Underworld (The Abandon Trilogy, #2)

by Meg Cabot

Death has her in his grasp. And he's gorgeous. Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn't dead. Not this time. But she's been taken by John Hayden, Lord of the Underworld, to the place between heaven and hell where spirits gather before their final journey. John claims it's to protect her from the Furies, who are hell-bent on vengeance against him. But could he have other reasons for keeping Pierce close? When she learns that the people she loves back home are in mortal danger, can she convince John to release her to save them-- or will the price he asks for her freedom be too high?

• ISBN10: 0330453874
• ISBN13: 9780330453875
• Publish Date: 27 September 2012 (first published 1 May 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 July 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

1,5 stars

"I was trying not to feel weirded out that I was in my boyfriend's crypt." (Pierce Oliviera)

Underworld picks up where Abandon left off. After Pierce is attacked by her Fury-possessed grandmother, John whisks her off to the Underworld. There Pierce finds out that one of her family members are in danger and begs John to help her save them.

I dislike the way the main character, Pierce, is written. Pierce is dense and naive. She unnecessarily puts herself at risk and she isn't good at connecting the dots and seeing what's in plain sight. I also don't usually mind when Meg Cabot's characters have rambling internal monologues because they're extremely hilarious to read, but Pierce's internal ramblings are long-winded, annoying and irrelevant.

The worst part of Underworld is the relationship between John and Pierce - which takes precedence over the plot. John is a controlling, manipulative and violent jerk. He holds Pierce captive in the Underworld against her will (and yes, I get that this is a Hades and Persephone retelling, but I don't think Persephone, or anyone else for that matter, would react the way Pierce does). He also lies to Pierce and manipulates her by omitting information so that she can stay with him in the Underworld and neglects to share information about himself because he thinks Pierce would hate him. He's constantly apologizing to Pierce, but he repeats the same mistake that he's apologised for. Pierce just brushes off everything that John does because he's apparently extremely hot. Pierce and John are one of the worst couples I've ever read about.

Underworld also takes place over the course of two days and boy, do those two days drag. Nothing much happens in Underworld and Underworld falls prey to the trend of the second book in a series being a 'filler' book. I don't mind 'filler' books when they have really good character development, but in Underworld I really dislike the characters.

As much as I dislike Underworld, I'm going to pick up Awaken because I want to see how it all ends.

"The important thing was to forgive, my father had once told me. Only then could we move forward..." (Pierce Oliviera)

[Artemis]

A little better than the first book, but still eh.

[stefu1]

Pierce is ugh and John was ugh. And the cousin was ugh. His book was ugh.

[Angie]

Wait, what? Why does Underworld start off with Pierce saying how in love with John she is? When did that happen? There were no declarations of love from her at the end of Abandon! Now they're talking about marriage, sex, and cohabitation? And how she could "never hate him," yet he's tricked her into staying in the Underworld with him forever? No. Just no. The previous book only covered two days! Two whole days in which she had ONE full conversation with him
! Then she spends all of Underworld referring to him as her boyfriend, which felt awkward since he's 184 years old; not really a boy.

Much like the previous book, Underworld has a very small time frame in which the story is happening. This time it's basically reduced to one day, but at least it's an eventful day. Pierce starts out in the castle that is to be her home in the Underworld, but events bring her back to the land of the living where she's being stalked by Furies. Then she and John are running all over the island, then back to the Underworld, then back to the cemetery.

At least there's a plot this time. Aside from Pierce being hunted by Furies who want to torture her for all eternity in order to torture John, her cousin, Alex, has gotten himself into a bind. Or so Pierce thinks. She's risking her life to save her cousin, who is really not that likeable, from being on the wrong side of a high school prank. If I was at risk of eternal torture, I wouldn't give a crap about some stupid high school traditions that my stupid cousin got himself tangled in. Then there's something about drugs and what not, and it was stupid. Get back to the Furies!

I did like Underworld better than Abandon, but that's not really saying much. Both books are pretty bad. It's basically the most extreme case of insta-love and undying devotion I have ever read. Pierce goes from "let's take it slow" to having sex in less than 24 hours, and she never gets mad at John for any of his lies and manipulations. What is this relationship even based on?! However, I've come his far so I might as well read the final book to see where this mess is going.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Meg Cabot captivates fans once again, in a stunning sequel to Abandon. Reminicent of the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades featuring the underworld, Pierce finds herself trapped between heaven and hell, against her will. The mysteriously dark and handsome John Hayden, maintains that it's only for her protection. He explains that some of the deceased spirits aren't too thrilled with their final destination after leaving the underworld, and will often come back as furies hell bent on vengence and destruction. They specifically target the person that is the cause of them being sent there, and anyone John loves himself.

Underworld is a fascinatingly dangerous world full of dark intrigue, mystery, daring adventure, and incredible suspense. It picks up where Abandon left off with Pierce held captive in the underworld by John. Meg Cabot pens a thrilling tale of sweet subtle intense romance, vengeful furies fueled by revenge, and wonderful intriguing suspenseful mythology sure to wow anyone who enjoys modern edgey re-tellings of Greek mythos. Pierce's character growth and development was an amazing element that only adding more depth and layers to the story being told. I personally enjoyed how much she's grown and matured as a young woman that possesses such a wonderfully honest and likable personality.

John, on the other hand, only added to the fascination of the story. Getting to now more about him and his past, only piqued my curiosity even more than being introduced to him in Abandon. He's not completely black and white and while being a little shady to a certain degree, he still has Pierce's best interests at heart. He's willing to go to any lengths or do whatever it takes to protect her, and that's what makes me enjoy his character a great deal more. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoyed this sequel to Abandon.

It's the perfect blend of creative visual imagination brought to life, amazing crackling romantic chemistry, and a super subtle edgey paranormal take on Greek mythos. Meg Cabot absolutely does not disappoint, as readers will soon find out just how much wow fills these brilliantly written pages. This is a book that fans of the Underworld series will absolutely NOT want to miss out on anytime soon.

[lizarodz]

I liked Underworld much better than Abandon! The main reason is that Pierce doesn’t come across as a whiny brat with very poor decision making, as she did in the first book.

In Underworld, Pierce is much more mature and (unlike the misleading synopsis) she does want to be with John regardless of where they happen to be. She is more outspoken, and not afraid of John or her feelings for him. Pierce is loyal, beautiful, sensitive and caring. One of the best things I liked about this book is that John is in it much more than in the first. We finally get to really know him, his story, why he acts the way he does and to what extent he will go to protect Pierce. *Love you John!*

We get to visit with some of the characters from Abandon, Pierce’s mom, uncle Chris, Alex and Kayla; but we also get to know some characters from the underworld that are John’s ‘crew’. I particularly liked Frank and little Henry.

The story picks up right after the events of Abandon and we follow how John and Pierce deal with each other and their new found relationship. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and I love this take on the myth of Hades and Persephone, even if it is much less literal. The plot is much better and action packed. Meg’s writing is flawless, easy to read, interesting, and lyrical and her character building is impeccable.

The ending was good, but a bit ambiguous; still I can’t wait for Awaken, the last part of the trilogy, due out sometime next year.

About the cover: The cover is amazingly beautiful, with deep purple color and with whimsical swirls and font. In it we see Pierce with her long dark hair and flowing white dress being pulled ‘under’ by John’s hand. As I said, beautiful.

[anne]

I usually love Meg Cabot,but did not not much here.