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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Well.. AL Jackson has done it, again!! I can't even begin to formulate the words for how I love this book. I fell in love with the Sunder boys, Austin is no exception. I knew he was going to break my heart. I knew he was going to be to the core gut wrenching. And I wasn't wrong. Grab your tissue, you're going to need it. Austin is just so sweet, and so broken yet so strong. He will amaze and inspire and make you want to wrap your arms around him all at the same time.
And Edie, what a fire in that woman, another broken soul trying to find her way through the heartbreak that is her past.
These two bond in ways that is beyond any words can explain and they complete each other and they heal each other.
If you loved Baz, and Lyrik.. You're a goner for Austin. I promise you won't be disappointed!!
And Edie, what a fire in that woman, another broken soul trying to find her way through the heartbreak that is her past.
These two bond in ways that is beyond any words can explain and they complete each other and they heal each other.
If you loved Baz, and Lyrik.. You're a goner for Austin. I promise you won't be disappointed!!
DISCLAIMER: I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for honest review. Non-spoiler review.
My heart is in pieces, in a very good way. I was in tears at a few points and I couldn't take it anymore. I went and stomped around for a bit, and then I went right back to reading. I love Austin and Edie. I keep rubbing my chest because my heart aches. Dead serious. No lie. It hurts. I can only think of a few other books left me like this, so I can proudly say this book hits my Top 10, easy.
August 25th
Spoiler
Firstly, this book was amazing! I cannot even begin to express how good it was. I do not know how she does it. The story shatters over and over, and then it rebuilds. The transitions from the characters is brilliant. For anyone who is familiar with the lovely A.L's work, this story follows Austin, Sebastian Stone's younger brother. *SIGHS* I cannot get him out of my head. His pain is so . . . UGH! I cannot find the words. This book is an emotional roller coaster, but so worth it. This story is about learning to trust again. It's about second (and third, fourth and fifth) chances. It's about accepting the past, moving forward and forgiving yourself. It's about realizing something is not your fault. A.L. knows how to implement what she wants readers to gather from her novels. This book is no different, if not more.My heart is in pieces, in a very good way. I was in tears at a few points and I couldn't take it anymore. I went and stomped around for a bit, and then I went right back to reading. I love Austin and Edie. I keep rubbing my chest because my heart aches. Dead serious. No lie. It hurts. I can only think of a few other books left me like this, so I can proudly say this book hits my Top 10, easy.
August 25th
I loved this book i was captivated from the first page and I felt all the feels while reading fbis I loved Austin and I adored Eddie as characters and I couldn’t put my kindle down until I had found out what happens next and I can’t wait to dive into the next book in series
AL Jackson is just way too amazing of a writer. I can't with her writing. I loved this book, of course. I'm so excited for Ash's story!
This was an angsty, sweet, and romantic read. Austin and Edie have a heavy past, and both of them are running from it. Fate brings them back together, and they finally start working through all of their stuff together.
What I loved most about this story is that the writing is so emotional. It makes you feel like you're really in the characters head. It's written how people think which makes it interesting.
A great read, definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get in their feelings. It definitely accomplishes that task!
What I loved most about this story is that the writing is so emotional. It makes you feel like you're really in the characters head. It's written how people think which makes it interesting.
A great read, definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get in their feelings. It definitely accomplishes that task!
Oh Austin and Edie....
It seems to be a recurring theme in this series. Lonely recognizes lonely. And these too had so much despair in their soles. I didn't cry but the emotional grip this story told was so very honest and real. Once again proving why I love this author!!!
It seems to be a recurring theme in this series. Lonely recognizes lonely. And these too had so much despair in their soles. I didn't cry but the emotional grip this story told was so very honest and real. Once again proving why I love this author!!!
I didn't like this as much as the previous 3. I was hoping Austin's story was more than this. But this was so damn emotional, just like all of A.L. Jackson's writing.
Lovely narration, but…
Reader, I struggled with this book.
My two stars are for the charming choices of Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt and for the lyrical flow of A. L. Jackson's prose. Jackson should write songs or poems for Webber and Arndt to vocalize for us.
The story, the plot and characters, however, needs more than just lovely narration.
Both characters wallowed in their own misery, pain, and poor choices. Neither took any initiative, said to themselves "something bad happened. Let me make sure it doesn't happen again."
It irritated me that there was no character development, not arch to say that these events served purpose to either of the characters or by association, to us readers.
From here on, there are spoilers. You are warned.
To be fair, Austin's reaction to Edie's (first) rape may be Jackson's explanation of how adolescent he was "back then." He interfered, shouted her secret, picked a fight with the sleazy Paul and then set Paul up for a prison stint. Does he tell her, help her take back her dignity? No. He runs away. And so does she.
This bothered me, but I could go along with the idea that a 17-year-old young man may do stupid things with good intensions, but… after three years of brooding on how these actions ruined Edie's and Austin's lives, he does it again? Austin arrived to interrupt sleazy Paul's attempt to rape Edie again (!), fight Paul again, and shout her secret again. Exhausting. For the second time, he denied her of ay choices, dignity, self-respect, or opportunity for growth or closure. This makes him the hero? Really?!?
As if Austin and his constant groaning about how he can't seem think-before-acting wasn’t irritating enough, Edie was more annoying. Yes, the author placed her in a terrible position of having been raped at age 14 and then giving away the baby for adoption. But there the character seemed to have plateaued. Did she do anything to learn how to prevent being attacked in the future or help her deal with the situation? NO! She goes back to live with her brother (for years, presumably) and acts as if nothing happened until Austin spills the beans (see above), then she runs away. She spends three years brooding over what happened, and doing nothing about it, until she not-so-randomly finds Austin, and does more of nothing about herself.
What pushed me over the edge was that Austin spends the whole book moaning about how he will never hurt Edie again. Okay, we get it. Until about 2/3 into the book, when he rapes her, and instantly feels bad. Are we back to those kind of romance books where rape is okay if he feels really, really bad after it? Are you kidding me?!?
…or does he? At the end, Edie tells him she wanted it and that he stopped as soon as she said "no", so it's all okay. What?!? She let him think that he raped her, and it’s okay because…why again? If we are complacent with a little sexual abuse, we can be complacent with emotional abuse? NO. NEITHER IS OKAY!
Other, minor irritations: why does Austin's brother and Edie's brother, who are in the same band, never look for either of them, when they go missing at the same time? How did Edie's brother not know about her pregnancy? I find it hard to believe that no one in her family would keep that from slipping, at least once, over the years. Whose parents would think that it's a good idea to let their 14-year-old daughter spend summers with a rock band?
Truly, the only reason I kept to the end for the book was for the gorgeous voices.
Reader, I struggled with this book.
My two stars are for the charming choices of Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt and for the lyrical flow of A. L. Jackson's prose. Jackson should write songs or poems for Webber and Arndt to vocalize for us.
The story, the plot and characters, however, needs more than just lovely narration.
Both characters wallowed in their own misery, pain, and poor choices. Neither took any initiative, said to themselves "something bad happened. Let me make sure it doesn't happen again."
It irritated me that there was no character development, not arch to say that these events served purpose to either of the characters or by association, to us readers.
From here on, there are spoilers. You are warned.
To be fair, Austin's reaction to Edie's (first) rape may be Jackson's explanation of how adolescent he was "back then." He interfered, shouted her secret, picked a fight with the sleazy Paul and then set Paul up for a prison stint. Does he tell her, help her take back her dignity? No. He runs away. And so does she.
This bothered me, but I could go along with the idea that a 17-year-old young man may do stupid things with good intensions, but… after three years of brooding on how these actions ruined Edie's and Austin's lives, he does it again? Austin arrived to interrupt sleazy Paul's attempt to rape Edie again (!), fight Paul again, and shout her secret again. Exhausting. For the second time, he denied her of ay choices, dignity, self-respect, or opportunity for growth or closure. This makes him the hero? Really?!?
