Lore by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
While I fully acknowledge Lore won’t be for everyone, I freaking loved this so much!!!
Greek Mythology meets The Hunger Games?
Every seven years, the Agon begins. Essentially a punishment, 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 their powers and immortality, thus becoming a New God.
Melora, known as Lore, is a part of the Perseous line. She is no longer participating in the Agon. Lore has left that whole world behind and kept herself hidden since the last hunt left her entire family dead in their home, 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. Their brief conversation intrigues Lore enough to make her question whether she really can leave that life behind.
Their interaction really rattles her. She has suspected that Castor was dead, so to have him just show up like that, it was a lot.
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 steps of her brownstone, pleading for her 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 start.
I was so intrigued about this whole concept and absolutely loved the 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 very strong character, but you can tell that she is hurting a lot. As her past is slowly revealed, through chapters focusing on her childhood and the end of the last Agon, my heart absolutely ached for her.
This girl has been through it.
Over the course of the story, you really watch her character evolve from a damaged soul to a true force to be reckoned with.
I loved the relationships within this story. 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, really 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 to me and I was living for it. Towards the end, there are all sorts of surprising twists and reveals. Lore is a blast to read!
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.
