∴ Accessory (The Scarab Beetle #4) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Kayli Winchester is still recovering from her last adventure and is out hunting for her missing brother, Wil, when Ethan Murdock calls, asking for help. Billions of dollars have gone missing and Kayli is the perfect person to find them – as one of the few people Ethan trusts.

Only one problem: The team is led by Blake Coaltar.

Kayli negotiates her way into a co-lead position, but for the Academy guys, that might not be good enough. The Academy doesn’t trust Blake and the last thing they want is for her to get mixed up with him.

The guys can’t persuade the willful Kayli to abandon the cause. They give her five days to convince them they should stay in this job. If she can’t, the boys want her to walk away.

Kayli goes undercover and becomes the hot topic around some of the most wealthy and powerful CEOs in Charleston. Now she has to prove she’s a secret investor for old Mr. Murdock from before he disappeared, and convince them all she’s the real deal. She dives into her assignment head-first, but one uncovered complication after another threatens the mission.

No matter how close to the chest Kayli plays her hand, secrets have a way of being discovered, and Axel, Corey, Brandon, Marc and Raven aren’t going to like the truth she’s keeping from them. Being forced to work together for a week with an enemy may tear them all apart, leaving Kayli with nothing.

It might be up to Blake Coaltar to save them from each other.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“Despite the walls she surrounded herself with, the thief had somehow let her own heart get stolen.”

WARNING: SPOILERS THROUGHOUT
C.L. Stone got her mojo back in this book! In my review of the last book, I said that the book was going around in circles and I was starting to lose interest in the plot plot. Well, she sure fixed that in this book. She balanced the romantic plot and the plot plot a lot better. The book kept my attention and was fast paced.
I felt like Kayli got her mojo back as well. I loved her in the first book, but the second and third were starting to make me dislike her. Well, the old Kayli showed up for this book, especially toward the end. She got her fire back and didn’t let the boys bulldoze her around all the time. That bathroom scene was hilarious, and I was very proud of Kayli.
Now to Blake… If you have read my reviews before, you would know that I hated Blake before this book. After this book, I am not so sure. While I want to hate him still, I have to admit that he isn’t the same person he was in previous books. I also have to admit that this series isn’t going to follow the format of The Ghost Bird and that Kayli is going to have other love interests besides the Academy boys. I think my biggest problem with Blake is that he isn’t in the Academy. If he was on the team, I think I would have really liked his character and would have shipped him with Kayli. My biggest fear was that he would drive a wedge between Kayli and the boys, which he has done. Now that he has talked to Liam about potentially sharing her, his decision on if he is going to tell the others and seriously consider it, will make my permanent decision of him. If he can put his personal discomfort aside for Kayli’s happiness, I think I would be able to accept him. I guess I will find out soon…
I liked the setting of the cruise ship. I felt like that confined the team more with Kayli and it made her sit down and seriously consider her feelings towards the boys. I think she really needed a reality check because she couldn’t have kept doing what she was doing. While she does have feelings for all of them, by not telling them about each other, she was toying with their feelings and none of them deserved that.
My favorite part of this whole book was probably the drama ! Kayli was constantly having to sneak around with the boys so the others wouldn’t find out. She almost got caught more than once. C.L. Stone also turned up the heat with how far she went with some of the boys. I feel bad for Corey because she has no idea that he has feelings for her and he is seriously behind in the game. I can only assume that she will be turning it up more as the books go on and all I can say is “Bring it on! I am so ready!”. I love this series and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Current Rankings:
1. Raven
2. Marc
3. Axel
4. Corey
5. Brandon
6. Blake

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Thief (The Scarab Beetle #1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Liar (The Scarab Beetle #2) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Fake (The Scarab Beetle #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Hoax (The Scarab Beetle #5) by C.L. Stone

∴ Fake (The Scarab Beetle #3) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Still on the hunt for her missing brother, Kayli Winchester’s life amid the Academy team comes to an abrupt halt when she and Brandon are kidnapped. Mistaken for his identical twin brother, Brandon’s life is threatened unless he helps a team of criminals hack into a secret underground cellular network and exploit it.

The cunning Kayli makes a daring escape. With Brandon still held prisoner, she turns to the guys to help save him. Despite the team of Axel, Marc, Corey and Raven working tirelessly, this desperate search and rescue mission quickly changes into submission to the kidnappers. If the team doesn’t give the bad guys what they want, someone will die.

It’s unavoidable: they’re going to need to bring in outside help… help that will come at a high price. Saving the guys might require Kayli to do the unthinkable, and may shatter the team forever.

