What do you think?
Rate this book
Academy of Stardom #5
Encore: Academy of Stardom, Book 5
From the gutter to the stars…
It's been five years since the Breakers and I got back together. Five years since we opened our club, Twisted Bullet. Five years of laughter, love, passion, and a home with each other.
It's been the best years of my life. I wouldn't change it for the world. And yet…
Something fundamental has been performing together. So when the chance arises, we take it. How could we not? Dance is what brought us together, our first love.
Are you ready for our encore? Then, sit back and enjoy the show.
Step back into the world of Pen and her Breakers. Filled to the brim with laughter, love, tears, passion, and some of your favorite characters from the spin-off series, this is going to be one hell of a performance you won't want to miss.
It's been five years since the Breakers and I got back together. Five years since we opened our club, Twisted Bullet. Five years of laughter, love, passion, and a home with each other.
It's been the best years of my life. I wouldn't change it for the world. And yet…
Something fundamental has been performing together. So when the chance arises, we take it. How could we not? Dance is what brought us together, our first love.
Are you ready for our encore? Then, sit back and enjoy the show.
Step back into the world of Pen and her Breakers. Filled to the brim with laughter, love, tears, passion, and some of your favorite characters from the spin-off series, this is going to be one hell of a performance you won't want to miss.
Audible Audio
Published April 23, 2024
441 people are currently reading
2056 people want to read
About the author
Bea Paige
66 books1,576 followersA writer of gritty, dangerous love. A hopeless romantic. A lover of dark heroes. A drinker of red wine and a scoffer of Haribo sweets.
Librarian Note: Also writes under the name Kelly Stock.
Librarian Note: Also writes under the name Kelly Stock.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
November 12, 2023
This is one of those books where my rating is just "I love these characters and their world." So I'm more forgiving of stuff that would normally bother me in other books.
It's basically just a long epilogue for this series - not much plot, just fluff and spice for 75K words. Normally, "only fluff and spice" is not my thing. But I love the Breakers, so I didn't mind spending more time with them.
One thing I feel conflicted about is that there's a lot more MM in this than there is in the rest of the series. Usually, I don't like that - if an RH is going to have MM in it, it should be there from the first book, or not at all. I don't like when it's thrown in last-minute. But, in this book, I didn't mind it and it kind of worked? Since this takes place 5 years after the events of the series, it makes sense that after having group scenes with Pen for the past 5 years, the guys would get more of an appreciation for each other (also, Pen is still their focus, and they don't do MM stuff when she's not there). So, I don't like it normally, but I'll allow it. This also throws in some daddy kink - which again, I usually wouldn't like as a last-minute addition - either have that in the main story from the start, or not at all. But it does feel natural for Pen and her guys to experiment with some new stuff after being together for 5 years. So, that mostly worked, too.
This is also kind of an epilogue for this entire shared universe, with characters from other books like The Dancer and The Masks and Debts and Diamonds popping up - they were thrown in a bit awkwardly sometimes, like with characters saying, "Ah yes, here's Cynthia, who got kidnapped a few years ago, and Beast teamed up with her men to rescue her from the Skull Brotherhood." Like, clunky dialogue that summarizes what happened in their story, in case we forgot what happened, I guess? Again, I didn't mind it so much, because I like Cyn and her guys and was happy to see them. So, I'm more forgiving of clunky writing because I love these characters.
If you read the Academy of Stardom series and you liked it, but you thought it was a little drawn out, and you were satisfied with the ending in Finale, I wouldn't say this book is a must-read. The original series leaves Pen and the Breakers in a good place, and already ends with a lot of fluff and spice. So, this book is just more of that and feels unnecessary. But, if you really love these characters and you want some more time with them (and you want to see where they are 5 years later) then it would be a must-read.
It's basically just a long epilogue for this series - not much plot, just fluff and spice for 75K words. Normally, "only fluff and spice" is not my thing. But I love the Breakers, so I didn't mind spending more time with them.
One thing I feel conflicted about is that there's a lot more MM in this than there is in the rest of the series. Usually, I don't like that - if an RH is going to have MM in it, it should be there from the first book, or not at all. I don't like when it's thrown in last-minute. But, in this book, I didn't mind it and it kind of worked? Since this takes place 5 years after the events of the series, it makes sense that after having group scenes with Pen for the past 5 years, the guys would get more of an appreciation for each other (also, Pen is still their focus, and they don't do MM stuff when she's not there). So, I don't like it normally, but I'll allow it. This also throws in some daddy kink - which again, I usually wouldn't like as a last-minute addition - either have that in the main story from the start, or not at all. But it does feel natural for Pen and her guys to experiment with some new stuff after being together for 5 years. So, that mostly worked, too.
This is also kind of an epilogue for this entire shared universe, with characters from other books like The Dancer and The Masks and Debts and Diamonds popping up - they were thrown in a bit awkwardly sometimes, like with characters saying, "Ah yes, here's Cynthia, who got kidnapped a few years ago, and Beast teamed up with her men to rescue her from the Skull Brotherhood." Like, clunky dialogue that summarizes what happened in their story, in case we forgot what happened, I guess? Again, I didn't mind it so much, because I like Cyn and her guys and was happy to see them. So, I'm more forgiving of clunky writing because I love these characters.
If you read the Academy of Stardom series and you liked it, but you thought it was a little drawn out, and you were satisfied with the ending in Finale, I wouldn't say this book is a must-read. The original series leaves Pen and the Breakers in a good place, and already ends with a lot of fluff and spice. So, this book is just more of that and feels unnecessary. But, if you really love these characters and you want some more time with them (and you want to see where they are 5 years later) then it would be a must-read.
March 18, 2024
I just wrote a series review and copied it to book 2 too 5. This is the book with the lowest rating. I gave it 2.5 stars rounded up to three.
BASIC FACTS: Academy of Stardom, 5 books finished series
Titles & no. of Pages:
1. Freestyle 362 pages
2. Lyrical 398 pages
3. Breakeres 434 pages
4. Finale 444 pages
5. Encore 324 pages
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Dance Academy, organized crime (Gangs)
Theme: From the gutter to the stars
Protagonist Ages: not sure, but I think around 20
Pacing: Plot: medium Relationship: slow burn
Plot Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I recommend the series, if you like dance, Gangs and enemies to lovers with bullying. I got it recommended myself by my gr friend Gaby (we miss you!). It was on my tbr because the series wasn’t finished at that time. I decided to throw it on my clear your tbr list, for a challenge. After starting Freestyle I was hooked. Because this series reminded me a little of Hanaford Prep and crossed with The Hights Crew. The story was simple but had a good pace and a lot of unexpected turns.
I love Pen and her guys. my favorite Guy is Beast, who likes Pen and he looks after her, when she is working in the club. I like Grim, because she becomes Pen’s alley when Pen needed her. And later she is Pen’s friend.
Fun Fact: Bea wrote a Their Obsession Series and a Series about the Deana-dhe (which means Butterflys). And they are either mentioned or have a cameo. There is also a Series called the Freed Brothers, which play a role in this book too.
Back to the series: Recently the book Encore was published. The fifth book of Academy of Stardom is kind of a cross over and play five years after Finale. It was nice to see how Pen’s family grew. We had a lot of smut and dance. Saw the Why choose and other couples again. But for me this was the weakest book and it’s the only one which got 3 stars rating from me. I read it, skipped a lot and read some more. But if you wouldn’t read it, the series could have finished after book 4.
I partly read the books and partly listend to the audiobook. I liked both. Lately I enjoy audiobooks a lot. I binged the series and had a great time.
Characters and Summery: spoilers ahead!!!
