Skip to main content

The Fallen Star (The Fallen Star #1) BY Jessica Sorensen








The Fallen Star 


Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy 

Written by: #1 NYT best selling author Jessica Sorensen

Available as Paperback or ebook

Buy it here

Published by: Creative Space in August '11

ISBN: 1461052149






Well this is one is gonna be a tough one to write, but here we go!

Usually, Jessica's books are pretty high up on my list of YA favourites, her books are sweet and usually highly entertaining, however... it saddens me to say, that I don't think 'The fallen star' is gonna make the cut.

The story started out sweet and mysterious enough, and I was ready to throw myself into a new paranormal romance series. 

Social outcast and protagonist Gemma walks through life unable to feel any kind of emotion, she's hollow and completely numb to anything going on around her..her family is a little on the odd side and to top it all off she seems to be on the verge of losing her sanity.


That is,  until she meets new transfer students Alexander & his sister Aslin... 
(Sound familiar yet?) 


For the first time in her life, Gemma actually starts to feel something, an electrifying warmth overcomes her whenever he's near her, coupled with an indescribable want to be close to him.. Alright, fair enough. 

And of course, right of from the start he seems to hate her guts. 

They argue and glare at each other a couple of hundred times, but nothing drastic happens for a while, apart from Gemma finally finding out she's not losing her mind and someone really is following her. Someone very dangerous at that.  A little later she finds out there's definitely something dodgy going on with Alexander, however much he's trying to hide it. Why won't he just stop lying to her? And how on earth does he know her grandparents? Or was it foster parents? 

So without any more spoilers, let me just cut to the chase.
I can't quite put my finger on what it was exactly, but for me, there was just something missing in the story. I kept waiting for something big to happen, for something to shock me, anger me or whatever else, but...
nothing. Just, nothing.

I myself almost felt numb and emotionless the further I got into the book. 
And as much as that may sound like an accomplishment for the author to project the protagonists feelings onto the reader, it really didn't work the way it should of. I really just couldn't connect to Gemma, as much as I tried to...and believe me, I tried. 

It was more like being in a constant limbo, waiting for something to rip you out and swallow you whole... but nothing happened and I just felt myself getting progressively more frustrated with the story. I tried my hardest to stay focused, but in the end I lost the battle and was glad when it ended.

I finished the book with mixed feelings, especially because I enjoyed the majority of her other distinctive works. So please don't let that stop you from picking up any of her other books!

More thoughts on the characters: 

Never being particularly fond of weak female characters, (I'm sorry to say) Gemma irritated the absolute fudge out of me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against shy or introvert characters, but Gemma was just downright infuriating. Even when she was able to feel, all she did was mope around, hopelessly pining after Alex. 
And Alex just really needed a good slap.

It also angered me that the character portrayal was so plain weak in general, just describing how green someones eyes are and mentioning that they're attractive just isn't gonna cut it, and if I'm completely honest, Laylen seemed to be the only character remotely interesting throughout the majority of the book. I really don't intend to be purposely mean, but is there really a point in writing a review if you're not being completely honest? The answer to that would be no. At least in my books. (Hehe, pun intended.) 

The handful of supposedly romantic moments between Alex and Gemma all felt a little too clinical which made it quite difficult for me to connect to them on a more emotional level. 
The narration wasn't dreadful by any means, nor was it linguistically unappealing, it was just missing a little more..fire. For a lack of better word. More heart,  more charisma and above all, more emotion

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The GUESTBOOK by HOLLY MARTIN

   The Guestbook by Holly Martin Publisher:  Carina UK Release Date:  14th February 2014 Rating:  4* FORMAT:   Kindl e Welcome to Willow Cottage – throw open the shutters, let in the sea breeze and make yourself completely at home. Oh, and please do leave a comment in the Guestbook! As landlady of Willow Cottage, the young widow Annie Butterworth is always on hand with tea, sympathy or strong Norfolk cider – whatever her colourful array of guests require. A flick through the messages in the leather-bound cottage guestbook gives a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of everyone who passes through her doors. This includes Annie herself – especially now celebrity crime writer Oliver Black, is back in town. He might grace the covers of gossip magazines with a different glamorous supermodel draped on his arm every week, but to Annie, he’s always just been Olly, the man who Annie shared her first kiss with. ...

Book talk - Medea by Rosie Hewlett

    '' Heav'n has no rage, like love to hatred turn'd, nor hell a fury, like a woman scorn'd' -   William Congreve Pre-order it here: Medea by Rosie Hewlett ( UK Hardcopy ) available 21 March 2024  _____________________________________________________________________________________________ From an unmissable new voice comes the powerful and epic story of mythology's darkest heroine. Shunned. Persecuted . Tormented. Medea longs for a different life. Since childhood, she has been separated from her sister, shunned by her mother, and persecuted and tormented by her brother and father.           All because of a unique and dangerous talent: witchcraft. Fierce. P owerful. Sorceress.  But when a dashing young hero, Jason, arrives to claim the famed Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea sees her opportunity for escape. Her offer to help Jason overcome the trials set by her father sets in motion a journey that wi...

Book talk - Review of This Charming Man By C.K. McDonnell

  V ampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it's particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester . Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life. And definitely not the people of Manchester, because there is nothing more irksome than being murdered by an allegory run amok. Somebody needs to sort this out fast before all Hell really breaks loose - step forward the staff of The Stranger Times. It's not like they don't have enough to be dealing with. Assistant Editor Hannah has come back from getting messily divorced to discover that someone is trying to kidnap a member of their staff and while editor Vincent Banecroft would be delighted to see the back of any of his team, he doesn't like people touching his stuff - it's the principle of the thing. Throw in a precarious plumbing situation, gam...