🍁🍁🍁🍁

“I am not your doormat to lay out your problems on and then vanish without a word.”

MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I liked this book. It wasn’t my favorite in the series, but I still enjoyed it. It started out with a bang with Kayli and Brandon getting kidnapped. Kayli escapes and then her, Axel, and Marc start trying to get Brandon back. I was really excited and loved that portion of the book. After that though, the book started going downhill for me.
I lost interested about 40% through and kept hoping it would get better. I felt like the plot kept going in circles and the characters weren’t really getting anywhere. From about 40-85% nothing really happened. Every time they got close to fixing the problem, another one would pop up. I just got very frustrated.
Once again, Kayli couldn’t think of anyone to help so guess who she called… BLAKE?! I really don’t like Blake. I feel like if the circumstances where different I would, but at this point, he is only driving a wedge between Kayli and the boys and I don’t like it one bit. Dr. Roberts mentioned at the end of the book that Kayli was being suspected of leaking information to Blake, which she has done, and Dr. Roberts told Brandon that she would have to make a choice between letting go of Blake or being kept at a distance from the team. THIS is exactly what I have been worried about. Kayli’s inability to stay away from Blake is jeopardizing her relationship with the boys. This is a nightmare! Kayli needs to let go of him and get over it. She already has five at home that she can’t sort out her feelings for; she doesn’t need another.(Though Sang does it and she has nine.)
Another problem, Kayli promised Blake she would work for him for two weeks away from the boys which worries me. If I have to read 100 pages of her and Blake flirting I’m going to be sick. Please C.L. Stone, don’t allow this to happen?! Make some emergency happen where she doesn’t go with him or just don’t make me read it. I can’t watch Kayli’s relationship with the boys go down the drain.
Kayli is also got closer to Axel, Raven, Marc, and Brandon during this book. Some of them are starting to ask her to confirm her feelings for them while not knowing that she has feelings for the others. Kayli keeps putting it off and putting it off. Eventually, one or more of them are going to walk in on her with one of the others and this is all going to blow up in her face. (Getting the popcorn ready now.) She needs to act like an adult by sitting them all down, and telling them each the situation. If they can’t understand and walk away, that’s on them. This back and forth is killing me!
Corey still hasn’t told Kayli his feelings. I really want him just tell her already because even though she thinks he’s gay, she has a massive crush on him. When she does know, she can get all the information and she’ll have five guys to psycho-analyze her feelings over. I can’t wait. She has no idea the situation she has gotten herself into.
Overall, this book wasn’t C.L. Stone’s best but I still love the series and will continue to read it. I can’t wait for the next installment!

Current Rankings:
1. Raven
2. Axel
3. Brandon
4. Marc
5. Corey
…
…
1,000,000,000. Blake

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Thief (The Scarab Beetle #1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Liar (The Scarab Beetle #2) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Accessory (The Scarab Beetle #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Hoax (The Scarab Beetle #5) by C.L. Stone

∴ Liar (The Scarab Beetle #2) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Worse than a thief, is a liar.

Kayli Winchester can finally let go of her thieving past and for once walk on the right side of the law. She’s had enough of the hustle and is determined to become the good girl.

But her brother, Wil, is still missing. On the hunt for him, she discovers something worse than a missing sibling: Marc, Raven, Axel, Corey and Brandon. These aren’t just scoundrels with hearts of gold. They’re flat out criminals. But they’re criminals who need her.

In a ruse to draw them away from her brother and learn more about this so-called Academy, Kayli joins them on a mission to Florida in search of a missing little girl. Kayli will do anything to make sure her brother is safe. She’ll find their leader. She’ll discover their intentions. She’ll infiltrate their ranks. And if they try to threaten her brother or herself, she’ll burn them all.

But when these five hot Academy teammates all contend for her heart, her resistance starts to crumble.

Maybe she wasn’t meant to be the good girl, anyway.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“You’ve got to be the best sort of sweet devil, or one hell of an angel. I haven’t decided which, yet.”

