The academy saga, book iii:
“Cap and gown”
The Academy Saga: “Cap and Gown”
Katie Connelly is nineteen-years-old but feels like she's been fighting for survival forever.
When Officer Ranger Nealson offers her a lifeline at The Academy, she snatches it with both hands. But she soon realizes that her lifeline might not be enough to keep her afloat and that her mentor might have ulterior motives. She wouldn't be willing to compromise her principles if it wasn't for one small thing--her brother Mikey. Her all-encompassing promise to her mother to protect her brothers causes her to forge forward with Ranger's master plan. After all, this was likely the best deal they would get at The Academy, and she and Mikey needed all the help they could get to survive in this cutthroat new world.
But during the course of her training, Kate can't help but long for a different former elite cadet. Where is Pete Davenport? He's lost in the wind. Will he make an appearance before Kate marches into a destiny she's not sure she wants? Much less can handle. Somewhere along this fast-forward march, Kate makes a major misstep that costs her biggest ally and forever changes the lives of everyone she's been trying to protect.
Reader Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
CJ Daly’s CAP & Gown is the third book in the spellbinding The Academy Saga, a skillful meld of romance and military. This third book in the series is another breezy read for fans of C.J. Daly’s novels. The characters are developed with refined skill and I enjoyed how the author writes the relationship between the characters, especially Ranger and Katie. Emotions are well captured — one would say with forensic finesse. The narrative voice is in the first person and the perspective is Katie’s. The author keeps it intimate, allowing the inner world of the female protagonist to shape and evolve before the reader’s keen eyes. The prose is captivating, rippling with rich descriptions. The emotional conflict is strong and it grows in intensity, augmenting the depth in character and infusing the writing with realism. My verdict for CAP & Gown is that it is deftly plotted, balanced, and an utterly satisfying read.
- Christian Sia, Readers’ Favorite
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
CAP & Gown is the third book in The Academy Saga by CJ Daly, a suspenseful romance with characters that are robust and realistically developed. Katie Connelly’s life is anything but happy. And to make things worse, she has a brother to protect — a promise she made to her mom that can’t be broken. She finds purpose at the Academy, thanks to the timely intervention of Officer Ranger. But everything comes with a price and Ranger might have other motives. While on training, she still misses Pete Davenport. As she prepares for an inevitable destiny, she becomes unsure of the future, but then a mistake she makes might cost her everything and the lives of those who matter to her, including her brother Mikey.
This installment in the series takes CJ Daly’s writing up a notch, with characters that will, undoubtedly, stay in the minds of readers long after the last page is turned. The first thing that grabbed my attention when I started reading CAP & Gown was the prose. The author chooses her words carefully and the impact is felt on the reader; the prose is crisp, with descriptions that are vivid, exposing the tiniest of emotions and capturing the intensity of the action that characterizes the story. The plot is twisty. I was left guessing what happens next in the story. While the protagonist is deftly developed and a likeable character, I enjoyed Ranger and the role he plays in Katie’s destiny. CJ Daly knows how to write human relationships and uses them to build conflict and tension while allowing her characters to evolve in a way that feels natural to readers.
- Ruffina Oserio, Readers’ Favorite