A review by bookbae96
Stand by A.L. Jackson

5.0

No fear. Just life.

Beautiful, intense, soul-grabbing. Every time that I pick up a book by A.L. Jackson, I know that it is going to be an emotionally charged experience, that her words are going to paint a story so vivid, so engrossing, so consuming, that it will leave me wrung out and overwhelmed. Because Amy's words are poetry. Every character, every scene, words crafted together in such a way that the stories become part of me, in the deepest and most wonderful way.

Zachary 'Zee' Kennedy has always been a bit of a mystery. Each of the Sunder boys is beautiful and broken, so I just assumed that there was much more to Zee's story, and that we would get the whole view in time. And in STAND, Amy delivers beautifully, peeling back the layers of Zee's life and background to reveal the true man.

Alexis Kensington, like Zee, is bound by her past. Committed to saving her sister from a life that she doesn't want to leave, Alexis is willing to do anything to ensure that Avril is free from the things that are destroying her. Zee finds her at a dire time, and, while they truly need each other, I don't think that Zee was ready for her at all. He's consigned himself to a life in the shadows, making atonement for choices that were made a long time ago. But Alexis is the light to his perceived dark, and he cannot stay away.

"Sometimes it gets old, living in the shadows. Somehow they're not quite so dark when you're around."
"Is that what you feel? Like you're invisible?...Because you're the only thing I see."

I have fallen so in love with the Bleeding Stars series, and the whole Sunder family, and it was a very bittersweet feeling, reading STAND and knowing that it's the last book for this bunch. These books remain some of my favorites, both because Amy writes angst and beauty like not many others, and because each of these stories touched me in a very deep way. I can't say enough good about STAND, and the rest of the series, and I really think that they are some of the best that I've read. 5+ stars for Zee and Alexis, and another A.L. Jackson story that broke my heart, then pieced it together, that showed light in despair and hope in hopelessness. If you haven't met the boys of Sunder, you're missing out. This is a series that is completely binge-worthy, so don't just add them to your TBR. Make a date, find a comfy reading corner, and fall in love.

***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***