The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘kate brian’

From Goodreads.com:
After the shocking revelations made in the Private prequel, The Book of Spells, Noelle and Reed know they are descendants of the original Billings Girls and their legacy includes a mysterious coven of witches. But it’s nothing compared to what happens next.

One by one, Billings Girls go missing from campus.

The entire community bands together to find the lost girls, hoping they are still alive. Reed can’t believe tragedy has struck Easton again, and she begins to wonder if the Billings Girls are cursed. But when the first body shows up containing a message just for her, she fears her friends are worse than cursed: they’re doomed.

The penultimate book in the suspenseful Private series!

I actually read this book a couple of months ago when I was in a kick about cleaning off my bookshelf. I forgot that I read the book and didn’t notice until I saw it on my shelf the other day that I did, in fact, read it and I hadn’t posted a review.

I also thought this was the last book in the series and didn’t know until I was looking at the summary that there was one more. I was kind of content with this being  the last book. I don’t know if I am growing out of it or if I just have a stale taste in my mouth where the series has gone. I will read the final book, because I want to give the series another shot, but at one time I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book and now, I’m ready to move on. When the series started getting witchy, I started losing interest. At one time it was so believable and I could imagine myself on Easton’s campus, along with the Billing’s Girls. But now I feel like an outsider.

Based on the summary of this book, I was hoping the whole spell portion may be over. Yes, the word “cursed” is used, but from the summary, I was excited. I thought Brian was getting back to the basics. I was wrong. Spells are still involved in this book and some of the girls start taking this whole witch thing seriously. I think it could have definitely held it’s own without it.

If you haven’t gotten this far in the series, I don’t want to discourage you from finishing it and I plan to get my hands on the final book in the series and round it out, with high hopes that it ends on a high note.

I do commend Brian for coming up with 14 different story lines for the books to follow. I think it’s awesome that you can develop your characters and add and subtract characters and make readers still want to stick around. I just wish she would have stayed with the believable plots that made me fall in love.

With that said, I give Ominous 2 bookmarks and have my fingers crossed that I can connect with the final book in the series and end the series loving it as much as I did when I first started. Since the new Billings House will be built, maybe my hopes will be answered. End it where it all began.

ISBN:
Released:
Author Website
Kari bought this book

Noelle Lange is missing. Kidnapped to be exact. And Reed is the only one who can save her. She receives a text painting the picture of how she will get Noelle back, alive:

WE HAVE NOELLE LANGE. IF YOU GO TO THE POLICE, SHE DIES. IF YOU GO TO HER FAMILY, SHE DIES. IF YOU GO TO THE HEADMASTER, SHE DIES. YOU WILL FOLLOW OUR EVERY INSTRUCTION TO THE LETTER, OR SHE WILL DIE. THE GAME IS ON, REED BRENNAN. THE PRIZE? NOELLE’S LIFE.

So now Reed has to follow the rules. Her first task is a trip to Europe, to get an excuse for Noelle being absent from school and from there, they only cause more havoc on her life.

Wow! I can’t believe this is the 12th book in this series! I knew I had read quite a few, but didn’t realize until I got on Amazon that it was 12. Reading flies when you have awesome books, ey?

This book was fun, different from the others though. The books until now were about sisterhood and group activities. Don’t get me wrong, this is all about saving your sister, but it’s Reed alone. That bond with the other girls isn’t there are much in this book as the others and now that Billings is gone, well …. Billings is gone.

I liked the plot of this book. I like the goals that Reed had to complete to save her friend. They were a stretch, but attainable for a high school girl.

I however don’t really like how the book ended. I don’t want to ruin it for everyone… so I’m not going to add a specific spoiler, but I am going to say the reason I loved this series was because it was real. It could really happen and it’s a peak into the live of the rich and famous, through the eyes of an ordinary teenager. I always had a hankering for a private school, with the rich and famous and this series has given me a chance to live vicariously through Reed. But in this book, it takes a turn for the….unreal and unimaginable.

I will give Kate Brian…Kieran Scott… the benefit of the doubt with this book. My mouth dropped at the end, like it has in every other book. She is the queen of cliffhangers. I have already gone and gotten Ominous, the last book in the series, but am kind of nervous to read it. I was a tad disappointed with the revelation in this book and I hope the series doesn’t end on a sour note for me.

I give Vanished 4 bookmarks. If you have read this series, and read this book, just let me say what came out at the end is what kept this from being a 5 star book for me. I’ll give the final one a try though.

ISBN: 978-1416984719
Released: August 31, 2010
Author Website
Kari bought this book

While we all love the clothes and jewelry and shoes and electronics at Christmas, there are a select few of us that live for the bookish gifts we will receive.

Every year I say this, but this year I hit the jackpot on the bookie gifts.

Here are the books I got:

What I normally do at Christmas is pick up a bunch of books I want and give them to my brother to give to me. Good deal, right? This year, I stuck with books from a series that I need. I love all of these series’ and can’t wait to read all of them.

I also got some awesome bookmarks this Christmas:

I’ve posted before about magnetic bookmarks. These are lifesavers for me. I always throw my book in my bag and go. With a regular bookmark, I am normally trying to remember which page I was on, because it’s almost always guaranteed to fall out. But with magnetic bookmarks, I never lose them, and I can put them on the line where I finished so I know exactly where to start again.

