I waited so long for you to mention Gorgons because the cover is of Medusa. The fact that Medusa was not a part of the plot tells me everything I need to know.
💀 I had to go back to the group chat to make sure I wasn't forgetting it, but there was a scene where Lore and Athena talk about Medusa. Also the Aegis is a big deal in the story and it's got a picture of Medusa on the front. That's it.
@@mynameismarines does it have anything to do with repelling the evil eye maybe? That’s what the gorgon’s purpose tends to be on temples and on the aegis. (I initially was excited about the retelling but if it doesn’t really add anything to the mythology then I’ll probably skip reading the book)
Medusa is more of a symbolization than an actual character being that the main character is a descendant of Perseus (who slayed) medusa and its her house's crest. But also the Symbolism of medusa herself
Its not actually medusa on the cover. Thats Lore herself (the statue has a scar on the cover which was mentioned in the book). Lore was almost sexually asualted as a child, also she belongs in the house of perseus which has mudusa as its symbol.
Do I have any interest in this book? No. Am I going to watch this entire video (and probably the full live show)? YES! Glad to see you back in my sub box 🤗
Hmm I’m currently 160 pages into this book and I’m struggling to connect to the characters or care about anything that’s happening. Now I’m thinking maybe I should just go ahead and DNF it. I love your reviews, they always provide such clarity! ❤️
We said it in the I've show but nothing changes or picks up or gets better in the second half. If you don't like the beginning, I really can't imagine you liking the end. I almost DNFed at the end of part four, I think, because the next part started with a flashback and my brain went NOOOOO. NO MORE. But I had to finish.
You make a great point about what makes a story boring. It doesn't need nonstop action, just characters the reader cares about and a well-developed plot. Great review as always!
So still reading this book and I am really enjoying it but yeah that whole “Women can’t be gods” thing doesn’t make any freakin sense. Like I know Greek Mythology isn’t very kind to women but the pantheon is filled with women heck even looking pass gods you have the Amazonians like what this whole women can’t be gods stuff like the fact that in Lore’s apartment you have Athena the *clears throat* GODDESS OF TACTICS AND STRATEGIES in your home so don’t hit me with that like I get the women can’t be leaders of noble houses sure it’s wrong but it make sense makes sense but the women not being gods thing make no sense.
Not to mention that some of the goddesses are very much worshiped. Athens... Athena, giant ivory statue in the acropolis dressed in pure gold? No? Okay.
I LEGIT had to double check with House Salt because I was like "damn, did I forget Medusa moments?" but I didn't! So, Athena and Lore talk about Medusa and how the stories got it all wrong. And also the Aegis is a big deal in this and it's got Medusa on it. That's pretty much it.
I bought "Lore" the day before this review was uploaded and now that I finished it I, unfortunately, have to agree. It's a shame because as a huge Greek mythology fan I really wanted to like this book. Overall, I really didn't like how Bracken handled the mythology part and the book has a lot of gory scenes that don't feel earned imo. (wanted to add that to mynameismarines' excellent points)
Yep, we had the same reading experience with this one. I was so confused when I saw other people saying how fast-paced and gripping this book was. I felt like I was reading and nothing was happening, or, more accurately, nothing new was happening and I just didn’t care.
I'm honestly so happy to hear other people had the same experience. Nothing new was happening and nothing ever stuck. Someone hurt? Heal them! Someone died? JK! Lost an artifact? Go find it! There it is! Wow.
Thanks for the review. I DNF-ed this book. After seeing all the high reviews come in I was thinking of picking it back up, but your takes match my feelings exactly.
Honestly, so happy for everyone telling me they DNF-ed. And yeah, I truly wouldn't recommend picking it back up because nothing changes. It doesn't get better. I'd even say that the beginning is better than the end.
Thank you! And yep, disappointment all around. I would've even been happier if I actively hated things about it, but for like 95% of the book, it's just BORING.
The only character I liked in this book was Miles. He was a sweetheart throughout the entire book. My only gripe is that he keeps telling us that Lore is great, but we never really saw her being a great friend
Honestly I didn't even like the darkest minds so this isn't surprising, but when you said the side characters were at least funny, it happened the same way for me while reading the darkest minds 🤣 i remember giving it a 1 and a half stars and my review was basically "that half star is for the side characters" lmao
What an articulate review! I'm here for 1 star reviews 😆 I never got into Lore so I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for the in depth review and good luck with work on 💜
So this was the Fairy Loot book of the month for January, and before it came I already knew it was going to be the book and I was excited because I’m obsessed with mythology retelling from a feminist perspective (Circe is also one of my favorites). However I was also nervous because Alexandra Bracken was the author. I read book 1 of darkest minds years ago but it was a very “meh” read for me and I never finished the series. The plot for Lore also felt very 2014 dystopian. And when I started reading it all my reservations about the book unfortunately were realized. The plot and Lore as a character felt dated. And the timeline in this book was so all over the place, like I had to keep going back and rereading things as regards to when Lore’s ancestral house was ostracized, when her family was killed, etc. this book put me in a reading slump so I had to DNF it.
