THE FALLEN STAR by Jessica Sorensen -a review

THE FALLEN STAR (Fallen Star Series #1) by Jessica Sorensen

THE FALLEN STAR is the first book in Jessica Sorensen’s Fallen Star series where we are first introduced to a fantasy world of vampires, faeries, witches, Keepers and Forseers. As any introductory storyline goes, The Fallen Star is packed with plenty of background information and the beginnings of character development. With so many featured characters, their growth wasn’t possible in a novel that only covered a few weeks in the life.

Gemma Lucas is a 17 year old girl, morbidly withdrawn, desolate and without any emotions. But over the course of a few months, she begins to ‘feel’. The nightmares and visions are increasing, and her normally withdrawn grandparents are purposely pushing her emotions down. But the sensation of being watched and the spark of electricity she encounters whenever she is in the presence of the new boy at school will eventually send shock waves through her system, as the stirrings of long buried feelings rise to the surface. Only these emotions were buried for a reason.

Alex is on a mission. Sent by his father to ‘protect’ Gemma, Alex must keep secret everything he knows about Gemma’s history, but life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, especially when Gemma begins to ask questions of everyone she has encountered since meeting Alex and his sister Aislin. With the realization that Gemma is something other than a depressed teenager, the young woman discovers there are ‘others’ who wish to do her harm. But finding out that you are possibly the salvation that could secure the portal to another realm, Gemma was not impressed with her new-found status.

Kept in the dark for close to 14 years, Gemma learns that being a Keeper of Life comes with more responsibilities than just a funky tattoo and weird violet eyes. Stalked by Death Walkers and Water Faeries, co-existing with Keepers and Forseers, Gemma is never sure where she belongs. But the constant threat of death from an unknown enemy will put everyone on alert including Alex and his small family of Keepers.

Alex and Gemma’s relationship is rocky at best. Although there are definite sparks, Alex’s demeanor towards Gemma is rife with disgust, sorrow and guilt. His constant need to protect Gemma reflects back to Gemma as betrayal, lies and mistrust, but Gemma will find an ally in Leylan-a former Keeper who is now a vampire. Leylan refuses to keep Gemma’s past hidden but it will be Alex who must pay the ultimate price for protecting Gemma, even from his own family. The requisite bad-guy was obvious to me, but the cliff hanger will have some far reaching consequences in a relationship that should have been ‘Foreseen’ from the start.

THE FALLEN STAR is an interesting storyline. To be honest, except for Gemma’s violet eyes, we are not privy to the heroine’s physical features. This was a bit disconcerting, especially when a reader requires clarity to use their imagination but saying that Jessica continues to build up her worlds with each succeeding story.

As a reader of many different books and series, I would strongly recommend reading The Fallen Star series in order. The character development is slow but is brought about with each additional storyline and novel in the series. Jessica has a new spin-off series-The Fallen Soul series- that includes many if not most of the characters from The Fallen Star series. If you are a fan of YA storylines, you will enjoy The Fallen Star. An interesting look at the supernatural side of life, where Faeries and Witches, Vampires and Demons are only the beginning.

Reviewed by Sandy

LINKS TO ORDER:

Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
KOBO
B&N Nook and Paper Books
The Book Depository