Reviews

Beneath the Stars by A.L. Jackson

jenjenbookfan's review against another edition

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5.0

Amazing!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This series gets better with every book!! The plot twists blow my mind! The roller coaster of emotions wring my heart out, and leave me wanting more. All the characters bring something valuable to the world the author has created. But Rhys and Maggie may be my favorite yet. I might have to do some rereads to make sure!

mycatismybookmark's review against another edition

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4.0

"You make me feel alive. You make me feel right. You make me believe."

There's an incomparable quality to the lyrical writing that makes every emotion reverberate off the page and resound with every heartbeat.

Maggie and Rhys' story echos the malevolent forces overcome in Catch Me When I Fall and Falling Into You and bring forth haunting demons from the past as they grow closer to each other and find courage in their vulnerabilities to open their hearts and bare their souls to the hope of creating something more than friendship.

"Beneath the stars. Beneath the darkness. Beauty. That's what this girl was."

With such a dynamic cast of characters bonded by blood, friendship, and trust you can't help but crave more interactions from this mismashed family spanning across series that exudes overwhelming love.

Rich and lyrical. Intimate and passionate. Beneath the Stars will envelop you on emotional journey through loss and love, heartbreak and hope, tears and laughter, and make you fall even harder for characters you've come to love along way.

Be sure to start the Falling Stars series with Kiss the Stars. And if you want to dive into the Sunder connected characters, check out the Bleeding Stars series.

Falling Stars
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Bleeding Stars
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xxbooksilovexx's review against another edition

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5.0

My first AL Jackson listen! Happy I chose this book to start. It's the 4th book in the Falling Stars series but I was able to follow along without having read the 3 other books. Both Reese & Maggie have majorly troubled pasts. Pasts that haunt them daily. I love how this story came together. Definitely different than many of the other romance books I have listened to. Andi Arndt is awesome as Maggie. And whew! Zachary Weber was so smoking hot as Reese

gabbysreading's review against another edition

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5.0

5+ stars!
Beneath the Stars is an absolute dream. In more ways than one. I’m constantly in awe of A.L. Jackson’s words. However, Beneath the Stars is on another level. I’m madly, desperately, wholeheartedly in love with this story. From the magnificent storytelling to the beautiful broken characters and the undeniable connection between Rhys and Maggie, this book was nothing short of perfection. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

The fourth standalone in the Falling Stars series is a gorgeous forbidden, age gap, friends-to-lovers, rockstar romance featuring Carolina George’s sexy bassist, Rhys Manning and Maggie Fitzgerald who also just happens to be Royce’s - from Catch Me When I Fall - little sister.
Full of sweet touches, secrets, heartbreak, suspense and healing, A.L. Jackson does a great job drawing in you and keeping you at the edge of your seat.

Both these characters have my heart. I looove Rhys and Maggie soo sooo much. My favorite thing about them is how they just felt it when one needed the other. They’re just so connected to each other. Talk about swoony. I had a feeling, as I read the other books in the series, Rhys was going to rock my world. Oh my goodness. I didn’t expect to fall so hard for this beautiful man who was really just a scared little boy with a world of guilt on his shoulders. He hid behind his easy going smirk, cocky attitude and player ways. There were so many times where I wanted to reach in and wrap him up and heal his hurt. But alas, only Maggie could heal him and feel him. Maggie is such a pure soul. Innocent and sweet but also dealing with demons of her own. God, what she went through as a teenager is just so heartbreaking. Still, the risks she is willing to take to help others are inspiring. Hands down my favorite heroine in the series.

