Book Blurb
**Mature Content Warning**
17+ for language and sexual content.
(A re-imagining of The Fallen Star told as a New
Adult Fantasy)
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 three years. 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.
My Review
This book was on the top of my to-read list....I was so excited when I received an ARC copy from Jessica to review!! I fell in love with the Fallen Star series from the moment I picked up the first book and when I heard that Jessica was re-imagining that story line into her new Adult Contemporary style, I was intrigued. I knew I already loved her adult style writing from reading The Secret of Ella and Micha and The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, so I figured Shattered Promises with Gemma, Alex, and Laylen would be a homerun; which it totally was!! :)
I know I've seen reviews saying how it is the same story, which hello, RE-IMAGINING, of course it's going to be similar, but as an avid Jessica reader and fan, the differences out weigh the similarities. The story is written in a whole new perspective of similar situations, but not exactly the same. The characters are older and a lot steamier, which I adore and have been waiting to see since the Fallen Star series ended!! It made me fall in love with them all over again!! I love that you do not have to read the Fallen Star or the first series to know what is going on in this book. Shattered Promises starts right in the beginning, so you do not need any prior background information to enjoy. The Fallen Star series is for a much younger audience and as you know I will recommend it to anyone to read, but it is not necessary to read before Shattered Promises. Also, the other books The Underworld, The Vision, and The Promise will not help you to figure out what is going to happen next in the Shattered Promises series. As stated before, those books are towards a younger set of readers and Shattered Promises has different situations taking place.
Another thing I love about this book is that Jessica has added flashbacks, sometimes in the start of chapters and sometimes within the chapter, from Gemma which give the read snippets of what's to come. I really enjoyed these parts because it kept me guessing throughout the story. I am in love with this book, if you haven't already noticed, as well as all of Jessica's fantastic stories. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for the rest of the series. I really hope she gives Laylen some more time coming up. I totally fell in love with him more this time around and he was only in a short section.
This book also shows just how versatile a writer Jessica is. She can take an entire series that she has already written and turn it completely around into an entire new story. She is amazing!! As long as she keeps writing, I'll keep reading and review!! So I totally give this book a 5 star rating for allowing me to enjoy my favorite characters all grown up ;) Thank you Jessica for sharing your amazing talent with me over and over again!! :)
Links
Twitter: @jessfallenstar
Teaser 1:
**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content
“Get off me!” I needed help, but I was shit
out of luck. The music was loud and muffled the noise even in the room.
“Please!”
He forced my arms together and held them in one of his very large hands. “Not
until you tell me why you’re flipping out.”
“Because physical contact freaks me out,” I lied, arching my
body into his in a lame attempt to force him off me.
He moved his body upward slightly, but still kept a hand on my
arms. “I can tell when you’re lying, by the way your biting you lip.” He let
his weight descend back toward me. “Just like I can tell when you’re pissed off
by the way your jaw tenses.” His body was back on me and I lay immobile beneath
him as he continued, his voice growing softer. “Just like I can tell when I’m
embarrassing you because your cheeks turn pink.” His face lowered toward mine
and I noticed for the first time that he had a faint scar just below his eye.
His breath was hot against my ear and neck and my eyes uncontrollably shut as
he whispered, “Or how I can tell when you’re getting turned on by the way you
get distracted and how your body shudders.”
The insinuation of his words enclosed around me and my body
shuddered, just liked he’d accused. Something snapped inside me. I raised my
head and surprised him as I touched my lips against his. I pushed past the
forceful amount of electricity ripping through me and instead of kissing him, I
sucked his bottom lip into my mouth.
Then I bit down hard.
I wasn’t even sure what the point was. Whether I was pissed off
or so turned I that I’d lost the capability to rationalize my actions. I moved
my face away, rested my head back on the mattress, and waited for him to hop
off and call me a freak.
Instead, he stared at me as his tongue slipped out from his
mouth and wetted his lips. “Fuck, you drew blood.”
Before I could even begin to be embarrassed, he let out a deep
growl and seconds later his lips came down on mine. Holy fucking hell. I’d
never felt anything like it. It was all gone; the worry, sadness, the
emptiness. I could barely breathe as his tongue slipped inside my mouth and
entangled with mine. I had no idea what I was doing, but I went with it,
allowing his tongue to search my mouth. My skin felt like it was melting, but
in a good way. As I lifted my hips up, pressing our bodies together, the heat
spiraled out of control. I wanted to be closer—needed to be closer—but it
didn’t seem possible, since he was lying on top of me.
His hand was still holding my arms and he tightened his grip as
his other hand slid down my body to my hip. He dug his fingers into my skin as
he moved his legs so that mine were free. Seconds later I had them fastened in
a vice-grip around his waist. His body tensed and his breath caught in his
throat. Drawing away, he looked into my eyes and I thought he was going to say
something insulting. But then he let out another low growl that sent vibrations
all over my skin and he crushed his lips into mine. The innocent kiss suddenly
turned reckless as his hand slipped underneath my shirt and he cupped my
breast. I’d never felt this kind of ecstasy before. It was intoxicating.
Overwhelming. Finally I understood what the big deal was.
I writhed my hips up against him, feeling his hardness between
my legs. With each movement, my head became foggier as he kissed and felt me
all over.
Suddenly, I wanted to rip his shirt off, feel his skin, feel the
passion, the spark, the connection. As every ounce of my self-control withered,
I wiggled my hands out of his. Maneuvering them between us, I began to fumble
with the buttons of his shirt. When I reached the last one, he caught my hand
and stopped me.
He removed his lips from mine, propped up on his arm, and peered
down at me. His lips were swollen and his eyes were glazed over like he barely
understood what was going on. “We should slow down,” he panted, looking
conflicted.
I instantly frowned. “Why?”
Looking torn, he glanced down at my hand trapped in his and then
back at me. “Because we should.” He loosened his grip and freed my hand. Like a
magnet, my fingers moved for the last button and I flicked it undone.
As my fingers grazed his stomach, his lips sealed against mine.
His tongue urged my mouth apart and when it entered mine, the warmth nearly
swallowed me. Pressing my hands flat onto his stomach, I felt the rhythm of his
breathing, the rise and fall of his chest, the warmth of his skin.
I began writhing my hips against his, letting go as he moved his
lips away from my mouth and started trailing kissing down my neck. Each one was
soft, but full of desire. I wanted more—needed more. I was confused by my
thoughts and what my body wanted. It was like I’d been starving for years,
nearly dying of hunger, and his kisses were finally satisfying the ever-growing
starvation.
As he reached my collarbone and took a nip at my skin, my
fingers dug into his shoulder blades. With one last buck of my hips, something
exploded inside me and for a second I was free from the world I’d never felt I
belonged.
Apparently the light bulb above our heads had the same idea. It
flickered and then glass was flying everywhere. I winced as sharp, hot
fragments of glass landed on my skin.
If you made it through my entire post, then you definitely deserve to read this special post from Delphina of Delphina Reads Too Much. She requested for Jessica to write her favorite scene from Shattered Promises from another characters POV and Jessica totally did it ;) It's so steamy and a must read!! Plus there is an awesome giveaway going on there as well!! Go Check it out!!