BASIC FACTS: Academy of Stardom, 5 books finished series
Titles & no. of Pages:
1. Freestyle 362 pages
2. Lyrical 398 pages
3. Breakeres 434 pages
4. Finale 444 pages
5. Encore 324 pages
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Dance Academy, organized crime (Gangs)
Theme: From the gutter to the stars
Protagonist Ages: not sure, but I think around 20
Pacing: Plot: medium Relationship: slow burn
Plot Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I recommend the series, if you like dance, Gangs and enemies to lovers with bullying. I got it recommended myself by my gr friend Gaby (we miss you!). It was on my tbr because the series wasn’t finished at that time. I decided to throw it on my clear your tbr list, for a challenge. After starting Freestyle I was hooked. Because this series reminded me a little of Hanaford Prep and crossed with The Hights Crew. The story was simple but had a good pace and a lot of unexpected turns.
I love Pen and her guys. my favorite Guy is Beast, who likes Pen and he looks after her, when she is working in the club. I like Grim, because she becomes Pen’s alley when Pen needed her. And later she is Pen’s friend.
Fun Fact: Bea wrote a Their Obsession Series and a Series about the Deana-dhe (which means Butterflys). And they are either mentioned or have a cameo. There is also a Series called the Freed Brothers, which play a role in this book too.
Back to the series: Recently the book Encore was published. The fifth book of Academy of Stardom is kind of a cross over and play five years after Finale. It was nice to see how Pen’s family grew. We had a lot of smut and dance. Saw the Why choose and other couples again. But for me this was the weakest book and it’s the only one which got 3 stars rating from me. I read it, skipped a lot and read some more. But if you wouldn’t read it, the series could have finished after book 4.
I partly read the books and partly listend to the audiobook. I liked both. Lately I enjoy audiobooks a lot. I binged the series and had a great time.
Characters and Summery: spoilers ahead!!!
November 3, 2023
This is the Epilogue we have all been waiting for. If you are a fan of the Breakers you will know how much this family means to us Hive girls. Finding out how the gang have been since Finale is something we all secretly needed and begged Bea for, over and over. Now don’t get me wrong I never want to curtains to close on this sensation world but sometimes we need to move on and Encore gives us the opportunity to, knowing our favourite bunch of bad boys and their lucky Penny are all happy and well.
We see more of Dax and how he is managing after his accident. My favourite dark angel. And there are scenes which are heartbreaking to read but bittersweet all the same.
We get to see Penny, still as strong and independent as ever. But what really brought this book to life for me was how everyone was involved, The Masks, The Deana Dhe, Asia and her misfits, to name a few,literally the whole gang are mentioned. It’s a beautiful ensemble of all Bea characters and it is wrapped up perfectly. We are giving the option to dive back in to this world in the future so don’t worry about that. This was never a Goodbye, more of a Catch ya later kinda thing. Because let’s face it, we will never be ready to leave this world behind.
Now onto the praise for Kelly, if you have been there from the start or there abouts, you will have seen how each book shows the growth in writing and how Kelly has developed her art by pushing boundaries and trusting her crazy mind to take us on the adventures that may shock some readers (always read triggers- Their Obsession & Finding Their Muse are darker than Misfits and Academy) but those lines needed to be crossed. Encore itself is back to basics and reminds us why Love is so important, who trust, faith and honesty are all part of Love.
I won’t give any spoilers as I think you all need to go in blind and feel for yourself what this book means to so so many readers. And exactly why it has brought so many of us together. It’s really has created its own community!!
We see more of Dax and how he is managing after his accident. My favourite dark angel. And there are scenes which are heartbreaking to read but bittersweet all the same.
We get to see Penny, still as strong and independent as ever. But what really brought this book to life for me was how everyone was involved, The Masks, The Deana Dhe, Asia and her misfits, to name a few,literally the whole gang are mentioned. It’s a beautiful ensemble of all Bea characters and it is wrapped up perfectly. We are giving the option to dive back in to this world in the future so don’t worry about that. This was never a Goodbye, more of a Catch ya later kinda thing. Because let’s face it, we will never be ready to leave this world behind.
Now onto the praise for Kelly, if you have been there from the start or there abouts, you will have seen how each book shows the growth in writing and how Kelly has developed her art by pushing boundaries and trusting her crazy mind to take us on the adventures that may shock some readers (always read triggers- Their Obsession & Finding Their Muse are darker than Misfits and Academy) but those lines needed to be crossed. Encore itself is back to basics and reminds us why Love is so important, who trust, faith and honesty are all part of Love.
I won’t give any spoilers as I think you all need to go in blind and feel for yourself what this book means to so so many readers. And exactly why it has brought so many of us together. It’s really has created its own community!!
November 6, 2023
So I was lucky enough to get the ARC for this and just as well that it’s my first ever ARC as this entire series was the series that made me fall in love with spicy books and with Bea Paige’s work.
I started the series last November and ate up every single book one after another. So when I heard that Encore was coming out I was ecstatic! Safe to say it DID NOT disappoint.
Encore was everything I had hoped! The spice was at an all time high, the nods to the previous books with familiar songs had me in tears and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. The playlist of songs themselves were just *chefs kiss*.
Overall a lovely ending for Pen and her Breakers. It was such a delight to see these characters again (I had missed them an awful lot) seeing how there relationship had managed and seeing them blossom even further. Sad to say goodbye to these books but such a well rounded story and definitely worth re reading over and over. A comfort series of mine for sure.
I started the series last November and ate up every single book one after another. So when I heard that Encore was coming out I was ecstatic! Safe to say it DID NOT disappoint.
Encore was everything I had hoped! The spice was at an all time high, the nods to the previous books with familiar songs had me in tears and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. The playlist of songs themselves were just *chefs kiss*.
Overall a lovely ending for Pen and her Breakers. It was such a delight to see these characters again (I had missed them an awful lot) seeing how there relationship had managed and seeing them blossom even further. Sad to say goodbye to these books but such a well rounded story and definitely worth re reading over and over. A comfort series of mine for sure.
November 10, 2023
This book was everything I needed and expected! When I first started reading, I read 'The Academy of Stardom series' and I was immediately hooked. After this series I read all the other books in this universe. I also couldn't wait for the 'Deana-Dhe duet'. So when I saw that 'Encore' was coming, I almost jumped out of my skin!
I can't even tell you how I feel right now! It was the perfect ending for this universe. Everyone made an appearance: Grim and Beast, The Freed Brothers, Ivan & Anton & Erik & Rose, Asia and her men, Christy and the Masks, the Deana-Dhe and Cynthia, Malakai and Connie and last but not least: Lena and Gray ! I'm so happy to read their short story!
When Pen and her Breakers get the chance to dance together again, they take it with both hands. There are so many little parts that remind you of the previous books. And that's so nice: you see how everyone has grown and what they have experienced. I really loved who they cared for each other and how they healed each other, by dancing, by talking, by loving. It was amazing that we got to read to POV's of all the Breakers and that we got to see all the Breakers being alone with Pen.
The dynamics in their relationship are mind-blowing to say the least. When I say that I loved them in the first 4 books is an understatement. After reading Encore I'm obsessed.
Chapter 8, 10 and 17... Wow!!!
🅡🅐🅣🅘🅝🅖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🅢🅟🅘🅒🅔
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🅣🅡🅞🅟🅔🅢
🕺Why Choose
💃Dance
🕺Good Boy
💃Good Girl
🕺Childhood Friends-to-Lovers
💃Found Family
🅕🅐🅥🅞🅡🅘🅣🅔 🅠🅤🅞🅣🅔🅢
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒...
𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦.
𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 . 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳?
I can't even tell you how I feel right now! It was the perfect ending for this universe. Everyone made an appearance: Grim and Beast, The Freed Brothers, Ivan & Anton & Erik & Rose, Asia and her men, Christy and the Masks, the Deana-Dhe and Cynthia, Malakai and Connie and last but not least: Lena and Gray ! I'm so happy to read their short story!
