Favourite Quote: “A person alone could be controlled, but a person loved by others would always be under their protection.”
Star rating: 4/5 Spice level: 0/10 Cover Art rating: 10/10
Synopsis;
For centuries, Zeus has punished the gods with a game called the Agon, which turns them mortal for one week, and at the mercy of being hunted by those with godly ambitions. Only a handful of the original Greek gods remain, the rest replaced by the mortals who killed them and ascended. After her family's sadistic murder by a rival bloodline, Lore escapes and vows to repay her parents' sacrifice by doing one thing - surviving. For seven years, she has pushed back dark thoughts of revenge against the man responsible for their murder, a man by the name of Wrath who has attained unimaginable power. Except for one week, every seven years. A week that is fast approaching ...When Lore comes home on the first night of the Agon to find Athena gravely wounded on her doorstep, the goddess offers her an alliance; they have a mutual enemy, after all. But as the world trembles under the force of Wrath - a god with the power to destroy all of humanity - will Lore's decision to bind her fate with Athena's come back to haunt her?
Review;
Lore…What a rollercoaster of emotions! Just imagine the Hunger Games meeting the Greek gods - that’ll give you some insight into what to expect from this action packed novel! It covers so many relatable aspects; family, character development and forgiveness; all the ideologies the reader looks out for and can personally connect with. It is a fun, action packed story that even those who don’t like fantasy can enjoy. It is a modern twist on the Greek gods and it is such a refreshing take as the reader gets to experience the gods in a different light; mortal and no different to us humans. Greek Mythology retellings have become very popular over the past year and I believe Lore is one of the more unique takes on the concept.
Bracken really knows how to capture her audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. There were so many twists and turns within the plot that had me genuinely shocked at parts. To add to all of that, the world-building was brilliantly done. You get to see New York City overrun by gods and their houses, and how for 7 years, they influence industries and world wide ideologies. The only negative I would mention would be that there is a lot of information dumped onto you at once. With the fast paced narrative, plus all of the different houses, gods and new words to get your head around, I can see how some readers would struggle to get to grips with it all, especially with it being a stand alone rather than a series! Greek mythology is a chasm of different information, so if you aren’t too familiar with it, be prepared to have a few ‘question mark’ moments! Still, I can safely say you will still find it enjoyable.
The story follows Lore, a god hunter, descendant of the Ancient House of Perseus who has desperately tried to escape the Agon’s bloodbath after her family was brutally murdered in the previous games. But when her past comes back to haunt her and she finds the goddess Athena bleeding on her doorstep, Lore has to make the decision whether or not to enter back into the games, which she swore she would never do. So through her perspective, we get to how she fits into this crazy world of the gods, the Agon games and experience all of the emotions she goes through. For me, I enjoy character driven stories and so I was automatically drawn to Lore’s character. We meet her when she is full of anger and grief which weighs on her heavily, but also is the reason she wants to live. It was rewarding to watch her character grow and find out what truly happened, so she could be at peace with her past. A nice added extra to the narrative was a ‘found family’ trope. It fitted in perfectly with the story and allowed Lore to move on and find a place where she fit in.
Overall, I really enjoyed Lore. With its mixture of action, romance and Greek Mythology, it was the escapism I needed. Just as a trigger warning, it is a lot bloodier than I had expected, but for me personally, that didn’t affect my experience. My past few reads have all been a part of a series, so it was good to read a stand alone with everything tying up nicely at the end. Bracken could definitely come back to this world and focus on another character or god within the Agon without there ever being a crossover or need to read another previous novel within the world.
If you’re looking for a fast paced, action packed story with Greek Mythology, Lore is for you. I cannot recommend it enough!
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