Awaken

Awaken by Meg Cabot
3.5/5 stars
Point, 2013
346 pages
YA Greek Mythology Paranormal

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Cabot has long been one of my favorite authors and as a prolific writer, she's also at the top of my list for most read. Saying that, this series hasn't really done it for me. Though I dutifully read Abandon and Underworld, something seemed to be missing. When I had the chance to read Awaken, I was hoping to rediscover that Cabot magic while also checking off another series as finished.

And to my surprise, I actually really ended enjoying this book. Though there were times when Cabot's signature style annoyed me, I loved it when I was a teenager but now it no longer seems fresh and surprising, I was pretty swept away. The most enjoyable part was generally how take charge Pierce is. I read a comment somewhere about how previously John saved Pierce but now the cover shows a reversal with her saving him and I really like the strong female doing that while also retaining a sense of humor in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

It is difficult to review the third book in a trilogy without spoilers but I'm not going to go too in depth here other to say that I believe all the major players continue to be her with a few new introductions and the questions that have been posed throughout are addressed. Previously I remember not really enjoying the Pierce/John romance but I feel like that was toned down in this book and subsequently became more palatable. Pierce's parents also play a rather significant role in the plot, reminding me why I enjoyed them in the first place.

Overall: A satisfactory conclusion to the series-personally I think it ended up being my favorite although I'd have to carve out the time to read them all back to back to take a strong stance on the issue.

Cover: I do really love this cover-I think it's my favorite as it just seems very romantic to me with the purple rather than the color palettes of the previous covers.

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Underworld

Underworld by Meg Cabot
3/5 stars
Point, 2012
318 pages
YA Paranormal Greek

Source: Picked up at library for review

Last year I read the first book in this trilogy Abandon and found it to be a more a return to form for Cabot after being disappointed with several of her books. Thus I thought I would be easily swept away by this sequel, no matter the other people who were disappointed.

Alas that was not to be. The book opens with Pierce in the Underworld with John Hayden, with the pair assuming the roles of Persephone and Hades in their famous myth. However I doubt Persephone has the neuroticisms of this typical Cabot character. Boy is Pierce a bundle of them and they're all so familiar to me as a long-time reader of Cabot. I honestly think that is my big problem. If I was coming at this with fresh eyes, I probably would have been charmed. But as it is, Pierce reminds me of other Cabot heroines I like more and thus I find her boring and frustrating.

Another problem is the constant miscommunication between the couple. Each hints at something and the other misunderstands and reacts based on that misunderstanding. I don't get why people can't just say things out in the open. The reader basically knows what is going on and, at least in my case, gets super frustrated with the annoying people. Plus I'm not entirely sure when they became boyfriend/girlfriend, a term that seems a bit unsatisfactory when you consider that neither will be able to leave the Underworld for any extended period of time ever again. Pierce was debating whether to stay but then all of a sudden, she's committed. I just don't see when that happened.

Saying that, there were some cool secondary characters in the Underworld who have known John for ages and who added a lot of color to the story. This is also good as most of the characters I liked in the first book only make brief appearances here. I also liked getting to know some more about John's duties and how he got to that point. But the interplay between the main couple and actually almost everything involving Pierce drove me bonkers.

Overall: A lot of talking without necessarily a lot of understanding, ending with a cliffhanger.

Cover: I do quite like this cover; I read a bit about how it was made and thought that was so cool. I also love the dark blue/purple colors.

Size 12 and Ready to Rock

Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
4/5 stars
2012
304 pages
Contemporary Mystery
#4 in the Heather Wells series

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first three Heather Wells books pre-blog days and while I enjoyed them, I was left unsatisfied with the romantic situation of Heather and her boyfriend Cooper. That issue is immediately resolved in this book with Heather and Cooper being engaged and discussing elopement. Their relationship is pretty rock solid and they are very happy. Nothing could possibly get between them...

Until they are caught up in the goings-on of Cooper's brother/Heather's ex Jordan and his new wife pop sensation Tania Trace who is being blackmailed by a shady character from her past. Tania requests Cooper's services as a bodyguard (remember he's a private investigator) while the first Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp takes over Heather's dorm for the summer. This gives the couple a chance to work out some long-standing issues and allows for more family reunion.

I love that Heather works in a residence hall so I was a bit disappointed that school was out for the summer. Luckily we get a whole host of new characters participating in the rock camp as well as getting to see lots of familiar faces, especially Magda, one of my favorite characters who is in just a few scenes but whose appearance was very much appreciated by me.

The primary mystery is around the person from Tania's past (although there are several smaller suspenses throughout) and I teased about some relationship drama above but the main focus of the novel really is Cabot's trademark humor. I've read most of her books and I find it so comforting to return to one of her worlds. There are several recurring jokes from the earlier books in the series as well as general themes of female empowerment, familiar to fans of Cabot.  I especially loved the burgeoning relationship between Heather and Tania. While the former could certainly bear a grudge to the Tania for getting involved with Heather's fiance while they were still engaged, she knows she is better off with Cooper (so much better off!) and gives Tania a needed boost in confidence and support.

