Do you have those areas of interest that just get you? For me, I love archaeological treasure hunting, mermaids, and Greek gods. I didn’t discover my passion for archaeology and specifically Greek life until late in college. How I wish I had known before! But that’s why I was beyond excited for Lore! Keep reading this book review to see what I thought about this Greek mythology inspired YA urban fantasy.
Summary
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
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: sexual assault, attempted rape, torture
Lore is my first Alexandra Bracken novel and I was so excited to read such a hyped author plus Greek mythology. To be honest, I haven’t read a good Greek mythology inspired book in what feels like forever. I can’t even think of one off the top of my head that I loved. And while I enjoyed the Greek mythology aspects of Lore, this one unfortunately didn’t make it into my top. Reading the summary, I loved the idea of the Agon and the idea of Greek gods and goddesses coming to life. While I enjoyed this aspect immensely, I felt, especially at the beginning, that I needed to be consulting the reference tables.
Lore brings to life a world of old gods meet new gods and killers. A pack of power hungry families deeply entrenched in traditions and patriarchy. It’s a world that seems to be removed from time. Set in modern day NYC, the world of Lore feels starkly contrasted with families ruled by male succession. While Lore stands strictly against the old traditions and sexism, the ways powerful men are never held accountable, she’s fighting against a system most wish to uphold. I enjoyed Lore’s character, the ways she recognizes the injustices.
But?
However, I found myself finding it difficult to get to know Lore. I found myself wondering what drove her, and when by the time I felt like I did understand her, it was a bit too late. To be honest, I think if I wasn’t reviewing this book, I might not have finished it. I enjoyed the histories of betrayals, schemes and manipulations mounded upon each other. But at the same time, I was missing an emotional pull to keep reading, to need to find out what happened to Lore.
Overall,
Lore is a story that unravels the past and the strings that will lead us to the future. It’s action packed from start to finish with so many lines of loyalties and stories of legends. But somewhere along the action, I got lost. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t keep all the changing names and histories firm in my mind, or the fact that I felt like I couldn’t do more than root for Lore. By the last page of Lore, I ended up liking it more than I felt throughout the first 2/3. It’s a story that examines how strongly we can fight destiny and loyalty. But that just felt a little too late.
Find Lore on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.