Book Review - Awaken (Abandon Trilogy #3) by Meg Cabot

A storm is coming.

I must say, I love when books have these one lines for blurbs - not only does it make me desperate to read the book - it adds a certain spice to a book, not knowing what's going to happen so you don't have the luxury of guessing or anticipating what way it will end. 

It does have the blurb on the inside of the cover though - but Im not going to tell you it.. *evil laugh*

This book for me was like a clock in the sense that - something big was happening and throughout each chapter it was counting down and the apprehension was growing - which I loved! It made me so interested in finding out what was going to happen.

The plot in this book, it based around the furies - they know John broke the rules, twice, but no one knows when or how they're going to strike - it was at a really good pace, it didn't drag but it wasn't over within the first three chapters. All of the characters are back also which is awesome - Pierce and John are working through their relationship which adds a bit of romance to the story, there is also some humour and some moments of anticipation which really keeps you intrigued and turing the pages.

I also loved the cover of the book. This is the first cover were you can see some resemblence as to what John looks like, obviously you have a picture in your head but it's always nice to have a picture to refer too, and a face to put name too.

I can't think of anything negative to say about this book.... Overall it was a really good read which I recommend :)

Book Review - Underworld by Meg Cabot

So as I mentioned in my previous book review, Abandon, the first book in Meg Cabot's trilogy - I was going to go into reading this book with an open mind - I was going to forget about the negative points within the first book and be completely focused on this one. 

Pierce ends up being held in the Underworld - which John claims - is for her own safety and this is because not all of the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after the underworld, they've ended up coming back as furies. The furies are intent one hurting the one who sent them there - and whom he loves. 

I had my fingers crossed for this book and I couldn't help but wonder if it would be better than Abandon even though I scolded myself for it - it couldn't help but sneak into my head but once I started reading it I noticed there were a few changes compared to Abandon and most of these were that all of the bad points which I mentioned in Abandon - weren't carried on into Underworld.

There was a direct plot which kept the flow of the story moving at a good pace and there was also a lot of twists and turns, excitement and drama which kept me interested and left me wanting to read more. 

You also find out a lot more about the side characters which I loved! It's not very often where the side characters would get their story told as in depth as this one provides - Pierce's cousin Alex for example - who in Abandon was a bit of a dark horse, he was very secretive and not really as involved - but in Underworld, you learn his story and he becomes a much more prominent character and I can;t wait to see what Awaken will bring out in him. But, one of the main things I loved about this book, was finding out Johns background! He was always so secretive and never talked about himself and if he did, it would be a few worded answers and that's all - but Mr. Smith - the wee devil provided Pierce with a book which contains enough information for her to figure out his background... cheeky. 

There was a lot more humour as well in this book which I liked - Abandon was very serious most of the time but in Underworld the characters aren't so strung - even though there is an impending danger the characters have the chance to show a bit of sarcasm and humour.

There was one aspect of the book I was a bit iffy on - and that was the romance in this book. I did like it in Abandon but it has evolved a bit in this book and it's mostly Pierce's part in it I didn't really like. She's too forgiving and I don't like it. I can understand that she may just not want to hurt John's feelings but your meant to be honest with each other in a relationship - she just butters him up and bubble wraps every negative thing she has to say. John, yes, is pretty violent and lies quite a lot but considering he is Lord of an Underworld you can understand why he might be violent and he lies because he clearly want's to protect Pierce from the dark sides of him and his world - but that doesn't mean she should just brush in under the carpet. 

Overall, this book was a vast improvement to Abandon - the plot was better, there was more excitement,  the side characters were really involved and it was better written. I will be purchasing Awaken when it comes out as I'm really intrigued as to how it will end :)

Book Review - Abandon by Meg Cabot

Pierce died. Well she was pronounced as NDE'd - near death experience and when she came back, she wasn't quite the same. But she hopes that moving to a new home and a new school things will get better... but he keeps showing up - John - Lord of the Underworld - even though he shows up exactly when she needs him, but he wants to take her back to the Underworld. 

Okay so for once I am going to be a bit harsh... here it goes...

This book wasn't the best. The plot of the story moved incredibly slow - I guess you could say it dragged. The first maybe half to three quarters of the book was it explaining about Pierce's accident and her trip to the underworld - which got a bit boring after a while, I was waiting for the excitement and romance!

The writing of the book I didn't like either - it was pretty confusing. One minute you would be reading something that was happening in the present and the next you would read about a time when Pierce was seven - I wouldn't have minded this if there had of been a break in the paragraph or maybe if it was written in italics so you would know it was from the past - but that didn't happen.

What I did like about this book however was the story line. I thought it was very interesting the way Hades and Persephone was in a way linked to John and Pierce but the were a few differences between the two and the meaning of why Persephone had to stay with Hades in the Underworld was different also which I really liked - it added a fresh twist on the Greek Myth. I know a lot of people mightn't like the comparisons between the two but I find that a new take on the Greek myth is nice and that just because they're somewhat similar in a way doesn't mean they have to do the same things by script.

Pierce I also liked - she was smart and strong and was pretty easy to relate to - especially in the romance department which I'm sure most teens go through. John I also liked - he was strong, caring and loyal, not to mention extremely bad ass as he is Lord of the Underworld. He knows what he wants and he will do what it takes to get it, but, even when all hope is lost and he doesn't think Pierce wants in - he still protects her. 

The other characters were well written and well developed - they each had their own part in relation to Pierce and her accident. 

Overall I don't really know what to make of this book - it has it good points and its bad points and I'm sure depending on what type of books you like, the good and bad parts might be different for you. I wouldn't say this book isn't read-worthy - but I do have the second book waiting on hand and I'm willing to give it a shot - I just hope the plot moves along at a better pace.