When Pen and her Breakers get the chance to dance together again, they take it with both hands. There are so many little parts that remind you of the previous books. And that's so nice: you see how everyone has grown and what they have experienced. I really loved who they cared for each other and how they healed each other, by dancing, by talking, by loving. It was amazing that we got to read to POV's of all the Breakers and that we got to see all the Breakers being alone with Pen.
The dynamics in their relationship are mind-blowing to say the least. When I say that I loved them in the first 4 books is an understatement. After reading Encore I'm obsessed.
Chapter 8, 10 and 17... Wow!!!
🅡🅐🅣🅘🅝🅖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🅢🅟🅘🅒🅔
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🅣🅡🅞🅟🅔🅢
🕺Why Choose
💃Dance
🕺Good Boy
💃Good Girl
🕺Childhood Friends-to-Lovers
💃Found Family
🅕🅐🅥🅞🅡🅘🅣🅔 🅠🅤🅞🅣🅔🅢
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒...
𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦.
𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠.
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 . 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳?
November 5, 2023
This book was perfection.
I had shivers from the first sentence. I cried, I laughed, I hurt this book was everything I didn't kno I needed till it was in my greedy little hands. I was recommended stardom academy 4 or 5 yrs ago I think as i made a bookmark for it. I was in a dark place, this series restarted my love of reading. The entire world bea has created lives rent free in my head, I have laughed, ive cried, ive raged ive been through the pain this series was amazing. This book well this was the perfect encore the perfect ending to such an incredible bunch of characthers to n incredible world. Pen n the breakers and the rest of their family were perfect saying a final goodbye to them well it hurt in the best ways, I will reread this series over n over I will relive it again n again 5 stars is just not enough. This series the entire world it's set in is 100% worth the read. It's worth the pain the emotional roller coaster the goodbye all of it is so worth it. If u havent yet u should read this series
I had shivers from the first sentence. I cried, I laughed, I hurt this book was everything I didn't kno I needed till it was in my greedy little hands. I was recommended stardom academy 4 or 5 yrs ago I think as i made a bookmark for it. I was in a dark place, this series restarted my love of reading. The entire world bea has created lives rent free in my head, I have laughed, ive cried, ive raged ive been through the pain this series was amazing. This book well this was the perfect encore the perfect ending to such an incredible bunch of characthers to n incredible world. Pen n the breakers and the rest of their family were perfect saying a final goodbye to them well it hurt in the best ways, I will reread this series over n over I will relive it again n again 5 stars is just not enough. This series the entire world it's set in is 100% worth the read. It's worth the pain the emotional roller coaster the goodbye all of it is so worth it. If u havent yet u should read this series
November 10, 2023
Outstanding
This book is pure indulgence and I am absolutely here for it.
I loved Pen and the Breakers and it was so fantastic to go back to their story and to find out more about all of the other interconnected characters along the way.
This book is absolutely amazing and it’s a perfect glimpse at the future which I didn’t know I needed. Loved it from start to finish
This book is pure indulgence and I am absolutely here for it.
I loved Pen and the Breakers and it was so fantastic to go back to their story and to find out more about all of the other interconnected characters along the way.
This book is absolutely amazing and it’s a perfect glimpse at the future which I didn’t know I needed. Loved it from start to finish
November 6, 2023
HOLYFRIGGINAMAZEBALLS. I am sobbing as the conclusion to the Academy of Stardom. I will keep this spoiler free.
This series welcomed me to Bea Paige's writing and i am still as in awe of her in general... yes i am fangirling over here, her writing and her love for this community. This series was unlike any i have previously read and to this day continues to be my favourite. Bea has a way of capturing, captivating and intwinning different worlds as one and damn i am all friggin for it!
Encore was absolutely breathtaking, the love, laughter, friendships & family vibes come together effortlessly. This was the encore i did not know we needed and honestly devoured this beautiful encore.
I desperately want to say more but this book needs to one million percent left with no spoilers.
Bea thank you for this world! ❤️
This series welcomed me to Bea Paige's writing and i am still as in awe of her in general... yes i am fangirling over here, her writing and her love for this community. This series was unlike any i have previously read and to this day continues to be my favourite. Bea has a way of capturing, captivating and intwinning different worlds as one and damn i am all friggin for it!
Encore was absolutely breathtaking, the love, laughter, friendships & family vibes come together effortlessly. This was the encore i did not know we needed and honestly devoured this beautiful encore.
I desperately want to say more but this book needs to one million percent left with no spoilers.
Bea thank you for this world! ❤️
November 19, 2023
What a bittersweet goodbye this is not just to Pen and her breakers but to this whole world that Bea has created over the last few years! Don’t get me wrong, the main focus of this extended epilogue “novella” was definitely to check in on our fave group of dancers and see how they’ve grown together over the last five years. But we also get cameos of all of Bea’s other characters, some more than others, featured throughout the whole book and I WAS LIVING FOR ALL OF IT! This humongous found family that extends across so many stories and includes so many beloved characters absolutely melted my heart! Watching groups that used to be bitter enemies now partake in familial banter was not only very entertaining but also helped to highlight the progress some of these characters have made as people. I can now leave this lovely world behind knowing that those within it will forever have the most loyal and trustworthy family to rely on! ❤️
My favorite thing about Bea’s writing as a whole and of course is no exception in this book is how she’s always able to pour such emotion into her words no matter the context. We are able to experience all of the highs like when reading about the unconditional love and acceptance Pen and her men have for each other but also the lows like when Dax and Xeno continue to face their inner demons. I always feel such an intense attachment to whoever is telling the story and honestly, it’s one of the reasons I love reading Bea’s works! Her prose is the definition of beautiful and always keeps me invested in the story! 🤌🏻✨
Overall, this book did the perfect job of giving its readers the encore we’ve been begging for before Bea closes the curtain on this world, for now! I for one really hope that someday Bea decides to make her way back and bless us with stories for Iris, Faith, and whoever else gets added to this gigantic family but until then I will be content with knowing that everyone is living in their own HEA! That being said I am SO EXCITED for 2024 and everything Bea has planned for us! Bring on the Princetown heirs! 😍
My favorite thing about Bea’s writing as a whole and of course is no exception in this book is how she’s always able to pour such emotion into her words no matter the context. We are able to experience all of the highs like when reading about the unconditional love and acceptance Pen and her men have for each other but also the lows like when Dax and Xeno continue to face their inner demons. I always feel such an intense attachment to whoever is telling the story and honestly, it’s one of the reasons I love reading Bea’s works! Her prose is the definition of beautiful and always keeps me invested in the story! 🤌🏻✨
Overall, this book did the perfect job of giving its readers the encore we’ve been begging for before Bea closes the curtain on this world, for now! I for one really hope that someday Bea decides to make her way back and bless us with stories for Iris, Faith, and whoever else gets added to this gigantic family but until then I will be content with knowing that everyone is living in their own HEA! That being said I am SO EXCITED for 2024 and everything Bea has planned for us! Bring on the Princetown heirs! 😍
November 5, 2023
This is exactly what you think it is going to be. Encore takes place 5 yers after the ending of Finale. We see how Pen and the Breakers are doing in business and life. We see that trials and tribulations and the fallout after the ending of Finale and how they are going about everyday life. This book had me smiling and happy crying the whole entire time I was reading it. Pen and the Breakers are some of my favorite characters and The academy of stardom series by far one of my favorites. The music and the emotions it brings while I am reading is always and amazing experience.
For those of us who have read the whole entire universe that is attached, then this book is an extra special treat as all of those amazing characters that Bea has brought to us and that was got to know and love we find out what is happening too.. You do not need to read the others to be able to enjoy Encore…But I highly reccomend that you do go back and start from the beginning and read them all in the recommended order!!
I really hope that Bea does give us a few more books in the future for the second generation of this universe and am really excited to see what universe she brings us next. If it is anything like this last one I know I am going to fall in love with more amazing characters…Unitil then I will reread this entire universe over and over again!
