Lore is an imaginative and gritty YA reimagining of Greek myth, where a selection of Greek gods are made mortal every seven years, and they have a big ol’ battle royale with each other and the assorted descendants of ancient bloodlines, in whatever the city of choice is. This book’s showdown takes place in New York, because of course it would be New York.
We follow Lore, a tough teen with a tortured soul. Lore grew up as part of a family steeped in this Greek god madness — she’s of the House of Perseus, trained to fight and survive these bloodbaths, but she escaped that life to never return…except of course until the story kicks off.
Lore has the whole tragic backstory, badass fighting skills, and cold-hearted demeanor. She leads the novel well, and is the highlight of the book for me. At times her characters leans a bit heavily into the I’m not like other girls trope, but her motives are clear and defined, her personality fresh enough, and her sneaky little secrets provide much fun.
Lore’s dynamics with the rest of the characters are great as well — particularly Miles, the comic-relief roommate who has no idea what’s going on (but adapts surprisingly well) and gives the reader a voice as he continuously doesn’t understand what or why or how anything makes sense. Thank you Miles.
There’s Castor, the love interest, who I have nothing to say about because he was super boring.
There are some other, minor characters who aren’t all that interesting, and there are the various gods who show up. They all serve their purpose for the story well enough. Most of all, they participate in some truly epic fight scenes. Lore is chocked full of epic fight scenes. They’re quick and brutal. Some have a solid build-up to explosive action, but most of time they come as plot-twists and hit you like a slap in the face, or a knife to the gut, or an axe to the neck (they hit the characters like that too, lol). It’s great fun, but there are times when it feels a little exhausting. Just let the characters have a nap…..please…
That’s not to say Lore doesn’t have quiet moments. The pacing is pretty solid. We have many little world-building breaks that are definitely useful, occasionally headache inducing, and there are just enough character moments to sell the romance and friendships.
Ultimately, despite all the death and war and epic-spilling-of-blood, this novel feels like a love-letter to the city of New York and Greek Mythology. The city is utilized as more than a backdrop setting, and the Greek myth truly comes alive — and not just because of the familiar names being dropped. The author has clearly put research, as well as plenty of heart and soul, into the crafting of this story.
Lore is being marketed as Greek Mythology meets Hunger Games, but other than the battle-royale concept, there’s nothing very Hunger Games-y about this book. I would liken it to a more-brutal Shadowhunters — and I think fans of those books will eat this one up.
I had a good time with Lore and would recommend it to anyone with a hankering for some murderous teenagers and vengeful gods (and vice versa).
My final rating for Lore is a fresh bagel topped with melted cheese out of 10.
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