Abandon Book 2: Underworld Paperback – April 1, 2013

Good shape and no rips. And love the trilogy

I half-heartedly purchased Abandon upon its release and was immediately consumed by the intricate family mysteries, the crackling sexual chemistry between John and Pierce, and the dark subplots of Pierce's adolescence. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Underworld. It is a fast, compulsive read but lacks the original emotional depth of Cabot's initial novel. I'll try not to put forth any spoilers.The novel did a brilliant job of revealing more of John's past. We learn about his family history, his death, and how he came to be a leader in the underworld. These juicy details help explain the "wildness" about him that the book constantly referring to and helps the reader to feel a bit more connected to him and much more compassionate towards him. Meg also makes him sound sizzling hot as she did in the first novel.I don't enjoy Pierce's character as much in this book. I felt as though, in the first book, she was a much more complex nuanced character who is not nearly as dumb and capricious as many of her friends and family would believe. In Underworld, she seems to have dropped most of this richness and flaps through the novel making major, life altering decisions on pure whim. For example, "consequences" are a major theme in the novel. Well, after Pierce makes a major life altering decision without understanding the consequences of such and becomes upset that the consequences weren't revealed prior to her actions, she continues to make major life altering decisions without understanding the consequences. I like for my lead heroines to have slightly more mental muscle, sorry. When John lies to her (sorry, minor spoiler), she more or less throws the incident aside and mindlessly makes another major decision. I hope that adolescent girls who read this book will value their own self worth a little more and won't let their relationships with men be so vapid.We finally get the low down on the family history of the Rectors. We learn about their connection to John scores of years ago, we learn a little more about their connection with Pierce's mother, and we learn a suprising twist about their relationship with Pierce's uncle. Good, good stuff.The compulsively likeable Mr. Smith is back with his loveable social sharpness and encyclopedic knowledge. He infuses bits of logic and culture into arenas which have none and makes several witty remarks that help to aid the darkest situations. Alex is back in a more central role to the novel although I can't say that I felt any more attached to him than I did in the previous novel. Kayla is also back with her typical sarcasm.Cabot also introduces a wide variety of new characters that have promise but since her novel is set in about a day's time, she is predominately concerned with action and doesn't adequately flesh out John's companions well enough to make you genuinely care about them. My least favorite new character is the dove, Hope, an annoyingly cliche pet that shows up or disappears at exactly the right moment.It is nice to see John and Pierce at least attempting to connect on an emotional level rather than sit around pouting about each other as they did in the first book. I am very tired of Cabot having Pierce start to say things and then have John cut her off with a kiss. Another tired cliche is John's constant astral plane jumping to get them out of compromising situations. I realize it's YA fiction, but c'mon, Cabot, give us a little more originality and depth.So the plot has thickened with all the history that has been introduced. There are some mouth watering plots in here. However, the book mostly felt rushed and with the lack of character development in so many new people, the book mostly felt anemic. I am really looking forward to book 3 in hopes that Pierce returns to a stronger female lead and in hopes that Cabot develops some of the minor characters a bit more.

Product came early and the book was in excellent condition. Dust jacket was still on the book.

It shipped super fast and had no damage on it.

Like Abandon, Underworld wasn't quite what I expected. It's still not the Persephone and Hades myth I was expecting, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Underworld definitely has more of the myth elements, and the new characters that are introduced are fantastic, but I'm still wishing there was a little more myth influence.John has taken Pierce away from the physical world and placed her in the safer Underworld. Here, at least, he can work to protect her from the Furies. In this, Underworld is like the Hades and Persephone myth. Pierce understands why John has done this, but that doesn't mean she likes it. She's a little in over her head with her new life and has trouble adjusting to the idea of leaving her old life behind. When she sees that her cousin Alex might be in trouble, all she wants to do is help him, not understanding the possible consequences.A few of my favorite parts of this novel were the cast of characters introduced in the Underworld. The shipmates John relies on to do his job are all interesting, funny characters and they provide a light note, especially little Henry. I wouldn't mind reading a book about the adventures this little group had gotten into. They were dynamic and really added something to the novel.The relationship between John and Pierce still feels a little off to me. Maybe it's because there hasn't been much focus on it, but things feel rushed and stiff. I don't see this love they proclaim to have for each other. A deep caring, I see. Love I don't. It makes it difficult for me to understand the reasoning behind some of their choices. There's still a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding between them and even though I enjoy the sweet moments, I can't believe it's love. It just doesn't feel that way. I'm holding out hope that Awaken has the relationship development I'm looking for.I find myself confused by the major plot of Underworld as well. I'm not sure the part Alex and his misadventures will play in the overall storyline, but I do see pieces of a puzzle falling into place. That didn't stop me from being confused as to the Alex plot, though. It makes the novel feel as though it has split personality. Everything either has to do with the Underworld or with Alex, but not really both. I wish there was a better blend between the two.Underworld was closer to the Persephone and Hades myth I keep hoping for, but there are still things holding it back. The relationship between John and Pierce doesn't feel authentic yet and there's a little bit of a problem with the flow of the novel, in my opinion. Those issues don't stop it from being an enjoyable novel to read, though. I'm looking forward to finishing the series with Awaken and seeing how John and Pierce work together to figure out their lives in the Underworld.

I enjoyed this book it was a nice easy read however there wasnt really alot to it. It felt like it was gearing up for something but nothing really happened.If you have read the first you know that Pierce has been take to the underground by John. She finds out someone she loves is in trouble and tries to convince John to let her back to help.I like the new characters that are introduced but would have liked to seen more of Kayla.You get to find out more of Johns backstory which is interesting although not as dark as i had thought. I Still dont really feel like i know him as a character, if he talked more and controlled less then Pierce wouldnt have got into as much trouble!Its worth a read especially if you have read the first. I will still be looking out for the third!

Not much seems to happen in the 300 odd pages of this book; it seemed like--maybe it did?--everything happened in the space of a few hours, which equally made it seem like an easy read and like I couldn't be bothered to read it because it seemed to drag.The best bit for me happened around the 270pg mark. John became really...hot and forceful-ish with Pierce and I was actually kinda giddy, but of course this being a YA book no details are given. Boo!I haven't decided yet whether I'll finish the trilogy, though it does seem a shame to read only 2/3's of the series.

A must if you read the first one, called Abandon, it carries on the love story perfectly; it has some moments of humour and also mystery. I love the addition of the new characters and also the plot twists which often come as a complete, yet welcome, surprise to me. At some points I got a bit annoyed with Pierce when she failed to recognise some key points which seemed glaringly obvious but then I found that I hadn't noticed some of big clues to the mystery surrounding the idea of the Pomegranate and the coffin! I really enjoyed this book and the links to the well known myth of Hades, Persephone, and the Greek underworld and I thoroughly recommend it to any young - or older - teens looking for a good series to get immersed in. Meg Cabot manages to write an amazing teenage fiction which completely avoids love triangles and isn't set in the doomed future! I cannot wait for the last book in the trilogy to come out to find out what happens to Pierce and John!!!What are you waiting for? Read the 'Abandon' series now!

i adored the princess diaries series by meg and decided that I would give this series a try.when i ordered the first book, i order this as well in case i loved the first one. i'm glad i did as by the end of the first book i was really enjoying it and could continue on reading the second book. I couldn't stop reading the book and i can't wait for the next book to come out

Meg is my favorite author because of books like this, she has this amazing way of writing books about impossible subject matter (finding out your a princess, ghosts, brain transplants, coming back form the dead) with such realism and wit that makes you fall in love with the people in the book and demand another book!