As if Austin and his constant groaning about how he can't seem think-before-acting wasn’t irritating enough, Edie was more annoying. Yes, the author placed her in a terrible position of having been raped at age 14 and then giving away the baby for adoption. But there the character seemed to have plateaued. Did she do anything to learn how to prevent being attacked in the future or help her deal with the situation? NO! She goes back to live with her brother (for years, presumably) and acts as if nothing happened until Austin spills the beans (see above), then she runs away. She spends three years brooding over what happened, and doing nothing about it, until she not-so-randomly finds Austin, and does more of nothing about herself.
What pushed me over the edge was that Austin spends the whole book moaning about how he will never hurt Edie again. Okay, we get it. Until about 2/3 into the book, when he rapes her, and instantly feels bad. Are we back to those kind of romance books where rape is okay if he feels really, really bad after it? Are you kidding me?!?
…or does he? At the end, Edie tells him she wanted it and that he stopped as soon as she said "no", so it's all okay. What?!? She let him think that he raped her, and it’s okay because…why again? If we are complacent with a little sexual abuse, we can be complacent with emotional abuse? NO. NEITHER IS OKAY!
Other, minor irritations: why does Austin's brother and Edie's brother, who are in the same band, never look for either of them, when they go missing at the same time? How did Edie's brother not know about her pregnancy? I find it hard to believe that no one in her family would keep that from slipping, at least once, over the years. Whose parents would think that it's a good idea to let their 14-year-old daughter spend summers with a rock band?
Truly, the only reason I kept to the end for the book was for the gorgeous voices.
I generally like second chance romances but this one had some issues for me. Too much inner dialogue and redundant "Oh my secret shame makes me live a half-life" got kind of old. And the Annoying Best Friend trope that is oh so common in romance drives me crazy. I hate it. I hate the Annoying Best Friend. Then there's Friend Zone Guy who exists only to threaten the hero about his intentions. This is the fourth book in this series and I think I'm done. Too much "woe is me" and too many weak plot devices.
God! These Sunder boys are doing a number on my heart. I am seriously in love with this series! Wait is another A.L. Jackson must read. My heart hurt for Austin in the previous Bleeding Stars books so I was more than eager to have his story. I was not disappointed. My goodness!! Wait is amazing! It very quickly became one of my favorite second chance romances. I had my kindle clutched in my hands with tears streaming down my face and I loved every second of it! Edie and Austin are perfection.
As I mentioned above, we first met Austin in the previous Bleeding Stars books. The quiet, troubled, younger brother of Sunder’s lead singer, Sebastian Stone, has had a tough time dealing with his heartbreaking past. So, he decided to leave everything he’s known to go find himself. He’s travelled for years, performing in small clubs and bars. Then one night he sees a person from his past. Edie Evans has been running from her own tragic dark past. A past she shares with Austin. With the boy who broke her heart back in her life, the pain she has been trying to escape is back in full force. But, their emotional reunion and their strong pull toward each other may be just what they need to heal.
I loved Edie and Austin! They’re so perfect together. They know what each other needs and they brought a sense of peace that they desperately needed! A.L. Jackson has the gift of making fictional character seem so real. Her words are so damn beautiful. This book, this series is not one you want to miss. So so SOOO good.
As I mentioned above, we first met Austin in the previous Bleeding Stars books. The quiet, troubled, younger brother of Sunder’s lead singer, Sebastian Stone, has had a tough time dealing with his heartbreaking past. So, he decided to leave everything he’s known to go find himself. He’s travelled for years, performing in small clubs and bars. Then one night he sees a person from his past. Edie Evans has been running from her own tragic dark past. A past she shares with Austin. With the boy who broke her heart back in her life, the pain she has been trying to escape is back in full force. But, their emotional reunion and their strong pull toward each other may be just what they need to heal.
I loved Edie and Austin! They’re so perfect together. They know what each other needs and they brought a sense of peace that they desperately needed! A.L. Jackson has the gift of making fictional character seem so real. Her words are so damn beautiful. This book, this series is not one you want to miss. So so SOOO good.