Underworld

Author: Meg Cabot

Series: Abandon Trilogy # 2

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Mythology

Publisher: Point

Released: 8 May 2012

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back. Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn’t dead. Not this time. But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey. Her captor, John Hayden, claims it’s for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they’ve come back as Furies, intent on vengeance…on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves. But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there…and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies. And unless Pierce is careful, this time there’ll be no escape

For Fans Of: Dreamless, The Goddess Inheritance, Goddess Interrupted, and Envy.

My Review: After reading Abandon, I really didn’t know if I had it in me to continue on with the series.  But, they’re not that many pages and I read pretty fast so I thought “what the heck, might as well”  and unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed (I should have known, right!?)  Underworld picks up exactly where Abandon left off.  It was a worthy sequel in that it didn’t really feel like a sequel.  Pierce is still kind of a whiner, and manipulates John into doing whatever she wants.  Although she is getting a little bit better at listening to him.  The strangest thing for me about Underworld is that I never really felt a lot of chemistry happening between Pierce and John.  Cabot is excellent at chemistry.  She is practically the QUEEN of shy glances, and epic pseudo damsel in distress sequences.  Seriously.  This is one of the best things about Meg.  She knows how to write the perfect girl book.  She has a lot of heart, and so do her characters.  And she knows how to write the perfectly cute dialogue between teenage boy and girl that makes up the relationship.  However, with Pierce and John the spark that Meg is so good at was noticeably absent.

I’ve read all of Meg’s books (well, all of the ones for Young Adults and Middle Readers, and the Boy series, and the Heather Wells Mysteries and the first and second Queen of Babble books) and there was just something so…off about this one.

The story was well constructed, and I sort of like the idea.  As in, I'm warming up to it.  The story of Persephone is one that has always been incredibly fascinating, and the way that it is incorporated into this one is awesome! (Although I must admit, I had my misgivings with Abandon) But now I've realized Meg isn’t trying to re-create anything, or do a simple “YA Updated Version” she is spinning the tale on it’s head and has created some pretty real characters.  In fact, it’s their real-ness that has me annoyed.  Meg is pretty good at taking me out of real life, to a witty, hilarious other-world that I really love and wish actually existed.  Is that weird.  Underworld, which is one of Meg’s first legitimate “fantasy” novels is the one that is most real dialogue wise.  And that is the reason that I was kind of disappointed in it?