Lore by Alexandra Bracken | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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. They are 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, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory after her family was murdered by a rival line. 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 her out: Castor, a childhood friend Lore believed to be dead, and Athena, one of the last of the original gods, now gravely wounded.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and a way to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to rejoin the hunt, binding her fate to Athena's, will come at a deadly cost—and it may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

I love Alexandra Bracken’s versatility in her speculative fiction writing. From time traveling to fiber arts magic to Greek gods and hunters, she really can flex that creative muscle. Lore is Alexandra Bracken’s latest. It’s a bit of a door stopper, but do not let that stop you from reading this excellent story. I have had to adjust my expectations of how long some books take me to get through and while this one does take a little bit longer than normal for me, the journey is well worth it.

Lore is about an event called the Agon that happens every seven years. The Greek gods become mortal as punishment for trying to depose Zeus. There are different lines of Hunters, descended from the Greek legends, who hunt the gods in hopes of attaining the power and immortality of the god that they kill. Lore is the last of her line – the Perseides. She believes she is out of the Agon. She makes her money engaging in fights at underground boxing rings.

One day, there is a blast from her past. Her old friend Castor, whom she thought dead, shows up. Even more wild? He is now the new Apollo. Meanwhile, Lore is on her way home when she is accosted by the goddess Athena who happens to be gravely injured. Athena asks Lore to bind her fate to Athena’s. In exchange, Athena will kill Wrath, the new Ares, who basically killed Lore’s family seven years ago.

Together, with Castor, her friend Miles who is not a part of the Agon and considered an Unblooded, Van and an old friend from a different line of Hunters, Lore will take on the Agon and take on Wrath. After all, he is up to something that could spell disaster for mankind at large. There are twists and turns and action and anger and just a dash of romance in Bracken’s latest book.

Even though Lore took me longer to read than typical (6 days), I was quite hooked by it. First, this book is nearly 500 pages, it clocks in at 466. Yet, it really does go by kind of fast. I liked that I wasn’t just handed a big info dump pile. Instead, it took quite a few chapters to understand and realize the scope and magnitude of the Agon and Lore’s story. It felt like this book was so richly detailed when it came to world building. I could imagine the hunt and the different gods so well, and especially the concept.

Also, Lore is such a compelling character. She’s really dynamic and I just loved seeing her come into her own and the different realizations she made. AND OMG okay the side characters are wonderful too, I fell for Castor, Miles, Van, and Iro. Overall, Lore by Alexandra Bracken was certainly a must read. Oh and did I mention this is a standalone? It is SO worth it.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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