Review: Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen

Title: Breaking Nova (Nova, #1)
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Pages: 224
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: September 3, 2013

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?

My Thoughts: Breaking Nova is the first novel I've ever read by Jessica Sorensen. I've heard lots of praise for the author's other books, and I've been wanting to read some of them for awhile. Unfortunately, as an introduction to her works, I'm not sure Breaking Nova left a great impression.

One word that kept going through my head while reading this book was gloomy. When a story is moody and full of hard-hitting moments, I usually feel uncomfortable and hope it's all sunshine and rainbows by the end. Breaking Nova did make me feel a bit uncomfortable, but the most important thing it did not do was move me. I couldn't bring myself to cry or even tear up. I just wasn't able to connect with the story or the characters in any way. And I almost felt like there was too much tragedy involving the characters. Every single one of them had their own sob story, and it was all a big depressing mess.

Nova and Quinton were the main characters, and I can't say I found them to be interesting or memorable. All I can remember them doing throughout the book were two things: cry and smoke weed. Seriously, that's all they did the majority of the time! Nothing exciting happened with them as the story progressed. I was waiting for a huge, mind-blowing moment, but there really never was a major climax or anything. Very few was resolved and the things that were seemed to be fixed simply and quickly. I didn't even find the romance between Nova and Quinton swoon-worthy, especially when Nova kept comparing Quinton to her dead boyfriend and Quinton kept thinking about his dead girlfriend. It was a pretty emotionless reading experience for me that by the end I didn't care to know what happened to them next.

Sadly, Breaking Nova didn't leave an impact. It just wasn't a fulfilling or stunning read. It looks like there will be two more books in the series, and while I'm still willing to read the author's other novels, I already know I will not be continuing on with the Nova series. If you're a fan of Jessica Sorensen, Breaking Nova might be your cup of tea. However, if you've yet to read Jessica Sorensen, Breaking Nova might not be the best book to start off with.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars