Review: Formulaic: That's the reason for the ONE STAR Rating
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2014
Warning - this review are for fans of The Academy series. If you just picked up The Thief and have not read The Ghost Bird series, this review will not make sense to you.First, let me say that I love the Ghost Bird series of The Academy. Sang and the boys stole my heart. The Thief for the Scarab Beetle series is a good read. The characters are also lovable, but the story is formulaic and that's the reason why I am giving it a one star review. :-(The only comparison I can give is Lionel Richie. I love his songs up to now. And even those days when we buy CDs to support the artists we love, I bought them. But I also know that his songs are formulaic. That did not stop me from buying his CDs but that also meant that if I am part of the Grammy academy, I will not put up his songs for the Grammy Awards.C.L. Stone is one of the authors that I have come to look forward to in reading. And just to give you an idea how much I admire her, I look forward reading her books the same way I looked forward reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, who also happens to be from the Charleston, SC area.Those who are fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre already knows that the Wheel of Times series took over 20 years to finish, and actually was finished after Robert Jordan's death. Brandon Sanderson finished the mega epic. Brandon Sanderson is another prolific writer and I have read all his work. His strength is fantasy, and all the workings of magic. Still, every series is a different take on magic. It is a different work.Hence, when I read The Thief, I was totally disappointed. It was another reverse harem and another set of kids who were abused but able to rise above it. That concept is beautiful. The success of The Ghost Bird series attest to that.With "The Thief", those premises were repeated, hence my statement that The Scarab Beetle series is formulaic. If Kaylie and Wil were normal siblings and did not have an abusive father, but given a different story why they had to survive that way, then it will not be formulaic. Presented as they are, then it's just a repeat of Sang's story. If Blake Coaltar was presented as a possible recruit for The Academy, then it would have been a great. If Corey and Raven are possible M/M relationship in the middle of a M/F/M/M relationship, then, it would really be interesting. But, all I see is another reverse harem.I will continue to read the series. Like what I said, I never stopped listening to Lionel Richie though I found his songs formulaic. I still like his work. I still like C.L. Stone's work. I will continue to read. But I have to give The Thief a ONE STAR rating and stand by it.