--- product_id: 109203007 title: "A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars Book 1)" price: "VT184" currency: VUV in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/109203007-a-stone-in-the-sea-bleeding-stars-book-1 store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars Book 1) **Price:** VT184 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars Book 1) - **How much does it cost?** VT184 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/109203007-a-stone-in-the-sea-bleeding-stars-book-1) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description I come with a reputation. A bad one. I’m no stranger to trouble. It follows me wherever I go. So, when I leave Los Angeles to hide from what I’ve done, I should know better than to hunger for the innocent cocktail waitress serving my drinks. But soon, this sexy, southern girl is all I can see. The only thing I want. Our attraction is scorching, and with one stolen kiss, we’re drowning in a sea of desire. I thought I’d ruin her like I do everything else. Only what I didn’t know is she has an inescapable past. One that promises to destroy us both . . . A spicy, small-town romantic suspense from NYT and USA Today bestselling author A.L. Jackson… A Stone in the Sea is book one of Sebastian and Shea’s epic duet. Their story continues in Drowning to Breathe. What to expect in A Stone in the Sea: Grumpy x Sunshine Opposites Attract He Falls First Single Mom Rockstar Found Family Small Town Romance Review: AN EPIC ROMANCE THAT LEFT ME DROWNING IN FEELS! - "DO YOU SEE ME, SHEA? I SEE YOU." Sighhhhh!!!! There are certain books you read that are so remarkable, touch you so profoundly, leave such a permanent imprint on your heart and soul that you want to exalt about it from the rooftops. Reread over and over again so you can revel in its AWESOMENESS! Well...A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars, book 1 ) is one of those books! I feel all sorts of warm, gushy, euphoric feelings about this novel, I am beside myself . Not even sure where to begin. But first...a confession. I am late to the game. A bunch of my book buddies have been raving about this series for a while, imploring me to "just read this book already !!" but I kept blowing them off because I was not familiar with this author’s work and had so many others books ahead of it on my massive TBR list. Well, I finally did cave and OMG...now I am kicking myself, lamenting: “Why oh why did I wait so long to dive in?” First and foremost, the writing is just mesmerizing! A.L. Jackson's narrative voice is so beautiful and poetic, and pulsating with such powerful, aching emotion it left me speechless...and utterly spellbound!! And Baz...no words! A direct quote from one of my Aussie Book Besties: "I want to marry Sebastian Stone!" Well, honey, you better wait in line because he is the ultimate book boyfriend...a, smokin' hot, deliciously broody rocker with a TORTURED soul! I mean...come on!! I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect hero. Baz is 100% alpha male....he practically oozes testosterone and potent sex appeal! But beneath the uber-macho veneer is a terribly conflicted young musician whose meteoric rise to fame as lead singer of the Sunder rock band came at the ultimate cost. Too say Baz is complicated would be an understatement. He is angry, volatile, fiercely loyal, kind, noble, drowning in self hatred, regret and self recrimination. Everyone wanted a piece of Sebastian Stone and all HE wanted was be left the heck alone. To stay out the limelight. Regroup. Figure out his next move. Now with his life on the verge of spiraling dangerously out of control, he needs to hole up in Savannah, GA with his baby brother and bandmates for a short spell. Quiet and sanctuary were what he sought, but his plans for keeping to himself in a corner booth at Charlie's bar take a nosedive when he catches the eye of stunning small town waitress Shea Bentley. "Sweet caramel eyes flitted through my mind. Long, long legs. Killer body with a cautious heart. Dark. Light. Heavy. Soft. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble." Haunted by heavy burdens of her own, the sweet , shy, achingly vulnerable southern belle arouses a primal, elemental need in him. To claim! To ravish! To protect! To possess! With every fiber of his being, he longs to be SEEN by Shea, the one and only girl who has ever infiltrated his steely defenses and brought hope and beauty into his tainted, brutally harsh world. And, in return, he is desperate to see her as well. The real women who tries to camouflage a raging storm of hurt behind her sweet, sunny demeanor and charming smiles. "Shea had become the only thing I wanted, this untouchable girl the only thing I craved. I was itching to get lost in caramel eyes and to swim in honey skin. To be blinded by her light while she drowned me in her sea of dark." Their attraction is electric, intoxicating, utterly undeniable. But she is wholesome and pure and there is no place for her quiet, assuming beauty and beguiling innocence in his loud, chaotic, toxic world. Their love is an impossible dream. Or is it? Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and there is no fighting fate. Or destiny. But will their long awaited happiness prove to be their ultimate downfall? Sweet heavens…the things this book did to me!. The tangle of heart twisting, soul deep, wrenching emotions it stirred up were beyond words. I felt such a magnetic pull to these protagonists that my chest physically ached the entire time I was reading. A master at her craft, A.L. Jackson evoked such a raw, visceral response with her breathtaking prose and achingly real characterizations that I felt Every Single Thing that Baz and Shea were experiencing. The agony, the ecstasy, "the flashes of fear…the shivers of pleasure "…all of it!…and was irresistibly swept up in a riptide of hot, searing, quivering emotion. "Sebastian was never gentle. But I could feel something inside him had slipped. Tripped. As if he’d sat out here alone, and during those passing hours he’d wondered if he’d ever get to touch me again and, now that he was, he was taking everything he could while he had the chance. Frenzied, his thumbs raced along where we were joined. Something about it felt intimate and raw and honest, and I was falling further, being sucked beneath the surface. A stone in his sea. Completely drowning in this man." This is just one mere example of the sheer magnificence of A.L. Jackson's writing prowess …the magnitude of feverish passion this book inspires in me. In ALL her adoring fans!! The plot is provocative, brilliantly crafted, flows flawlessly, and is fraught with such tension and bristling intensity it left me in a perpetual state of breathless anticipation. Bottom line? There is just so munch exquisite beauty and blazing chemistry and astonishing twists and turns to behold in this enthralling romance, and I don't want to spoil any of it. So I will keep mum about the specifics. But I will leave it at this: If you are looking for an epic love story churning with heartbreak and exquisite tenderness, angst and passion, soul shattering tragedy and bittersweet triumph...a romance that will completely consume you, heart and soul, and drown you in such intoxicating feels you won't ever want to come up for air...One Click now! But fair warning it ends in a jaw dropping cliffy that will leave you REELING, so unless you want to risk a nervous breakdown, plan on to immediately submerging yourself in the sequel, Drowning to Breathe. So thank you, A.L. Jackson for rocking my world! Soul crushing heartbreak never felt quite so good!!! #ERRKR Review: Intense...emotional...compelling - Baz and Shea took me on an amazing love filled whirlwind - can't wait for Book #2! - 4 “I don’t have time for distractions.” “Butterfly” “You see me” “Dark. Light. Heavy. Soft.” Kisses Wow…what an amazing, emotional storm of a book! Good gravy…this had everything I could have asked for and then some…fantastic, tie-me-up-in-knots angst...incredible passion and chemistry…a gorgeous broken rock star and a heartbreakingly beautiful girl…plus so many feels it almost made my heart explode. I couldn’t get enough of Baz and Shea – finished this book in less than 24 hours and all it did was leave me begging for more! Sebastian Stone…oh Baz…my torn and twisted rock star. He’s a tortured soul…plagued by demons from his past and he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s a fantastic mixture of intensity…darkness…with a side of brooding emo artist…and it worked for me in all the right ways. I mean, Baz is, at his core, a musician…guitar, piano, singer…writes songs – he doesn’t have to try very hard to be sexy…but it’s in all the ways he doesn’t try that made me love him more. He’s very self-deprecating…can never see the good part of himself…but he’s got a huge heart and an enormous capacity to love and care for the people that mean the most of him. He keeps very few people close…he’s been burned enough times to know who to let in but I don’t think he knew what he was getting into when he met Shea. ‘But that didn’t change the fact she made me feel different when I was with her, like maybe not every single thing in this world was bad. As if this girl saw me for who I really was and she actually liked him. She’d asked me what I wanted from her. The problem was I had no clue. All I knew was it was more. That I wanted more of her dark and her light and her heavy and her soft. I wanted more of her sweet breaths and more of her pounding heart. I wanted more of her kisses F^@%. I wanted more of her kisses.’ Shea Bentley…my sweet, strong Shea Bear…I have a deep-rooted love for this girl. I love her personality…her strength…her beauty…she’s very calm and unassuming, she kind of flies under the radar. I know that’s a really random thing to say but…overall, I enjoyed Shea…she’s easy to connect with but I always felt like there was more to her….and it’s not until the very end that it kind of all clicks into place and makes sense. And for the record...I was right. She’s determined and focused…kind and genuine…plus she’s a good old country girl through and through. Shea…surprised me…a lot. I’ll be honest, Shea had me fooled…I knew she had secrets…and I thought I figured them all out but I was so wrong. But I think that made me love her even more. ‘When I found him sitting there that first time, I thought I’d known better than to go looking for his brand of heartbreak. But Sebastian had revealed in me everything I’d been missing, stamped out my loneliness and inserted himself in its place. He made me believe in something I’d given up hope on a long time ago because I’d never found it to be real, never believing giving myself to someone wholly was worth the risk. Now I knew better. Now I knew it was worth everything.’ I love the build of Baz and Shea…it was slow…steady…gradual. There was always this simmering passion…unending chemistry between the two of them, but it wasn’t rushed or forced…it just came in, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The chemistry between the two of them is the stuff I live for…the smoldering, the desire, their connection is fierce and hot and I couldn’t get enough. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve read Ms. Jackson’s books before and they’re steamy but holy hell on wheels…Baz and Shea are f^@%!$# hot. Like five-alarm-fire hot…and I loved every second of it. Once again, it was all part of that build so watching emotions continue to mount, I was itching for that bursting point…and once they let go…I was in heaven. I cannot get over how much I loved the balance between these two characters…it was effortlessly perfect. She was the calm to his intensity…the quite to his noise…the light to his dark…they’re like the epitome of ying and yang and the peace that they brought each other brought joy to my heart. ‘I swallowed around it and rolled to lie on my side. Like she was drawn, she did the same, and in that second, the world felt small, like the two of us were side-by-side. Like she was right here with me, and those slender arms were wrapped around me. And there was no sound, nothing vocalized, but I could hear her whisper those same words that terrified me. I love you. But she was saying it with her care, with her concern for me. Because she saw me. The real me. The girl didn’t give a f^@% who the world thought I was or the way other people saw me. I’d been so fearful of her knowing, of it changing what we were…how we were. But no. Shea reached in to touch beneath it.’ I know to expect excellence when it comes to A.L. Jackson…she’s just one of the authors that I can count on to give me everything I need…a complete journey with two beautiful characters and all the intense emotions that I crave. We go back and forth between Baz and Shea’s POV’s…it’s never repetitive…they may share thoughts and feelings about a situation that has happened in the previous chapter, but there is no re-hashing past events. I love dual POV so it totally worked for me…but for whatever reason I feel like I had a stronger connection with Baz than Shea…and that’s not usually the norm. Baz just overall is a stronger more powerful presence…and there’s nothing wrong with that…it’s not that he overpowers Shea…I already said I loved their balance…he’s just a very deep, solid character and I enjoyed that about him. I had two teeny tiny pet peeves that happened throughout the book…one, was the way Baz talked sometimes irk’d me…and it’s going to sound really dumb, but when he would say something, he’d drop the “I”…so he would say “Don’t wanna hurt you.” instead of “I don’t wanna hurt you.” I can handle this on rare occasion, but towards the last 30% of the book it started to bother me…for whatever reason I found it forced and it made him sound uneducated…and he’s not a dumb guy. The other thing was the word repetition…this was another thing I didn’t really catch on to until the end of the book…I liked it, at certain points, but the problem is…both Baz and Shea did it. Interchangeably. Two characters don’t think alike and I get trying to tie them together, but it made their POV’s sound too similar and they need to have individual tones. ‘I set my hand on her cheek, words strained as my eyes darted over every inch of her face, memorizing this moment. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you.” A small gasp escaped from between those full lips, and a gentle smile tweaked just one side of my mouth as I tilted my head, shifting so I could brush my fingertips along the butterflies taking flight on her hip, my voice growing softer with the power of this admission. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her.” Tears streamed ceaselessly from the corners of Shea’s eyes, gliding down the side of her face and into her hair as she stared up at me. “Yes, you were,” she said. Wind pummeled at the outside walls, its power matching the devotion I felt inside. I took her hand and pressed it over my pounding heart. “You told me you wanted this more than anything, Shea. I’m giving it to you. All of it. Every piece of me… it belongs to you. I have so much s#!% in my life, and I always thought that was all I was ever going to have. That this life was a trade-off for the band making it, retribution for all the crimes I committed on the road to getting us here. But you changed all that. You gave me hope. Something good to hang onto, and I’m not ever going to let it go.”’ There are so many ways to possibly spoil this plot…things that individually I wouldn’t normally consider spoilers but when the entire story comes together, it’s a crucial detail that could take away from the moment…which I don’t wanna do. I do have to say that overall…I did not see anything coming and that was pretty awesome. Even the stuff I thought I figured out…just…no, I didn’t. At all. Which made the ending even more jaw dropping and as things clicked into place it was like I couldn’t process the facts quickly enough and while it was tearing me up, I was still loving every second. I knew something big was coming but I was not prepared for that. At all…wow…my heart was in my throat and I’m dying! Great cliffhanger…I am so excited to see where A.L. takes Baz and Shea next because…there are still so many things that need to be addressed and I’m itching to see what happens. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #51,731 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #110 in Literary Sagas #2,859 in Romantic Suspense (Kindle Store) #7,296 in Contemporary Romance (Kindle Store) | ## Images ![A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91kvmB18pyL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ AN EPIC ROMANCE THAT LEFT ME DROWNING IN FEELS! *by K***. on April 28, 2016* "DO YOU SEE ME, SHEA? I SEE YOU." Sighhhhh!!!! There are certain books you read that are so remarkable, touch you so profoundly, leave such a permanent imprint on your heart and soul that you want to exalt about it from the rooftops. Reread over and over again so you can revel in its AWESOMENESS! Well...A Stone in the Sea (Bleeding Stars, book 1 ) is one of those books! I feel all sorts of warm, gushy, euphoric feelings about this novel, I am beside myself . Not even sure where to begin. But first...a confession. I am late to the game. A bunch of my book buddies have been raving about this series for a while, imploring me to "just read this book already !!" but I kept blowing them off because I was not familiar with this author’s work and had so many others books ahead of it on my massive TBR list. Well, I finally did cave and OMG...now I am kicking myself, lamenting: “Why oh why did I wait so long to dive in?” First and foremost, the writing is just mesmerizing! A.L. Jackson's narrative voice is so beautiful and poetic, and pulsating with such powerful, aching emotion it left me speechless...and utterly spellbound!! And Baz...no words! A direct quote from one of my Aussie Book Besties: "I want to marry Sebastian Stone!" Well, honey, you better wait in line because he is the ultimate book boyfriend...a, smokin' hot, deliciously broody rocker with a TORTURED soul! I mean...come on!! I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect hero. Baz is 100% alpha male....he practically oozes testosterone and potent sex appeal! But beneath the uber-macho veneer is a terribly conflicted young musician whose meteoric rise to fame as lead singer of the Sunder rock band came at the ultimate cost. Too say Baz is complicated would be an understatement. He is angry, volatile, fiercely loyal, kind, noble, drowning in self hatred, regret and self recrimination. Everyone wanted a piece of Sebastian Stone and all HE wanted was be left the heck alone. To stay out the limelight. Regroup. Figure out his next move. Now with his life on the verge of spiraling dangerously out of control, he needs to hole up in Savannah, GA with his baby brother and bandmates for a short spell. Quiet and sanctuary were what he sought, but his plans for keeping to himself in a corner booth at Charlie's bar take a nosedive when he catches the eye of stunning small town waitress Shea Bentley. "Sweet caramel eyes flitted through my mind. Long, long legs. Killer body with a cautious heart. Dark. Light. Heavy. Soft. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble." Haunted by heavy burdens of her own, the sweet , shy, achingly vulnerable southern belle arouses a primal, elemental need in him. To claim! To ravish! To protect! To possess! With every fiber of his being, he longs to be SEEN by Shea, the one and only girl who has ever infiltrated his steely defenses and brought hope and beauty into his tainted, brutally harsh world. And, in return, he is desperate to see her as well. The real women who tries to camouflage a raging storm of hurt behind her sweet, sunny demeanor and charming smiles. "Shea had become the only thing I wanted, this untouchable girl the only thing I craved. I was itching to get lost in caramel eyes and to swim in honey skin. To be blinded by her light while she drowned me in her sea of dark." Their attraction is electric, intoxicating, utterly undeniable. But she is wholesome and pure and there is no place for her quiet, assuming beauty and beguiling innocence in his loud, chaotic, toxic world. Their love is an impossible dream. Or is it? Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and there is no fighting fate. Or destiny. But will their long awaited happiness prove to be their ultimate downfall? Sweet heavens…the things this book did to me!. The tangle of heart twisting, soul deep, wrenching emotions it stirred up were beyond words. I felt such a magnetic pull to these protagonists that my chest physically ached the entire time I was reading. A master at her craft, A.L. Jackson evoked such a raw, visceral response with her breathtaking prose and achingly real characterizations that I felt Every Single Thing that Baz and Shea were experiencing. The agony, the ecstasy, "the flashes of fear…the shivers of pleasure "…all of it!