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I really liked this book. It was fast paced and constantly kept my attention. There was a lot more character development which I always enjoy. We got to see more of the boys’ backgrounds which made me understand and love them more.
I found myself getting drawn deeper into each of the boys and I couldn’t pick. I called Kayli out in my last review for not stopping the boys when multiple boys where trying to kiss her (not that I was complaining). But if I’m being honest, I couldn’t choose either; they are all great guys.
Axel is the rock. He holds steady and Kayli knows he will always be there when she needs him. Marc has so much passion and he would do anything for Kayli. He’s only known her for a few days yet her cares about her so much. Raven is silly most of the time but when it comes down to it, he is a giant grizzly bear when it comes to Kayli. He would seriously hurt anyone that tried to harm her. Brandon with the sad eyes. Kayli knows something/someone hurt him very much in the past causing him to be the way he is. He has so many walls, but once he lets them down, she’ll find that he has the biggest heart of them all. Corey, the giant teddy bear who wouldn’t harm a fly unless someone he cared about was in danger. In that case, he would hurt anyone that dared try.
In the last book, when Brandon said Corey was gay, I honestly didn’t believe it. I thought that he showed too much interest in Kayli to possibly be gay. I thought he was bisexual or Brandon was just trying to protect his baby brother. I was right. Corey is bisexual which I thought provided some realistic factors to the story and I thought it was brilliant on C.L. Stone’s part. Not only is he bisexual, he has a crush on someone on his team. Axel mentioned it so it can’t be him, Kevin is in a relationship so he’s out, Brandon is out for obvious reasons. That only leaves Marc and Raven. My money is on Raven at this time. Corey didn’t think it was a good idea for him to go wake up Raven and sent Kayli to do it at the beginning of the book. At the time, I thought it was because Raven was dangerous if he was woken up, but looking back on it, maybe it was because Corey knew Raven slept naked and Corey wouldn’t have been able to control his… reaction… to it. That would have tipped Kayli off quick. Little did he know that she already thought he was gay.
Axel mentions to Corey that he didn’t know if the member on the team that Corey has a crush on would be interested in Corey, leading me to believe that it is possible he does. If said member is Raven, I don’t know if he is bisexual at this point. In the first book, he did make comments about male parts that I didn’t think a straight man would say but I kind of brushed it off. Because of Corey’s crush, it is causing me to psycho-analyze everything the boys say and it is driving me crazy because I am dying to know.
Kayli, on the other hand, made me angry a few times. Call me biased, but I knew that the Academy boys weren’t bad people and her listening to Blake after all he did in the first book made me angry. I didn’t understand how she could go from hating him to trusting him enough to team up with him. He brings up a few circumstantial problems with the Academy boys and she immediately jumps ship and doesn’t trust them? They have never given her a reason to not trust them when Blake has given her plenty, yet she still listens. Is she for real? I am very concerned with her budding relationship with Blake. I’ll admit it, he could be perfect, but he isn’t an Academy boy so he is a problem. Unless he joins their team, which I honestly don’t see happening anywhere in the near future, he will only be a distraction to Kayli and put doubt in her head about the boys. If he joins the group and proves himself trustworthy, then he gets my okay to join in the reverse-harem situation Kayli is in right now. Unfortunately, no matter what I want, I have a feeling that he will become a permanent love interest for Kayli. The fact that Kayli can’t seem to pull away when he kisses her sends a big red flag to me that he is here to stay. Blake’s whole personality is brilliant on C.L. Stone’s part as an author but for the reader, he is a problem. If he can’t join the group or prove he’s not a threat to Kayli’s relationships with the boys, I want him gone. Point blank. Period. I might be being a little harsh on him but in this series, if you aren’t Academy, you don’t cut it for me.
While we are on the topic of Blake, I really didn’t appreciate him taking Principal Hendricks side and blame the Academy for Mr. McCoy’s disappearance. The book quoted him perfectly: He is on the outside looking in and automatically assumes the boys are bad. Excuse me? Weren’t you just trying to poison a village of people in the last book? He has no room to talk. Then he accused them of taking Wil? Is he for real? AND KAYLI ACTUALLY LISTENED?! I can’t even begin to express how stupid that was on her part.
Is it wrong that I’m not concerned about the whole Wil plot line? I think it’s the fact that I met him previously in The Ghost Bird Series, but I just can’t bring myself to care that he’s missing. They mentioned towards the end of the book that the girl he was interested in was Sang and I nearly fell off my bed laughing. I’m sorry honey, but she’s got nine boys at home and I think that’s enough. The fact that Kayli said that to Mr. Blackbourne was priceless. Is it just me, or did I detect a little bit of jealousy in Mr. Blackbourne’s response of how Sang couldn’t be interested? I don’t know; it might have just been wishful thinking on my part.
I am very interested to see where the Kevin plot is going to go. He is just background noise when it comes to this group. He isn’t playing any major roles and if you pay attention while reading, you will notice that when the team is telling Kayli where everyone is, they don’t think to mention Kevin. I don’t really know what purpose he serves to the story right now besides being outspoken about Kayli not joining their team. I think at some point he going to end up leaving their group… Maybe Blake will take his place?
I was glad I got to see a few of my babies from Ghost Bird in this book. I miss them and it always warms my heart when they are mentioned or seen in this series. I’m hoping they will be seen more in the future. (Crossing my fingers now.)
I thought C.L. Stone did a great job of balancing the plot plot and the romantic plot. She has an uncanny ability to straddle the line on if the book is plot driven or romantically driven. She is great at it which causes me to never lose interest or get bored. Because of that and thousands of other reasons, I will be reading the next installment and anything else she writes

