The Academy - Thief (The Scarab Beetle) Paperback – March 26, 2014

I had difficulty in deciding how to rate this book. There are some clever things the author has done but there are also problems with the book.Warning - Mild Spoilers…Clever parts (AKA The things that kept me reading.)The main character, Kayli, is a pickpocket that only selects people to rob that can defend themselves. She also does not take all the money and leaves the wallet in the food court so that they can be found. The description of how Kayli plans and steal the wallets was very believable and gave an authentic feeling to that portion of the story. Kayli’s struggle to pay the hotel rent and deal with her abusive father in order to allow her younger brother to finish school was also nicely portrayed and allowed a chance to round out Kayli’s character and gave logic as to why she would do certain things and stick around her family even though she could leave. I also enjoyed the luminescent sea creatures (Sea Sparkles) and how Kayli used that knowledge later in the story. (Extra credit for the science stuff!)The not-so-clever parts (AKA Things I think would have been solved by a really great editor.)-The writing was repetitive at times. For example, the first time I read “wriggly sparks” and “cerulean,” I thought they were any interesting choice. But variations of “sparks” came up so many times (not counting the Sea Sparkles), I started joking with my husband about it. Cerulean was mentioned seven times. The author could have just said, “blue,” since that wouldn’t have drawn my attention so closely to its overuse or perhaps the cerulean eyes looked different shades of blue in different lights and she could have switched things up and used cobalt, azure, navy, indigo, etc.-There are so many guys. I don’t have a problem with the multiple love interests but when there are too many to keep track of, it is a problem. Even if two of the guys were scratched off of the list, that would have made a big difference. Or, at least don’t bring them all in at once. Why did we even need Kevin? He was gone for most of the book anyway.-Why did she need to be in bed with almost every one of the guys? At least it didn’t progress past kissing and “wriggly sparks” but I didn’t get the logic that each guy seemed to think the best way to protect her was to have her sleep with him in his bed. I would have rather had the author select one guy that was protecting her and the is-he-bad-or-not-bad guy rest with her in bed and then another couple of guys could have found other ways to have her question how many of them she liked and cared about. For example, the breakfast on the roof would have been enough to show how the one guy was interested and the goodbye kiss at the apartment door would have been enough for the other guy.And, even though the guys were all friendly with each other, why wasn’t there any jealousy about how much the other guys were always touching/holding her? The only time there was any of that was when one of the characters explained that the guy she was flirting with might not be interested in girls. Although without that information given, it might have made a more interesting twist to the story since Kayli would have had to figure that out herself.-I also didn’t get why she didn’t check on her brother until the end of the book. She was so consumed with taking care of him that it seemed strange that she didn’t try to talk to him during her time away. With all those clever guys, I am sure she could have thought of some way to do that without blowing her safety. But, if she had tried to check on her brother then she might have missed out on resting with some of the guys. Hmmm.The book was interesting enough with its flaws for me to finish (and I can’t say that for some of the big-time published books.) However, there were issues that kept distracting me as I read. I actually stopped a couple of times to read reviews to try to figure out if I was missing something about why it had so many five stars. The best I could figure out was that the excitement of the first kiss, first touch, first whatever was present so many different times due to the variety of guys in the story that those “wriggly sparks” were contagious to the readers.Will I buy the next book in the series??? I don’t know. I didn’t love it enough to be eagerly anticipating the next one but I didn’t hate it enough to think there was no way I’d buy it. So, with my so-so attitude toward it, I am giving it three stars.

