Underworld

Title: Underworld

Author: Meg Cabot

Rating: 2 stars

Summary: 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.

Review: Abandon, the first book, would have been better off as a stand-alone novel. The only reason there's a series is so that the romance can be dragged out. In this re-imagined version of the Hades/Persephone myth (these things never work out well), John only rules over one little Underworld, and while he's almost two centuries old, he isn't actually Hades. Also, apparently this Underworld is between heaven and hell, while in Greek mythology, the singular Underworld is heaven and hell. The thing that angered me most is the way John treats Pierce at the beginning of the book. When Pierce becomes angry with him, John makes a pet bird magically appear, and she's happy again. He treats her like a very young and spoiled child, giving Pierce presents whenever he messes up. Even worse is that Pierce goes along with it, gladly accepting the gifts. Not only that, but he lies to Pierce over, and over, and over again, but she just goes: "Well, you're the super-hot lord of the Underworld so I'll forgive you." Are you serious?! Meg Cabot is an amazing author, but this book could have been so much better.