Melora, who goes by Lore, is the last mortal member of the House of Perseus. Ever since her family was murdered at the hand of one of the other Houses, Lore has tried and tried to remove herself from her the agon, a time when all of the Greek gods and goddesses become mortal for a week and are hunted by the members of other Houses that stem from other Greek heroes. This is a deadly week, as any mortal who kills a god assumes their role and attains their power, at least until the next agon, and the Houses are hungry for more power, especially the House of Kadmos led by the new Ares god known as Wrath.
Unfortunately, at the start of the new agon, Lore just cannot seem to escape. Her childhood friend and former training partner Castor of the House of Achilles shows up again out of the blue to warn her of plans that are brewing that might involve Lore. More pressingly though, when Lore goes home, she finds an injured and dying goddess on her doorstep begging for aid. With the help of her roommate Miles, a goddess, and every possible ally she can persuade to help, Lore sets off to put an end to the agon once and for all.
First and foremost, the idea is marvelous. I especially enjoy the concept of mortals stepping into the power of gods and bringing with them their own mortal wishes, obligations, and flaws. By making the gods and goddesses mortal for the week and limiting their powers slightly, Bracken found a way of leveling the playing field so that everyone has a fighting chance.
I think technically this classifies as a young adult novel since Lore is 17 years old. I have nothing against YA books; I enjoy them. However, I think this novel would have worked better if the characters were aged up a little bit. Due to the nature of their lives they were all so hardened and jaded. Those aspects of themselves was incongruous with their ages, and something I could never fully square.