Note: My review compares to the Ghost Bird series a lot so if you haven't read it, you can still see some things I pointed out for this series. If you read this and loved it without reading the GB series yet I'd suggest you get those books, too (& not because it'd help you understand the Academy world but just because they're awesome :D)1st thought: Before reading this series, I was scared it would affect how greatly I feel for this Academy world that I started reading from the characters of the Ghost Bird series (since there are already 9 swoon worthy guys and a great heroine from there). But I mean come on, it's C.L. Stone and her s*** is amazing so I bought it as soon as it was available despite my wariness.2nd thought: I'm towards the beginning of the book and I'm like holy moley, Wil the "nerdling" from the Ghost Bird series is Kayli's brother! It helped me understand a little better (or at least make a better hypothesis on a few things that might happen in the future and why I feel that way). This little part is making me believe one of my suspicions might be correct, although I'm not sure. It just makes me excited to see how everything plays out. You have got to have some major talent to make two different series of the same book world jive and time so well without clashing in a way that discourages you from one or the other.3rd thought: This is more about the characters in reference to the Ghost Bird series, For those of you have read both, Kayli is so different from Sang yet so much alike. Whereas Sang is a bit shy-ish and wouldn't hurt a fly (unless necessary), Kayli isn't afraid to wrestle around and play rough. She can pickpocket whereas Sang can't (lol). I think the easiest way to say it is that Kayli can stand up for her self in a way you notice whereas Sang does it in a sort of subtle way. If you liked Sang, you'd like Kayli in that they aren't afraid to dive in head first to help someone. Summing it up? They've got big hearts are smart, caring, and loyal beings.4th thought: Marc, Axel, Raven, and the twins Brandon and Corey are just as great as the other guys in the Academy and I love reading about them. Don't get me wrong, I love the slow yet progressive pace Sang and the others relationships have in the GB series and I wouldn't change that for anything, but this series kind of gives me my fix when it comes to kisses and such things that I can't wait to happen for Sang. :)It's like the author reads my fantasy mind when it comes to having the heroines in her book being cared for by swoon worthy guys a) without under or over doing it b) without it being to trashy or annoying c) without it just being sex sex sex and no story and d) without the heroine being whiny, pushy, or stupid. Yes, they can make mistakes and have misunderstandings, but it's never been like "Why couldn't that have happened in another way?!" for me. The relationships actually develop and grow, nothing is super rushed, there are some witty and humorous dialogue, and enough goes on to keep you on your toes.<3Reading the little snippets for the future books, Liar and what I now know the 6th book of the Ghost Bird series to be called Push and Shove, I am super duper excited for June and the summer to come for them!! I will definitely be re-reading her books a lot 'til that time comes.

I was recommended this series by a friend with the strong disclaimer that “it’s nowhere near as good as the Kit Davenport series” (this was a series we both read recently and LOVED) and she was right, The Academy series is not as good.The story's main character is Kayli. She is a young girl who gets through her troubled life by pick-pocketing wallets. She doesn’t like that she has to do this and she only takes the money she needs and returns the wallets. She lives in a motel with her younger brother who is still at school and her abusive father who spends all their money on alcohol and prostitutes. One day Kayli is kidnapped by a group of young men who claim that they are working for ‘The Academy’ and she is soon neck deep in their troubles and their protection.The basic premise of this book is good but the execution is not. Kayli started off as a quirky and strong individual doing what could for her family but once she was introduced to the guys she became unbearable. She has an attraction for all the guys and she just seems to make stupid decisions and take huge risks that feel unrealistic. No sooner had she met the guys, she was flirting and was as familiar as if she had known them for years. This didn’t feel real to me and I lost a bit of love for the characters at this point. All the guys also fall for Kayli and she kisses them all privately without the others knowing. Kayli knows that this will cause trouble at some point in the future but at the moment, she is loving them all.I like the idea behind the plot and I also like the character descriptions. All the guys are individuals and we discover different things about them as Kayli does. There are some jokes thrown in that are not very funny but, on the whole, the storyline is easy to follow and enjoyable.There are a lot of typos and grammatical errors in this book and although I am not normally a huge stickler for this (especially if the book was free as this one was) but it is actually quite distracting. At one point, Kayli’s name is spelt wrong and she is the main character.I will read more of the series but mostly because I already have the first 4 books on my Kindle. I haven’t read the Ghost Bird series but it sounds like I should but I’m glad that I read this series first as it sounds like I would have been more disappointed with this if I had already read the Ghost Bird books.

Review from my blog...Another review for a series by C.L Stone here. Her books are just too damn good to not talk about. Now, this book is set in the Academy world, so if you have read The Ghost Bird Series, or even just my review about it, then this series is just like that. Though it may be set in the same universe, it is its own story with a whole new set of equally hot, though slightly older, Academy boys. If you loved The Ghost Bird, you will go crazy over The Scarab Beetle.Thief jumps right into the action with a chase scene and a wonderful introduction of the characters *cough* Axel *cough*. The Academy is monitoring one of the wealthiest men in the city and they need Kayli's help to complete their job and save another town. Kayli is just trying to get by in life and provide for her brother by stealing and pickpocketing so she can buy food and pay the rent on their hotel apartment, since her father drinks away what money they do have. I was hooked from the very first page, and couldn't stop reading even if I wanted to.Although both series are set in the same universe, this series is unique in its own way. Thief is fascinating, thrilling, and an absolute must-read. The plot moves along at a nice pace and leaves you wanting more. I love how well the characters are written and developed, and although it is set in the same world as The Ghost Bird series, both storylines are different and set apart from each other, with some tiny crossovers.Overall, Thief is an action-packed romance with lots of twists and turns, and is full of intrigue and mystery. Get ready to fall in love with a new group of Academy boys. I highly recommend this series for fans of slow-burning reverse harem, romances with a whole lot of action. Thief is a more mature series with adult situations.

