Abandon (The Abandon Trilogy, #1)

by Meg Cabot

Last year, Pierce died - just for a moment. And when she was in the space between life and death, she met John. Tall dark and terrifying, it's his job to usher souls from one realm to the next.

There's a fierce attraction between them, which Pierce carries back into our world. But she knows that if she allows herself to fall for John she will be doomed to a life of shadows and loneliness in the Underworld. When things get dangerous for her, her only hope is to do exactly what John says. Can she trust a guy who lives for the dead?

Inspired by Greek myth, Abandon is the first in a darkly romantic trilogy from Meg Cabot, creator of The Princess Diaries.

• ISBN10: 0545387698
• ISBN13: 9780545387699
• Publish Date: 1 April 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Scholastic US
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

Pierce is moving to her mom's hometown in Florida after her parents got a divorce and the people at Pierce's old school has decided that a change in scenery would be good for her. The last time she was there, was when her grandfather past away, about 7 years ago. 7 years ago when she met a man who made a dead bird come back to life. The same man she met when she died 2 years ago. Except he's not a man anymore. Now that she has grown up a bit, she's noticed that he had never grown, he stayed the same age. Now she can't stop running into him. And something bad seems to happen every time she sees him.

I love any kind of mythology, so I was really excited to read Abandon. I didn't know what to expect for the most part, I only have a vague knowledge on the Hades and Persephone mythology. But I do know enough to know that Abandon only had little details from the mythology itself. A guy from the underworld wanting to take a girl to live with him. Basically.

The writing took me a while to get used to. I can be very impatient, and I was very impatient with this book. Cabot would hint at things and beat around the bush with so many incidents that had happened to Pierce, it was driving me crazy. Pierce would keep talking about something that happened, and it was bad, but you would have to read 50 pages before you ever figured out what actually happened. I guess you could say it kept me reading. But it also got a little annoying.

The story itself was good. Pierce is quirky and has a different way at looking at the world. Probably because she died and came back and knows what the afterlife is like. I liked Pierce. And I wish I had her necklace. I felt like the relationship between Pierce and John was a little off. Almost like it was forced or convenient for them to get together. It didn't feel like they clicked, to me

Overall, this isn't one of my favorites from Meg Cabot. It was just an interesting read. This is only the first in a trilogy, so I'll be looking for the second book when it comes out.

[Cocktails and Books]

I have to say, this was sooo not what I was expecting from a Meg Cabot book. That said, I really enjoyed it. Bummed that I have to wait a year for Underworld to come out.

[rakesandrogues]

Review Overview:

Persephone-inspired novel with jaw-dropping secrets
Fantastic chemistry between Pierce and John but they had limited interaction
Ending was abrupt, though there really was no plot

Coming into this book, I thought that ABANDON would be a modern retelling of the Persephone myth. However, main character Pierce makes it very clear in the story’s prologue that she isn’t quite as lucky as Persephone. ABANDON is a riveting tale of Pierce as she tries to understand the mystery between John Hayden and her near-death experience in a story inspired by the Persephone myth.

ABANDON is definitely a lot more character driven than the summary leads it to be, and it sets the basis for the next books in the series. In terms of plot, ABANDON is more development than anything else because very little actually happens in the book. As a reader, I didn’t get the feeling of a clear plot with rising action, climax, and a resolution. Still, I enjoyed it nonetheless. While I would have liked some warning that it is part of a series, I found myself hooked to the story because of Pierce and John.

John Hayden is a delightful character to read about. I looked forward to all his scenes because I loved his snarky comments and this bad boy attitude. Pierce and John have a strong love/hate relationship creating sizzling tension between them whenever they’re in the same scene. My only complaints? While they had fantastic chemistry, the scenes actually involving the two are very limited.

The main focus of the book is uncovering secrets. Usually I would think that would make a book full of fast-paced, page-turning suspense, but Cabot approaches this very differently. The novel was quiet in terms of action, but when the secrets are revealed, she does not disappoint: it was jaw-dropping.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book. But, I was disappointed with how the book left off. There were many unresolved plot lines, and I wasn’t left with any feeling of closure. I’m disappointed that there wasn’t more. As I said, I did start reading this book thinking it was a standalone which could explain my dislike of the ending. I will without a doubt continue on the series because that’s how alluring John Hayden is. I would love to know more about him and the Underworld, but I would like to see a more engaging plot evolve.

Final verdict? Wait until the next few books of the series come out before you look into reading this one.

Fans of the Persephone myth, mythology, paranormal, and Meg Cabot will enjoy ABANDON.