Well said! I picked this book up from the library and made it 200 pages until I decided to deem it a DNF and returned it. I was so confused by the rave reviews that I found myself on your review. This review made me feel so much more sane for finding this story so dang boring when reviews cheer it’s praises.
Yay, so glad you sat down to record this impromptu video for us! Yeah I had no interest in this one and have DNFed one of Bracken's books before so I think I'm going to give this a miss! Also - I super appreciate that you thoughtfully, clearly, thoroughly described all the things that didn't work for you without ever resorting to "it's a typical YA" or some variation of that. I've been seeing that more and more for both YA and MG and I am EXHAUSTED, it's so condescending and meaningless, and such a lazy substitute for a review and I really love that you never do that! 💖 (can you tell this trend has been weighing on my soul? lol) Fantastic video as always, Mari ✨ Hope work calms down a little for you!
I'd love to say I'd never try another Bracken book again, but I know myself, and I'm easily convinced by hype. But my rational brain things this is the end for me and her. MMMM, interesting. As soon as you pointed it out, I was like "have I said that???" lol What's really interesting is that I'm not even sure this is YA. We talked about it in the lives how, but the protagonist is I think 19 and there weren't a lot of themes I thought were in line with YA and it was kind of violent and gore-y. Someone in the chat mentioned that they can see this being enjoyed more by teens, but I rejected that lol. I don't think that this wasn't just "not for me as an adult" but "this is not a good book." Have you made a video about this? It would be super neat to hear your thoughts! And thank you! I hope it calms down too, I'm over it.
@@mynameismarines yes so much of what determines age range is what people associate/assume about age ranges, which seems...very circular and unhelpful but publishing is out here to sell books, not market them thoughtfully I guess LOL I haven’t!! I’ve talked about it tangentially but I worry that if I do a whole video on it I’ll get too mad but it might be time to do it anyway 😂
I dnf this book. I had to force myself to read it after like 4 pages in and I got to over 100 pages in and nope. Life is too short to force myself to read “yucky books”.
I didn't have this on my radar at all because I didn't have much success with the passenger duology, and I read that years ago. I was going to try it for house salt but just couldn't justify it. I'm glad I dodged that bullet 😅
You did indeed. I had a few people tell me they were going to try to read with us and didn't. I can't even be mad. Happy for everyone who didn't read this. 😂
I actually really liked lore. Just a thought- to me, the point of Lore loving NYC so much is to compare her to Athena, and "the defender of cities". Edited, because my migraine brain decided to call the book Muse.
I thought it was a me issue. I also had trouble absorbing any info on this. I was trying to think back on what happened and couldn't remember a lot of it. Also, Perseus and Odysseus are not gods in Greek mythology... But they were gods in this story. She probably should have done more research
I definitely wanted to read this and probably still will but I’ll just keep myself from buying a copy now so I can save some money upon any distaste I may have after reading
I would love to see a video with your favourite book of every genre i.e. fantasy, romance, non-fiction etc. where you enjoyed character and/or plot development. I've just seen Netflix trailer for Shadow and Bones and excited bought the book immediately. The first book was ok'ish (that's a stretch, but I was hoping Darkling will gain more dimension eventually), so I gave the 2nd one (Siege and Storm) a chance, hoping for character development, but I was bored to death. I refuse to read the 3rd book in the series. I am in need of good reading material, so I am currently going through all your videos again, but I thought the above (back to first sentence, lol) might be a good idea for a video. Thank you for all your video reviews so far, I really enjoy listening to your point of view. Lore goes off my TBR list!
Just discovered your channel and I'd like to say that a. I love your voice and you are so pleasant to watch and b. I completely agree with your Lore review and I'm glad you deconstructed the book in a such a way that's telling me you're a great reviewer (are you a Profesional editor too?) who really knows their way around books. I feel like so many booktubers and bookstagrammers always go with the flow and finding such honesty and feedback gives me hope for our race as bookworms lol 😂
That fact that this review is incredibly detailed and concise and you didn’t even plan it that much is amazing. I think I’m just going to skip this book because there’s not enough for me to give it a go.
huu im gettin worried then, i got it from owlcrate and the book does sound interesting but if so many people arent likin it and the reasons u sayin idk if i wanna read it anymore... i read the darkest minds series 2 years or so ago and honestly i was sooo bored but probably just wasnt payin enough attention to it. bc recently i read the darkest legacy and enjoyed it. also your eyeliner is popppppinnnn
that's unfortunate. i've been hearing a lot of similar things about lore and the character's questionable decisions. thank you for another great review!
