Author: Alexandra Bracken
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?
Every seven years, the Agon begins. Essentially this is a punishment created by Zeus for past rebellions. During the Agon, nine Greek Gods are forced to walk the Earth as mortals, all the while being hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines.
If a God is killed during the Agon, the hunter responsible for their death gets to seize their powers and immortality, thus becoming a New God.
Melora, known as Lore, is a part of the Perseous line. She is no longer participating in the Agon. Lore has left that whole world behind and kept herself hidden since the last hunt left her entire family dead in their home, including her two little sisters, murdered by a rival clan.
Living in New York City, Lore has done a good job blending in and has successfully flown under the radar of anyone related to the hunt. At least that's what she thinks. Over the course of the story, you really watch her character evolve from a damaged soul to a true force to be reckoned with.
I think readers will be surprised by just how brutal this story actually is. I mean, Greek gods are violent beings, and this story definitely leans into that side of them. I think it made the concept of the Agon that much more desperate and dangerous.
However, I do think the story could have benefited from dual POVs. Castor’s arc and development is too important to the story for him to just be a side character. I think if he had his own chapters, the world-building might have flowed a bit smoother, and his character would feel more real.
I was so intrigued about this whole concept and enjoyed seeing Lore emerge as a really interesting character.
I think Bracken did a great job of building this out and there was always plenty of action and intrigue to keep me wanting more. It was all very fast-paced, nonstop action. And yet, there were moments when the story lulled within the action. It all started blending together. Despite that, I wish there had been slower moments to better know the characters and history of the world. The pacing didn’t quite work for me, and I think the whole thing was just too long. There is a lot of information dumped throughout the book, and at times I felt I had to forced myself to keep going.
All in all, this was still a fairly fun read, and I would recommend it to fans of YA fantasy and especially anyone who’s into Greek mythology. It did, however, fall somewhat short of my admittedly high expectations.