For those of us who have read the whole entire universe that is attached, then this book is an extra special treat as all of those amazing characters that Bea has brought to us and that was got to know and love we find out what is happening too.. You do not need to read the others to be able to enjoy Encore…But I highly reccomend that you do go back and start from the beginning and read them all in the recommended order!!
I really hope that Bea does give us a few more books in the future for the second generation of this universe and am really excited to see what universe she brings us next. If it is anything like this last one I know I am going to fall in love with more amazing characters…Unitil then I will reread this entire universe over and over again!
November 5, 2023
My heart feels like it has a big hole in it with the thought of saying goodbye but also it feels whole because this Encore was everything I needed. This book brought me so much joy and so many happy tears. Seeing all the characters together and happy just truly had me crying. I have fallen in love with all the characters throughout this universe and they will forever hold a place in my heart.
I loved all the songs and memories that were brought up. Even though I read the series not that long ago, I can still remember those specific moments clearly. From dancing to Work Song to being under the influence and dancing for the Deana-dhe, and then to the night Zayn and Pen met for the first time. AND now I’m sobbing again just thinking about it.
I don’t know if I’m ready for this to be over but Bea has done such a PHENOMENAL job putting these words together and giving us such a beautiful family. Pen, Dax, Zayn, York, and Xeno. Grin and Beast. Christy, Jakub, Konrad, and Leon. Cynthia, Arden, Lorcan, and Carrick. I have fallen in love with these characters one by one thanks to you Bea. I am now on my way to read the other character's stories because I need to know them.
For anyone reading this review or thinking about reading this book, you really should.
I loved all the songs and memories that were brought up. Even though I read the series not that long ago, I can still remember those specific moments clearly. From dancing to Work Song to being under the influence and dancing for the Deana-dhe, and then to the night Zayn and Pen met for the first time. AND now I’m sobbing again just thinking about it.
I don’t know if I’m ready for this to be over but Bea has done such a PHENOMENAL job putting these words together and giving us such a beautiful family. Pen, Dax, Zayn, York, and Xeno. Grin and Beast. Christy, Jakub, Konrad, and Leon. Cynthia, Arden, Lorcan, and Carrick. I have fallen in love with these characters one by one thanks to you Bea. I am now on my way to read the other character's stories because I need to know them.
For anyone reading this review or thinking about reading this book, you really should.
November 6, 2023
This book was just amazing and incredible. Can we just say thank you to Ms Bea Paige for providing us with the epilogue we never knew we needed? We reunite with Pen and her guys. They’re a bit older now, their family dynamic well and truly solidified. They grew up, they made friends, they started their own club. They work hard. But something is missing. Something that brought this group together once upon a time. Dance. So while they work at rectifying that missing piece, Dax struggles with a missing piece of his own. You can really see the character growth in Pen. It shines through so clearly. She’s a sister, a friend, a girlfriend. She’s Pen, she’s Kid, She’s Titch, and she’s Tiny. She’s Pen Scott. A girl from the gutter who dreamt of reaching the stars.
This book had lots of steamy moments, lots emotional moments. It takes you on a ride. There’s laughter and tears. There’s good times and sexy times, and times where you really felt the tears welling up. I’m so glad to be reunited with Pen and her Breakers. They’re an amazing group of characters that will always hold a special place in my heart.
This book had lots of steamy moments, lots emotional moments. It takes you on a ride. There’s laughter and tears. There’s good times and sexy times, and times where you really felt the tears welling up. I’m so glad to be reunited with Pen and her Breakers. They’re an amazing group of characters that will always hold a special place in my heart.
November 5, 2023
This is what I needed for the goodbye to this group 😭😭😭 even though it’s a hard goodbye.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Pen and her guys are back for one more dance!
This book takes us 5 years after Finale…. We get to see their success and this epilogue gives us the closure we needed for this group.
What I really enjoyed and didn’t realize I needed was we got to really see Dax… we get to see the vulnerability and his struggles with the everything. We get to see a whole other side of our dark angel.
I loved how we kinda gotta a goodbye as a whole with the characters but Bea gave us our individualized character/couple goodbyes and updates as well. We got to experience all and everything with each.
I’m trying to not write any spoilers. But I absolutely LOVED the ending and may have shed a few tears of happiness 🥹
Bea thank you for writing us this! And I can’t wait to see what you have coming next for us 🤍
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Pen and her guys are back for one more dance!
This book takes us 5 years after Finale…. We get to see their success and this epilogue gives us the closure we needed for this group.
What I really enjoyed and didn’t realize I needed was we got to really see Dax… we get to see the vulnerability and his struggles with the everything. We get to see a whole other side of our dark angel.
I loved how we kinda gotta a goodbye as a whole with the characters but Bea gave us our individualized character/couple goodbyes and updates as well. We got to experience all and everything with each.
I’m trying to not write any spoilers. But I absolutely LOVED the ending and may have shed a few tears of happiness 🥹
Bea thank you for writing us this! And I can’t wait to see what you have coming next for us 🤍
November 5, 2023
I am feeling so many things right now. I just finished Encore and Bea Paige DEFINITELY delivered an encore for the Academy of Stardom series!!
I love these characters and have watched them grow and discover themselves as individuals and as a group. The love they have for each other is amazing. They bring out the best in each other and show what love is supposed to be like. Seeing them 5 years later (in the book world) was nothing short of amazing. Pen is still the center of their universe and they absolutely adore her. Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax still have issues but they ALL deal with them together. The surprise that comes made me cry happy tears at the way everyone handled it.
As usual, there were past characters that made appearances. It is always great to get checkups on their lives as well. Bea does such a phenomenal job of intertwining the worlds that she writes about. I look forward to reading what she writes in the future!
I love these characters and have watched them grow and discover themselves as individuals and as a group. The love they have for each other is amazing. They bring out the best in each other and show what love is supposed to be like. Seeing them 5 years later (in the book world) was nothing short of amazing. Pen is still the center of their universe and they absolutely adore her. Xeno, York, Zayn, and Dax still have issues but they ALL deal with them together. The surprise that comes made me cry happy tears at the way everyone handled it.
As usual, there were past characters that made appearances. It is always great to get checkups on their lives as well. Bea does such a phenomenal job of intertwining the worlds that she writes about. I look forward to reading what she writes in the future!
November 10, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Wow! Just wow 🥺🥺
What an incredible ending, to not only, the academy of stardom series but to all the other characters throughout this series! It was the perfect goodbye 😭
It’s been 5 years since we last heard from Pen and her breakers, I for one, love extended epilogues. I always wonder in the back of my head, what the characters are doing and how life panned out for them.
For a bunch of kids, who were brought up on the wrong side of the tracks, who have had nothing but hard lives, it’s been so heartwarming to see them grow into adults. Who have so much love to give, whether it be through art, dance, medicine or hearts 🤪
So goodbye to all of my favourite characters… apart from Beast.. I refuse to say goodbye to him 🤣 it’s been one hell of a ride 🫶🏻
‘Forever and always’ 💚
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Wow! Just wow 🥺🥺
What an incredible ending, to not only, the academy of stardom series but to all the other characters throughout this series! It was the perfect goodbye 😭
It’s been 5 years since we last heard from Pen and her breakers, I for one, love extended epilogues. I always wonder in the back of my head, what the characters are doing and how life panned out for them.
For a bunch of kids, who were brought up on the wrong side of the tracks, who have had nothing but hard lives, it’s been so heartwarming to see them grow into adults. Who have so much love to give, whether it be through art, dance, medicine or hearts 🤪
So goodbye to all of my favourite characters… apart from Beast.. I refuse to say goodbye to him 🤣 it’s been one hell of a ride 🫶🏻
‘Forever and always’ 💚
April 29, 2024
Wow! What a series! Loved all of the characters and the love they shared, their love of dancing (which is one of my loves as well) and the great choices of music used.
