The idea that the gods could be killed, and then when a human took their powers they also chose a new name for themselves and would be referred to as ‘the new Dionysus’ for example is so different from any other book I’ve read. This was such a fresh and unique way of bringing Greek gods and Greek mythology into an urban setting, which actually took me a bit to get used to. Okay, on to all of the good stuff!! This book was so action-packed, but it never felt overwhelming. ‘It was a morbid sort of marathon relay, with immortal power as the baton being passed between bloodlines.’ Reading parts of this from the eyes of someone like Miles who is ‘unblooded’ and just thrust into this world, or Castor who goes through such an incredible arc could have added a bit more substance into the world building and the Agon. I also feel like this book could have been improved with multiple points of view (although to be fair, I think this about most books I read that are only a single POV). I had a recommendation from Erica that it isn’t a book you can draw out, it’s best read in as little sittings as possible, and honestly, I agree! I read the first 270 pages in around three weeks, and the last 270 pages in about 5 hours, and I enjoyed the second half of the book more than I enjoyed the first half! I would have LOVED more to do with the new gods, I feel like they could have taken more space in this story than they did.

I would also say that it’s quite a long book (my edition is 547 pages), but it only covers 7 days in total (although there are flashbacks throughout the story). Also, there were a number of instances where I had to re-read a sentence because the phrasing just didn’t make any sense to me.

I always find it easier to talk about things that I didn’t like (I don’t know why that is), but for this book, there was only a couple of things, so let’s start with them! The first was the writing itself, every now and then Bracken would write something like ‘half-past eleven o’clock,’ and I feel like the ‘o’clock’ just feels off-kilter.

Lore alexandra bracken