The forbidden element added another layer of tension that I just ate up. There was a really great push and pull. Wanting to be together but also fearing they would hurt one another if they did get together. Throw in a protective older brother who would not approve, gah! So good!! I'll say it a thousand times more. I loved this book. I can pretty much guarantee that Beneath the Stars will be in my top reads of the year list.

nicki_theoverflowingbookcase's review against another edition

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5.0

This book will make you laugh, this book will make you cry and this book will stop your heart as you turn the pages. Emotionally draining while at the same time completely uplifting. Finding love in an unlikely place with so much baggage on both sides it is a wonder if Maggie and Rhys can find their HEA. But it is even more worrisome if their pasts will stop everything in their tracks. Once you pick this book up you will not be able to put it down. Simply amazing!!

filthylittlereader's review against another edition

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5.0

My first book by AL Jackson and I am itching to explore the rest of her catalogue. This book had me at the blurb because it teased a story that had some of my favorites; brother’s best friend, age gap, forbidden, yes yes yes please, give it to me. Jackson delivered with a capital d.
Maggie, I loved her. I loved how she went for what she wanted. I like how despite everything she had been through she refused to falter and wilt. She wanted to be more than her past and was unwilling to let it define her.
Rhys...oh my, this indescribable man, I just don’t even have words for him. That broody broken spirit of his called to me like a siren song. His emotional turmoil broke me. I knew from the first chapter it was just the beginning of the ways Jackson was going to play my heart like an emotional fiddle and boy did she but for a man like Rhys I don’t regret it one bit. Beneath the Stars is more than just a forbidden brother’s best friend, it is a beautifully tumultuous journey of resilience, absolution and love. Love, love love.

jamie_w's review against another edition

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5.0

Hands down the absolute best age gap I’ve ever read! I still think about this book almost daily. It’s perfection.

thebookishattitude's review against another edition

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4.0

Amor, Amor, Amor

Rhys and Maggie weren't what I was expecting, I might be a part of A.L Jackson's ARC team, but for the end of Carolina George, I stayed away from knowing anything. I went in head first. Their story was a something I wanted to experience without the spoilers.,
And honestly, I was not expecting the emotions that rocked me within this book.
You know Maggie's past, it's been written once before in her big brother Royce's book, but to feel the pain she still holds from those events and how much of an empath her character is... Heart strings, Torn.

Al Jackson has a way with making hearts bleed all over the floor and piecing them back together again. I've been really critical of reviews lately cause I was book slumping hard, but Al Jackson put together one of her most broken females to date with probably her second strongest male (in this series) to make them both a little less broken and it was actually beautiful.

I'm yet to find another author that can write Rock/Country bands as well as she can. Which leads me to my side note; I'm hoping Mel gets her own book and we see a Riot of Roses in their own stories sometime soon,

fsmeurinne's review against another edition

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5.0

Rhys and Maggie's story is amazing, this is the fourth book in the series, and one I really wanted to read. Their chemistry is off the charts, I loved both characters, so many emotions, it was intense and so good. I think it might be my favorite one so far, the heartache had me reading it in no time, I really needed to get to the end. You will ride in a rollercoaster you want to finish but at the same time, you will enjoy every twist and turn. Your heart will struggle, but it will be so worth it. I am sad that the series is ending but I can't wait to see what AL Jackson comes up with next. I love her writing and her imagination. It's a 5-star blowing my mind!



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maferg01's review against another edition

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5.0

I knew I would love Rhys the moment I met him when he swaggered out to give Leif grief and meet Mia. He is such an easy character to like but in his story, you find so many reasons to love him. His belief that he destroys everything he loves is just so heartbreaking. Then along comes Maggie with her kind heart to show him he's not lost nor unredeemable. Their love story is just so sweet, both trying to heal each other's wounds. Honestly it's even sweeter than Austin's story.

I loved how the story unfolded. The present interwoven with glimpses of Rhys's past, showing you the events that made him who is is. Showing is always more in depth than telling. And I love how Maggie just holds him, both figuratively and physically, so many times in this book. She is a character with quiet strength so often overlooked in this world of giant personalities and the contrast between her and Rhys is perfection.

This story will take you on twists and turns and just when you think you know what is happening, the story gets flipped a bit. In typical A.L. Jackson form, you'll be swept into the story and when you near the end, you'll be running to find out how it all works out. This amazing story needs to be on your shelves and if you have yet to read this series, get your TBR list ready. You need to dive headfirst into this angsty series.