The Ghost Bird Series - Books 1-5 (ongoing) by C.L. Stone
The very shy and loner, Sang Sorenson moved to a quiet, suburban neighborhood, well more specifically because her mom wants it that way. All her life, she's been told that life is dangerous and that men will do nasty things to her. She never had made any friends but all of a sudden she's gotten her hands (almost) full of friends from the mysterious Academy. And might I add, they're all boys.
Book 1 - Introductions - I have this talent of not really digesting the plot and forgetting about it so I'll be really surprised with the plot twists. And oh boy, I was in disbelief with the number of boys. When I thought my expectations has already been set, another boy is introduced, and then another and another and so on and so forth. But my excitement for the abundance of boys was eclipsed by the very slow pacing.
Book 2 - First Days - I. Hated. Sang. I was jealous of her! I couldn't relate at her at all and I just find it so incredulous that she gets to do those thing with my I mean 'the' boys. They deserve better. But the series picks up for me at the ending of the Book 2.
Book 3 - Friends vs Family - Now I was totally into it. I have now reconciled myself as Sang. This was made by someone who is purely into fangirl fantasies! And later on I read the author admitted that this is a self-indulgent story. No worries! I don't mind at all!
Book 4 - Forgiveness and Permissions and Book 5 - Drop of Doubt - Sometimes I get impatient with the story which is of course the pivotal element. But I hate to confess that I live for those heart-stopping encounters. I admit I sometime cringe at some of the scenes but I guess it depends on who you might be rooting for. To each her own. I was excited and sad at the same time, when I reached Book 5 because it's the last book and I don't want to be left hanging.
I don't have a favorite book--yet. All the books have it's own charms. But I find myself rooting for the types I usually don't fall for in a reverse harem-- the glasses-boy Kota and the flamboyant Gabriel. I started liking Kota when we got his POV. He's supposed to be level-headed but he's human too and just like the rest of boys he's gone crazy over her. I loved Gabriel's witty lines since the first day they met. His character seems to be harmless and not all over Sang. But I only realized I was secretly into him when I finally read his feelings in the spoiler sheet on CL Stone's site. You have got to read those! I literally squealed with all spoilers, most especially when I found out how Kota meets Song for the first time. I like how some characters have grown like North but disappointed with some like Nathan.
The author is planning on making 20 books out of the series. I've got this apprehension at first with the number of boys. How will she make it work? Now I know. It makes perfect sense. Instead of making this end right away, she's taking sweet time for us to slowly savor the story. She has made effort to make all the characters shine. I think the challenge of reverse harem in a Western world setting is that there's a lot of burning questions. This situation is a totally new concept. I liked it how she slowly tackled them as Sang tries to question herself. I also liked the circumstances she created to get away with the reverse harem set-up. I really thought at first that The Academy is a supernatural school and the boys have magical powers. Thanks for the all the people who recommended this series! This is really addicting. Now I'm now off to reading The Scarab Beetle Series.
