Abandon by Meg Cabot

3 out of 5 stars

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

- Amazon.com description

Abandon is a book that is really gripping and extremely interesting. It took a little to get into, but for me that means nothing because it's just the first in a series. If it was a stand-alone book, though, I would have totally ditched it.

Though it is not told exactly like the Greek myth of Persephone, Hades, and Demeter, there is the constant flashbacks of it. Such as: how Peirce really wants to let her mom know that she is okay, and Peirce looks especially pretty which is why Hades kidnapped Persephone, but that didn't happen to Peirce, yet.

There is, also, the twists to it. Like the necklace. I love where she got the necklace, it was all Meg Cabot. From the dead Queen of France, to the warehouse where all the jewels were held. There was nothing really resolved in the story except discovering what part she plays in the story. And nothing really happened until the end.

At the beginning I was questioning the "incident" and the "accident" and what "him" had to do with them, while in the midlle of the story I was questioning where this was going and what the plot was. I cannot wait to read the second book, Underworld, which is out in 2012, and find all the answers to the questions that are so myraid that I won't allow myself to type them. Sorry for the discombobulation of this post!

Buh Bye,

Grey

The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter Review

3 out of 5 stars

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.
-Amazon.com description
This book, followed closely by the releases of Abandoned and Starcrossed, was the first modern take on a greek myth. I would love any book that even had an ounce of greek myths in it, so this book was perfect for me.
Though I thought Kate agreed with the bargain to help her mother too soon, I would probably do the same for anyone who is in my family or is one of my closest friends.
My favorite part of the plot, from my point of view, is that Kate had to be the one wearing the pants in the relationship of her and Henry and was proud to be helping Henry out. And for the strong heroine, I forgive the hastiness of the story.


Buh Bye,
Grey