Wait

By: A.L. Jackson

Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Andi Arndt

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's Summary

From a NYT and USA Today best-selling author comes a new Bleeding Stars stand-alone novel

She is his strength, and he is her weakness. And this time he won't let her go.

Edie Evans is gorgeous.

Sexy.

Kind.

She's also the definition of off-limits.

But that didn't stop me from sneaking into her room to comfort her at night.

But guys like me? We destroy everything, so it should have been no surprise when I destroyed us, too.

The night I sent her running, I thought I'd never see her again.

Until I saw her standing like a vision in the crowd.

Austin Stone is dangerous.

Alluring.

Tempting.

He broke my heart, and I refused to give him the chance to do it again.

It's been years since I've seen him, and now I can't do anything but stare at the gorgeous, tattooed man playing onstage. I should run. I know I should. But like a fool, I run straight back to him.

Our desire is overpowering.

Our need unrelenting.

She is my hope.

He is my weakness.

We should have known a passion this intense would burn us right into the ground.

©2016 A.L. Jackson (P)2016 A.L. Jackson

Critic Reviews

"5 but should be 10 beautiful, broken, brilliant, and imperfectly perfect stars." ( Bookalicious Babes Blog)

"6 Stars! Wait is equally devastating and beautiful! A.L. Jackson has a way of pouring words onto a page that makes you crave every piece of a story, even after the words have ended." (Molly McAdams, NYT best-selling author)

THIS IS NO ORDINARY SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE

I know I need to find words to describe this listen but words like fantastic, brilliant, well written, hypnotic, heartbreakingly beautiful and riveting just aren't enough and won't begin to cover the emotional journey that Edie and Austin travelled before they got their wonderful HEA ending.

The story is told in the present but also their broken pasts are slowly unearthed with thought provoking Chapters revealing what haunts Edie and Austin and what drama tore these two devoted friends apart for 4 long and lonely years. It must have been Fate that put them in the same place at the same time... but it would be up to them to seek forgiveness, to forgive, to trust and to let love back into their lives. However, the past, together with the shocking secrets that had been so tightly kept, were going to resurface again, be revealed and someone was going to make the same devastating mistake all over again.

A.L. Jackson has such a way with words that her Chapters are deep, emotional, poetic, heartfelt, raw, painful, beautiful, haunting and very moving works of art. I've loved this series so far... but this fourth book took my breath away because Edie and Austin's stories were so well described, tragic, intense, sweet and moving. My heart broke time and time again for these two damaged soul mates as they struggled to find themselves from the wreckage of their lives... and to help each other heal and become whole again.

Worth a credit? A story where I craved every Chapter and every word, dual POV's and some great narration which brought this book, and it's characters, to life and made this, for me, a 10 star listen.... so, YES very creditworthy. If you're a romance lover then let A.L. Jackson sweep you off your feet with this moving and very powerful story of broken characters, broken promises, broken hearts, love.... and the beauty of second chances.

19 of 22 people found this review helpful

Beautiful story. You need the "backstory" first, everything falls into place.

A.L. Jackson is so good at combining Love, Heartbreak, Mistakes, and Resolution. This book gives you all of that. But, you need (in my opinion), to know the history of the band "Sunder" in order for this story to flow and fall into place. I've listened to all of the books that came before this one. I loved this!

Edie has secrets that cause her to pull away from her family and the "boy" she loves... Austin.

Austin has demons, he is stuck in the mire of a heartbreaking tragedy which causes him to pull away from everything he knows and loves. Edie and Austin are brought back together, as adults, and struggle to come to terms with their past.

I'm being vague because I don't want to give the story away. I was moved to tears a couple of times... this isn't your run of the mill love story, and again, I think it's important to know the history of the band Sunder in order for this book to make sense.

The narrators are perfect. Two of my favorite narrators and they do a fantastic job! I always look for more books read by either Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt. Stellar performances!

I'm surprised by the negative reviews... possibly those reviews are from people who don't know the back stories of some important characters that are in this story.

I'm very happy with my purchase and will look forward to more books by A.L. Jackson. Love Live Loved this book!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Emotionally Packed, Gripping and Poetic!

Wow! A.L. Jackson skillfully writes a beautiful story about two damaged souls. The plot was well thought out and written, and keeps the listener in suspense, while the scenes alternate between the present and past. It's been years since Edie and Austin have seen each other. They both ran from their past for different reasons. Their reunion is rocky, but as they start to rekindle the flame, we are taken back to their past through a series of flashbacks. When their darkest moments are revealed, it will break your heart, but by the end, their love will piece it back together.

Andi Arndt and Zachary Webber's performance was OUTSTANDING! They did a great job on all the different characters, and emotions.