As the wife of an amputee, this part of the story was one I could truly relate to, the struggles, the challenges after losing a part of yourself, and the phantom pain (my husband still experiences it after over 30 years) all really rang close to my heart. Sad it’s over but this series will stay with me long after this ending. ❤️
As the wife of an amputee, this part of the story was one I could truly relate to, the struggles, the challenges after losing a part of yourself, and the phantom pain (my husband still experiences it after over 30 years) all really rang close to my heart. Sad it’s over but this series will stay with me long after this ending. ❤️
November 10, 2023
If I could give a million stars to this book, I would. There is nothing I love more in a book than a good epilogue, or several. And we are given a full novel/extended epilogue for Pen and her Breakers ?! 😭
I binge read this series last year in a few days. Yes, it was that addictive.
If you know me, you know how much dance means to me, and books about dance are my weakness.
I read this book while listening to the playlist. Chapter 21 while listening to No Ordinary made me cry. Bea Paige has a way of describing the dance scenes that are just damn beautiful. I can always see the dance unfolding in front of my eyes, it's magical.
How I missed Pen and her Breakers and I'm so happy we got to read about their HEA ❤️.
I binge read this series last year in a few days. Yes, it was that addictive.
If you know me, you know how much dance means to me, and books about dance are my weakness.
I read this book while listening to the playlist. Chapter 21 while listening to No Ordinary made me cry. Bea Paige has a way of describing the dance scenes that are just damn beautiful. I can always see the dance unfolding in front of my eyes, it's magical.
How I missed Pen and her Breakers and I'm so happy we got to read about their HEA ❤️.
November 3, 2023
Stepping back into this world was like being back with family, it was like a breath of fresh air. This extended epilogue made me do a happy dance, I loved it so much. It was so good to be back with Pen, her guys and everyone else as well to find out what they have been up to ❤️ I love all these characters but York is my favourite 😍 Trouble is I don't want to leave now that I've dove back into their world. It's been a fantastic journey following all these characters. Not just Pen and her guys but everyone else as well in this universe.
I love the banter between all the characters and then there is the spice between Pen and her men 👌🏻🥵 wowzers 🔥 pass me a fan!!
This extended epilogue is an amazing addition to an already fabulous series. Thank you Bea for giving us more Breakers 😍😍
I love the banter between all the characters and then there is the spice between Pen and her men 👌🏻🥵 wowzers 🔥 pass me a fan!!
This extended epilogue is an amazing addition to an already fabulous series. Thank you Bea for giving us more Breakers 😍😍
November 13, 2023
This series will always hold a special place in my heart. So when Bea Paige announced she was writing an encore, with Encore 😉, of the Academy of Stardom series, it gave me all the warm and fuzzies. She did not disappoint!
I finished this book and I couldn't hold back the tears. Actually, I was holding it together until Chapter 19 hit. That chapter broke the dam and it continued to flow until the acknowledgements. This book is so wholesome and listening to each song dedicated to each chapter was so great.
Overall, Pen, Xeno, Dax, Zayn, and York have adjusted to their mundane and ordinary lives of running businesses. One thing that is missing though? Their passion for dancing. Within these pages, they find that passion again and gave us that encore we all asked for. Bea Paige has brilliantly and beautifully executed it. It was hot, nostalgic, emotional, and gives you an overwhelming sense of joy. This story also featured characters from the other books in this beloved universe. The absolute perfect ending!
🖤
I finished this book and I couldn't hold back the tears. Actually, I was holding it together until Chapter 19 hit. That chapter broke the dam and it continued to flow until the acknowledgements. This book is so wholesome and listening to each song dedicated to each chapter was so great.
Overall, Pen, Xeno, Dax, Zayn, and York have adjusted to their mundane and ordinary lives of running businesses. One thing that is missing though? Their passion for dancing. Within these pages, they find that passion again and gave us that encore we all asked for. Bea Paige has brilliantly and beautifully executed it. It was hot, nostalgic, emotional, and gives you an overwhelming sense of joy. This story also featured characters from the other books in this beloved universe. The absolute perfect ending!
🖤
November 28, 2023
outstanding
I swear I forgot how much I liked this group. The banter between the guys is outstanding. The live and devotion they have for not only Pen but for each out is top notch. I wish all authors were able to write with Beas skill!
I swear I forgot how much I liked this group. The banter between the guys is outstanding. The live and devotion they have for not only Pen but for each out is top notch. I wish all authors were able to write with Beas skill!
November 17, 2023
This was just a really long epilogue of the previous four books and it was just really cute! It was also suuuper cute to read all the happily ever afters from the other characters books as well 🥺 (even though I haven’t read theirs) 😭
November 15, 2023
Pen and her Breakers are back for one last dance.
Wrapping up their story in this extended epilogue had me feeling everything.
Despite the struggles that each of them have individually, they always find a way through. Since we have seen them in the last 5 years, things have changed, despite this the relationship between Pen and her guys is absolutely everything. They support,love, and take care of each other.
The fact this story brings it right back to their love of dancing and back to the stage for another performance.
You have some cameos from my other favourite characters, which is what makes them all family.
This was the perfect wrap-up to Pens and the breakers' story. I will forever love these, especially as it was the first series on Bea's I ever read. It was an emotional, incredible ending.
Wrapping up their story in this extended epilogue had me feeling everything.
Despite the struggles that each of them have individually, they always find a way through. Since we have seen them in the last 5 years, things have changed, despite this the relationship between Pen and her guys is absolutely everything. They support,love, and take care of each other.
The fact this story brings it right back to their love of dancing and back to the stage for another performance.
You have some cameos from my other favourite characters, which is what makes them all family.
This was the perfect wrap-up to Pens and the breakers' story. I will forever love these, especially as it was the first series on Bea's I ever read. It was an emotional, incredible ending.
November 27, 2023
I love Bea Paige and while I didn't really need this addition to the Academy of Stardom series, I did enjoy the book. It seems like Paige wanted to tie up every series in the universe and this book allowed her to do that. That being said, if you haven't read the rest of the books, do that first or you're going to be very confused.
Paige reading order (18 books total):
Brothers Freed (3 books), Finding their Muse (4 books), Academy of Misfits (3 books), Beyond the Horizon (solo book), Academy of Stardom (books 1-4), Their Obsession (2 books), then this book.
Paige reading order (18 books total):
Brothers Freed (3 books), Finding their Muse (4 books), Academy of Misfits (3 books), Beyond the Horizon (solo book), Academy of Stardom (books 1-4), Their Obsession (2 books), then this book.
November 9, 2023
This was the epilogue that I didn't know I needed. I have loved this series from the start so to get this extra content was a real bonus.
This was such a beautiful ending for this series, we got a glimpse of how Pen and her men have been going over the past few years and absolutely loved how all of the characters from this world all came together to celebrate friendship and family and that ending is something we have all been waiting for.
This was such a beautiful ending for this series, we got a glimpse of how Pen and her men have been going over the past few years and absolutely loved how all of the characters from this world all came together to celebrate friendship and family and that ending is something we have all been waiting for.
December 2, 2024
Perfect ending to a beautiful story ❤️
September 1, 2025
i think everyone should do a whole extended epilogue like this because it was extremely fulfilling
November 15, 2023
This review is gonna get a bit more personal than I normally share, but this series has a particularly special place in my heart, and my personal journey with it is not only important to understand just how powerfully penned it is, but to also understand how impactful words can be- as an escape, as a mirror of ourselves, as a way to understand or enlighten, to bring joy or hope or even sadness. For my words about this series can’t ever be divorced from the whole of me, the personal and unique tethers I have to it. Perhaps these words then are more for me than you, but alas I’ll share them anyways. Because to understand my orientation to Encore means walking with me to what brought me here at the start.