I’m excited to see reviews of it since all I’ve seen are hauls saying how beautiful the cover is... that said I’m not planning on reading it but I love your review!!
Thanks for the review. I feel like you helped me dodge a bullet. Some recent reads of mine fall into this category, of being boring and me asking "what was the point?!". Which is unfortunate for this book because I really love mythology.😥
I knew there was a reason why I couldn’t get through my first attempt at reading this book I thought it was just bc I was in a reading slump 🥴 I was a fan of Bracken so I was excited for this book to come out, but I feel like she has done so much better in the past. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters and the ones I did like were barely in the book. Any romantic moment fell flat to me bc I felt like the characters didn’t have enough chemistry established beyond just being close friends. I can’t even with the ending it was so disappointing
I tried sooo hard with this one and honestly I dnfed @ 100 pages bec I didn't want to DNF an ~Alex bracken~ book, I regret my choices and wasted several hours of my life LOL
I haven't read Lore nor do I have the interest. Circe comparison books usually don't do it for me despite the fact that I love Circe by Madeline Miller too. I had a similar problem with The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. I just found it didn't have much to say (again, despite the fact that I love Angrboda in Norse myth, whom the book is about!). They don't scratch past the surface messaging while I feel Circe aboslutely had Some Things to say.
Yes, this exactly. And Circe was such a real and dynamic character! That book did a great job balancing the character study with action. Lore is... nothing like Circe.
Thank you for watching! And yes, I feel like if you don't like the beginning, you won't get on with this book. It doesn't get better and in fact, I think the beginning is where the characters are the best. I would've DNFed too!
My whole thing with disliking Lore was that the characters weren’t all that likable. In general, that really is going to be a defining factor on whether or not I like a book. Being able to connect with a character makes reading a lot more enjoyable. I was really hyped for this book because Greek mythology? Yes please. The summary? Gods above, that’s totally something I’d read. But overall I was a bit disappointed. (Edit: but to be fair, I enjoyed it a lot more than some of the other books I’ve read lately so that counts for something AND some of the side characters were actually cool... so yeah) Nice review lol
I just finished this book and the only characters I liked were Van and Athena, and I only like Athena because she was sort of a bad guy and it put Lore in her place after Lore was acting annoying to me lol an amazing review!!!
this sounded like a cool book idea so i’m glad you posted your review 😅 i’d probably stop reading it and i hate wasting time/money on books i don’t jive with 🥲 also a very considerate review for a book that sounds hella frustrating to get through!
I’ve read the passenger duology and I loved the concept but the execution wasn’t fantastic. I was hoping she’d improve over time but it looks like she still hasn’t 👀
This book was nothing like Circe...more like Percy Jackson. I picked this up thinking it would be retelling abt Medusa, quite deceptive book cover there.
Commenting because algorithm and to say how delighted I was to see your beautiful face in my alerts. I was never really interested in this book because I'm kind of over Greek mythology Retellings, I think??? But this video allows me to pretend I'm superior in some way for that disinterest. Also, I too never finished the Darkest Minds trilogy even though I really liked the first two books when I read them? So... Yeah.
Thank you for commenting. You da best. I don't read a ton of Greek mythology retellings, so sprinkling them in here are there still has appeal to me. Except after this, I may need a break. I honestly remember so little of The Darkest Minds. Did you watch the movie?
@@mynameismarines I did, it was not good. I don't think that's what soured me on the series though! It's actually a classic case of delaying finishing the series because I'm worried about the end of the series, and then 11 years later, or however long it's been realizing many of the series I've looped around to finish I'm not motivated enough to re-read but I'm not invested enough to care about things without re-reading. Also my tastes have morphed. This is probably why I'm STILL avoiding re-reading Seraphina, fear that it hasn't held up. If you're still interested in a buddy read though, I am 🤞🤞🤞 I will still like it on reread.
@@mynameismarines well so far I think I’m more engaged with the main character than you described. We will see. But thanks for the video. It helped me find that live series and I’m excited to watch some of that.
I enjoyed it but I definitely agree with so many of your points. Lore was pretty bland (the fight ring thing was 🤣) and I had to go back to the front of the book to keep track of the family lines and i sort of had to accept i just didn't understand the reason for the Agon. I think I've been burned by romance in fantasy ya so much that this one not being so prominent was big plus for me 😭 I really wish more ya didn't make the romance the end-all be all for the characters but you definitely made me rethink my rating!
I should've mentioned too that I was listening on audiobook so I think that might've made it even hard to track things. I did not have the benefit of being able to flip around and remind myself so I was just like ???? for a lot of it. Hilariously, I love romance in general, so the few times they were smooching in this book, I was okay with it.