Between the beautiful poetic heart breaking romance, and flawless narration, there's no mystery why this audio is currently a best seller on Audible. Well worth a credit, but I took advantage of my KU and added whispersync.

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

Series just gets better with every book!

Another great book in this series!!! AL Jackson is an amazing author, she tells us such great stories and this one is at the top of the list for me! I loved the story line, the characters, the drama and the romance! This book has it all! Austin & Edie are so completely broken, I loved that they find a way with each other. Both of their stories are so heartbreaking and now I completely understand why they are both such damaged people. I started this book out thinking about Austin and his past with drugs so I was expecting a completely different plot and I have to say this one blew me away. The epilogue...oh the epilogue... Yep I may have cried a little because it was beautiful. I can't wait for the next Sunder Boy <3

The narration was great!! Zachary Webber & Andi Arndt were perfect for these characters, they

11 of 14 people found this review helpful

Don't Wait to Read This

Jackson crafted a tender love story with two damaged souls. After years running from thier past, Edie and Austin reunite unexpectedly. So thoughtful and well-written, the past and present are woven together to slowly unveil the secrets burying them. Thier path to peace is not easy but as their darkest memories are confronted, their love binds them.

The narration was perfection. Arndt and Webber's performance, as always, was flawless - delivering the story with all the intensity and emotions the author intended.

I review for the Guilty Indulgence Review Site.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

keeps you on the edge of your seat

loved Edie and Austins story. it kept on the edge of my sest and book hangover.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Another perfect book!

I've binged on this series!!!! I highly anticipated Austin's story from the very beginning and I was not let down at all!
Zachary's narration was amazing and truly brought his character to life!
Andi, once again was fantastic with her narration!

AL Jackson is the queen of angst-driven novels and WAIT is a MUST READ! This series is by far my favorite of hers. Five stars and yet another addition to my Top Favorite 2016 Books List!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Be prepared to cry

Okay I didn't actually cry but I came close. Austen and Edie's story is so full of love and pain that in both moments makes you want to cry. Didn't want to stop listening at first but then came the horror but I stuck it out. You're left wondering a lot throughout the book but all questions are answered by the end. Fairly good though I predicted most of it. There was one shocker. Performance was alright. The voices were fine except "Edie" saying Austen's parts really sucked. It just sounded really creepy the way she said everything. An actual performance would have been better. Also, the voice actor for Austen kept saying Baz wrong. I didn't even read the other book but it's pretty obviously wrong. I liked the descriptiveness of everything but sometimes the analogies were just waaaaay too much and found myself wanting to skip forward but I didn't. Or I ended up daydreaming about other stuff because the book got so off track. And the repetitive words was getting really annoying. But overall, it's good. Kinda short. If you do read it I suggest you look up the song Right here by Staind because the book really reminded me of that song.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not so stand alone

I bought the book cause it piqued my interest and it did mention it was a stand alone book. Well it's not so stand alone. It's so vague and the characters are so melodramatic it's hard to continue. There's so dialogue to the reader what the characters are referring to and I feel there is a fantasy sci fi element but I'm not sure and after 7 or so chapters I give up. There had got go be fill ins for readers who haven't read the other series books if you're going to label this a stand alone book. From what I've read Austin was mentioned in other books so a way of summarizing his story previously mentioned would have been helpful. But the characters are very melodramatic that I can't continue. If the plot was a little more revealing of try but the combo or vagueness and melodramatics are giving me plenty of reason to not finish.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Did my eyes roll back into the right position yet?

Would you try another book from A.L. Jackson and/or Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt ?

I loved the narrators both, I am not sure about the author.

Has Wait turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Have you listened to any of Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Wait?

Where to start, the repetitions in this book are out of this world. How often can one say "this beautiful boy" or how often can someone "bite their bottom lip" or "lick their bottom lip" and the list goes on and on and on. Without all of the repetitions this would have been a short story for crying out loud.

Any additional comments?

The chemistry between the two is really good and I think the author caught that aspect of the book perfectly, but other than that there is no way on God's green earth these people exist and aren't locked up in some mental facility due to all of the angst they are dealing with. Also a 27 year old calling himself old or to call 21 year old children adults is just a joke. If there hadn't been the aspect of sex, this would have been a teenage angst ridden YA novel. I am not sure I will be reading any more by this author. I am glad I only paid $1.99 for this.

5 of 9 people found this review helpful

Amazing

This series is really wonderful. I dread reaching the end of each story & can't wait for the next

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Page turner!

loved it! kept wanting to read more, to know more abt the characters, to cry with them & feel their grief & enjoy their journey to love

The book I was waiting for

Austin's story is full of heartbreak but strength I loved it !! The characters and storyline as expected for this excellent series. Waiting baited breath for the next instalment😀