A bit of melancholic context, but I discovered this series after a tremendous loss, one I’ve never quite recovered from. The first book was sitting on my kindle ready to read (an early copy by author I’d never read before), and the night before I’d said goodbye to someone endlessly and devastatingly important to me as they took their last living breath. I’d said goodbye to someone who represented my only security and stability in my adult life. The night after that loss, I understandably couldn’t sleep. I was isolated and alone (courtesy of the pandemic era), and drowning in my sadness. At times choking on it, like my heart was shredded and little by little the shattered pieces were clawing up and catching in my throat. Nothing comforted me, sleep was impossible, and grief felt like my permanent companion, a heavy blanket that both embraced and smothered me. I’d lost a meaningful connection- and truthfully, I was more raw and lost than ever before. So I did what I did most nights when insomnia had me in its clutches … I read.
I’m not sure what I expected to find on the page, what balm I thought a dark, reverse harem romance from an author I’d never read could bring my broken heart. But grief defies logic and principle, so I opened up Freestyle. And with every page I turned, my grief somehow got a little more bearable, a little less cutting. Ever present, yes, but for just a moment when I needed to escape my pain, when I needed to feel seen in some way, connected to anything other than my loss, I found some solace in those pages. Ironic considering Freestyle isn’t much of a happy story. In fact Pen was deeply struggling. She too was isolated and alone, fighting to find stability and security, connection and love, when she’d been deprived of all those things. Freestyle is basically a manifesto of brokenness, a deconstruction of a character’s pain in an authentic and visceral panorama. A survivor, sure, but a character just on the brink of buckling from the weight of the world, of what she’s lost, of what she COULD lose. Heavy shit to be sure…but a heaviness that felt welcome, felt familiar. In a way that pain brought me comfort, because isn’t that what makes us all human? The shared capacity for pain?
But we also have the shared capacity for love. And as much as pain vibrated on these pages, the power of love reigned supreme, even when that love hurts. And my love was really hurting me. But as I read of the open wound that was Pen’s love, I felt more in touch with mine. Her grief was different - romantic and unfinished. But yet I knew that my grief was just an expression of that same core- of love, of love that felt endless but suddenly had no place to go. So for a moment, I poured my love into the pages, into the connection I felt with Pen. With her Breakers. I was captivated, enthralled, mesmerized. Words from a stranger became my way to cope. It was like the big, messy, sloppy hug a family member would give you with a loss, one that I was deprived of in real life but found in these pages.
Freestyle’s immersive storytelling somehow was the escapism I needed when my heart was at its most broken. But it also became the immediate connection I needed in a moment when I was frankly just sad and alone. In Pen I saw myself- not in the literal sense, but in the metaphysical one. Her vulnerability, her expression, her needs mirrored my own. Her pain defined her, at least in that moment, but it didn’t break her. Or her Breakers. Crawling through the trenches of her history and the depths of her heart helped me crawl a little bit out of my own. To help me find a new relationship with my sadness, to help first escape then embrace it. While also just giving my mind something so thrilling and creatively inspired to focus on.
I could extol the power and beauty of this series for endless words- but you should just read my reviews of each book to know how brilliantly created each character is, how existentially clever and intriguing this whole story is, how beautifully Bea captures a love for dance and utilizes it as a character in and of itself, as a driving force and the beating heart of this series in ways I never imagined. But at it’s core the story is about the power of true connection and unconditional love, something I felt profoundly even in the first book, when my own love was pouring out of me in the form of grief. It’s about the intangible and unbreakable force that is knowing the soul of another, and how that love is transformative and has a permanence that is never severed, not with adversity…or for me, not in death.
So this series will always be special to me. I have a bittersweet association in a way- remembering reading the first book with profound awe while also languishing in my bed between random bouts of tears and the agonizing truth that the world would never be the same for me again. I feel my grief as if it were fresh again even now. But I think Pen and her guys would understand that- because they know how the sharp and painful edges of the past are still little tender long after the heart has healed and new hope is found. Pain never escapes us fully, not really. Grief and trauma is tattooed on us in someway forever. But we learn to carry that weight better, in ways that are less heavy. We just learn how to heal, to forgive and find home and solace…and we find the fuel in LOVE. And love I found in these pages. As Pen found hers too.
So it is no surprise love is what I have for this meaty epilogue. I adore these characters, this world, but for so much more than it being my own crutch in pain. Because even without that personal link, I’d be recklessly in love with this series. It’s profoundly creative, immersive, thoughtful and moving. And Encore is a heartfelt and sincere love letter to everything that makes this world special, not just to the Breakers. I’ll take any moment I have to revel in the happiness and healing of these fantastic characters, because it reminds me that while we all have the shared lived experience of pain in common, that we all also have the potential for happiness and hope. Because of LOVE. A love that started it all- love for each other and love for dance. And my love- love in a loss that lead me into a magical world that healed me a little bit when I needed it most, that embraced my broken pieces with its own. SO read this fantastic series..but not because of my love or the resonance of MY pain. Read it because of your own. Pieces of our humanity sprinkle every page, and in it, I hope you too find what you're looking for. Whatever that may be.
A bit of melancholic context, but I discovered this series after a tremendous loss, one I’ve never quite recovered from. The first book was sitting on my kindle ready to read (an early copy by author I’d never read before), and the night before I’d said goodbye to someone endlessly and devastatingly important to me as they took their last living breath. I’d said goodbye to someone who represented my only security and stability in my adult life. The night after that loss, I understandably couldn’t sleep. I was isolated and alone (courtesy of the pandemic era), and drowning in my sadness. At times choking on it, like my heart was shredded and little by little the shattered pieces were clawing up and catching in my throat. Nothing comforted me, sleep was impossible, and grief felt like my permanent companion, a heavy blanket that both embraced and smothered me. I’d lost a meaningful connection- and truthfully, I was more raw and lost than ever before. So I did what I did most nights when insomnia had me in its clutches … I read.
I’m not sure what I expected to find on the page, what balm I thought a dark, reverse harem romance from an author I’d never read could bring my broken heart. But grief defies logic and principle, so I opened up Freestyle. And with every page I turned, my grief somehow got a little more bearable, a little less cutting. Ever present, yes, but for just a moment when I needed to escape my pain, when I needed to feel seen in some way, connected to anything other than my loss, I found some solace in those pages. Ironic considering Freestyle isn’t much of a happy story. In fact Pen was deeply struggling. She too was isolated and alone, fighting to find stability and security, connection and love, when she’d been deprived of all those things. Freestyle is basically a manifesto of brokenness, a deconstruction of a character’s pain in an authentic and visceral panorama. A survivor, sure, but a character just on the brink of buckling from the weight of the world, of what she’s lost, of what she COULD lose. Heavy shit to be sure…but a heaviness that felt welcome, felt familiar. In a way that pain brought me comfort, because isn’t that what makes us all human? The shared capacity for pain?
But we also have the shared capacity for love. And as much as pain vibrated on these pages, the power of love reigned supreme, even when that love hurts. And my love was really hurting me. But as I read of the open wound that was Pen’s love, I felt more in touch with mine. Her grief was different - romantic and unfinished. But yet I knew that my grief was just an expression of that same core- of love, of love that felt endless but suddenly had no place to go. So for a moment, I poured my love into the pages, into the connection I felt with Pen. With her Breakers. I was captivated, enthralled, mesmerized. Words from a stranger became my way to cope. It was like the big, messy, sloppy hug a family member would give you with a loss, one that I was deprived of in real life but found in these pages.
Freestyle’s immersive storytelling somehow was the escapism I needed when my heart was at its most broken. But it also became the immediate connection I needed in a moment when I was frankly just sad and alone. In Pen I saw myself- not in the literal sense, but in the metaphysical one. Her vulnerability, her expression, her needs mirrored my own. Her pain defined her, at least in that moment, but it didn’t break her. Or her Breakers. Crawling through the trenches of her history and the depths of her heart helped me crawl a little bit out of my own. To help me find a new relationship with my sadness, to help first escape then embrace it. While also just giving my mind something so thrilling and creatively inspired to focus on.