Current Rankings:
1. Raven
2. Corey
3. Axel
4. Marc
5. Brandon
… 5,000,000. Kevin
…… 1,000,000,000. Blake

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Thief (The Scarab Beetle #1) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Fake (The Scarab Beetle #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Accessory (The Scarab Beetle #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Hoax (The Scarab Beetle #5) by C.L. Stone

∴ Thief (The Scarab Beetle #1) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Kayli Winchester is a dirt-poor girl living out of a hotel, forced to be the parent for a drunken father and teenage brother who she’s desperate to keep in school. The only way she scrapes by is to utilize her one skill: pickpocketing. But even though she’s a thief she has a moral code: no kids or old ladies, only targets who can defend themselves. Not that they see her coming…

Thinking she’s been working under the radar, Kayli has no idea The Academy has been watching and taking notice. Now a team that needs her skill has offered her a way out of her predicament and it’s her last chance: work with them, or face jail time. Kayli resists at first, but slowly the boys reveal they can be trusted. With Marc, the straight man, Raven, the bad-boy Russian, Corey and Brandon the twins as different as night and day, and Axel their stoic leader, there’s a lot Kayli can learn from these Academy guys about living on the edge of the law. If only she can stay on the good side instead of the bad.

Especially when the job they offer her is more than any of them bargained for. After it’s done, the hunters have become the hunted and their target is now after Kayli. The Academy boys do their best to keep her hidden, but a thief like Kayli will never sit still for long.

Meet an all-new Academy team in Thief, the beginning of the Scarab Beetle series.

Warning: This is a new adult series. Readers of the other Academy series may need some caution as this series will contain mature sexual and violent situations and themes.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“I was hunting a thief, and I found a beautiful wreck.”

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I really liked this book. I had read C.L. Stone’s other series, The Ghost Bird, so I was familiar with the Academy and some of its members beforehand. I had met Marc and Kayli previously so I knew a little about them going in.
A negative side to reading all of the Ghost Bird books first was that I knew certain things were going to happen before I should because of the Scarab Beetle characters and Ghost Bird characters crossing paths before. Some things were spoiled (Like Marc getting the nail from the nail gun in his leg) but that’s my fault for reading all of the Ghost Bird books first.
Kayli was a breath of fresh air compared to Sang. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sang to pieces, but it was great to have a leading female character who spoke her mind and would tell people off if she had to. While, I loved that about Kayli, it did cause her to get into a lot of trouble. Sometimes her mouth got away from her and caused her to bite off more than she could chew.
I am still kind of in the middle about the boys in this series. I think I had gotten used to my Ghost Bird boys and I think I had a lot of expectations going in. I love most of the boys in the Scarab Beetle series already but one of them (Kevin), I am not sure of yet. I think I went into the book automatically assuming all of them would be head over heels for Kayli like the boys were for Sang. While this does make the series more realistic, Kevin having a girlfriend can cause real problems in the future. Because of said girlfriend, it makes me wonder if Kevin is a love interest at all or if he will leave the team in the future. To be honest, Kevin didn’t have a big role in this book so I honestly wouldn’t care if he left the team. In my eyes, he is only causing division among the team and putting doubt in their and Kayli’s heads.
Another thing I liked was the opening chapter. It was honestly one of the best ones I have read in a while. It was so fast paced and fun that it immediately hooked me.
On thing I absolutely loved was The Ghost Bird Series references. My babies from those books were brought up multiple times and I loved every minute of it. There was even a particular scene where Kayli sees a blond haired girl (Sang!) get into a car.
I am wondering how the series is going to go with the romantic plot lines. In Ghost Bird, Sang is very inexperienced and doesn’t know that she is doing anything wrong by kissing a bunch of the guys. Kayli is different. She knows the world and while she might not be able to control her feelings, she does know better than to get involved with all of them. I believe this will provide an interesting dynamic and might also cause more problems for Kayli because her conscience will begin to way on her.
One thing I did like was how fast paced the romantic plot line was. It is the first book and Kayli has already kissed two of the boys (Marc and Brandon) and Blake. I love Ghost Bird, but the romantic plot is slow as Christmas. I believe it took Sang six books to kiss any of the guys. Kayli is already there and there were a couple of times that she almost kissed Raven and Corey as well.
I am also wondering where the Blake plot line is going to go. Before the end, Kayli did appear to have a real connection with him. This worries me that C.L. Stone might give Kayli more love interests outside of the team later on. I feel like that would drive a giant wedge between Kayli and the team. I’m praying that doesn’t happen. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to continue on with the series.

Current Rankings:
1. Raven
2. Marc
3. Corey
4. Brandon
5. Axel
6. Kevin
…
…
1,000,000,000,000. Blake

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Liar (The Scarab Beetle #2) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Fake (The Scarab Beetle #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Accessory (The Scarab Beetle #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Hoax (The Scarab Beetle #5) by C.L. Stone

∴ Love’s Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Sang’s life was on pause after the dramatic break with her real family. Now she’s back in the game, returning to Ashley Waters to appear like a normal student. However, returning to school hasn’t made her life any easier. When it comes to the Academy and her role in the secret organization, there’s no such thing as normal.

When Kota’s mother catches Sang and the guys in the complex web of lies they’ve woven, everything starts to unravel: Their relationships, their ties to the Academy. Everything’s under risk of exposure.

Nathan struggles most with his conscience and lying to Erica Lee, the woman who supported him when his own mother was never there, doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. She’s his family and Nathan knows you shouldn’t lie to family. But he also knows the truth could hurt her: It could put Erica in danger. And it could force Kota to make a choice he should never have to: his mother and sister, or his team—his chosen family.

With Ashley Waters High School under attack and the principal now missing, the Academy needs to maintain its cover more than ever. It’s a bad time for Erica to start discovering what the Academy is really all about.

But to protect them all, Nathan’s willing to take the heat. He’ll do it for Sang, as well as Kota, Victor, Silas, Gabriel, Luke, North, and the rest of the team. He may be their only chance at survival.

But Sang, who committed to be all in with her team, isn’t about to let Nathan go down alone.

The Academy: Family First

3.5 🍁s

MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
After months of waiting… the next book in The Ghost Bird series is finally here. I have been waiting for what seems like forever to read this book and I have been counting down the days until its release. Let me start off by saying that I binge read the first eleven books so to wait as long as I did for this one, I built it up a lot in my head and I had a lot of high expectations. So what naturally comes with having these high expectations, is disappointment.
I had read the teaser chapters months ago and I was really excited to read this book. I was scared, confused, and extremely worried after reading the teaser and I think that is what made me so eager to read this installment. I was desperate to know what the “two fights” were about and what caused Nathan to feel like he screwed up so badly. I was really concerned about that standing of the group and I was scared that they were going to break apart.
I don’t know what I disliked about this book, I just know that it didn’t live up to my expectations. I think that what turned me off the most was the fact that it was Nathan’s book. I like him the least out of the boys and I just didn’t enjoy getting a second book for him (especially considering that Mr. Blackbourne hasn’t even gotten one book yet). While I didn’t enjoy Nathan’s plot line, I can see why it was necessary. He was struggling the most with the idea of them all sharing Sang and he needed to come to terms with his feelings about the situation.
What I did not appreciate was how Nathan handled most of the stuff that went down in this book. One of the most annoying plot lines for me is miscommunication and I feel like this book had a lot of it. Nathan created a lot of unnecessary problems because he didn’t talk to his team when he should have. He also didn’t put his trust in them to help him sort through what was happening. The whole ending could have been avoided.
The ~A~ chapter of the book was one of the most exciting things to happen. We finally know who Volto is… or so we think. I don’t know if I necessarily believe that Kota’s mom is Volto. There are just some things about it that don’t add up for me. If Ms. Lee is Volto, someone must be helping her because there is NO way she could do all of this herself. What motive could she possibly have for trying to split Sang from the group but being all supportive to her face? It just doesn’t fit for me. It also begs the question: Is Jessica in on it? I don’t want to think that Jessica is apart of all of this… but I don’t want to believe that Ms. Lee is either. I guess I’ll find out more in the next book.
The teaser chapter for Unsung Requiem was… interesting. It makes me wonder if the next book is going to be Victor’s book two or not. I am also extremely concerned about this Mr. Buble. Sang and the group really don’t need any other adults trying to tell her what to do and the fact that he is Academy worries me. Is part of his job going to be to assess whether Sang should be allowed to stay in their group? Is it part of his job to determine if Sang gets to become apart of the Academy at all? I have no clue what is going to happen in the next book with Mr. Buble… all I know, is that there is no possible way that it can be good.
SIDE NOTE: My absolute favorite part of this book was the scene where Sang wakes up in bed with Mr. Blackbourne. I was squealing so loud when that happened and I was just so happy that something (no matter how small) happened between him and Sang. It was adorable and I enjoyed every second of it. Hopefully, there will be more moments like that in the future between the two of them. A girl can hope.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. There were parts that I really enjoyed and adored. There were also parts that I extremely disliked and that is why I couldn’t give it a higher rating. It doesn’t matter though. At the end of the day, I will be right back here in who knows how many months to read the next one. How could I not?