Now, I know I just talked about regular bookmarks and my lack of love for them, but how awesome is my wooden bookmark on the left? I got this at the Bob Evans Farm Festival this year. There was a booth with hundreds of bookmarks, each with a different design cut out of it. As soon as we found the booth, my mom and I started searching for one that would suit me. We were almost at the end and giving up until we found the on with the state of West Virginia, my new home state. I love it! (The state and the bookmark)

I didn’t take a picture of my gift cards, but I got so many gift cards, I have no idea what I’m going to do with myself. Along with my friend WriteMeg! , I am going to make 2011 the year I read what I want. I’m not changing much about my habits, but if I want to read something this year, I’m not going to hesitate. I’m going to jump on it! So, for me this year, gift cards are amazing! I got $100 worth of gift cards from Borders this year and $50 worth from Barnes and Noble (for my Nook). I have no idea where I am even going to start with these!

I have already made my first, after Christmas purchase for the year. My husband and I went shopping the day after Christmas, which I normally avoid. We both got some pretty good deals, but the best deal was this:

I follow Ally on Twitter and have wanted to read this book forever. But I am very reluctant about buying books. I have two bookshelves full at my house and am probably the biggest tight wad you’ll ever meet. So, when I was scanning the sale books at Borders this weekend, I jumped on this copy of Heist Society. It was on sale for $5.99. I figured I had enough in gift cards to make this purchase. Little did I know that I had $5 in Borders Bucks, so I ended up paying $1.05 for this hardcover copy. I was ecstatic and my husband was laughing hysterically. He asked if they knew me by name in Borders lol

So, as you can see, I’m extremely happy with my Christmas goods. What did you get this year????

Farrah is finally feeling comfortable in her own skin. After a semester at college, she has come to terms with her wild red hair, comfy sweaters, book nerd mentality and getting used toher new alter ego,Jane. But all of that may be short lived. Her brother is getting married over Christmas break, to an heiress to a clothing company bigger than Abercrombie.

Farrah isn’t much into preppy, prissy girls and she’s afraid of losing her brother, who is her best friend. But when she meets Biff AKA Buffy AKA the bride’s sister, Farrah’s worries start to fade. She won’t be alone this week in wonderland. But then when she runs into her college crush, things get shaken up. He’s an employee at the resort she is staying. She lies about who she is and gets deeper into the character of Jane. But they all may be jeopardized on the big wedding day, when all of the employees are on duty at the big wedding, where Farrah is the best girl (like the best man, but for a girl).

For the first time in a long time, I fell in love with characters. I’ve run across a lot of immature YA characters lately and some of them have actually pushed me away from YA. I know that  it’s my choice to be an adult and read YA and I know the books are geared towards younger people, but every now and then, in books like these, my love is restored. Farrah, Jane, whatever you want to call her is a character I’d like to get to know better and see what happens in her future. She grows up in kind of a hoity-toity family, with a mom who just wants her to be pretty and girly, like all the other girls. But I appreciate Farrah for being who she wants to be, even if that does put her in the nerdstrom category. She does take to the girly side for a hot second, but realizes that you don’t always have to be dolled up to get the guy.

I love that lesson in a YA book. In high school, and even college, looks are always so important. I’m not sayng Farrah isn’t pretty, but she’s naturally pretty. She doesn’t need to spend hours on her hair and makeup and clothes to be pretty. There need to be more YA girls like that.

I’ve read a lot of books lately that have made me want to pack my bags and take a trip. After Anna and the French Kiss, I was ready to go to Paris. After this, I don’t care where I go, as long as I can sit in a cabin, but the fire and drink cocoa and watch the snow and skiers. I’m doing just that today, watching the snow out the window of my house, and although my tree is blinking and sparkly, there just seems to be something magical about a ski resort.

I give The Best Girl 4 bookmarks. As much as I loved it, I hated that Farrah lied throughout the book. There were so many times I wanted her just to come clean, but she kept the lies going. LYING IS BAD!

ISBN: 9780061228247
Published: December 1, 2007
Author Website (Emma is actually Kieran Scott)
Kari got this book from BookMooch

If you have read any of Kate Brian’s Private series, you know that Ariana Osgood is a bit on the crazy side, just like her mother (Sorry, but it’s true). She’s accused of doing some awful things, including murder, but none of us know why she is the way she is, until now. In Last Christmas, we get to know Ariana before Reed Brennen comes to campus. Ariana is dating heart throb Daniel Ryan, but when she gets behind on a paper and gets stuck on campus, we learn where her love for Thomas Pearson started and that she’d do anything to be with him. Any by anything, I mean anything.

Well, I’ll say this. I’ve read a couple of sappy holiday stories so far and this was the furthest thing from a sappy love story. Yes it’s a love story, but more of a Misery love story. If you are looking for a feel-good holiday story, save this for after the New Year.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this book. I hated Ariana from the get-go in this series. She was so mean to Reed, who was so nice. I wanted to know why she was the way she was. This gave me a look, and I figured I would sympathize with her, but not so much. Kate Brian (aka Kieran Scott) has created the most crazy, demented girl I could ever imagine. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what she would do next.

Brian made Ariana her own series, Privilege, one that I’m not sure I am emotionally stable for yet. I’m going to have to give Ariana a little bit of a rest before I dive back into her crazy life.

In the meantime, I give Last Christmas 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-1416913696
Published: October 7, 2008
Author Website
Kari got this book, don’t laugh, as a Christmas present last year and is just now getting to it!