I could extol the power and beauty of this series for endless words- but you should just read my reviews of each book to know how brilliantly created each character is, how existentially clever and intriguing this whole story is, how beautifully Bea captures a love for dance and utilizes it as a character in and of itself, as a driving force and the beating heart of this series in ways I never imagined. But at it’s core the story is about the power of true connection and unconditional love, something I felt profoundly even in the first book, when my own love was pouring out of me in the form of grief. It’s about the intangible and unbreakable force that is knowing the soul of another, and how that love is transformative and has a permanence that is never severed, not with adversity…or for me, not in death.
So this series will always be special to me. I have a bittersweet association in a way- remembering reading the first book with profound awe while also languishing in my bed between random bouts of tears and the agonizing truth that the world would never be the same for me again. I feel my grief as if it were fresh again even now. But I think Pen and her guys would understand that- because they know how the sharp and painful edges of the past are still little tender long after the heart has healed and new hope is found. Pain never escapes us fully, not really. Grief and trauma is tattooed on us in someway forever. But we learn to carry that weight better, in ways that are less heavy. We just learn how to heal, to forgive and find home and solace…and we find the fuel in LOVE. And love I found in these pages. As Pen found hers too.
So it is no surprise love is what I have for this meaty epilogue. I adore these characters, this world, but for so much more than it being my own crutch in pain. Because even without that personal link, I’d be recklessly in love with this series. It’s profoundly creative, immersive, thoughtful and moving. And Encore is a heartfelt and sincere love letter to everything that makes this world special, not just to the Breakers. I’ll take any moment I have to revel in the happiness and healing of these fantastic characters, because it reminds me that while we all have the shared lived experience of pain in common, that we all also have the potential for happiness and hope. Because of LOVE. A love that started it all- love for each other and love for dance. And my love- love in a loss that lead me into a magical world that healed me a little bit when I needed it most, that embraced my broken pieces with its own. SO read this fantastic series..but not because of my love or the resonance of MY pain. Read it because of your own. Pieces of our humanity sprinkle every page, and in it, I hope you too find what you're looking for. Whatever that may be.
November 10, 2023
This is how my review of Finale started: “After only about 9 months, one of my favorite series has come to an end. I’ve said this before, but Bea’s books should come with a box of Kleenex and a bottle of wine because she will ALWAYS take you on her emotional rollercoaster.” HAS THAT EVER BEEN MORE TRUE?!
Encore is the kind of book that is referenced as a love letter to readers and certainly Kelly gave us everything we could possibly want. Normally when a series ends, you feel the closure of the final book and maybe even have an epilogue that solidifies the happiness of the characters you fell in love with and that’s lovely. But Kelly decided to basically write an epilogue the length of a book, meaning those warm and fuzzies hit you even more forcefully. I’m not exaggerating when I say I had tears or goosebumps from the literal first page of reading this book. Because beyond being a love letter to readers, this book is a love letter to her characters.
Kelly crafts these characters that pulse with life, so when she puts them through the ringer of emotional torment, their pain and brokenness feels authentic, like you’re experiencing it alongside them. After all that, they deserved to have a book chockablock with love and happiness. We get that here, not just for Pen and her Breakers, oh no, Kelly brings freaking everyone back in the most phenomenal amalgamation of an ensemble ever written.Kelly was intentional about every word she put in this book. Each chapter gave us another glimpse into the realities of entwined lives five years down the road, including the barriers and bumps along the way. But like the rockstar writer she is, Kelly solidified the healing and connections and progress they’ve all made and ensured that after we leave them here, they’ll be able to tackle anything else that comes their way. Now I’m crying all over again!
And look. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention the spice, ok? I’ve got a reputation for being thirsty, but I should’ve known Kelly would be absolutely ready to quench my thirst. I always want books with plot and relationships I can believe in, but that takes time to build and I often don’t get enough spice (is there ever enough) by the time the books are over. You know what’s great about this book, though? We already fully understand the emotional connections of these characters, so Kelly didn’t have to spend chapters on that, she was able to dive right into it! Readers, the scenes you will encounter in this book…I don’t even have words. Well, I have one word, and it’ll be good enough to convey what I’m talking about- DADDY. Literally my review could’ve just said ‘daddy’ and you should be immediately on board. Encore is going to give you a balance of deep, powerful love and the smuttiest smut that ever did smut. How can you go wrong with that?!
Thank you, Kelly. Thank you for letting us step into this world you created. Thank you for sharing ALL of these characters with us over the years. Thank you for putting your soul into your craft on these pages. Most of all, thank you for letting us have this extended goodbye. I think it’s the only way I would’ve been able to let go.
Encore is the kind of book that is referenced as a love letter to readers and certainly Kelly gave us everything we could possibly want. Normally when a series ends, you feel the closure of the final book and maybe even have an epilogue that solidifies the happiness of the characters you fell in love with and that’s lovely. But Kelly decided to basically write an epilogue the length of a book, meaning those warm and fuzzies hit you even more forcefully. I’m not exaggerating when I say I had tears or goosebumps from the literal first page of reading this book. Because beyond being a love letter to readers, this book is a love letter to her characters.
Kelly crafts these characters that pulse with life, so when she puts them through the ringer of emotional torment, their pain and brokenness feels authentic, like you’re experiencing it alongside them. After all that, they deserved to have a book chockablock with love and happiness. We get that here, not just for Pen and her Breakers, oh no, Kelly brings freaking everyone back in the most phenomenal amalgamation of an ensemble ever written.Kelly was intentional about every word she put in this book. Each chapter gave us another glimpse into the realities of entwined lives five years down the road, including the barriers and bumps along the way. But like the rockstar writer she is, Kelly solidified the healing and connections and progress they’ve all made and ensured that after we leave them here, they’ll be able to tackle anything else that comes their way. Now I’m crying all over again!
And look. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention the spice, ok? I’ve got a reputation for being thirsty, but I should’ve known Kelly would be absolutely ready to quench my thirst. I always want books with plot and relationships I can believe in, but that takes time to build and I often don’t get enough spice (is there ever enough) by the time the books are over. You know what’s great about this book, though? We already fully understand the emotional connections of these characters, so Kelly didn’t have to spend chapters on that, she was able to dive right into it! Readers, the scenes you will encounter in this book…I don’t even have words. Well, I have one word, and it’ll be good enough to convey what I’m talking about- DADDY. Literally my review could’ve just said ‘daddy’ and you should be immediately on board. Encore is going to give you a balance of deep, powerful love and the smuttiest smut that ever did smut. How can you go wrong with that?!
Thank you, Kelly. Thank you for letting us step into this world you created. Thank you for sharing ALL of these characters with us over the years. Thank you for putting your soul into your craft on these pages. Most of all, thank you for letting us have this extended goodbye. I think it’s the only way I would’ve been able to let go.
November 11, 2023
I haven't had time to process what I have just read...but what I CAN say is what an amazing encore this book truly is. If you are new to the Academy of Stardom series, then please, please, please go back and read this series from the beginning, starting with Freestyle. I promise you, you won't be disappointed and the beautiful thing is, the series is complete, so you can binge your heart out!
Academy of Stardom, as a whole, is what I like to call an anomaly, in all the best ways. First, I am extremely picky when it comes to reverse harem storylines. I can probably count on my one hand how many I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. They have to be done right and they have to be believable for me to truly invest my time. Why? Because I normally like my male main characters alpha all the way and when reverse harem started becoming popular, it was hard for me to buy in one the concept of sharing. How can 2 or 3 or 4 men still be the kind of alpha I need and expect when they are sharing the same woman? Second, I generally strongly dislike enemies to lovers trope AND third, I tend to avoid second chance books as well. Yeah, again, call me picky. That's why this series is an anomaly!
