full ARC, after the chapter sampler was made available.
"It's not always the truth that survives, but the stories we wish to believe. The legends lie."And everyone...this book was such a
fun read!!! This was a Greek mythological
Hunger Games, where the descendants of famous Greek heroes ran around New York, trying to kill the Ancient Greek gods of old in order to
steal their power for themselves.
There were also so many
strong feminist themes about the women who were often
forgotten and excluded from Ancient Greek lore, which was something I really enjoyed, especially since I often complain about that exact thing. We always get to hear about Achilles, Perseus, Heracles, Theseus, etc but the women around them are often relegated to mere
damsels in distress or play the part of the
villain.
Plus, there was the
CUTEST childhood friends to lovers romance that I’ve read in a while between a
badarse girl who could do some major damage and the
SOFTEST boy who just wanted to help people. They were just
SO ADORABLE! <3
"You may deny the fates, but they will not deny you."I’ve never read a book by Alexandra Bracken until now, but I’m glad that I
finally did. I
highly recommend giving this a go when it releases in January!!! :)
Rating: really liked it
There are too many things allured me about this including tempting storyline and incredible cover! But you know the feeling something bothers you and you cannot put your finger on it. Yes, something totally bothered me about this book.
I have to admit: The premise is hopeful: Banished nine Greek gods who are vulnerable enough to be drifted from their powers at each seven year for seven days long fighting against descendants of Greek heroes who are adamant to take their lives!
The world building is impressively great and Lore is unlucky heroine, underground fighter, suffering from painful grief after losing her parents and one of the loved ones recently. She’s the ruler of House of Perseus. Unfortunately one of her best friend Castor ( from House of Achilles ) fights against leukemia. Miles and Van are also at their friend circle.
Now the new Agon is approaching in New York after 7 years later. Lora never healed after losing her parents at the previous one so she is adamant to fight against the descendants with all of her power. She cannot deal with more loses in her life.
At the beginning, after suffering from betrayal of sister, Athena who is still terribly wounded makes a smart deal with Lore which both parties will get their revenges even though it means shedding more blood.
This book has interesting and intriguing plot line but the execution of the idea and overloading of action scenes make you roll your eyes! Too much happening in a short time period! You just get agitated at each second with too many triggering, ultra depressing subjects including terminal illness, gory, bloodshed for fight scenes, extreme violence, rape, sexual assault, slavery etc.
The ending was also abrupt and a little dissatisfying for my taste. There are too many elements of this book like pieces of puzzle which put at the wrong places. Something truly missing about the entire picture and I cannot honestly name what it’s.
Maybe I was expecting more. Maybe story telling style, exaggerated violence, too much triggering subjects cut my living cords and exhausted me lot to enjoy the entire journey.
But at the end, I can only give 3 stars for the promising premise and intriguing world building. This book wasn’t exciting, earth shattering experience I was hoping to have.
Rating: really liked it
Review of Sample, 6 Chapters and Loving it so far!
The following ratings are out of 5:Romance: N/A – so far
Heat/Steam: N/A – so far
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📒
World building: 🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍
Character development: 👤👤👤👤
The setting: New York City – Present time.
The Hero: Not sure yet. Probably Castor will be the Hero, he is an old friend to Lore (Malora – last mortal descendant of Perseus). Castor is also from one of the bloodlines, descendants of hero’s that are now hunting the Gods while they’re in mortal form. Though Castor trained as a healer not a hunter.
The heroine: Lore – Her family was murdered by Aristos Kadmou, who hunted and killed Ares during the last Agon (see quote below), taking his place and his immortality. Lore has put it all behind her and is no longer involved in the hunts. She now fights men and women in underground fight clubs for money and to keep her feelings of loss at bay. Though she knows if hunters find her she will be a target (not sure why).
Background: At the start of the book I was pretty lost, but later things were explained. I don’t feel like this is giving away spoilers since the few reviews I have read so far of this sample seem to be saying the same thing about the storyline being to complicated and confusing especially since we are dropped in to Lore’s life without the background information and the forward as well as the first few chapters use terminology for events that are not explained fully till later. So I am just going to add a few quotes that help.
“They sat in silence for several minutes after Lore had finished giving Miles a ruthlessly pared-down explanation of the Agon, the nine gods it had been created to punish—including the one whose wound she had seared shut in their living room—and the nine bloodlines descended from ancient heroes chosen to hunt them.
She distilled over a thousand years of history into mere minutes, feeling more and more insane as his face remained carefully blank. It wasn’t like Lore could blame him; hearing herself say the words “For seven days, every seven years, the gods walk on earth as mortals. If you can kill one, you become a new god and take their power and immortality, but you’ll be hunted in the next Agon as well”
Like I said above, Lore is the last mortal descendent of Perseus but basically has opted out of the fight for various reasons. She doesn’t want power or immortality. Though she does want her family avenged. But the killer is a god and even though Gods are mortal for seven days, he has a powerful bloodline and they protect him as well as hunt the other Gods.
However, Castor came to warn her that she is being hunted by the new Ares. Also the God Athena comes to her after being wounded badly and wants her help. Athena gives Lore some information she wasn’t aware of.
“The Spartan . . . they called you,” Athena breathed. “Little Gorgon . . . I searched for you . . . chose you . . . knowing that skill . . . knowing that you are no longer one of the hunters. . . . But you have . . . never been weak . . . never powerless.”
I had been wondering where the Medusa hair on the cover came in, until I read that part about her being called “Little Gorgon”. Not that Lore actually has snakes in her hair (at least as far as the sample goes). Also it is said that the Perseides (Descendants of Perseus), were given the
Aegis, the shield of Zeus which had belonged to Athena until Zeus created the Agon as punishment for the Gods. The shield was taken when Lore’s family was murdered. The shield has special powers and bore the head of Medusa on the front.
This sample was very good and really just whetted my appetite for the rest of the book. I can’t wait to find out where the story goes. I just love Greek Mythology, add to that a fierce heroine and I am super excited. I definitely will snap this one up the first chance I get!
I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
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Rating: really liked it
Wow, I loved this one. It was everything the Greek Mythology loving kid in me has missed.
(Also trying out a new review format, so let me know what you guys think!) Plot: The story was so good! It never dragged, and wasn't predictable. The Greek Mythology was really interesting, and I thought the twist on it was fun and new.
Characters: I LOVED THEM SO MUCH. 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.
Pacing: super fast and lots of action. This would be a great read for people who are easily bored in books.
Content warnings: sexual assault, violence, death of family members
Click here for an in-depth review on my blog!