This was overly long for the first book in a series. I prefer something short and snappy that grabs hold of you and makes you want to read the next one. This just ground me down with chapter after chapter of unhelpful detail. Why did they need headings, anyway? At first, I thought it might be a collection of short stories. Big disappointment. Not one character imprinted themselves on my brain to capture my interest in what happened to them. Kayli & Wil's family situation was lame too. Why does everyone's father have to be a drunken layabout and every mother disappeared for any one of a dozen reasons? That scenario has been done to death (#9 out of the 12). This was the first and last in the series for me.

As a reader/lover of the Ghost Bird series I was quite excited to read the "adult" version, but unfortunately was let down.The plot sort of fell apart for me. It was more about Kayli interacting with the different guys and getting to know them over anything else. There was the effort of integrating the investigation about Coaltar but it all seemed a bit rushed and added in.At first I admired Kayli; she was quirky and such an individual and she did what she could for her family and could clearly stand up for herself. But once she was introduced to the guys she became unbearable. Why did she have to fall for every guy in the book? And why did every guy (especially as adults) all develop an attraction for her? I know she was unique but she was that special that she brought them all to her knees? She had just met them and was flirting and messing around as if she had known them for years. None of it felt real or believable.I generally overlook typos/errors but there were a good few in this. I would've thought by now they'd have been sorted out. There were also some factual errors etc.Ultimately I ended up speed-reading this to get it finished. It didn't have the allure that Ghost Bird series did. Promoted as the adult series I had expected it to be a bit more Adult-themed but it still felt like a YA novel.I probably would've enjoyed this more if I had not yet read the Ghost Bird series. I found myself comparing them a lot of the time and I preferred Sang to Kayli and Sang's back story was much more alluring.Regardless of my feelings about GB Series, I need to judge this book in its own right. It started off with 4 stars in my mind but the negatives dropped it down one. The boys were just as captivating and interesting as in GB and all had clear idiosyncrasies and their personalities were so brilliant. Axel was definitely my favourite but I enjoyed the non-romantic element of each of their relationships with Kayli. Kayli also doesn't ever try to play the victim and win them over that way; she makes it clear from the beginning that she can fend for herself and that's a breath of fresh air in novels compared to the over-used helpless heroine.Overall, I would recommend this novel but for mature YA over NA. Although it fell down on some aspects for me, this is mostly due to my expectations being high from GB series. It's still a half decent read, I've just read better.

This is potentially a new adult to adult series, containing some nudity but no sexual contact past first base as I type this (I’m halfway through the second book). The first book is free to download.This is actually kind of a difficult book to review because on the surface it’s everything I hate in a fiction book. A group of young, hip, alpha males. A girl that everyone wants to have. A totally improbable scenario. Insta-love. We all know how much I hate insta-love.And yet it somehow works. I was drawn in. The main character, Kayli, irritates the hell out of me with her choices a lot of the time and yet I get it. I get the choices that she makes.I think the reason that I’m prepared to suspend disbelief and romp along with the story is because of the gritty depth of it. These characters are damaged and they speak often from places of pain. They’re constantly all questioning the way that they’re drawn to each other and pulling back from the speed at which it’s happening. There’s so much distrust vs. chemistry. There’s so much confusion, peppered with enough self-awareness to look at the base motives behind the choices. Kayli is aware that her romantic confusions often stem from a base desire for security and stability. She acknowledges it. Nothing is sugar-coated with the gloss of romantic unreality that so many books seem to suffer from these days. Kayli suffers from clear self-delusion and wilful ignorance, particularly when it comes to Raven, but it’s so cleverly articulated that as the reader you can actually interpret her subconscious without her saying it. The whole premise of how she gets drawn into the scenario is well-handled too. I didn’t at any stage start with the “as if!!”s. It’s believable.I like the other characters too. The guys are all unique in their way and unlike some other books with large casts, I haven’t once mixed them up yet. I’m aware of each role and personality as separate entities.For what is essentially an action thriller, the story does meander around a lot. It’s a slower pace, but remains absorbing. Stone takes her time with the world building, letting you get to know the characters. There are twists and turns, secrets and lies, always an inability to trust what’s on the surface.The book does have its faults, most notably that the copy editing is atrocious. There are a lot of spelling mistakes and missing or extra words. If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time, you’ll know that it’s a major bugbear of mine, so it should tell you how much I enjoyed the book that I ignored all the typos and still downloaded the second book as soon as I’d finished the first one. There are also several major continuity errors – days that only last two or three hours and days when they eat dinner three times.I don’t know if I should maybe have read the other Academy series first, since they were obviously published first. I don’t know if a better understanding of what the Academy is or does would clear up any of the confusion I have over this series or not. In the end I decided that in a way it’s nice not to read them because it puts me in the same position as Kayli – I don’t know who or what to trust because I don’t know anything. It’s a sympathetic POV to the character. One thing I can guarantee is that they’re on my TBR list now!!Very much enjoyed, overall. I would definitely recommend this book as a (relatively) clean dip into a world of spies.