Lore by Alexandra Bracken - Restarting August 1st 2021

[Jenn]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ well I was wrong about Lore having anything to do with the Castor/Apollo thing. But it makes sense that Apollo chose to end his life. Glad Athena finally came around and did what was right. I was kind of hoping we would have a meeting with Zeus instead of the ending just happening but I'm glad they all get to stay together (hide spoiler)]

[Evelyn]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ So, Athena has died a good goddess now, I guess. I think she had the best character development out of all of them. I'm glad we finally know how Castor came to be him, with Apollo and all. (hide spoiler)]

[Evelyn]

Jenn wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ It would have been so cool if Zeus came! (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Evelyn wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"
[spoilers removed]"

LOL (view spoiler)[ I was expecting at least some interaction! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

7% - ch1-3. Intro to Lore and I have no idea why she’s escaped her family, but the gorgeous old friend and Athena turning up injured doesn’t seem good.

[Karen]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 5
[spoilers removed]"

up to ch4. Lore is certainly strong and seems more than capable of looking after herself. (view spoiler)[ When Athena turned up I was more than a little surprised that this seems to be part of some repeated ritual. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Jenn wrote: "Part 1: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I'm struck by how affected they appear by their new incarnations. None seem to really 'get' what's happening. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

50%
(view spoiler)[ Ive not read much of this over the last couple of days as I got more invested in some other books. I’m struggling to get through this now. The premise is cool but the story feels slow and uninteresting. I need some sort of plot twist soon. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Aaron wrote: "50%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Oh no, Aaron. This doesn't bode well. The opening section (the only bit I've got to) is quite focused on action and setting up intrigue. What happens? (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Karen wrote: "Aaron wrote: "50%
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I enjoyed when we were learning about what was happening and all the characters were introduced but the following action scenes felt a little long and I don’t really know where the story is aiming to go right now. I’m hoping it’ll pick back up again but I had a similar problem with some of the darkest minds books by this author. It might just be that I’m not a big fan of her writing style. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Part one has enough to draw you in, but there’s so many questions. I’m not sure why Lore seems to go looking for what is obviously going to be trouble.

[Ashley W]

Evelyn wrote: "Chapter 10 (21%)
woah, that was a huge info dump. I feel like.. wow that was a lot lol.
Anyways, apparently the Wrath wants to take over all the gods and wants to rule everyone? And Castor is the..."

(view spoiler)[ Yeah, that's what I was thinking. He was 12??? But in Ch 9 it says something about the births in the seven years since you ascension so..., I guess? (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 9
(view spoiler)[ I have to say, this book is making me feel stupid. lol I took a break from it and came back. It took a couple more chapters just for me to understand what is actually happening the gods.
I'm glad that Castor is the new Apollo if only because he is definitely changing things. This book goes back and forth between old and modern. Like they have TVs but they are still arranging marriages for kids. It's a little confusing. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 11
(view spoiler)[ I am struggling with this book so much. I think it has something to do with not 100% understanding what is going on. I get the gist, but new things keep getting thrown in.
I do know that I don't trust Phillip. There is something off about him, but then most the characters seem shady to me. But I wouldn't be surprised if Phillip were working with Wrath. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 12
(view spoiler)[ Ha, that was quick. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 11
I am struggling with this book so much. I think it has something to do with not 100% understanding what is going on. I get the gist, but new things keep getting thrown in.
I do know th..."

(view spoiler)[ I know what you mean. There’s a lot going on to try and understand. It’s hard to get into a book when you’ve got to think about every small thing that’s happening (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 22
(view spoiler)[ Aristos is disgusting! I do like the flashbacks of Lore and her father. I think it explains a lot of why she is the way she is now. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 35
(view spoiler)[ So far the small defeat of Belen has been the highlight for me. I don't really care for how the relationship between Castor and Lore is heading. I really like how Athena and Lore are interacting. Athena is almost talking to her like an equal now. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

73%
(view spoiler)[ I agree with Lore. I think if anyone gets it, it should be Athena. She is the last of the original 9 and the only one that isn't obsessed with power like the others are. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

52% - up to ch28. Ashley, you seem to have got into this. I’m feeling a little ambivalent about it all. There’s clearly something being hidden from us and Lore knows a lot more than she’s letting on, but I’m not finding myself all that bothered.