@@mynameismarines Oh yeah that def makes sense this one would have been hard on audiobook but i definitely think that's the fault of the author. and yes! i definitely saw the van/miles thing coming but it is was cute!
I hated how the descriptions in the book were. It was vague. But I did like the story. Van was my fa keitel character honestly I did like athena a bit too even tho shes not the best... person...goddess..?
I was going to read this, but that I found out it was modern day, and that just made me instantly not want to read it. I liked the idea of this Gods fighting Gods in a more fantastical or ancient Greek setting or something.
The thing with bringing forward mythology into modern day is that you now have to do the modern day element well and the modern elements well. Here, the mythology was empty and the modern day elements were just like "I love New York. We don't toast our bagels here." That's only a slight exaggeration.
!Spoilers below! When castor died I felt nothing because his entire character was "Lore no killing" healing someone or "Imma murder someone for lore but no killing lore" Like what?!
Love your reviews and I really appreciate you going into depth about this book. I felt like everyone was reading it but nobody was talking about it, if that makes sense lol. Based on your review & the synopsis, I don't think this will be a book for me 😅😅
Thank you for watching! I've been behind on video watching so my big surprise was when I logged into Goodreads and found a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings. I hadn't heard anyone else talking about it so the fact that it was well-received truly was brand new information for me.
it's disappointing really. Great idea just poor execution, left me very confused at some points :/ but hey at least the cover and those 5 pages scattered here and there were pretty :D
I know you think it is right to put Alexandra Bracken and her book down, But I think if someone spoke of you putting your creations down you would see that this review and you yourself deserve any bad karma that comes your way..
Wait so no one is allowed to review things? Does this just apply to books or are like bad movie reviews worthy of negative karma? Restaurant reviews? A review of the laptop you bought? I’m curious why reviewing a book I bought means I get bad karma.
I waited so long for you to mention Gorgons because the cover is of Medusa. The fact that Medusa was not a part of the plot tells me everything I need to know.
💀
I had to go back to the group chat to make sure I wasn't forgetting it, but there was a scene where Lore and Athena talk about Medusa. Also the Aegis is a big deal in the story and it's got a picture of Medusa on the front. That's it.
@@mynameismarines So not really enough to warrant her head on the cover....
@@mynameismarines does it have anything to do with repelling the evil eye maybe? That’s what the gorgon’s purpose tends to be on temples and on the aegis.
(I initially was excited about the retelling but if it doesn’t really add anything to the mythology then I’ll probably skip reading the book)
Medusa is more of a symbolization than an actual character being that the main character is a descendant of Perseus (who slayed) medusa and its her house's crest. But also the Symbolism of medusa herself
Its not actually medusa on the cover. Thats Lore herself (the statue has a scar on the cover which was mentioned in the book). Lore was almost sexually asualted as a child, also she belongs in the house of perseus which has mudusa as its symbol.
Do I have any interest in this book? No. Am I going to watch this entire video (and probably the full live show)? YES!
Glad to see you back in my sub box 🤗
Thank you for watching!! Even if you know nothing about the book, our frustration is a universal language, honestly.
This
Hmm I’m currently 160 pages into this book and I’m struggling to connect to the characters or care about anything that’s happening. Now I’m thinking maybe I should just go ahead and DNF it. I love your reviews, they always provide such clarity! ❤️
We said it in the I've show but nothing changes or picks up or gets better in the second half. If you don't like the beginning, I really can't imagine you liking the end. I almost DNFed at the end of part four, I think, because the next part started with a flashback and my brain went NOOOOO. NO MORE. But I had to finish.
@@mynameismarines Thank you for the reply! I decided to DNF it, I can’t handle spending time reading a book that I care nothing about.
YOUR EYELINER!!!! (also I clicked so fast; I love your reviews)
Thank you! I don't always wear blue liner, but when I do, I want to record a video lololol.
QUEEN ALEXA HEY
"because we basically meet her in a fight ring because of course we do" is a thing i felt so deeply
You make a great point about what makes a story boring. It doesn't need nonstop action, just characters the reader cares about and a well-developed plot. Great review as always!
So still reading this book and I am really enjoying it but yeah that whole “Women can’t be gods” thing doesn’t make any freakin sense.
Like I know Greek Mythology isn’t very kind to women but the pantheon is filled with women heck even looking pass gods you have the Amazonians like what this whole women can’t be gods stuff like the fact that in Lore’s apartment you have Athena the *clears throat* GODDESS OF TACTICS AND STRATEGIES in your home so don’t hit me with that like I get the women can’t be leaders of noble houses sure it’s wrong but it make sense makes sense but the women not being gods thing make no sense.
Not to mention that some of the goddesses are very much worshiped. Athens... Athena, giant ivory statue in the acropolis dressed in pure gold? No? Okay.
