Awakening the New Year: My Review of "Awaken" by Meg Cabot

Everyone knows that Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors of all time. Everyone also knows that her Abandon Trilogy is my least favorite series of hers. The first book? Thoroughly loved. The second? Couldn't stand. So, going into Awaken, I had no idea what to expect. 

In the end, I got the best (and the worst) of both books. 

THE BAD:
John and Pierce- Their interactions drive me up a wall. It is like nothing can ever get accomplished with the two of them because they are too busy groping and flirting with each other. I didn't mind it so much at the end, but when they needed to make a vital decision, it was like the entire world stopped for them. It's like in a movie where the two main characters are having a moment and the bad guy waits for them to finish before enacting his evil plot. It's just tacky and, in their case, too lovey-dovey for me. 

The suspense- I figured everything out WAY before Pierce figured it out. There were a few times where it was painfully obvious what was going on and Pierce had no idea. I enjoy when I don't have a clue or figure it out right before it happens, but it becomes tiresome when you want to scream at the book because she's not getting it. 

Pierce crying- I CAN NOT STAND WEAK MAIN CHARACTERS. Whining, crying, the whole lot. It's why I did not enjoy the second book, Underworld, because that was all it entailed. While Pierce got better as the book progressed, the beginning had me thinking this was going to be the same exact thing. It was just constant "Pierce had tears in her eyes" and "Pierce let the tears fall". I literally just wanted to yell at her and tell her to grow some balls. Yes, you can cry a little bit, but don't make a huge production out of it. 

THE GOOD:
Pierce after she stopped crying- When Pierce FINALLY got to the point where she could be sarcastic and get things done, she was fantastic to read about. You just had to get through a lot of humps to get to this point, which kind of irritated me. If we had had this Pierce the entire book, it would have been a five star book for me, hands down. 

The end- What can I say, Meg Cabot ended this perfectly. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I am perfectly satisfied with how she wrote it. 

Overall, Awaken is not as good as the first but not as bad as the second. Even with the bad, Awaken manages to keep you interested and invested, with you not wanting to put the book down. I could have done without some parts, but the end of the book is worth it, so I recommend reading it.