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Introductions (The Ghost Bird #1) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Meeting Sang: Kota (The Ghost Bird #1.1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Days (The Ghost Bird #2) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Friends vs. Family (The Ghost Bird #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Forgiveness and Permission (The Ghost Bird #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Drop of Doubt (The Ghost Bird #5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Push and Shove (The Ghost Bird #6) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ House of Korba (The Ghost Bird #7) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Touch of Mischief (The Ghost Bird #7.5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Other Side of Envy (The Ghost Bird #8) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Healing Power of Sugar (The Ghost Bird #9) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Kiss (The Ghost Bird #10) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Black and Green (The Ghost Bird #11) by C.L. Stone

∴ Black and Green (The Ghost Bird #11) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Sang Sorenson’s father abandoned her and her sister, leaving them to fend for themselves for months. He’s returned, and finds Sang is missing. He demands she return. Right now.

Will he call the police if she doesn’t?

Her Academy team doesn’t want to risk losing her ghost status and she doesn’t want to put them in danger, so she reluctantly returns home, but is comforted that she will still be monitored by them.

But the second she opens the door, she discovers her father has made changes that will affect her entire future. His decisions will make them a normal family.

Normal is no longer what Sang wants. It would kill her Academy career before it ever started. Not to mention it would end the special, new, and still-fragile relationships with the guys.

Sang struggles with her family, her identity, and where she truly belongs. Now that the entire team knows about their romantic relationships with her, tensions are mounting, tearing the team apart from the inside.

Only, Dr. Green isn’t going to lie down and roll over by playing by the rules. Not anymore. Not while Sang is at risk.

His heart can’t take leaving her in that house one more minute. He needs her. They all do.

The Academy: Worth Risking All

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I really loved this book! It gave me so much more than I was expecting and blew me away! The book starts off where First Kiss ended, but instead of being in Sang’s point of view, it was in Dr. Green’s. I loved having the dual point of views and I hope for more of those in the future. It was interesting to be outside of Sang’s head for once and be in one of the guys. It gave me a different perspective on their situation and gave me a deeper look into Dr. Green’s life. I was so thankful for that. If only C.L. Stone would give us some chapters in Mr. Blackbourne’s point of view. (Crossing my fingers now that in the next book there will be.)

I was a little more frustrated with Sang and the boys then usual. Sang was stuck in her old house with limited options and I felt like only a few of them were willing to risk everything to get her out. I just wished more of them would have been as desperate as some of the others.

I loved the end when Dr. Green finally put his foot down and told Mr. Blackbourne that he needed to look at the situation differently and figure out a different way to help Sang. It felt good to see someone speak back a little.

There was a lot more sexual tension in this installment. The boys aren’t holding back as much as they did in previous books and things quickly escalated. Sang was also accepting their affection more causing some awkward situations when another walked in. I don’t know how much longer they are going to be able to keep their “relationship” a secret from parents and other people involved in their lives if they continue to act this way. (Not that I’m complaining.)

The ~A~ section at the end of the book was so adorable and it is my favorite up to date. I want to see more of the guys writing to Sang about their feelings and any concerns they may have.

Now that I’ve finished this book, I have officially caught up with everyone else and I have to wait for the next book to come out for the first time. Not excited about that. Hopefully, time will fly by and I will have my babies back. During this waiting that I’m about to do, I will be reading the Scarab Beetle series. I’m hoping that maybe my babies will show up in there and it will make the wait more bearable. Counting down the minutes until Love’s Cruel Redemption comes out.