…and was irresistibly swept up in a riptide of hot, searing, quivering emotion. "Sebastian was never gentle. But I could feel something inside him had slipped. Tripped. As if he’d sat out here alone, and during those passing hours he’d wondered if he’d ever get to touch me again and, now that he was, he was taking everything he could while he had the chance. Frenzied, his thumbs raced along where we were joined. Something about it felt intimate and raw and honest, and I was falling further, being sucked beneath the surface. A stone in his sea. Completely drowning in this man." This is just one mere example of the sheer magnificence of A.L. Jackson's writing prowess …the magnitude of feverish passion this book inspires in me. In ALL her adoring fans!! The plot is provocative, brilliantly crafted, flows flawlessly, and is fraught with such tension and bristling intensity it left me in a perpetual state of breathless anticipation. Bottom line? There is just so munch exquisite beauty and blazing chemistry and astonishing twists and turns to behold in this enthralling romance, and I don't want to spoil any of it. So I will keep mum about the specifics. But I will leave it at this: If you are looking for an epic love story churning with heartbreak and exquisite tenderness, angst and passion, soul shattering tragedy and bittersweet triumph...a romance that will completely consume you, heart and soul, and drown you in such intoxicating feels you won't ever want to come up for air...One Click now! But fair warning it ends in a jaw dropping cliffy that will leave you REELING, so unless you want to risk a nervous breakdown, plan on to immediately submerging yourself in the sequel, Drowning to Breathe. So thank you, A.L. Jackson for rocking my world! Soul crushing heartbreak never felt quite so good!!! #ERRKR ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Intense...emotional...compelling - Baz and Shea took me on an amazing love filled whirlwind - can't wait for Book #2! *by L***R on February 27, 2015* 4 “I don’t have time for distractions.” “Butterfly” “You see me” “Dark. Light. Heavy. Soft.” Kisses Wow…what an amazing, emotional storm of a book! Good gravy…this had everything I could have asked for and then some…fantastic, tie-me-up-in-knots angst...incredible passion and chemistry…a gorgeous broken rock star and a heartbreakingly beautiful girl…plus so many feels it almost made my heart explode. I couldn’t get enough of Baz and Shea – finished this book in less than 24 hours and all it did was leave me begging for more! Sebastian Stone…oh Baz…my torn and twisted rock star. He’s a tortured soul…plagued by demons from his past and he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s a fantastic mixture of intensity…darkness…with a side of brooding emo artist…and it worked for me in all the right ways. I mean, Baz is, at his core, a musician…guitar, piano, singer…writes songs – he doesn’t have to try very hard to be sexy…but it’s in all the ways he doesn’t try that made me love him more. He’s very self-deprecating…can never see the good part of himself…but he’s got a huge heart and an enormous capacity to love and care for the people that mean the most of him. He keeps very few people close…he’s been burned enough times to know who to let in but I don’t think he knew what he was getting into when he met Shea. ‘But that didn’t change the fact she made me feel different when I was with her, like maybe not every single thing in this world was bad. As if this girl saw me for who I really was and she actually liked him. She’d asked me what I wanted from her. The problem was I had no clue. All I knew was it was more. That I wanted more of her dark and her light and her heavy and her soft. I wanted more of her sweet breaths and more of her pounding heart. I wanted more of her kisses F^@%. I wanted more of her kisses.’ Shea Bentley…my sweet, strong Shea Bear…I have a deep-rooted love for this girl. I love her personality…her strength…her beauty…she’s very calm and unassuming, she kind of flies under the radar. I know that’s a really random thing to say but…overall, I enjoyed Shea…she’s easy to connect with but I always felt like there was more to her….and it’s not until the very end that it kind of all clicks into place and makes sense. And for the record...I was right. She’s determined and focused…kind and genuine…plus she’s a good old country girl through and through. Shea…surprised me…a lot. I’ll be honest, Shea had me fooled…I knew she had secrets…and I thought I figured them all out but I was so wrong. But I think that made me love her even more. ‘When I found him sitting there that first time, I thought I’d known better than to go looking for his brand of heartbreak. But Sebastian had revealed in me everything I’d been missing, stamped out my loneliness and inserted himself in its place. He made me believe in something I’d given up hope on a long time ago because I’d never found it to be real, never believing giving myself to someone wholly was worth the risk. Now I knew better. Now I knew it was worth everything.’ I love the build of Baz and Shea…it was slow…steady…gradual. There was always this simmering passion…unending chemistry between the two of them, but it wasn’t rushed or forced…it just came in, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The chemistry between the two of them is the stuff I live for…the smoldering, the desire, their connection is fierce and hot and I couldn’t get enough. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve read Ms. Jackson’s books before and they’re steamy but holy hell on wheels…Baz and Shea are f^@%!$# hot. Like five-alarm-fire hot…and I loved every second of it. Once again, it was all part of that build so watching emotions continue to mount, I was itching for that bursting point…and once they let go…I was in heaven. I cannot get over how much I loved the balance between these two characters…it was effortlessly perfect. She was the calm to his intensity…the quite to his noise…the light to his dark…they’re like the epitome of ying and yang and the peace that they brought each other brought joy to my heart. ‘I swallowed around it and rolled to lie on my side. Like she was drawn, she did the same, and in that second, the world felt small, like the two of us were side-by-side. Like she was right here with me, and those slender arms were wrapped around me. And there was no sound, nothing vocalized, but I could hear her whisper those same words that terrified me. I love you. But she was saying it with her care, with her concern for me. Because she saw me. The real me. The girl didn’t give a f^@% who the world thought I was or the way other people saw me. I’d been so fearful of her knowing, of it changing what we were…how we were. But no. Shea reached in to touch beneath it.’ I know to expect excellence when it comes to A.L. Jackson…she’s just one of the authors that I can count on to give me everything I need…a complete journey with two beautiful characters and all the intense emotions that I crave. We go back and forth between Baz and Shea’s POV’s…it’s never repetitive…they may share thoughts and feelings about a situation that has happened in the previous chapter, but there is no re-hashing past events. I love dual POV so it totally worked for me…but for whatever reason I feel like I had a stronger connection with Baz than Shea…and that’s not usually the norm. Baz just overall is a stronger more powerful presence…and there’s nothing wrong with that…it’s not that he overpowers Shea…I already said I loved their balance…he’s just a very deep, solid character and I enjoyed that about him. I had two teeny tiny pet peeves that happened throughout the book…one, was the way Baz talked sometimes irk’d me…and it’s going to sound really dumb, but when he would say something, he’d drop the “I”…so he would say “Don’t wanna hurt you.” instead of “I don’t wanna hurt you.” I can handle this on rare occasion, but towards the last 30% of the book it started to bother me…for whatever reason I found it forced and it made him sound uneducated…and he’s not a dumb guy. The other thing was the word repetition…this was another thing I didn’t really catch on to until the end of the book…I liked it, at certain points, but the problem is…both Baz and Shea did it. Interchangeably. Two characters don’t think alike and I get trying to tie them together, but it made their POV’s sound too similar and they need to have individual tones. ‘I set my hand on her cheek, words strained as my eyes darted over every inch of her face, memorizing this moment. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you.” A small gasp escaped from between those full lips, and a gentle smile tweaked just one side of my mouth as I tilted my head, shifting so I could brush my fingertips along the butterflies taking flight on her hip, my voice growing softer with the power of this admission. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her.” Tears streamed ceaselessly from the corners of Shea’s eyes, gliding down the side of her face and into her hair as she stared up at me. “Yes, you were,” she said. Wind pummeled at the outside walls, its power matching the devotion I felt inside. I took her hand and pressed it over my pounding heart. “You told me you wanted this more than anything, Shea. I’m giving it to you. All of it. Every piece of me… it belongs to you. I have so much s#!% in my life, and I always thought that was all I was ever going to have. That this life was a trade-off for the band making it, retribution for all the crimes I committed on the road to getting us here. But you changed all that. You gave me hope. Something good to hang onto, and I’m not ever going to let it go.”’ There are so many ways to possibly spoil this plot…things that individually I wouldn’t normally consider spoilers but when the entire story comes together, it’s a crucial detail that could take away from the moment…which I don’t wanna do. I do have to say that overall…I did not see anything coming and that was pretty awesome. Even the stuff I thought I figured out…just…no, I didn’t. At all. Which made the ending even more jaw dropping and as things clicked into place it was like I couldn’t process the facts quickly enough and while it was tearing me up, I was still loving every second. I knew something big was coming but I was not prepared for that. At all…wow…my heart was in my throat and I’m dying! Great cliffhanger…I am so excited to see where A.L. takes Baz and Shea next because…there are still so many things that need to be addressed and I’m itching to see what happens. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love of a face that was never really seen *by A***) on July 14, 2016* Bleeding Stars Series (A Stone in the Sea & Drowning to Breath) by A.L. Jackson ~ 5 Stars “Love of a voice that was never really heard. Love of a face that was never really seen.” WOW! WOW! What a story! Devoured both books in 2 days. So, here is the thing: I met this beautiful author in Vegas before I read any of her books – she was so nice and gracious btw … I have this series on my kindle and I cannot believe I waited this long to start ;( I am not going to be able to stop now… onto Where Lightning Strikes as soon as I am done with this review. Sabastian is a lead singer and guitarist for the band Sunder. He and the band have it all – fans, fame and fortune. But Sabastian’s life is not perfect by a mile – he has a painful past that causes regrets, bitterness and a frequent temper which stems from his protective nature toward his family. Recent altercations with an executive producer sent Sabastian straight to a retreat in Savannah hoping he could lay low while his team cleans up the mess in LA. Well, Sabastian was laying low alright!!! Wink wink wink One night out at a bar he met a beautiful waitress Shea Bentley. He was drawn to her right away and could not help but want to know Shea more. Shea has no time for distractions – she has responsibilities and also despises the lifestyle of a rock star. But Shea’s body and heart are betraying her mind – will she succumb to the bad mysterious rock star? “He was both the sun and the darkest night. A promise of heaven and the curse of hell.” Here’s the catch though -- Sebastian and Shea both have an abundance of secrets between them. Life is complicated, and when past secrets come to light will they be able to trust each other again? God knows everyone else (with the exception of his bandmates and her close friends) is jaded with lies and deceit. A Stone in the Sea ended with a major cliff-hanger – no spoilers here… you just have to read! The second book picks up where Sabastian finds out who the real Shea is. He could not deal with it. He ran out and left Shea devastated and broken hearted. This is a part where I was really mad at Baz for not thinking things through before leaving – but that’s how Baz is, a hot temper and hard headed. Thankfully it did not take him long to pull his head out of his arse and grovel his way back to Shea. So, the make-up part is always fun and HoT But Baz and Shea both realize that they are so much stronger as a unit and they are determined to get their life back together, to bring down those that wronged them. Justice prevailed in the end. Pretty sweet!!! “But we can run as hard and as fast as we want, and until we put our pasts to rest, they will always catch up to us.” I really love both main characters in this book, even the secondary characters and I am very excited to read about them in the next book. Shea is a strong woman. Despite what she endured in the past she was able to move on and take care of her daughter. I like the fact that she did not heat up the sheets with Baz right away – she is not playing games. Shea is genuinely concerned about attachment to someone who might not in it for a long run – she wants to protect her heart as well as her daughter’s happiness. Baz is sexy, talented, damaged but an amazing guy despite his temper. Deep down Baz is loyal, devoted, caring and protective of those he loves even if it means putting himself in vulnerable situations. Shea and Baz’s story is touching, beautiful, emotional, and full of angst. At times, my heart hurts for them both … Their love for each other, however, is gorgeous - quite passionate, heart-felt, and sexy. The chemistry is very intense and scorching hot. There are also many cute, sweet and tender moments throughout the book, especially surrounding Kallie. Melted my heart how cute and innocent she is. This is the first time I read AL Jackson’s books. It did take me a few chapters to get used to her writing style. I was a little bit distracted at first with the repeated words but I quickly attributed that to the poetic way she tells her story. It’s just her style. It’s gorgeous and I am totally digging it. No doubt this is a fantastic read! AL Jackson, it is so nice to finally meet you and your beautiful characters!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your stories and cannot wait for more to come!!! “Sometimes when you welcome in something new, the old can no longer remain.” --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/109203007-a-stone-in-the-sea-bleeding-stars-book-1](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/109203007-a-stone-in-the-sea-bleeding-stars-book-1) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-06*