I went into this series skeptical, being pulled in by the unique concept of dancers, gorgeous covers, and all the hype. And man am I glad I still like to challenge myself and gave this series a shot. Bea Paige truly has a gift, from the way she writes reverse harem to the way she describes the dance sequences and music choices, to the extremely 🥵🥵🥵 sexy scenes. Even her secondary characters are rememberable and steal the spotlight, which many are later featured in their own books.
When the Academy of Stardom series was finished, I definitely went through a book funk hangover. These are characters that you don't soon forget and find yourself comparing other books, especially with the reverse harem trope, to but find yourself disappointed because this series is a diamond in a rough. So imagine my surprise when I learned Bea was writing essentially an ENCORE for her fans??? And not just a quick 30k word novella. Nope, she wrote a gorgeous full length novel set 5 years after Pen and her breakers have their happily ever after. I didn't realize how much I missed these characters until I was 3 chapters into Encore. Bea truly outdid herself going back to these beloved characters and making them even more 3-dimensional. Add in the dancing, the scenes that make you 🫠🫠🫠 and cameos from secondary characters that we have all come to love, this is truly a treasure and a treat from Bea to her fans.
So if you are looking for a new series to jump into, please start from the beginning and grab your copy of Freestyle. If you are familiar with this series and skeptical if a 5th book is worth reading when the series already was tied up neatly with a bow, you will not be disappointed. This is every book lovers fantasy, to be able to get a chance to revisit characters that we all thought we were finished with. Don't walk to get this encore, RUN!
Academy of Stardom, as a whole, is what I like to call an anomaly, in all the best ways. First, I am extremely picky when it comes to reverse harem storylines. I can probably count on my one hand how many I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. They have to be done right and they have to be believable for me to truly invest my time. Why? Because I normally like my male main characters alpha all the way and when reverse harem started becoming popular, it was hard for me to buy in one the concept of sharing. How can 2 or 3 or 4 men still be the kind of alpha I need and expect when they are sharing the same woman? Second, I generally strongly dislike enemies to lovers trope AND third, I tend to avoid second chance books as well. Yeah, again, call me picky. That's why this series is an anomaly!
I went into this series skeptical, being pulled in by the unique concept of dancers, gorgeous covers, and all the hype. And man am I glad I still like to challenge myself and gave this series a shot. Bea Paige truly has a gift, from the way she writes reverse harem to the way she describes the dance sequences and music choices, to the extremely 🥵🥵🥵 sexy scenes. Even her secondary characters are rememberable and steal the spotlight, which many are later featured in their own books.
When the Academy of Stardom series was finished, I definitely went through a book funk hangover. These are characters that you don't soon forget and find yourself comparing other books, especially with the reverse harem trope, to but find yourself disappointed because this series is a diamond in a rough. So imagine my surprise when I learned Bea was writing essentially an ENCORE for her fans??? And not just a quick 30k word novella. Nope, she wrote a gorgeous full length novel set 5 years after Pen and her breakers have their happily ever after. I didn't realize how much I missed these characters until I was 3 chapters into Encore. Bea truly outdid herself going back to these beloved characters and making them even more 3-dimensional. Add in the dancing, the scenes that make you 🫠🫠🫠 and cameos from secondary characters that we have all come to love, this is truly a treasure and a treat from Bea to her fans.
So if you are looking for a new series to jump into, please start from the beginning and grab your copy of Freestyle. If you are familiar with this series and skeptical if a 5th book is worth reading when the series already was tied up neatly with a bow, you will not be disappointed. This is every book lovers fantasy, to be able to get a chance to revisit characters that we all thought we were finished with. Don't walk to get this encore, RUN!
January 1, 2024
This is what we all have been wanting and even more! I fell for the Breakers in the Academy of Stardom series, and all the other characters in this shared universe and this extended epilogue gave them all an amazing send off!
I won’t give stuff away because it really wasnt a plot driven in terms of stuff was wrong/people coming after them haha. They had to work through the ramifications of Finale with Dax’s injury, with Xeno’s trust issues/talking about his feelings, etc. We get to see Xeno finally let the walls come down fully and talk about his mental health and having the others help him for once instead of keeping it from them. We get to see Dax finally dance again and let the others in when he is feeling down because of what he thinks he can’t do anymore. We get to see the others help them heal and come together and make another beautiful masterpiece. I loved the song they all sang to at the end and let me tell you....the waterworks were intense haha. I wasnt upset because it was over (I mean there was some of that) but I cried because that dance/song was the perfect culmination of their love and their battling to get to their HEA. I felt the impact these characters have had on me and I can say these characters and this shared world will always be a part of me and I will come back to this and reread when I need a pick me up. OH and don’t get me started on the steaaaaaaaam. I usually don’t read Daddies in my RH (I loved Daddies in my M/M reads!) but this added level of intimacy and steam was fabulous....and be ready for some M/M. If you arent a fan, probably shouldn’t read this epilogue haha. I loved the mix of the steam, heartache/tension/angst, and adorable moments. Great job by this author ❤️
I loved seeing all my other favorites from the other spinoffs (Beast especially hahaha) and their kids/how they are after a couple years and I loved this found/made family they have created. I loved seeing the kids now have kids themselves, or they are creating their own family and have made friends with each other. Made me smile and laugh so much with all the antics. And I loved the open ended way the author ended it....maybe we will get the kids’ stories in the future. Loved the glimpses of what could be haha. Also can you imagine trying to date Grim and Beast’s kid?!?!?! I CANNOT WAIT to see if we get more in the future and will eat those up if/when they come to fruition. Thank you to this author who brought so much joy, healing, love to our lives with this incredible universe 🥰 I will miss these characters 😭 and their incredible story, but I am so excited for the new world you have up your sleeve too!
I won’t give stuff away because it really wasnt a plot driven in terms of stuff was wrong/people coming after them haha. They had to work through the ramifications of Finale with Dax’s injury, with Xeno’s trust issues/talking about his feelings, etc. We get to see Xeno finally let the walls come down fully and talk about his mental health and having the others help him for once instead of keeping it from them. We get to see Dax finally dance again and let the others in when he is feeling down because of what he thinks he can’t do anymore. We get to see the others help them heal and come together and make another beautiful masterpiece. I loved the song they all sang to at the end and let me tell you....the waterworks were intense haha. I wasnt upset because it was over (I mean there was some of that) but I cried because that dance/song was the perfect culmination of their love and their battling to get to their HEA. I felt the impact these characters have had on me and I can say these characters and this shared world will always be a part of me and I will come back to this and reread when I need a pick me up. OH and don’t get me started on the steaaaaaaaam. I usually don’t read Daddies in my RH (I loved Daddies in my M/M reads!) but this added level of intimacy and steam was fabulous....and be ready for some M/M. If you arent a fan, probably shouldn’t read this epilogue haha. I loved the mix of the steam, heartache/tension/angst, and adorable moments. Great job by this author ❤️
I loved seeing all my other favorites from the other spinoffs (Beast especially hahaha) and their kids/how they are after a couple years and I loved this found/made family they have created. I loved seeing the kids now have kids themselves, or they are creating their own family and have made friends with each other. Made me smile and laugh so much with all the antics. And I loved the open ended way the author ended it....maybe we will get the kids’ stories in the future. Loved the glimpses of what could be haha. Also can you imagine trying to date Grim and Beast’s kid?!?!?! I CANNOT WAIT to see if we get more in the future and will eat those up if/when they come to fruition. Thank you to this author who brought so much joy, healing, love to our lives with this incredible universe 🥰 I will miss these characters 😭 and their incredible story, but I am so excited for the new world you have up your sleeve too!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews