The Academy Review (Reviewer Copy)

     Kate Connelly is only seventeen, but she has the life experiences of someone much older. After her mom passes away, she practically gets put in charge of raising her two little brothers, maintaining the family ranch, bringing in an income, and going to school thanks to her mostly absent father. While working a shift at the town diner, two guys come in and make her night more difficult. She chooses to move past it and then runs into them in an alley, unsure of their intentions. There are many other things filling her mind such as the elite military academy that is after her eight year old brother, so she again puts the men out of her mind. However, one of those men who happens to be a cadet from the military academy enrolls in Kate's high school. He immediately causes numerous issues. She has to trust herself and protect her little brother, but how can she when she cannot think straight round Cadet Davenport?

    Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Additionally, the author sent me this book as a free review copy; however, this did not influence my review. This is 100% my honest opinion. Let's begin:

    I'll come out and say it right away- I LOVED this book. You can basically name any aspect of a book and I will tell you it was either done perfectly or very close to in this novel. It had my mind racing, and I had physical reactions to it. For example, I may have started yelling at one of the characters a few times and potentially gushed and just might have wanted to throw the book (in the best of ways) but luckily resisted that last one. That is how I know that I love a book: the physical reactions. I could really enjoy a lot of books, but I don't love them until I care so much about the characters that I physically react.

    Since that is one of the strongest aspects of the books, we'll start there: the characters. They are very well written and developed. Kate is such a likeable, respectable, and interesting character. She had me hooked right away. I never got bored with her because of her depth. Even though I have not gone through nearly as much as she has or anything as extreme, I found that I could still relate to her which made that connection easier to attain. Pete is definitely a smooth guy. He wiggles his way into your heart very easily even though that maybe should not happen. I totally understand Kate's struggles with his charm. Like Kate, he is also very deep which kept him interesting. I also always love a morally grey character and he falls into that category. The two little brothers were absolutely adorable and I ended up feeling like I wanted to jump into the book and protect them myself. Ranger, Ranger, Ranger. He is definitely a character I love to hate. Even though his personality is a bit rough around the edges, he is a fun "villain" if you can even truly call him that because some scenes with him made me feel like he may just be a somewhat good guy. I am not a fan of Kate's father- the writing and development, yes but the character himself is just awful. He is another that I loved to dislike. The characters were VERY strong.

    The plot is done very well and captivates you until the end. Even in the slower moments, it never bored me.  I felt very connected to and invested in the story. There were quite a few twists that I did not see coming (like the end!). Put simply, it was easy to get swept into it. I think the storyline developed very well. It was not too rushed or too slow, but just right. Everything made sense and felt right- even in the times I wished it didn't. I absolutely loved all of the little hints sprinkled throughout the book that led up to a big reveal towards the end. The author masterfully incorporated them. I definitely did not catch on while reading so the end was not predictable, but I could easily see them once the reveal occurred. The end had me wishing I had book two already so I could start reading immediately. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! The plot was strong from beginning to finish.

    This book took the phrase 'emotional rollercoaster' to a new extreme. I know I touched on this in the beginning, but it is worth mentioning again. My emotions were all over the place. I went from giddy and shouting 'yes' one moment to screaming at a character, and from being sad to mad to embarrassed for a character. If a book can make you feel second-hand embarrassment, it must be good! 

    There was only one minor negative that caught my eye and it has nothing to do with the writing itself. The whole book is from the point of view of Kate; there is a single chapter that switches to Pete's perspective. However, there is nothing that blatantly lets you know about the switch. That said, it is extremely easy to figure out. I very highly doubt anyone would not understand what happened. However, it may have been nice to write his name under the chapter title to signify the switch before reading. Around the same area, there is a small jump that is a little odd. It is very minor and does not hinder the reading experience, but it was something I paused a minute for. I will not say more on it so as to avoid spoilers.

    I like to give credit for everything I can about a book, including stuff that the author may or may not have been involved with. Therefore, I want to bring up the cover and first page of the book. I love the cover! I think it is simple, but pretty. I also really like that the cover has a meaning that you can find in the story. The same can be said for the first page.

    A final note that I thought would be nice to mention is the author herself. I had the great pleasure of talking to CJ Daly a few times. She is one of the sweetest authors I have had the honor of talking to. On top of being pleasant to have a conversation with, she was also very kind when it came to actually sending me the book. When I received the package in the mail, I was expecting just the book. Well, I got a pleasant surprise. In the package was a hand written note (with a VERY cool seal might I add) and a book mark that of course related to the book (this can be seen in my Instagram photo though it is not used properly in order to showcase it). She truly went above and beyond what I expected, and I could not be more happy that I had the opportunity to work with her.
    Overall, I enjoyed this book so much! I seriously could not express how much I loved it in this review, although some people can tell how much I loved it because they had to deal with me raving about it to them while I was reading, haha! I very highly recommend reading it. It truly is a hidden gem that I wish with all my heart gets discovered by as many people as possible. It deserves so much praise, and I know that I will promote it as much as I can. This is CJ Daly's debut novel and I would not be surprised if it takes her far. It would not shock me to see her name on bestseller lists or for her to win many awards. She deserves it! Now I just have to have the patience to wait for book 2 (which I may or may not have ordered approximately 2 minutes after finishing book 1) to get here!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Author: CJ Daly

Publisher: BrandyLight Ink

# of Pages: 501

Genre: YA, Romance

Series: The Academy Saga (Book 1)