Review: Underworld

Underworld by Meg Cabot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



3.5 Stars


GoodReads Synopsis: Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

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.

My Thoughts: I was expecting that his trilogy would be about convincing Pierce to join John in the Underworld…and dealing with the Furies. This installment wasn’t what I expected. Pierce joining John in the Underworld wasn’t the issue. The issue was about the Furies and what they will do to Pierce or her family in her stead.

The pace was fast and the book hard to put down. Pierce has resigned herself to a life in the Underworld with the love of her life, John, but is concerned about the family she has left behind.

Alex, Pierce’s cousin, is pivotal in this story and should figure prominently in the next and last book of this trilogy. In learning more about Alex, we also learned what caused Pierce’s Mom to leave the island, and what prompted Uncle Chris’s stint in jail. I believe that “Awaken”, the last book in the series, will be a fight to the death with the Furies and about righting the wrongs for Uncle Chris and Alex.

I do enjoy this series. I love the dark, brooding John Hayden and we did learn more of his history which was troubling. Mr. Smith, the cemetery sexton, encourages Pierce to find out why John became a death deity…I think we only learned part of the story, but not the “why”. Meanwhile Pierce seems to have fallen unconditionally in love with him and comes up with a justification for everything he has done. I suspect this may bite her in the butt later.

If you are a fan of Hades and/or Persephone, I suggest you check out this retelling from the creator of the “Princess Diaries”.




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