Was Medusa even a part of it? Why is Medusa on the cover? I was confused reading the synopsis
I LEGIT had to double check with House Salt because I was like "damn, did I forget Medusa moments?" but I didn't! So, Athena and Lore talk about Medusa and how the stories got it all wrong. And also the Aegis is a big deal in this and it's got Medusa on it. That's pretty much it.
I bought "Lore" the day before this review was uploaded and now that I finished it I, unfortunately, have to agree. It's a shame because as a huge Greek mythology fan I really wanted to like this book. Overall, I really didn't like how Bracken handled the mythology part and the book has a lot of gory scenes that don't feel earned imo. (wanted to add that to mynameismarines' excellent points)
Yep, we had the same reading experience with this one. I was so confused when I saw other people saying how fast-paced and gripping this book was. I felt like I was reading and nothing was happening, or, more accurately, nothing new was happening and I just didn’t care.
I'm honestly so happy to hear other people had the same experience. Nothing new was happening and nothing ever stuck. Someone hurt? Heal them! Someone died? JK! Lost an artifact? Go find it! There it is! Wow.
Girl... not to mention how there's so many chapters
i'm a simple human. i see mari hate-reading a book? i click.
I watched this on my TV and came back to tell you that this video looks SO GOOD. The lights! The makeup! Your face! Truly A+ I love it.
Truly the best way to watch this video. I should rewatch it on the TV
On your TV?? That's a lot of face. It's a good thing you love it. I love yours. MISS YOU BYE.
@@mynameismarines yes it was a perfectly appropriate amount of your face!!
Thanks for the review. I DNF-ed this book. After seeing all the high reviews come in I was thinking of picking it back up, but your takes match my feelings exactly.
Honestly, so happy for everyone telling me they DNF-ed. And yeah, I truly wouldn't recommend picking it back up because nothing changes. It doesn't get better. I'd even say that the beginning is better than the end.
Good video and very considerately delivered. The premise of the book sounded promising. Sounds like the delivery was poor. Kudos!
Thank you and yep. It got me with the hook and then left me out at sea.
I was so disappointed in this book, I was looking forward to it so much. Also the eye make up with the shirt looks gorgeous
Thank you! And yep, disappointment all around. I would've even been happier if I actively hated things about it, but for like 95% of the book, it's just BORING.
The only character I liked in this book was Miles. He was a sweetheart throughout the entire book. My only gripe is that he keeps telling us that Lore is great, but we never really saw her being a great friend
Well, thank goodness you saved me from picking up a copy of this one!
Honestly I didn't even like the darkest minds so this isn't surprising, but when you said the side characters were at least funny, it happened the same way for me while reading the darkest minds 🤣 i remember giving it a 1 and a half stars and my review was basically "that half star is for the side characters" lmao
love love love this blue look!!
I was so hype for that book. Then I saw Sam's 1 star. Then the live show. Then I was heartbroken when I removed it from my TBR list
I always kind of feel bad for bumping things off people's TBR but then I remember how boring this was and I feel like this is the right thing.
What an articulate review! I'm here for 1 star reviews 😆 I never got into Lore so I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for the in depth review and good luck with work on 💜
Thank you and thank you for watching! Definitely not alone. I'm happy to have people in the comments also saying they couldn't get into this!
So this was the Fairy Loot book of the month for January, and before it came I already knew it was going to be the book and I was excited because I’m obsessed with mythology retelling from a feminist perspective (Circe is also one of my favorites). However I was also nervous because Alexandra Bracken was the author. I read book 1 of darkest minds years ago but it was a very “meh” read for me and I never finished the series. The plot for Lore also felt very 2014 dystopian. And when I started reading it all my reservations about the book unfortunately were realized. The plot and Lore as a character felt dated. And the timeline in this book was so all over the place, like I had to keep going back and rereading things as regards to when Lore’s ancestral house was ostracized, when her family was killed, etc. this book put me in a reading slump so I had to DNF it.
Well said! I picked this book up from the library and made it 200 pages until I decided to deem it a DNF and returned it. I was so confused by the rave reviews that I found myself on your review. This review made me feel so much more sane for finding this story so dang boring when reviews cheer it’s praises.
Interesting to hear your thoughts since I haven't any interest in reading this. Love the blue eyeshadow. Take care, Marines!
Thank you my lovely! Hope you are doing pandemic-adjusted-well!
The cover is really pretty at least lol
I was never really interested in this and am glad to know that was the right place to be.
Same! I feel vindicated in my disinterest from this review
It had potential! A Greek mythology-inspired urban Hunger Games is still something I would read!!! Not this, though. This was not good.
The eyeliner, the top 🤩 love it. I wasn’t interested in this but my friend is so I shall direct her to this video 😂
Thank you! My job zoom calls didn't deserve this look, so I made a video. And saving your friend the pain? That's a good friend.
