Review: Awaken by Meg Cabot

Awaken by Meg Cabot

Book Three of the Abandon trilogy

Publisher: Point

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Death has her in his clutches. She doesn't want him to let go.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden, she’d be forced to live forever in the one place she’s always dreaded most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it, though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.

But now her happiness — and safety — are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: He revived a human soul.

If the balance between life and death isn't fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce’s home back on earth will be wiped away. But there’s only one way to restore order. Someone has to die.

What I Liked:

Oh, readers! You have no idea how happy I am that I enjoyed this book! I sort of liked the first book, Abandon (3 stars), but really did not like the second book, Underworld (2 stars). So, I was a bit undecided as to whether or not I really wanted to read Awaken, because after Underworld, I was NOT happy. However, I am so glad I saw this book on NetGalley and decided to download it. In my opinion, this book is a vast improvement in comparison to the other two books of the series.

For one, I liked Pierce a lot more than I did in Underworld. I didn't have much of a problem with her in Abandon. But in Underworld, I found her whiny and controlling and manipulative. She basically forced John to string her along, or to do things he didn't want to do (like at the end, with Alex). In Awaken, John isn't present for about the first 30% of the novel. So Pierce can't be as manipulative.

In fact, while John isn't there, Pierce takes charge. She doesn't sit around and wait for him (like he told her). She is dead set on saving the Underworld, saving Isla Huesos, and getting John. While I often found her stubborn attitude annoying in the previous books, I thought that in this book, she seemed more focused, and more sure of herself.

So basically, John revived a human soul, and everything is imbalanced. John disappears, leaving Pierce to deal with the mess down in the Underworld, and at Isla Huesos. Pierce goes back to Isla Huesos (in the beginning of Awaken, she's in the Underworld), and with the help of friends, attempts to save the world.

The plot of this book is AMAZING. I feel like more occurs in this book than the other two books combined. The first book deals more with discovering John and Pierce's past before they meet at Isla Huesos. The second book... I don't even know what the second book was. This book had action happening left and right. And good, interesting, fun action! My favorite scene was definitely the one at Luke's party. A certain someone comes back in that scene.

The romance in this book is fantastic! I thought that the romance in the entire series is great - which is one of the reasons why I continued the series until the end. There is no love triangle - it's just John and Pierce. Also, their relationship is heartwarming. In Abandon, they find each other. In Underworld, they take their relationship to the next level. In Awaken, they fight for themselves and their relationship, and I'm perfectly convinced that they love each other. And Cabot does not disappoint with the steamy scenes, for anyone who was wondering. Anyway, I'm so happy with the romance in this series!

The ending is kick-butt awesome. I am so happy with the way things end. Everything is wrapped up - but whether in a pretty box or not, I'll let you find out. Some things I never saw coming, and other things, I knew would happen. But all in all, Cabot definitely delivers with this book, something that I waited the entire series to see. I'm glad I stuck with this series!

What I Did Not Like:

I found the beginning of the book extremely slow. By beginning, I mean the first 10% (or thereabout). Basically, it's Pierce giving water to the dead souls waiting for the boat to take them to their destination. She talks to these three people the entire time, and it's really boring. What kicks the book into gear is John disappearing. Everything before that is kind of yawn.

And then when Pierce decides that she has to go back to Isla Huesos to fix everything - that entire scene was long and drawn out. I was reading that and wondering, is she ever going to actually leave the Underworld? Cabot could have shortened that by a lot.

Other than that, I think this book was pretty great! I'm happy with the end of this series.

Would I Recommend It:

I would! If you have read the first two books, or just the first one, I would highly encourage you to read the entire series! And if you were wondering about this series, I think you should read the books! The third one is the best and my favorite, so that's something to look forward to reading. And now the entire series is out! So you can read all three without waiting.

Rating:

4 stars. You know that sad feeling you get when a series ends? Well, I didn't get that feeling when I finished this book. The ending just felt so perfect and so right and I very happy with this book and the series.

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Review: Underworld by Meg Cabot

Underworld by Meg Cabot

Book Two of the Abandon trilogy

Publisher: Point

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Rating: 2 stars

Source: Library AND ARCycling

*** I originally borrowed this one from the library and read it last year in June 2012. However, with Awaken coming out in July, I was in desperate need of a re-read. ARCycling provided that opportunity for me. So, this book will NOT be logged in 2013 reads***

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

What I Liked:

I'm reviewing a book that I read last year in June, and a book that I've already read the conclusion to the series. Meaning, I read Abandon in 2011. I read this one in 2012. And I read Awaken in June 2013. So, this review might seem a little strange, because as much as I disliked this book in particular, I really liked the entire series.

