Review~The Underworld~Jessica Sorensen



4 out of 5 stars


Title: The Underworld

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Published: April 2011

The Underworld is the sequel to The Fallen Star (Fallen Star Series, Volume 1)
Gemma thought her mind was gone, but she was wrong. And now she is left trying to figure out the truth to what Stephan is planning to do with her and the star, before it’s too late.
But finding out the truth is hard, especially since Gemma doesn’t know who she can trust. There may be only one person who Gemma can turn to for answers, but that means having to go to the one place no one wants to go—The Underworld.

First line: “I wasn’t sure whether I was dead or alive.”

Last Line: “I let out a scream for help, but the only thing that returned to me was my own echo.”

Favourite Line: “I shut my eyes and let the buzzing take me away from this horrible place. I let it deafen out the screams. I let it sweep me away.”

Boy am I glad I stuck with ‘The Fallen star’ and finished reading it or I would not have been transported into this fantastic story Jessica Sorensen has created! I loved this book; I thought it was far better than the first. Where ‘The Fallen Star’ was an introductory book ‘The Underworld’ delves deep into the characters plot lines, and new important Characters are revealed and take the story down fresh paths with exciting twists and turns.

I feel in order to write a good review for this book I will have to mention certain facts about the plot line that may spoil the story, so I urge you go and read ‘Fallen Star’ first then I won’t be giving anything away!

Gemma has the power of a fallen star inside her and as ‘The Fallen Star’ finishes we learn she also has special foreseer powers, she can use crystal balls to see visions of the past and future. Gemma soon discovers that she doesn’t need a crystal ball to travel in and out of visions she is highly unique in this aspect. A minor character from ‘The Fallen Star’ reappears in ‘The Underworld’ however he plays a significant role in this Instalment; His name is Nicholas and he is half Faerie, half Foreseer. He agrees to teach Gemma how to use her powers and how to get into the Underworld to save her mother. Gemma’s mother is alive! She has been living in the Underworld, forced into slavery by the faerie Queen who rules there.

The story of Underworld is centred on this rescue mission however we also learn a little more about the main characters that were introduced to us in ‘The Fallen Star’. I believe the most important being Laylen, we already know he was turned into a Vampire; however there is mystery surrounding his ‘turning’ he does not remember what happened and he certainly doesn’t remember drinking the blood of a vampire! I really like the love triangle that Sorensen has started to create between Alex, Gemma, and Laylen. We know ultimately that Gemma has feelings for Alex; they have their mysterious electrical connection! However I think certain feelings may have started to surface for Laylen.

Gemma and Alex’s relationship develops further in this instalment, Gemma learns to trust Alex, after he sacrifices himself to enable her to learn about her powers. Alex also goes into the Underworld with Gemma to save her mother.  Alex spends this book trying to prove himself to Gemma; everything he does is ultimately for her!  I liked that Sorensen tells us a little about Gemma and Alex’s childhood friendship, that they had a close bond; it hurt Alex to be separated from Gemma.

The only character who I feel lacks in depth is Aislin, she just seems to be there! Apart from being a witch and having the skills to transport the gang from place to place, she doesn’t seem to do much else except for cry all the time. I really hope in the next instalment ‘The Vision’ that we get to see a bit more action from Aislin. Furthermore I feel Sorensen has to explore Aislin and Laylen’s relationship, she has already touched upon the fact that they use too be a couple. It will be interesting to see where Aislin will fit into the love triangle already forming in the gang.

Sorensen cleverly twists the plot of the story towards the end of the book, everything we thought we knew completely dissolves and we are left with the shocking revelation that Alex, Laylen and Aislin play a bigger role in this mystery! The world needs saving and they are all important in making sure this happens.

Rating 4 out of 5 stars: I think this is a brilliant YA series, I haven’t been this excited and eager to read on since the Twilight series! The book is well written with fleshy characters, and a fantastic plot! Sorensen is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series: ‘The Vision’.

Helen