*TIP: There is a sneak peak of Love’s Cruel Redemption in the back of Black and Green if you buy the Kindle version on Amazon…*

Current Rankings:
1. Mr. Blackbourne
2. Dr. Green
3. North
4. Gabriel
5. Luke
6. Victor
7. Silas
8. Kota
9. Nathan

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Introductions (The Ghost Bird #1) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Meeting Sang: Kota (The Ghost Bird #1.1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Days (The Ghost Bird #2) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Friends vs. Family (The Ghost Bird #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Forgiveness and Permission (The Ghost Bird #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Drop of Doubt (The Ghost Bird #5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Push and Shove (The Ghost Bird #6) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ House of Korba (The Ghost Bird #7) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Touch of Mischief (The Ghost Bird #7.5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Other Side of Envy (The Ghost Bird #8) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Healing Power of Sugar (The Ghost Bird #9) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Kiss (The Ghost Bird #10) by C.L. Stone

3.5 🍁s ~ Love’s Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12) by C.L. Stone

∴ First Kiss (The Ghost Bird #10) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

The time has finally come for Sang Sorenson to be formally introduced to the Academy. Protocol dictates the boys keep the details of Sang’s official introduction to the Academy a secret from her. The only thing they can advise her to do is to work on what will become her mantra: She is determined to stay with her team, no matter what.

Despite her wishes, however, the boys are second-guessing her place with them, concerned for her safety. With dangers all around and threats closing in, some of the boys are questioning if this is the right time to bring her to meet the Academy at all.

Sang is challenged with being the brave face among them and instilling the confidence needed to keep her with them. However, in order to appear compliant with the Academy’s rules, she has to be willing to listen and try their suggestions. As the boys have suspected and feared, the council wants to see how she’ll work with a different team. An all-girl team. She has no choice but to go along with the proposal or risk losing a shot at the Academy.

But when the Academy’s inner world is revealed to her, Sang knows that she’s finally found her place—somewhere she belongs—and she sees a future with them. The deeper she gets, the more she sees how she can make a difference. Learning what she is capable of and the impact she can have, she feels obligated to help. There’s so few girls, and they need her.

The guys try to stick to their plan, but every team must pay their debts, and the cost of keeping her might be more than any of them can afford.

It’s up to Sang alone to prove to the Academy where she truly belongs—but can she resist the call of a new team that needs her?

The Academy, Inside

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“My head dipped again into his chest, holding him close. I didn’t want him to go anywhere else. I couldn’t stop it from flowing out of my lips. “Not you. Not the guys. I want you to touch me. I always want it. Hugs. Kisses. Anything. It makes me happy.”

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I loved this book! It was the best in the series so far! I didn’t think I would like reading Kota’s book so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it as much as I did.

Sang grew on me a little bit more in this installment. She started to really stand up to the guys and starting to express her opinion a little more. She isn’t where I’d want her to be, but hopefully she’ll get there.

Victor grew on me little more as well. I started to really like him at the end of the book. I’ve been waiting for something like that to happen for SOOO long and I wasn’t disappointed when it did.

I am curious how the books are going to be now that everyone knows about the plan and Sang is officially a part of their team. I’m hoping that it will severely change the dynamic of the plot. The ending killed me! C.L. Stone, why did you have to end it on the cliffhanger?!

Mr. Blackbourne was his usual mysterious and business-like self, but we got to see a little more of his softer side. I want him and Sang to kiss so bad! He is slowly opening up to her more and more, especially during the beginning of this book. I hope there is more of him in the next installment.

Before reading this book, I was on the fence about reading the Scarab Beetle series. I had heard that Sang and Kayli were very different and I was really curious. Kayli and her team are involved in this book which I was happy for because it gave me the opportunity to see if I was interested. After reading the book, I have decided that I would love to read the Scarab Beetle series because I really enjoyed Kayli’s sassy attitude. She was the complete opposite of Sang; confident and always wanting to speak her mind. After finding out that Marc was apart of Kayli’s group I knew I had to read it. I can’t wait to start it. Obviously, I really enjoyed this installment and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Current Rankings:
1. Mr. Blackbourne
2. Dr. Green
3. North
4. Gabriel
5. Victor
6. Luke
7. Silas
8. Kota
9. Nathan

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Introductions (The Ghost Bird #1) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Meeting Sang: Kota (The Ghost Bird #1.1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Days (The Ghost Bird #2) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Friends vs. Family (The Ghost Bird #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Forgiveness and Permission (The Ghost Bird #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Drop of Doubt (The Ghost Bird #5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Push and Shove (The Ghost Bird #6) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ House of Korba (The Ghost Bird #7) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Touch of Mischief (The Ghost Bird #7.5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Other Side of Envy (The Ghost Bird #8) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Healing Power of Sugar (The Ghost Bird #9) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Black and Green (The Ghost Bird #11) by C.L. Stone