Good to see a video from you again! 😀
Thank you! I’m so glad it wasn’t just me. I never connected, and felt like I was missing something the whole time.
Yay, so glad you sat down to record this impromptu video for us!
Yeah I had no interest in this one and have DNFed one of Bracken's books before so I think I'm going to give this a miss!
Also - I super appreciate that you thoughtfully, clearly, thoroughly described all the things that didn't work for you without ever resorting to "it's a typical YA" or some variation of that. I've been seeing that more and more for both YA and MG and I am EXHAUSTED, it's so condescending and meaningless, and such a lazy substitute for a review and I really love that you never do that! 💖 (can you tell this trend has been weighing on my soul? lol)
Fantastic video as always, Mari ✨ Hope work calms down a little for you!
I'd love to say I'd never try another Bracken book again, but I know myself, and I'm easily convinced by hype. But my rational brain things this is the end for me and her.
MMMM, interesting. As soon as you pointed it out, I was like "have I said that???" lol
What's really interesting is that I'm not even sure this is YA. We talked about it in the lives how, but the protagonist is I think 19 and there weren't a lot of themes I thought were in line with YA and it was kind of violent and gore-y. Someone in the chat mentioned that they can see this being enjoyed more by teens, but I rejected that lol. I don't think that this wasn't just "not for me as an adult" but "this is not a good book."
Have you made a video about this? It would be super neat to hear your thoughts!
And thank you! I hope it calms down too, I'm over it.
@@mynameismarines yes so much of what determines age range is what people associate/assume about age ranges, which seems...very circular and unhelpful but publishing is out here to sell books, not market them thoughtfully I guess LOL
I haven’t!! I’ve talked about it tangentially but I worry that if I do a whole video on it I’ll get too mad but it might be time to do it anyway 😂
I dnf this book. I had to force myself to read it after like 4 pages in and I got to over 100 pages in and nope. Life is too short to force myself to read “yucky books”.
Great video! I was curious about this book, but maybe not so much anymore lol.
I didn't even get out of bed to watch your video this morning. I am so glad to have you back. Love your review, love you, keep up the good work. 🤗💖
Thank you for watching! And watching UA-cam videos from bed is like my favorite.
I didn't have this on my radar at all because I didn't have much success with the passenger duology, and I read that years ago. I was going to try it for house salt but just couldn't justify it. I'm glad I dodged that bullet 😅
You did indeed. I had a few people tell me they were going to try to read with us and didn't. I can't even be mad. Happy for everyone who didn't read this. 😂
I’m obsessed with this cover. Love your thoughts on it too, so will watch the live show to decide if I want to read! 🥳💕🥳
I actually really liked lore. Just a thought- to me, the point of Lore loving NYC so much is to compare her to Athena, and "the defender of cities".
Edited, because my migraine brain decided to call the book Muse.
I thought it was a me issue. I also had trouble absorbing any info on this. I was trying to think back on what happened and couldn't remember a lot of it.
Also, Perseus and Odysseus are not gods in Greek mythology... But they were gods in this story. She probably should have done more research
Loved this review hahaha thank you!! Definitely watching the live for this too lol
Thank you! We laughed so much during the live show. I am at least happy this bad book gave us ✨content✨
Feel the same way about when I take time off from creating content and it was hard because i basically took off all of 2020 lol 🙃
It honestly was so much easier to do this than what my brain told me it would be. Task anxiety is the worst.
I definitely wanted to read this and probably still will but I’ll just keep myself from buying a copy now so I can save some money upon any distaste I may have after reading
I would love to see a video with your favourite book of every genre i.e. fantasy, romance, non-fiction etc. where you enjoyed character and/or plot development. I've just seen Netflix trailer for Shadow and Bones and excited bought the book immediately. The first book was ok'ish (that's a stretch, but I was hoping Darkling will gain more dimension eventually), so I gave the 2nd one (Siege and Storm) a chance, hoping for character development, but I was bored to death. I refuse to read the 3rd book in the series. I am in need of good reading material, so I am currently going through all your videos again, but I thought the above (back to first sentence, lol) might be a good idea for a video. Thank you for all your video reviews so far, I really enjoy listening to your point of view. Lore goes off my TBR list!
Just discovered your channel and I'd like to say that a. I love your voice and you are so pleasant to watch and b. I completely agree with your Lore review and I'm glad you deconstructed the book in a such a way that's telling me you're a great reviewer (are you a Profesional editor too?) who really knows their way around books. I feel like so many booktubers and bookstagrammers always go with the flow and finding such honesty and feedback gives me hope for our race as bookworms lol 😂
That fact that this review is incredibly detailed and concise and you didn’t even plan it that much is amazing. I think I’m just going to skip this book because there’s not enough for me to give it a go.
