Book Review: Underworld by Jessica Sorensen

Title:  The Underworld
Series: Book 2 in The Fallen Star
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Publisher: Createspace
Date of Publication: July 31, 2011
Source: bought on Kindle
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Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Thoughts:
So Fallen Star wasn't the love of my life.  I liked Gemma, I loved Laylen, and could not stand Alex one bit.  But I did like the story enough to continue the series.  
And I have to say I am glad I did because The Underworld was much better at grabbing my attention and holding on to it for dear life!
Gemma is finally coming around to my side now because she isn't too trusting of Alex either.  I did marginally gain a little bit more respect for him but .....I still don't love him like whoa.  
We see a different side to Laylen in this but it still strengthens my resolve to love him even more.  He goes through so much I just pray he gets the outcome he deserves in the rest of the series.  
Underworld answers a lot of questions I had in the first book but still leaves me guessing at others, making me yearn to pick up book 3 as soon as I can.  
I think we see a more determined and stronger Gemma in this book than we did in the first book.  She doesn't give up on those she cares about and it is pretty admirable to see the lengths she will go to get her loved ones out of danger.  I can tell she has grown a lot and I see her improving even more through the rest of the series.
The plot threads in the story are pretty enticing too.  They give us enough to keep us sated but are always introducing a juicy bit that will have us in the dark again.  The on again/off again love/hate relationship that Gemma and Alex have is still ugh to me.  He is still a jerk but yes, he has shown me that he can be a good guy, so I promise to give him another chance.  
I love the idea that each person, depending on what talent they have, receives a magical tattoo that goes with their talent.  That is a creative way of branding that makes you feel even closer to the ones you share the same mark with.  
It is interesting to see how all the different beings interact with each other, even though some can't stand the others at all.  I really can't wait to see what will happen in the kingdom of Foreseers in the next book.  
I definitely had to give it four hearts this time.