3.5 🍁s ~ Love’s Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12) by C.L. Stone

∴ The Healing Power of Sugar (The Ghost Bird #9) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

It’s been a week since Sang has attended any classes at Ashley Waters, and since then, everything has changed. Her school schedule has been turned upside down, and now, thanks to her absences, the school counselor, Ms. Wright, has suspended her. The fear of school officials getting further involved and looking to contact her parents has Sang and the boys forced into their best behavior. It seems that the once perfect student, Sang Sorenson, is now one of the school’s worst, and without explanation, because she needs to keep her lips tightly sealed. Academy secrets are becoming hazardous to keep.

The more that Kota, Victor, Silas, Nathan, Gabriel, Luke and North try to protect her, the more inevitable her downfall seems to be. They do their best to make sure Sang stays in school and when she returns to classes, try to help her get back on the straight and narrow—she can’t afford to screw up anymore.

But then fate deals out a setback that cripples the whole team, and they need to make a move, it turns into a risky one. There’s no way to predict the outcome. If they fail, the boys may lose the job they were sent to do, and worse, they may even lose Sang.

Everything gets more difficult when it’s revealed there might be a traitor amidst the group. Desperate to fix things, Sang needs to stop the group from spilling secrets and find out the truth.

And why all fingers seem to be pointing to Luke.

The Academy, Magnanimous

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

∴ The Other Side of Envy (The Ghost Bird #8) by C.L. Stone ∴

Synopsis:

Sang Sorenson dreams of what life might be like for her in the Academy, but joining isn’t as easy as simply writing an exam or passing an interview. She’ll need to pull the team together to get them on her side in order for it to work, which is harder than it sounds. The boys will do anything to protect her, which, for some, means keeping her out.

But that’s not all that’s going on in Sang’s complicated life. After a shocking revelation, Gabriel Coleman splinters himself off from everyone, avoiding not just his Academy team, but even going so far as to avoid Sang. Desperate to bring him back and get him on her side, Sang digs deep into his past to try to discover a way to reach out to him.

His truth is riddled with tragic events, but with the help of Kota, Victor, Silas, Nathan, Luke and North, she might be able to reach out to him before envy and despair drag him too far down to be saved.

The Academy, Deeply Bonded

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“All emotions have an opposite. Anger and sadness are two of the same. When someone is angry, when they calm down, you may discover they’re actually sad about some part in their life. Do you know what the other side of envy is?”
I shook my head.
“It’s a lack of confidence, self-esteem. If he envies Silas’s strength, then he’s unsure about his own. If he’s envious of Victor’s wealth and what he can give you, it’s because he’s insecure about his lack of money and ability to give you those material things. Gabriel’s greatest weakness is his own perception of himself.”

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:
I really liked this book. While most people enjoy books with a bunch of action in them like previous books in this series, I prefer books where there is a lot of talking and communication. That was pretty much all this book was. Talking and talking.

I loved Gabriel. I enjoyed getting to see more of him and learning more of his backstory. He truly is a beautiful person. We got a little closer to Kota as well which I liked. I’m interested to see what will happen when he finds out about the agreement the other boys have going on.

Sang finally found out about the agreement and I was SO excited! She handled it better than I thought she would which is great. We also learned more of Sang’s past with that giant cliffhanger at the end. I really didn’t see that coming. After that, I can’t wait to read the next installment.

Current Favorites Rankings:
1. Mr. Blackbourne
2. Dr. Green
3. North
4. Luke
5. Silas
6. Victor
7. Kota
8. Gabriel
9. Nathan

Other Books in the Series:

5 🍁s ~ Introductions (The Ghost Bird #1) by C.L. Stone

4 🍁s ~ Meeting Sang: Kota (The Ghost Bird #1.1) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Days (The Ghost Bird #2) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Friends vs. Family (The Ghost Bird #3) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Forgiveness and Permission (The Ghost Bird #4) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Drop of Doubt (The Ghost Bird #5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Push and Shove (The Ghost Bird #6) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ House of Korba (The Ghost Bird #7) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Touch of Mischief (The Ghost Bird #7.5) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ The Healing Power of Sugar (The Ghost Bird #9) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ First Kiss (The Ghost Bird #10) by C.L. Stone

5 🍁s ~ Black and Green (The Ghost Bird #11) by C.L. Stone

3.5 🍁s ~ Love’s Cruel Redemption (The Ghost Bird #12) by C.L. Stone