Read That? Read This! When Mythology Meets Modern Day

I have a love of myths, fairytales and legends of old. When they’re retold whether from a different character’s point of view or even reimagined for a modern audience, some retellings and reimagining’s are better than others. In this list, I’m going to discuss two novels where Greek mythology interacts with our world when adventure, excitement, magical misadventures and romance combined create a wonderful epic tale.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to live a mortal life on earth, and they are hunted by descendants of ancient bloodlines all of whom are eager to kill a god and seize their power. This blood thirsty tradition is called the Agon, and it occurs every seven years. Melora “Lore” Perseus fled that violent world after her entire family was slaughtered by a rival family. Lore is trying to live her life but finds herself sucked back in when she finds out her childhood friend Castor is alive and Athena, the last of the original Gods is gravely wounded. Initially Lore is mistrustful of Athena and the feeling is mutual, but they are forced to work together to defeat a mutual enemy and end the Agon forever. Many people compare this book to Percy Jackson mixed with The Hunger Games, only Lore in my opinion is better than both series. The romances are slightly predictable, but I still enjoyed the story. While I know this novel is a standalone novel, I wouldn’t mind a sequel or what would be even better would be a prequel about the first Agon and why the Gods rebelled. I know there’s a movie adaptation coming which will be exciting!

The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen

Every 100 hundred years there is a game called The Crucible. The Gods of Olympus hold a deadly contest called The Crucible which will determine who will sit on the thrown of Olympus. Of course, the Gods who are immortal don’t fight their own battles; they get mortals to do it for them. What makes this year’s Crucible special? Hades who we all know as the God of Death & King of the Underworld, is participating in The Crucible for the first time and has chosen a woman cursed to be unlovable by Zeus, Lyra Keres to be his tribute. Should she be the victor, Hades will lift her curse. Hades might be the death of Lyra both literally and figuratively when it comes to matters of the heart… Back in 2024 I was able to both interview Abigail Owen and read The Games Gods Play. If you are looking for a novel like Lore, by Alexandra Bracken, you should read The Games Gods Play. Like Lore, The Games Gods Play has Greek mythology in the modern day. There is a Hunger Games vibe mixed in with the story even though The Games Gods Play is also better. What’s different is The Games Gods Play has slightly more romance and is less gritty and dark. Lyra is sassy without being annoyed and I love the chemistry between her and Hades. It’s the first in a trilogy and I know I need to read books 2 and 3! Here is my Q&A with Abigail https://booknotions.com/qa-with-abigail-owen/