The Best Reader:
Jessica Sorensen

Today I am posting my review of Shattered Promises for the blog tour! I absolutely adored this book and can't wait to read book 2.

Shattered Promises by Jessica Sorensen
Published: February 26th, 2013
Reading Level: New Adult
Paperback: 284 pages
Source: Author
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:

For twenty-one year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same.
Her emotions slowly surface and she starts experiencing love, happiness, and anger, feelings she never knew existed. But they leave her confused and she doesn’t know whether to embrace them or run away from them.
Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares.
Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on.
As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.

Review:

Gemma has no idea why she can't seem to get away from Alex but soon she finds out. Someone is after her and she is more important than she could have ever imagined. This introduces her to a world she never knew existed. The world-building in this book is excellent! It's so complicated but I never felt confused or put off by the details. I was completely entranced and couldn't make myself put the book down.

The other characters we meet in the story, Alex's sister and their"friend" Laylen. Wow, Laylen! You will love him, I promise! But each person brought so much to this story. I looked forward to finding out more about them as it continued.

Now, this book is 100% NA! These scenes were HOT! I was blushing like crazy. I felt it was the perfect type of romance that 2 young people have — passionate, spontaneous, and fun.

After reading this book I immediately checked with Jessica to see when the next one is coming out. I will be reading it as soon as I get my hands on it.

If you are a fan of NA, or just awesome books in general, pick this one up! The plot, characters, and romance were written to perfection and made this completely un-put-downable!

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The Secret Life of Ella & Micha by Jessica Sorensen
Published: October 4th, 2012
Reading Level: New Adult
Paperback: 316 pages
Series: The Secret, #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary:
Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.

Review:

She scrubs off her bad-girl image and turns into the smart bookworm with the quiet personality. But she doesn't just want to follow all the rules, she wants to leave her past completely behind.

Back home, she was the wild child with Micha as a best friend. Back when she saw him every single day. But she ran off without a word and he hasn't been able to find her.

Now, after 8 months at school she has no choice but to go back home and face her past. From the start it is obvious that Micha was devastated by Ella's disappearance. He's been searching for her but he never expected to see her driving up to her house after so long away.

Although Ella is determined to keep up her college persona, Micha is determined to knock down those walls and help her realize who she really is. I loved seeing what Ella was like once she arrived home. Yes, she kept fighting her urges but Micha knew exactly what to do in order to make her remember their good times.

Micha was just soooo swoonworthy!! He's that small-town guy with the magnetic personality and bad boy image. Someone most girls would love to know. But he has such a kindness too. It's impossible to not love him. Through their bond, each character is able to heal a bit from what they've gone through.

This story was really great in so many ways. The characters felt so real and relateable. I think that most teenagers want, at some point, to reinvent themselves. But we see through this story that it is sometimes impossible to escape all our problems. And, no matter what, it's the most important to be true to yourself. I'm excited to see where this story goes.

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The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
Published: December 12th, 2012
Reading Level: New Adult
ebook: 336 pages
Series: The Coincidence, #1
Rating; 4 of 5 stars
Summary:
There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe.

For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.

Now he can’t stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved.

Review:

First, we have Callie. Callie is a sweet girl with a horrible past experience. She is very withdrawn and quiet due to that experience. Her entire teenage life has been taken from her and she isn't sure if she'll ever feel normal again. Her peers see her as being the weird girl so she hasn't really had a lot of friendships. She knows of Kayden. The local boy, super popular, all out hotty. But, she didn't really know what he was going through behind closed doors till she sees it with her own eyes.

From the start of this book I was hooked. The party scene — the scene that put these 2 characters together, was just so gripping. Callie and Kayden really connect on a deeper level and that carries through the entire story.

Once they go to college their relationship is far from an instant-love situation. They slowly learn each others secrets and begin to learn how to move past them. But this isn't an easy road. I felt that Callie is really the character who grows the most in this story. She was even able to develop new friendships and start to trust people again.

But this book does end on a enormous cliffhanger, which I'm never too happy with. The ending is also a bit abrupt, which was my only real issue with the story. I wanted more and to feel a little more relieved after reading it but I was just more stressed out for them.

Since I'm reading the sequel now, I can stay that it's a little slow on the start for me but I trust that it will pick up and hook me just as much as the first one.

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Fractured Souls by Jessica Sorensen
Published: June 30th, 2013
Reading Level: New Adult
Series: Shattered Promises, #2
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary:
Gemma thought she had said her good-byes and had felt every possible emotion she could before her soul was detached again. Deep down inside, she hoped she’d never wake up from it because, in her eyes, life without emotion and memories isn’t worth living.

But she does wake up and discovers she can still feel and remember everything she experienced over the last few months. Alex is also telling her that everything’s okay, that he didn’t betray her, and that what she thought happened really didn’t.

Gemma isn’t sure if she can trust Alex, so she tries to keep her distance from him, even though the electric connection and her desire make it nearly impossible. The only person she can trust is Laylen, but even that becomes complicated when the lines of their friendship begin to blur.

While Gemma struggles with her emotions and relationships, she searches for her mother, entering a dangerous world of secrets, seduction, and evil. The further she digs into her mother’s secrets and past, the more she wonders what waits for her at the end of her search and if maybe some things are better left in the dark.

Review:

I loved how we get to see more of Laylen in this story. I definitely have a soft spot for him. Gemma has a connection with him and that connection is explored a bit in this book. There's one incredibly HOT scene you guys gotta check out!

As for Alex, I enjoy him but I'm not as in love with him in this book. I feel like he isn't being completely honest about a lot of things and it makes me not trust his words or actions. I know he loves Gemma but I feel he took a little step back in this book for me. I just want to see him open up more and share what he knows.

Gemma goes through quite a bit and I feel bad for her and her situation. She's trying to find her mother, she's forced to learn about a whole new world so quickly, and she's suffering from visions and other things she can't fully understand yet.

I truly love all of Jessica Sorensen's books. New Adult paranormal series are hard to find so this one is a blast to read. If you are looking for something in that category, I strongly recommend this series. I'll be waiting to see what happens next and I can't wait to read more about Laylen!

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