"Sure, time dulls the pain, but there's always something that brings it back to the surface."
This finale is so disappointing!
Abandon is told through two PoVs: Jag and Zenn.
Zenn is an interesting character. In the previous books, he has a mysterious persona and for the most part he seems cool, calm and collected. Through his PoV, we find out more about him, see the way his mind works, how he deals with things and whether he's playing both sides.
Jag's PoV is the worst. He is made to seem like this awe inspiring leader who carries the weight of the resistance on his shoulders and whom everyone listens to because he's oh so charismatic, but he's a terrible and arrogant leader. Jag goes into situations recklessly, doesn't care about other people or listens to their advice and does whatever he wants to do. The narrative, through other characters, tries to paint a certain picture of him, but his PoV and actions paint an entirely different one, where he's an epic jerk.
The characters are flat and uninteresting and characters that I liked from previous books, such as Raine and Gunner who seemed so important to the resistance in Surrender are forgotten about. There are also character inconsistencies. The characters' actions don't line up with their personalities and their feelings are brushed aside in order to move on supposedly bigger plot points.
Moving onto those supposedly bigger plot points wouldn't have been a problem if the plot wasn't boring. There's a lot of meetings, discussions, planning and reports, which is probably a more realistic look on the behind the scenes of a resistance, but it doesn't make for an interesting read. Out of nowhere the characters start travelling to different areas to carry out certain tasks and because it wasn't mentioned previously, it doesn't make sense.
The romance takes precedence over the plot, which is sad because the romance aspect is the weakest part of the series. Violet and Jag belong on a "Worst Couples I've Read About" list. Their relationship is more telling than showing and they're both extremely immature. The love triangle also continues for too long. Zenn's unrequited love for Violet turns ugly in Abandon and he becomes aggressive and pushy. I also wasn't a fan of Violet, Jag and Zenn's tendency to lead people on and cheat. I like the Zenn-Saffediene pairing, but it wasn't developed enough and for the most part, it felt like Zenn wasn't over Violet and was leading Saffediene on.
The ending of this series is unsatisfying. The series ends in a weird place. The villains give up so easily, which doesn't make sense, I don't trust Jag's leadership nor do I have faith that he'll create a better society and all the deaths feel pointless. I think I was expecting a more epic ending and this series didn't deliver.
This series has an interesting world and touches on a few interesting themes and concepts, but the characters are flat and the ending is so unsatisfying. I wouldn't recommend the Possession series.