Overall: You probably could read this as a standalone but it will work best if you have read all of the previous books; also serves as a fitting conclusion for the series in case Cabot doesn't produce a fifth.

Cover: Is that model really a size 12? I suspect she is a bit smaller than that.

Abandon

Abandon by Meg Cabot
Point, 2011
307 pages
YA; Supernatural; Greek Myth
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free ARC through Amazon's Vine program.

I didn't have very high expectations for this as I've been disappointed by Cabot's recent work despite loving a lot of her earlier work.  Additionally I had heard mixed things about the mythology as it differs from the traditional Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

And while I had some problems, I mostly enjoyed this book; partly because main character Pierce Oliviera is a genuinely caring person whose best attempts frequently result in disaster.  She's curious and brave and hurting in so many ways.  The title is very appropriate because in many ways she's been abandoned as have many of the other characters.

Although they were not as well-defined as Pierce who narrates, the other characters intrigued me.  Of course there's John Hayden, the mysterious guy who always seems to pop up whenever Pierce gets into the most trouble. Then there's her cousin Alex, with an undefined grudge against the popular kids at school and his father Chris, who just got out of prison but also seems like a sweet and caring person.  I also mostly liked Pierce's parents.  Her mother wants to restore the ecosystems of Florida that have been largely destroyed by her father's company.  I certainly wouldn't trade my dad for hers (cause mine is super awesome) but he had some funny scenes and he seems to care about her in his limited way.

As to the story, there's a lot of flashbacks and confusion of time, which confused me although I think I have it sorted out now. And not a lot happened until a (very short) battle at the end.  There's a lot of Pierce puzzling through key incidents in her life to help her figure out her relationship with John in the context of Greek mythology and a lot of very enjoyable narration that I flew through as I read this all in one day.  But if you want kickbutt action, you won't find much of that here...hopefully in the second book Underworld.

Overall: An enjoyable twist on Greek mythology with some of Cabot's signatures; sets up some interesting paths for the rest of the trilogy.

Insatiable

Insatiable by Meg Cabot
William Morrow, 2010
451 pages
Paranormal
3/5 stars
First in series

Source: Library

Thoughts: I used to adore Meg Cabot but the conclusions to the Princess Diaries series and the Queen of Babble trilogy deeply disappointed me so I took her off my auto-buy list.  But I thought this looked good-a vampire story featuring a main character who hates vampires-so I checked it out of the library.  Unfortunately I was disappointed.

The main source of disappointment was Meena, who rants against vampires and the stupid girls who fall for them.  Then she sleeps with a vampire and becomes one of those stupid girls who wants to protect her vampire lover.  She was so interesting at first.  She can see how people will die, she works as a dialogue writer for her favorite soap, and she tries to be a good person. But after he bites her during sex, she falls under his sway and pissed me off.  Admittedly I'm pretty anti-vampire to start but I hoped that something would make me love the story.  However Cabot's style is still breezy and readable which is how I was able to finish this book despite my outrage.

Despite my loathing of the main character, there were some secondary characters I didn't hate.  Meena's unemployed brother is living with her and he is psyched about the idea of killing some vampire butt; his enthusiasm is catching.  Her neighbors turn out to be vampires and they are enjoyable fun.  Then there is Alaric, a vampire killer and more than worthy mate for Meena; I wonder if Cabot plans to move in that direction.  The vampire Lucien was unimpressive to me.  He has to fight a vampire war while in New York City.  I didn't like him.

Overall: Bleh-cannot in good conscience recommend.

Cover: Eh, ugly tattoo but striking red.

Victoria and the Rogue

For a long while, Meg Cabot was my favorite author. I usually preferred her contemporary novels but I liked reading her two YA historical romances. The other one is Nicola and the Viscount; I don't like it as much but I would still recommend it if you like Meg Cabot and/or romance. I'm just going to spotlight but not do a full length review. I would say this is very Emma-esque as Victoria thinks she knows everything and interferes in people's lives to a great extent (and usually she's right except when it comes to love).

Summary from Meg Cabot's website:

"Growing up in far-off India, wealthy young heiress Lady Victoria Arbuthnot was accustomed to handling her own affairs—not to mention everyone else’s. But in her sixteenth year, Vicky is unceremoniously shipped off to London to find a husband. With her usual aplomb, however, Lady Victoria gets herself engaged to the perfect English gentleman, even before setting foot on British soil.

"Hugo Rothschild, ninth earl of Malfrey, is everything a girl could want in a future husband: he is handsome and worldly, if not rich. Lady Victoria has everything just as she’d like it. That is, if raffish young ship captain Jacob Carstairs would leave well enough alone.

"Jacob’s meddling is nothing short of exasperating, and Victoria is mystified by his persistence. But when it becomes clear that young Lord Malfrey just might not be all that he’s professed to be, Victoria is forced to admit, for the first time in her life, that she is wrong. Not only about her fiancé, but about the reason behind the handsome ship captain’s interference."

Overall: 4 out of 5 for a perfectly enjoyable quick read