KISS THE STARS is live!
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Synopsis
A Falling Stars STAND-ALONE NOVEL from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author, A.L. Jackson . . .
A single mother.
An up-and-coming drummer with a sordid past.
Their paths never should have crossed.
But when a senseless crime rocks Mia West’s entire world, she agrees to spend the summer hiding out at her rock-star brother’s mansion in Savannah until the storm blows over.
What she never expected was the gorgeous, brooding drummer living in the guest house.
His darkness a lure.
His gaze a trap.
She knows better than to go after what will hurt her most.
Leif Godwin has two focuses in his life: his band, Carolina George, and seeking retribution for what was stolen from him.
Mia was never supposed to be a part of the equation.
Her eyes an appeal.
Her body a temptation.
Touching her is nothing but a sin.
But will loving her destroy them all . . .
Review
3 stars
An emotional and angsty rockstar romance, this is a story of heartbreak, redemption and second chances, and the first book in A.L. Jackson’s Falling Stars series. It’s a gorgeous story, dripping with passionate, poetic prose, with strong themes of family and friendship that Jackson writes so well. This series is a spin-off from the Bleeding Stars series, which I absolutely love, and while there is quite a bit of character crossover, this book can be read as a standalone.
I have some very mixed feelings about this book, so please bear with me as I purge my thoughts.
Mia West is the younger sister of Lyrik, lead guitarist for rock back, Sunder, and hero of Where Lightning Strikes. She is the single mother to two children, and is dealing with heartwrenching grief after the tragic death of her best friend, and she has escaped to her brother’s home in Savannah to relax and regroup.
Leif Godwin is the drummer for up-and-coming country rock band Carolina George. He is a friend of Lyrik’s, and when he is asked to temporarily fill in as the drummer for Sunder while they record their new album, he agrees, and is set up in a guest house on Lyrik’s property. A mostly solitary man, he has been through hell and is constantly plagued by his demons, but he relishes in it, dreaming of the day when he will take vengeance against the people that destroyed his world.
From the moment Mia and Leif meet, they share an intense connection that neither of them are able to deny, and when they wind up living on the same property, they see more and more of each other as Leif is reluctantly pulled into the Sunder world and the family that they have formed together. But as potent as the sexual tension is, Leif isn’t prepared to act on the mad lust that sizzles between them. He’s been through hell and he doesn’t want to drag anybody else into that, so instead we get this painfully angsty ‘I’m no good for you, I need to push you away’ storyline.
“You won’t want to get inside me, Mia. Know you think you do, but I promise you, that is not a place you want to be. You can’t fix me.” The words were gruff and low. A warning.
“And what if I were to like what I was to see?”
His dark chuckle curled in the space between us, and his hand was reaching out, tilting up my chin. “… I am no good, Mia. You don’t know me, and I promise, you don’t want to.”
And this…
“I will destroy you, Mia, just like I destroy every good thing I have ever done.”
*sigh*
For me, this is a storyline that gets really old, really fast, but as frustrating as it can be, it provides a good opportunity for us to see how strong and confident Mia is. Despite what she’s been through, she’s a woman who knows what she wants, and she doesn’t hold back her feelings, and I love that about her!
“Why does it feel like I have known you my entire life? Like you’re a piece that’s been missing, and now that you’re here, I’m whole?”
“I can’t give you what you deserve, Mia.”
“Then give me what I want.”
The tension builds as the feelings between Leif and Mia escalate, and you can’t help but feel their chemistry. And as Leif gets drawn deeper and deeper into Mia’s world, and her family, he falls not only for her, but for her children, and when he finally reaches his breaking point the love story explodes and it’s hot, passionate, and super intense.
A rumble of need curled up his throat. “I will ruin you.”
“I want you to,” I begged.
I was already there.
I loved seeing Leif and Mia together, and I loved watching Leif open up and begin to accept everything that Mia and her children bring to his life. Is it instalove? No, not really, but it’s pretty damn fast, and there is that ‘I can feel when you enter the room’ thing happening, which can be a little surreal. But Leif is still haunted by all that he has been through, and when danger from his past begins to seep into his present, he will be forced to confront everything all over again as he figures out and fights for the future that he wants.
“If I let myself fall, would you be there to catch me? Just for a little while?”
It’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for them, made all the more intense as we try to follow the clues to understand Leif’s background. The full story isn’t revealed until almost the end of the book, so there’s a whole lot of build-up to his backstory, which is truly tragic and yes, it does explain why he’s so intent on punishing himself. But it ties together really nicely with the developing love story and it brings some unexpected excitement as the story builds to its close.
It’s a great story. I liked Leif and Mia, and I loved catching up with the Bleeding Stars crew again, but the problem I had with this book was the writing style. *sigh*. A.L. Jackson’s writing is becoming more and more poetic and dramatic with each book and I’m sadly struggling to adapt to the change. I’m sure that it resonates with a lot of readers, but I’m not a fan, and as much as I love her stories, the purple prose is really turning me off and I find myself becoming disconnected from a book that I am desperately trying to lose myself in, and struggling to get through it.
Here are some examples…
Metaphors and adjectives and broken-up paragraphs, over and over and over again, from both perspectives, throughout the entire book, to the point where it started to overpower the story for me. It’s one of those situations where there’s so much descriptiveness going on that when somebody speaks, you have to go searching back for the previous line of dialogue because you have forgotten what they are responding to. That sort of writing really turns me off, and sadly, I just couldn’t deal. But this is very much a personal thing, and like I said, I’m sure others will love it, it’s just not for me.
We are introduced to the other members of Carolina George who will go on to have their stories told in the rest of the series, and they look like a great bunch.
Great story, I just didn’t feel it as much as I wanted to.
3 stars
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Falling Stars
Kiss the Stars (#1)
Review
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Catch Me When I Fall (#2)
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About the Author
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.
Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, and BLEEDING STARS novels. Grab A.L. Jackson’s latest novel, MORE OF YOU, the first stand-alone novel in her brand-new CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART series.
Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, BLEEDING STARS, FIGHT FOR ME, and CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART novels. Grab A.L. Jackson’s latest novel, HOLD ON TO HOPE, a best friends-to-lovers stand-alone romance.
If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.
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