C. L. Stone

With an agoraphobic mother and a barely-there father, Sang abhors the isolation keeping her in the shadows. The only thing Sang craves is a fresh start and to be accepted as ordinary by her peers, because for her being different meant being cast out alone. When her family moves to a new school district, Sang infiltrates a group of boys nearly perfect in every way. Grateful for an influence outside of her parents' negativity, she quickly bonds with the boys, hoping to blend in and learn from them what it means to have a natural relationship with friends. Only the boys have secrets of their own and they'll do anything to keep her safe from the knowledge of the mysterious Academy that they've sworn allegiance to. Bit by bit, Sang discovers that her friends are far from the normalcy she expected. Will her loyalty change when she's forced to remain in the dark, or will she accept that she's traded one house of secrets for another? Meet Kota, Victor, Silas, Nathan, Gabriel, Luke and North in a story about differences and loyalty, truth and mystery, friendships and heart-throbbing intimacy. The Academy, ever vigilant.

The Ghost Bird Series #1 with Bonus Series-Inspired Recipes

Introductions - Collector's Edition

Kristina Masone

I started The Ghost Bird due to the recommendations from other The Veil Diaries fans. This book is exactly as it is titled- just introductions to all of the main characters. 

So far it's okay. There hasn't been enough to happen for me to really form an opinion.

Nikki K

I don't even know what to say about this book... Much like most reviewers here on goodreads I'm adding this book to my evidently-shit-yet-highly-addictive shelf. 
Had this book not been free on Amazon, I wouldn't have come across it, and I probably wouldn't be worse off. This book is an enigma. The "storyline" is interesting (although there isn't much of it), and it deals with some pretty heavy themes that are unusual for such a book. The characters are wholly unbelievable, but I don't really care because this is fiction and I am here for an unrealistic story. Every two pages I was reading a cliche, but most of the time I just laughed and moved on, the mystery of The Academy was enough to make me keep reading. But there is one thing I read in a few reviews that I have an issue with. A lot of people complain about the main character, Sang, and her internal dialogue. This girl quite clearly had social anxiety, likely borne out of her forced isolation and abuse at home. It may be frustrating to read about her worrying whether the boys really like her, and her second-guessing everything she says and does, but it isn't an unrealistic thought process for someone with social anxiety, it is very incapacitating, and equally frustrating for them, I'm sure. 
Whether Stone's exploration of serious themes forgives the unoriginal writing and terrible characterisation, I still haven't decided, but whatever they did- it worked.
However, upon finishing, a problem arose... The next book costs money.. to buy, or not to buy? Would I spend my own hard-earned dollars on a series that I KNOW is one terrible cliche? Would I buy it now, when I KNOW it will distract me horribly from my uni work? As I contemplated it I wondered- is this how drug addicts feel when succumbing to their addiction?
But in the end $4 felt like a small price to pay for this next piece of trash. You win this time, C.L. Stone

Elaine

at some points I really like it at others I couldn't be bothered to care...all in all this is probably one of those guilty pleasure reads for me. I will most likely pick up the other books of this series, as I am intriuged to find out what happens to Sang and the 7 guys...

Introductions - Collector's Edition The Ghost Bird Series #1 with Bonus Series-Inspired Recipes

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