Aya M. Productions

C.L. Stone created a whole new ball game with Thief. If you’ve read her Ghost Series (formerly known as the Academy Series) featuring Sang and the guys, then you already know about the world she’s created and the secret Academy. This time though she’s writing NA fiction with a new set of guys and with more action. Plus the dynamics are a bit different within the team since these guys have already graduated from the Academy. So it’s set the same world but definitely its own story.

Kayli is recruited for her skills as a pickpocket. That’s how Marc, Raven, Corey, Brandon, Axel, and Kevin bring her into the fold. They bribe her with the opportunity to get any job she wants in order to steal the wallet of Blake Coaltar. With her younger brother and deadbeat father in mind, she takes the opportunity regardless of the lack of information they give her.

I love the guys and their relationship with Kayli. They just fit. The only confusion is with Kevin. He’s like the odd man out. He’s part of the team, but you hardly see him in the story. I honestly kept forgetting there was a 6th guy int he group. Their dynamic is quite different from the guys in the Ghost series.

Blake Coaltar is another oddity. He’s supposed to be the bad guy, but I really don’t know what to make of him. I so want to know his secrets to understand his motives. He’s still quite ambiguous at the end of the story. Is he actually a good guy or is he a bad guy? What’s with his deep interest in Kayli?

As I mentioned previously, Theif exists in the same world as the Ghost Series, and the story line actually runs parallel to Drop of Doubt, the 5th book in the series. You don’t have to read the Ghost Series in order to read Thief, but the slightly interconnecting story lines makes for some great theories. It was also kind of fun making all of the connections in the timeline and the missing pieces in each of the stories. I don’t want to say much to avoid spoiling anything. If you want to understand what I mean, you’d have to read both books.

Thief by C.L. Stone was much loved. I’d give it 4.5 stars. It may have many similarities to the Ghost Series, but I personally love it for its own reasons. C.L. Stone isn’t for everyone. I think it’s probably one of those books you either love or hate. If you decide to try either the Ghost Series (YA) or the Scarab Beetle Series (NA) a try, I hope you enjoy it. They’re fun, quick reads in my opinion anyways.