Thank you! Truly, it helped that I had already talked about it so much during the live show. And yeah, skip this one, lol.
huu im gettin worried then, i got it from owlcrate and the book does sound interesting but if so many people arent likin it and the reasons u sayin idk if i wanna read it anymore... i read the darkest minds series 2 years or so ago and honestly i was sooo bored but probably just wasnt payin enough attention to it. bc recently i read the darkest legacy and enjoyed it. also your eyeliner is popppppinnnn
Wa--wait...
If they're the God.... Who punishing them?
Glad you're back! Now, don't go away again! ;^)
Gonna show this to my boss and be like "hey, I need to make videos bye." 😂
@@mynameismarines I totally read that in your voice--LOL! Yeah, well if they had any sense, they'd *pay* you to make videos!
I DNF’d this book like 50 pages in😭😭😭😭
Can we discuss the ending because I dont understand it. So confused?
that's unfortunate. i've been hearing a lot of similar things about lore and the character's questionable decisions. thank you for another great review!
I’m excited to see reviews of it since all I’ve seen are hauls saying how beautiful the cover is... that said I’m not planning on reading it but I love your review!!
I mean, the cover is nice! That and the blurb are the best parts, I'd say.
Thanks for the review. I feel like you helped me dodge a bullet.
Some recent reads of mine fall into this category, of being boring and me asking "what was the point?!". Which is unfortunate for this book because I really love mythology.😥
Also I wanted to add that I like that you gave you reasons as to why you didn't care for the book without being spoilery.😁
Thank you for watching! And honestly, I'd rather hate a book than just be drowning in how boring it is.
@@nikkoleburns3213 I'm always so wary of spoiling it for people because I don't care about spoilers but I know others do!! So, thank you. I try!
I knew there was a reason why I couldn’t get through my first attempt at reading this book I thought it was just bc I was in a reading slump 🥴 I was a fan of Bracken so I was excited for this book to come out, but I feel like she has done so much better in the past. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters and the ones I did like were barely in the book. Any romantic moment fell flat to me bc I felt like the characters didn’t have enough chemistry established beyond just being close friends. I can’t even with the ending it was so disappointing
I tried sooo hard with this one and honestly I dnfed @ 100 pages bec I didn't want to DNF an ~Alex bracken~ book, I regret my choices and wasted several hours of my life LOL
The cover is intriguing… but does it not relate to the story at all?! Great review, as always, very thoughtful and insightful!
I haven't read Lore nor do I have the interest. Circe comparison books usually don't do it for me despite the fact that I love Circe by Madeline Miller too. I had a similar problem with The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. I just found it didn't have much to say (again, despite the fact that I love Angrboda in Norse myth, whom the book is about!). They don't scratch past the surface messaging while I feel Circe aboslutely had Some Things to say.
Yes, this exactly. And Circe was such a real and dynamic character! That book did a great job balancing the character study with action. Lore is... nothing like Circe.
This was an excellent review! I read a few pages of lore and didn't continue because the characters seemed very generic in a bad way🤷
Thank you for watching! And yes, I feel like if you don't like the beginning, you won't get on with this book. It doesn't get better and in fact, I think the beginning is where the characters are the best. I would've DNFed too!
I totally get what you mean by too much plot and that still making it boring. That has happened to me in some other books lately.
My whole thing with disliking Lore was that the characters weren’t all that likable. In general, that really is going to be a defining factor on whether or not I like a book. Being able to connect with a character makes reading a lot more enjoyable.
I was really hyped for this book because Greek mythology? Yes please. The summary? Gods above, that’s totally something I’d read. But overall I was a bit disappointed.
(Edit: but to be fair, I enjoyed it a lot more than some of the other books I’ve read lately so that counts for something AND some of the side characters were actually cool... so yeah)
Nice review lol
I just finished this book and the only characters I liked were Van and Athena, and I only like Athena because she was sort of a bad guy and it put Lore in her place after Lore was acting annoying to me lol an amazing review!!!
this sounded like a cool book idea so i’m glad you posted your review 😅 i’d probably stop reading it and i hate wasting time/money on books i don’t jive with 🥲
also a very considerate review for a book that sounds hella frustrating to get through!
Thank you!! I spent a credit on the audiobook and I'm mad about it, so I totally understand. Save your money!!!
I’ve read the passenger duology and I loved the concept but the execution wasn’t fantastic. I was hoping she’d improve over time but it looks like she still hasn’t 👀
I love love love your videos!
😭
Thank you for watching!
Great review. I do not think I'm going to read this. I like mythology retellings but doesn't sound like it's worth it.
This book was nothing like Circe...more like Percy Jackson.
I picked this up thinking it would be retelling abt Medusa, quite deceptive book cover there.
Commenting because algorithm and to say how delighted I was to see your beautiful face in my alerts.
I was never really interested in this book because I'm kind of over Greek mythology Retellings, I think??? But this video allows me to pretend I'm superior in some way for that disinterest.
Also, I too never finished the Darkest Minds trilogy even though I really liked the first two books when I read them? So... Yeah.
Thank you for commenting. You da best. I don't read a ton of Greek mythology retellings, so sprinkling them in here are there still has appeal to me. Except after this, I may need a break.
I honestly remember so little of The Darkest Minds. Did you watch the movie?
@@mynameismarines I did, it was not good. I don't think that's what soured me on the series though!
It's actually a classic case of delaying finishing the series because I'm worried about the end of the series, and then 11 years later, or however long it's been realizing many of the series I've looped around to finish I'm not motivated enough to re-read but I'm not invested enough to care about things without re-reading. Also my tastes have morphed.
This is probably why I'm STILL avoiding re-reading Seraphina, fear that it hasn't held up. If you're still interested in a buddy read though, I am 🤞🤞🤞 I will still like it on reread.
So what if Percy Jackson but bad. Even the premise sounds bad to me
Just started this book, just bought. Ugh. Because others highly recommended.
It worked for a lot of people! I really hope it works for you too. ❤️
@@mynameismarines well so far I think I’m more engaged with the main character than you described. We will see. But thanks for the video. It helped me find that live series and I’m excited to watch some of that.
Love your makeup!
Thank you! I just love blue liner 💙
I enjoyed it but I definitely agree with so many of your points. Lore was pretty bland (the fight ring thing was 🤣) and I had to go back to the front of the book to keep track of the family lines and i sort of had to accept i just didn't understand the reason for the Agon. I think I've been burned by romance in fantasy ya so much that this one not being so prominent was big plus for me 😭 I really wish more ya didn't make the romance the end-all be all for the characters but you definitely made me rethink my rating!
I should've mentioned too that I was listening on audiobook so I think that might've made it even hard to track things. I did not have the benefit of being able to flip around and remind myself so I was just like ???? for a lot of it. Hilariously, I love romance in general, so the few times they were smooching in this book, I was okay with it.
@@mynameismarines Oh yeah that def makes sense this one would have been hard on audiobook but i definitely think that's the fault of the author. and yes! i definitely saw the van/miles thing coming but it is was cute!
I hated how the descriptions in the book were. It was vague. But I did like the story. Van was my fa keitel character honestly I did like athena a bit too even tho shes not the best... person...goddess..?
I was going to read this, but that I found out it was modern day, and that just made me instantly not want to read it. I liked the idea of this Gods fighting Gods in a more fantastical or ancient Greek setting or something.
The thing with bringing forward mythology into modern day is that you now have to do the modern day element well and the modern elements well. Here, the mythology was empty and the modern day elements were just like "I love New York. We don't toast our bagels here." That's only a slight exaggeration.
From this video it sounded like a debut book but it turns out it wasn't...
Felt like a debut but... it wasn’t!
Honestly I was ok with everything but that last paragraph was absolutely stupid. Like I read 550 pages for a wish that put us in no man's land
!Spoilers below!
When castor died I felt nothing because his entire character was "Lore no killing" healing someone or "Imma murder someone for lore but no killing lore" Like what?!
Love your reviews and I really appreciate you going into depth about this book. I felt like everyone was reading it but nobody was talking about it, if that makes sense lol.
Based on your review & the synopsis, I don't think this will be a book for me 😅😅
Thank you for watching! I've been behind on video watching so my big surprise was when I logged into Goodreads and found a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings. I hadn't heard anyone else talking about it so the fact that it was well-received truly was brand new information for me.
TOTALLY AGREE lore was just not good
So glad I have found my anti-Lore people in these comments 💀
Have you ever thought of being an audiobook narrator? ☺️
You can have your opinion and I accept that but I actually like the book so far, I haven’t finished it yet but I am liking what I’ve read.
I'm here for the roasting, I have no interest in the book 😁
Your reviews are worth waiting for, so take care of yourself. Deep breaths through that work crap, right?!
it's disappointing really. Great idea just poor execution, left me very confused at some points :/ but hey at least the cover and those 5 pages scattered here and there were pretty :D
van and miles best characters at least
I wish I had this kind of reflection after finishing a book
Sooo only low reviews?
Only low reviews for what?
Am i the only one who actually liked this lol
I know you think it is right to put Alexandra Bracken and her book down, But I think if someone spoke of you putting your creations down you would see that this review and you yourself deserve any bad karma that comes your way..
Wait so no one is allowed to review things? Does this just apply to books or are like bad movie reviews worthy of negative karma? Restaurant reviews? A review of the laptop you bought? I’m curious why reviewing a book I bought means I get bad karma.