BOOK REVIEW: Lore, by Alexandra Bracken ~ Utterly Magnificent! *SPOILER FREE*
“There is a lesson to be had in even this. Take my counsel on this matter: it is acceptable, even preferable, to be alone,” Athena told her, “when those around you would hold you back or deceive you. The exceptional among mortals will always stand alone, for no one in the world was made for their task. Take confidence in that, and let it be a poison to your fear.”
~ Lore, by Alexandra Bracken
Hello my dearest people, happy Monday everyone and welcome back to another book review, that’s gonna be packed with feels, intense reactions and tons of Greek myths.
Considering that I am Greek myself, I can assure you that this is going to be the case, while I share my thoughts and feelings about Lore, this masterpiece written by Alexandra Bracken, that I received in the January GREEK MYTHOLOGY FairyLoot box.
“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.”
Straight from the blurb of this beauty, you can understand that this novel is going to change your world.
I mean it. It is well-written, with characters to love and hate, a plot that’s so well-crafted, with many ups and downs, plot twists and the research having been done, apparent in every single page. It is a book that will hook you from the very beginning and will keep you thinking about it, hours, even days after having finished it.
Even though it’s going to be really hard for me not to talk in full detail about certain characters and situations occurring throughout the book, because I do believe you need to read Lore ASAP, let me just tell you this: Lore, aside from being a combo of the Hunger Games and the Percy Jackson series, it also feels like a very, very intense game of chess. Every character, every situation, every little detail has a point and a meaning. And the strategy behind all this is simply going to blow your mind!
It did blow my mind, and y’all know how picky I’ve gotten over the years, on what comes to books that truly make me fall in love with them. Lore is one of them, and it is probably one of my top 5 books of 2021.
Speaking in more detail about the plot, but without spoiling anything at all, Lore is a book that talks about realisation of who we are. It talks about friendship, bravery, honour, principles, the distinction between right and wrong, the dawning of who we want to be and how we want to be remembered. It talks about the fact that dark periods of our life shape us, and they can either make us stronger or they can break us.
It was mesmerising for me to see that Lore, Athena, Castor, Van, Miles, Artemis and so many other characters were shaped because of what they faced, what was handed to them, but also, because of the choices they made themselves.
I’ve said it before, but I’m gonna say it again. Not everything in life is written in the stars or determined by the Moirae. It’s not only in Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos’s hands, what happens to us. It also has to do with the choices we make, the decisions we take. I do believe that.
There’s this Greek proverb I hold dear in my heart. “Η τύχη ευνοεί τους τολμηρούς” which means “Fortune favours the bold”. And let me tell you, Lore is a very, very brave character. And I do hope that somehow, someday, I will be able to become half as bold as she is.
But she’s not the only brave character of the book. So is Castor and Miles, Van and Iro. They all make choices and they all stand tall against the difficulties they face.
I can go on and on about these characters, and you know this means something. Because when the characters feel real, you do know you’ve read a good book. Combined with an amazing plot, such as the one of Lore, it makes the book… utterly magnificent!
And speaking of the plot, Lore is gonna make you question every single theory you’ll come up with. This says a lot about Alex’s writing abilities and talent. But what I truly want to highlight is that, Alex did a phenomenal job on what comes to research and she reminded me so many Greek myths. I’m grateful to her and happy that she hasn’t forgotten her Greek heritage and ancestry. The fact that she combined these myths with a very modern, contemporary setting, that’s also packed with all sorts of magic, powers and divine abilities, truly worked wonders.
If you haven’t figured it out already, I absolutely adored the book. Even if some of the revelations caught me off guard. Well, especially because some of the revelations caught me of guard.
I ended up rating it with 5 out of 5 stars, and I would rate it even higher, if that was possible. All the constellations of the night sky aren’t enough for me to express how brightly this novel shines inside my heart!
Thank you so much, Alex, for writing one of my favourite books!
And thank you all so very much, dearies, for stopping by once again. It honestly means the world to me and I want you to know that I most certainly don’t take your presence here for granted.
Have a wonderful week, awesome nerds, stay safe and stay positive!
Till next time… Toodles! 