[Ashley W]

78%
(view spoiler)[ Athena?? Really. That's disappointing. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ I feel like that ending just sort of dropped off. All that and what? Castor is back to human? Seems... anticlimactic (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 22
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ The flashbacks are certainly helping to flesh out some of the events, but I still feel there's a lot of things we haven't been privy to yet. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 35
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I'm not quite up to this point, but Belen's moment was nicely done. I don't fully trust Athene right now, but I think this is because they're so used to looking out for themselves. Van's exchange with Miles makes me think that there might be lessons to learn from the mortal forms. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Ashley wrote: "78%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ She was one of the only characters I actually liked, along with Miles. That’s sort of ruined anything positive I had to say about the book. I can’t wait to finish this. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

68% - part three ends in a rather odd fashion. (view spoiler)[ Just having a moment to think about Artemis dying and then Castor gets shot...how? Only one who could have is Athena, but why would she do this? (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Ashley wrote: "73%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I'm not so convinced - she seems just a little too keen to help. She sought out Lore for a reason, but I don't know why that is. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. Not as good as I wanted it to be.

[Aaron]

Done
(view spoiler)[ I don’t really get the ending. Why is it all over. Why did it just end with them becoming mortal again as well. None of that was explained well. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Jumping in!

8% (view spoiler)[Have to say I'm a little confused with the way this works and the Greek gods as mortals, I might need to make a character map. Why's that guy important from 7 years ago? Was he a god too and he died? Or did they once try to kill the gods and she thought he died? If the game's come to her before, doesn't that mean she's a god, but if she is then how has she been in NYC for years? This is confusing. (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Super late to the party, but I'm starting this one today!

[Katrina G]

Chapter 3 (7%)
(view spoiler)[Hey! A name I recognize lol. It doesn't seem like a good sign that Athena is so gravely injured though. I hope she doesn't die (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 6 (12%)
(view spoiler)[ That was kind of info dumpy. I'm for sure in the same boat as Miles right now. There's just so many names to keep track of (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 9 (18%)
(view spoiler)[ Oooh Castor is the new Apollo. I wonder what that's going to do to his already fragile relationship with Lore (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 9
I have to say, this book is making me feel stupid. lol I took a break from it and came back. It took a couple more chapters just for me to understand what is actually happening the gods...."

(view spoiler)[ Right! There's so many things to keep track of, that I feel dumb when I don't remember something I just learned like 3 pages ago lol (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 15 (30%)
(view spoiler)[ Ooh it seems like things might be picking up now. It's been super info dumpy so far, but hopefully it gets interesting from here (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

I'm into Chapter 6 I think, will respond to your update soon.

[Katrina G]

Chapter 16 (32%)
(view spoiler)[ I don't like that Cas and Val are being judgemental about Lore binding herself to Athena. It's not like they've been around for the last 7 years to give her a better alternative when a mutually beneficial situation dropped in her lap (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 18 (35%)
(view spoiler)[ Hmmm. I know this isn't a romance heavy story. I didn't even want to read this for romance, but I get some vibes between Lore and Van (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 22
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Agreed! What kind of person wants to marry a 10 year old? That's just the beginning of reasons for why I can't blame Lore for wanting him dead (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 27 (50%)
(view spoiler)[ Hmm. I don't think I trust Athena. Every new person we come across is wary of her, and that's making me wary of her too (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Chapter 28 (53%)
(view spoiler)[ So wait. Gil was Hermes? Am I inferring that correctly? I guess I should have figured Gil was more important to the story than just some old dude Lore had grown attached too. (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Karen wrote: "52% - up to ch28. Ashley, you seem to have got into this. I’m feeling a little ambivalent about it all. There’s clearly something being hidden from us and Lore knows a lot more than she’s letting o..."

It's interesting that you say Lore knows more than she's letting on because I don't get that vibe at all. I guess I need to start looking more deeply at her lol

[Maddie]

Katrina wrote: "Chapter 16 (32%)
[spoilers removed]"

Exactly! And they don't (view spoiler)[just go along with all of her plans! (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Katrina wrote: "Chapter 18 (35%)
[spoilers removed]"

That's so strange! I'll say why in my next post update

[Maddie]

Chapter 19 (view spoiler)[Katrina says vibes between Lore and Van, but I'm totally vibing Miles and Van! All the snippiness. But it also doesn't mean I'm behind Lore and Cas though, I'm just sensing familiarity and comfort there that she's mistaking for feels...

I like for once how the best friend isn't secretly in love with her. However, I do wish we had a straight best friend who wasn't in love with her.. (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Maddie wrote

(view spoiler)[ I think it's just because I really don't want her to be with Cas lol. I 100% agree with you that it's just a familiarity between the two. I don't get anything romantic from them at all (hide spoiler)]

[Katrina G]

Also

(view spoiler)[ With the books I've been reading lately, I've gotten used to them being strictly lgbt or strictly straight, that I forget they can coexist in a book lololol. So I wasn't paying much attention to any of the interactions between Van and Miles other than just general grumpiness lol (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

But bearing in mind that I'm only up to Chapter 19. So I'm not sure how things play out.

[Katrina G]

I don't even know what chapter I'm on right now. I had to take a break from this one for a minute because it's just taking me forever to get through. I already read a whole other book (granted it was a shorter one),so even though I feel like I'm enjoying this, I think that's a bit of a sign lol