2 Stars

Introductions

The Ghost Bird, Book #1

By C.L. Stone

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Teenage Sang just moved to town with her family.  With a mother that is scared to go outside of her own house, she has tried to force her children to live within their own walls as well.  She doesn’t want her girls to have friends or do things other kids do.  And, she can be down-right abusive if they break her rules.

One night Sang sneaks out for a little slice of freedom, when a boy and his dog run into her (literally).  Kota takes her in for the night and the two quickly form a friendship.  His circle of friends quickly becomes her circle of friends.  Sang is so happy to finally feel like she belongs, even if she does have to sneak around to be with them.  However, there is definitely something a bit odd about the boys that Sang can’t quite put her finger on.  They are a part of something they can’t tell her about.  Can a friendship shrouded in secrecy survive or will she have to go back to a life of loneliness without them?

I’m not a big fan of the young adult genre as a whole, so I never go into these books expecting much.  I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this book at all.  I was expecting some teenage angst and high school drama.  I never see much cussing or sex in the YA books I have read.  There is a little cussing, but no sex in this one, but from what I can tell this is a building block for a reverse-harem series.  I really didn’t see that coming, but it’s kind of obvious with all the intimate touches the boys share with Sang, their instant protectiveness for a girl they just met, the constant blushing, and how cute Sang thinks all the boys are.

There are seven guys to keep track of … you heard me right… SEVEN!  I liked that the author introduced them slowly so you could learn them and be able to differentiate between all of them, but also hated it at the same time.  It came off a little corny how she was meeting them one or two at a time like some strange male smorgasbord.   And, she was always so detailed in her thoughts about what they were wearing and always a comparison to them and one of the other boys …he’s taller than Kota, not as built as Silas blah blah blah.

I found a lot of things didn’t make sense to me, in this book.  If Sang’s mom is scared of going outside of her house, then why did they move?  If Sang can’t have friends, then why does she disappear for an entire day every day to hang out with them?  She does a very bad job of covering it up.  Also, if she found the boys so intimidating why was she always so quick to go off with these complete strangers?

There was nothing all that riveting about this storyline, it’s just as the title suggests an introduction to all of the characters.  Nothing really happens beyond that unless you count Sang finally going to the school and registering for classes. And, knowing that this series will turn into a badly written sexfest soon, I’m in no hurry to continue on with the series.  I’m not saying I won’t eventually read another one down the line, but I’m not committing to doing so either, and definitely not any time soon, if I do.  The book left me feeling that Sang will be pulled into the Academy to some degree, but it wasn’t enough to make me rush to read the next book.  I wish I had something more positive to leave this review on, but I just don’t ….