never did i know what was gonna happen, in a good way! honestly just a vibe, great action, sprinkles of romance, and jaw dropping twists! 

I was originally daunted to start this book considering how long it is, but let me tell you I could not put it down! A thrilling storyline, compelling characters, and so many twists that I had no clue what to expect next! 

I think that Lore is a wonderfully developed protagonist with a lot of flaws but who nevertheless manages to be very likeable through her love of New York and her attachment to those she loves. Miles is your typical quirky best friend and I love the fact that his knowledge of the mortal realm helps massively within the plot. I also loved witnessing the development of his relationship with Van, and I would honestly jump at reading the exact same book again but told from either of their POVs. Aristos Kadmou - or Wrath - is an absolutely terrifying villain that exemplifies what happens when you give power to the wrong kind of person. The one character I didn’t really connect with was Castor, his characterisation was a little inconsistent for me and by the end he kind of came across as a golden retriever boy with no flaws to use as a character arc. That said, I still really enjoyed the romance between him and Lore. 

The plot twists are really what gives this book its oomph. They just keep coming and each one hit me like a truck, but at the same time they’re done in a clever way and actually serve a purpose rather than just being there for shock factor. The unreliable nature of Lore’s POV and how information is revealed very slowly adds to the fact that you honestly can’t fully trust any of the characters, not even the protagonist. 

For such a thrilling storyline, the ending felt a little underwhelming for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the action of the final fight scene, but everything seemed to move very quickly after that with the rest of the Agon being resolved “offscreen” as it were, and there are a few loose ends that are left, or that were tied up too conveniently. Who was Van’s source within the Kadmides? Why do the rest of the Kadmides suddenly decide to truce with the hunters they had been fighting with so eagerly, even with the suspicion that they had been betrayed? Could they really be so ready to abandon their leader and his cause? And how do the final lines of the poem fit with what actually happens to end the Agon? Considering how much detail is included in the rest of the book, I would have loved a little more elaboration at the end.

 

Overall, this is an action-packed book for mythology-lovers. I don’t know if I’d call it YA, and I think it might be better suited to older teenagers due to certain content in the story, as well as the complexity of the worldbuilding and how deeply it dives into Greek mythology - prior knowledge of a fair amount of mythology is definitely recommended in order to understand all the references and discussions. 

Bracken does a wonderful job weaving a new story out of Greek mythology and explaining background while not treating the reader like someone completely unfamiliar with the tales. No loose ends.

an overall fun reading experience with a rich world and an exciting plot. i did find the pacing semi inconsistent, which was part of the reason i struggled to really get into the book at first. another thing is certain world building aspects weren't explained until later on, when i feel as though the story would have been more engaging if the stakes were established earlier on, before my interest in their mystery started to wane. i also think that the characters could've been better fleshed out because there are big points of interest for a LOT of these people, especially castor, but the villains in particular fell very flat for me. this person is a villain? what made them a villain? considering that lore mentions multiple times how the end of the archon would "free everyone", it seems kind of hypocritical to fail to recognize that in some of these characters, but oh, it's okay, because they are made cartoonishly evil/sexist/predatory so there's no room for them to have any depth or subtlety, and it disconnected me from the story. even castor and lore themselves often made me feel separate from the book, not only because they were walking archetypes, but because they were boring and inconsistent. certain plot points, characters, and ideas are picked up and dropped at will and it just makes everything feel messy. this book needed to be either split in two and fleshed out or severely pared down. so so so missed potential :/