Lore by Alexandra Bracken: Review

Thanks so much for checking out my post about Lore and my first Mythology Monday review! Keep reading to find a summary of the book, my review, and the purchase links.

Title: Lore
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Pub Date: 1/05/2021
Genre: YA Fantasy
Edition: ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy)
Goodreads Link
Rating:

Summary

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

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.

Review

Lore was an exciting book, and I loved the story and the characters so much.

The plot itself moved fast, and there was never a dull moment. I think the flashbacks really helped us understand the characters and what was at stake for them. There were so many twists in the story, and the deception was at an all time high. I fell for it every time. There was also so much tension toward the end of each part, and I liked how it propelled us to the next part. The fight scenes themselves literally had me on the edge of my seat.

Lore makes it on to my Certified Baddie Protagonist list. Loyal to a fault, ambitious, does what needs to be done, and conquers her fears. But on a real note, something I really appreciated in this story was how easy it was to feel something about the characters. I either loved them or hated them, but I was rarely, if at all, ambiguous toward a character. They all played their part in the story. This is just a long winded way to say Castor is my baby. And Miles. And Van. And…you get the idea. The found family trope really warmed my heart in this story, especially cause Lore was involved.

This is one of those books that was a little too smart for me in the beginning as I tried to keep up with all the bloodlines and history of the Agon, but I just went with the flow and eventually put everything in place. The same thing happened when I read Legendborn, so ya girl struggles with those family tree connections sometimes.

In conclusion, I would like Lore to become a well-made movie. Preferably an extended TV series so nothing important gets cut. The book was a really cool take on mythology, and I think Bracken really added her own twist to the existing canon. Some of my favorite parts were when they discussed the influence of monotheistic religion on the decreased worship of the gods and the introspective conversation about the role Athena has played in myths and if she can be viewed as a champion of women.

Also I took a quiz on Bracken’s website for which house am I, and I got The House of Achilles which actually isn’t the worst option, so I’ll take it.

*I was gifted an ARC of Lore. All opinions are my own*

Where to Buy

Bookshop | IndieBound | B&N | Book Depository | Amazon

Author

Alexandra Bracken is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds series and Passenger series. Born and raised in Arizona, she moved east to study history and English at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. After working in publishing for several years, she now writes full time. Her work is available across the world in over 15 languages and has been adapted for the big screen. Visit her online at alexandrabracken.com and on Twitter and Instagram.