One thing that I must say is that I love the romance in this series. There is no confusing love triangle, or life-altering love interest decision that will change the world. YES, Pierce's choices will change the outcome of the world (hello, she's dating a death deity!), but all of that is only tied to John, and not some other guy.

Cabot really turns the romance up a notch in this book. Maybe to an entirely new level! John and Pierce finally get really close in their relationship, and I love how everything progresses. John is totally overprotective of Pierce, but Pierce wants what she wants.

I think the only part of this particular book that I enjoyed was the romance. Sad to say, but everything else fell flat for me.

What I Did Not Like:

I couldn't really stand Pierce in this book. I find a general trend in Cabot's heroines - they are whiny and self-absorbed, and always get what they want, no matter who they have to manipulate or bully to get it. The thing is, Pierce seems innocent in what she wants. But she's so whiny! And she totally manipulates John into doing things that she really shouldn't be doing! She gets John into a load of trouble for her impulsive and irrational behavior, especially at the end!

I also found that this particular book was not engaging and didn't have much of a plot. Meaning, not much really happened in this book, and when things did, it was really just YAWN. I could excuse the non-plot in Abandon, because the story went back and forth between Pierce's new life, and what happened when she met John in the past. But in this book, there were very few major scenes, and the major scenes weren't executed very well. I was bored, and there wasn't much to salvage from this book - except the romance.

I feel like this book could have been summed up pretty quickly, and condensed into a few chapters of Abandon. I think a lot of readers could go straight to Awaken. The third and final book of this series is really good, everyone. But this book? Not so much. Pierce is so underdeveloped in this book, and is whinier and more annoying than in the first book. I didn't think she was whiny and obnoxious in the first book, and not really in the third book.

Basically, I wanted to see more character development from Pierce, and I didn't. I wanted to see a more balanced relationship between Pierce and John, and I didn't. I want to see more action in this book, and I didn't. I wanted to see more interesting scenes in this book, and I didn't. If you add all of those things up, you get one big fat negative feeling about this book. Because all of those things are really important to the book overall, and if I didn't like any of them, then basically, I didn't like the book.

Would I Recommend It:

Umm, from the viewpoint of reading the entire series, YES. I liked Abandon, and I loved Awaken, so as this book is the middle of the series, you should read it. Just get through it!

Rating:

2 stars. Not my favorite book of this series. BUT, it wasn't the worst Meg Cabot book I've read. Insatiable takes the cake for that one.

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Swoon Thursday (#24): Awaken by Meg Cabot

Swoon Thursday is a hot meme hosted by the fabulous ladies at YA Bound!

- From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering

- Try to make the swoon excerpt 140 characters (or less), if you are going to tweet about it. Use the hashtag #YABOUND when tweeting

This week, my swoon is from Awaken by Meg Cabot!

(This is my FAVORITE passage of the book, so I'll share most of it!)

"This is all the therapy I need," he said, raising his hand from my waist to another part of my anatomy, nearer to my heart.

I sucked in my breath. "I'm pretty sure in therapy, that would be called a diversionary tactic."

"Then I need a lot more diversionary tactics," John said, his fingers moving to tug on the string that kept the bodice of my dress closed in the front. "Also, there's something you promised to tell me that you still haven't said -"

I don't know if it was the intoxicating mixture of his closeness; his kisses; the comforting cocoon of pillows; the romantic, constant drumming of the rain outside; or the fact that, after so long, we finally seemed to have found somewhere we could safely be together. But it wasn't long before I found myself murmuring, "I love you, I love you, I love you," exactly as I'd longed to the entire time he was gone.

- eARC, 59%

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I loved this book! In my opinion, the first one, Abandon, was pretty good (3 stars), the second one, Underworld, was AWFUL (2 stars), and this one, Awaken, was excellent (4 stars). Such a great end to this trilogy! 

Waiting on Wednesday (#14): Awaken by Meg Cabot

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I'm featuring:

Awaken by Meg Cabot

Book Three of the Abandon series

Publisher: Point (Scholastic, Inc.)

Publication Date: July 2, 2013

Summary (from Goodreads):

Death has her in his clutches. She doesn’t want him to let go.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden, she’d be forced to live forever in the one place she’s always dreaded most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it, though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.

But now her happiness — and safety — are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: He revived a human soul.

If the balance between life and death isn’t fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce’s home back on earth will be wiped away. But there’s only one way to restore order. Someone has to die.

Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

While I did not particularly like Underworld (Book Two), even though I really liked Abandon (Book One), I am very excited to read this final installment of the Cabot's Hades and Persephone retelling. I am hoping for a lot more character development on Pierce's part, and really, for Pierce to end up in the Underworld with John. 

But, we'll see.