Lore

I'm still thinking about this one. I love mythology, but I haven't really considered it in depth since grade school. The work that went into this novel is impressive, and the spin on the stories was very clever. It's clear the author had a love of the lore and of NYC, and that enthusiasm translates well. That said, I think the ending was flat. By the end, I was angry at a lot of characters and wanted a more satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure what that looks like, but I want more. I'm sure I'd read any sequels or spinoffs, making it worthy of four stars in the end.

The audiobook narrator was great!

I want to give it 4 stars but I enjoyed reading this so much it gets 5. Also because I love happy endings instead of tragic ones. Please just take the 5 stars. Thank you for being a standalone novel.

I liked the characters, I liked the plot. Thank you to PJO for imparting all that Greek mythology knowledge to me years ago that I put to full use in this book.

There was a point where I was a point where I got annoyed because of the ‘this isn't like you, Lore' part because damn I hate when books use that line.

And yeah, Lore had a tragic past so her wanting vengeance was understandable. And, Castor not wanting to kill anyone (including the rival Hunters) was also understandable because of what he went through during his childhood. So yeah, except at that one small point, the whole book was enjoyable.

Characters:

*Miles was the most fun character in this book

A lot of people have been describing Lore as a mash-up between the Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, and I'd say that's a fair comparison. However, where Lore differs is that I didn't care one single iota about any of the characters. I don't know if that's a me problem or if it's something in the way the book is written but it read like a bland TV show for me. I really WANTED to enjoy it, because it has all the markers of something that I'd really get a kick out of, but meh.

Lore herself is supposedly a kick-ass teenager trying to win glory back for her house, and to end the Agon – a challenge to kill Gods and take their power. She's mourning her entire family as they were killed at the end of the LAST Agon. I didn't feel the loss in any of the writing. There was one scene where we actually witness Lore discover her family murdered, but it just felt flat to me. Again – I don't know if this is a me problem or if there really was something off about how it was written.

I really wanted more from the Gods. I wanted to see more of them, wanted to feel their presence as something truly awesome, but you barely get a glimpse of any of them.

I think a lot of people will really love this book, but it just didn't really do it for me.

The Hunger Games with Greek gods. In this world, every few years an outcast group of Greek gods are hunted. If they are killed, the killer takes the gods powers and potential immortality, but they will be hunted again the next cycle. The hunters are divided into a series of houses, based around the Greek heroes of old. These ‘hunts' occur in modern cities - currently New York. This gives an interesting and deep mythology overlaid on a modern urban fantasy. This gave this a very interesting and unique feel even with it playing with classic YA fantasy tropes.

Overall I was very impressed with this - the characters were well developed, their motivations well realized. Some of the more annoying YA character habits are well avoided. This is definitely one of the better YA books I have read recently in the way it twists the concepts in interesting ways and has a satisfying underlying darkness.

If you like Urban Fantasy and Greek Mythology, I can highly recommend this.

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.

“It's not always the truth that survives, but the stories we wish to believe. The legends lie.”

Lore

Thank you Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the ARC!

Lore by Alexandra Bracken is really interesting. I got the sample of Lore and I wish to read the entire book. This is the first time am reading Greek mythology. The interesting fact is that the immortals are becoming mortals for 7 days, every 7 years. When they are in earth as mortals they are hunted by hunters of bloodline and who kills the old god to become the new god and enjoy the life of immortals and take the power of the one they killed. Lore is one of the bloodlines who was hiding to live a normal life as she lost her family.

After years she had met her best friend Castor who she thought as dead and one of the old gods came to seek help from her it was Athena. Athena was severely wounded and was helped by Lore. I just want to know what happened to Lore, Athena and her friend Miles and whether she had found her friend who is a healer to heal Athena How doe this Agon ended?.