STAND (Bleeding Stars #6) by A.L. JACKSON

‘Agony cut through me. A dull, bitter blade. The desperation to save someone who didn’t want to be saved.’

The beauty of AL Jackson’s words shone through this highly emotional and passionate romance which had our hearts breaking and our eyes welling up throughout. The writing was flawless and we felt every single word. Stand is the last book in the Bleeding Stars series and can be read as a standalone. This is a series that has stolen our book reading hearts.

‘Every inch of the man was a sublime contradiction. His entire demeanour serenity and war. Peace and strife. As if the man bore the scars of a thousand battles and still managed to look past the brutality of the world.’

This is Zee’s – the drummer boy of Sunder- story and wow has this man had a tragic past, a past he’s still living with heavy guilt, responsibility and paying an unrealistic debt to his brother. His heart is huge and pure despite having suffered tremendously. AL Jackson sure put us through it with his story, she made our hearts break into pieces. We fell in utter love with Zee and he held our hearts from page one till the last. A quiet stillness of a man with a storm brewing inside. A gentle giant living the consequences of his past. Living someone else’s life out of responsibility giving up on all personal dreams and hope.

‘An angel. The brightest light in the midst of my darkness. Starshine…I couldn’t get lost in this girl. But there was a part of me that wanted to do it anyway. Give up and give in.’

Sometimes we meet our soul mate when we least expect it. Alexis is a beautiful young woman who fights to live and grabs life by the hands. She’s suffering under the life of her twin sister’s demise into a life of violence, despair and harrowing distress. Finding herself in a dire situation which could have disturbing consequences, she’s saved by Zee who happens upon her and an immediate bond is formed. What comes from this fateful night is a road fraught with personal battles and open wounds. It’s captivatingly sad yet hopeful too insofar that love is persevering if you place your trust and faith in it.

“Do you feel it, Alexis? It’s about tapping into the emotion. The pain. The joy. The love. The lust.”

We fell in love with this story, not wanting it to end yet desperately wanting love and forgiveness to win out. Having read the last two books in this series we are needing to read the rest as Sunder is a group of lads who stole our hearts and we’re now desperate to hear everyone’s stories.

“Living is a choice. We decide how we wake up each morning and face the day. Either we’re led by hope or ruled by fear. And I won’t let circumstances define me. Maybe I’m a fool, because I will stand or I will fall, but I will never, ever allow fear to clip my wings.”