Accessory by C. L. Stone

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. (Goodreads)

I would like to thank C. L. Stone for sending me an ARC copy of this book – it was a nice surprise in my inbox!!

For anyone who knows me, follows my blog/reading habits etc. knows that I am a huge fan of C. L. Stone and all books to do with The Academy – whether that be the Ghost Bird series or the Scarab Beetle series. She publishes, I read. It is that simple. so receiving this book was a bit like christmas come early for me.

I think my favourite thing about this book was the fact that Stone used all of the same characters from the previous book and expanded using the events also from the previous books. Sure, there were new characters, but there weren’t as many as before – therefore we are not left confused as to who is who. We also visit characters met in the other Academy series, aka, Sang’s group of misfits and a couple of men from another team who gives advice to the guys on having a multiple relationship with Sang/Kayli (depending on which team you are looking at).

Kayli’s development in character was also pretty interesting to watch. She has gone from being someone who followed the boys into whatever trouble they got themselves in, to becoming the leader of their next mission. This forces the boys to place their trust in her, just like she was, and in some ways still is, forced to place her trust in them. She is put into a decision making role, which makes her appreciate people like Axel more. I liked the fact that the boys followed her lead, even if they weren’t exactly comfortable or on the same page with the decisions she was making. It reinforces the idea of family first and trust.

What I didn’t quite understand is, when someone chucks you off of a boat, why would you want to get back onto said boat? Pretty sure most people would chuck in the towel and say “hell no!” I was happy that she stuck by Blake throughout the book, even if the boys didn’t want her too and even when he seemed to be being targeted the most. I feel like their relationship deepened the most and the reader can actually see the feelings that they have for each other, whereas before, it didn’t seem all that realistic – it was more like flirty fun.

I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for the next instalment! I gave this book 5/5 stars!

Fake by C. L. Stone

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. (Goodreads)

What did I do as soon as I had finished Liar? Of course, I went and picked up Fake! What else would I have done? I think the best thing about this book is the fact that we are learning what the group is all about. Sang’s group of misfits all have the fact that they have problems at home in their family lives, so what was wrong here? Well, that would be telling, but mixed within this is fast paced, never ending action and romance that just makes the reader swoon!

Of course, Kayli is falling for all but one of the boys (who already has a girlfriend and doesn’t have much to do with Kayli) plus Blake. Of course none of the boys know about how she feels for the other guys. As it C. L. Stone’s style! I think I fell for Blake a little bit more in this book, because despite everything she has broken, the way she has treated him etc. he is still there trying to help her when she gets herself into trouble. I feel sorry for all of the boys in this book because it is almost like she is playing them all off on each other. Having said that, the interactions are swoon worthy and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

What I also loved about this book, and the rest of the series, is the fact that we meet up with a bunch of Sang’s misfits again! We get an inside look into what they are like when they are actually at work without Sang! They’re all so serious! I was questioning whether I was looking at the same people that I know from the Ghost Bird series! Aside from that, I liked the fact that she introduces the characters in the other books because it makes the story more realistic.

This book starts from the very first page, reminding us of Will and then Kayli and Brandon being kidnapped from bed. Throughout the book (and the previous book) I almost feel like Kayli forgets about here brother, which isn’t particularly normal. I know that the author explains this off by saying that Kayli doesn’t want to scare him off, but I would have thought that she would have been more worried and would have him on her mind more than she does throughout the book. I am pretty sure Sang met Will outside of Hendrick’s office in one of the Ghost Bird books. I am beginning to wonder how he is going to weave into both stories…

I loved this book and gave it 5/5 stars.