Inner Circle and Legacy by Kate Brian (Private novels)

                          

Title: Inner Circle & Legacy (Private, Book 6)
Author: Kate Brian
Series: Private
Other books in the series:
Private
Invitation Only
Untouchable
Confessions

Blurb - Inner Circle:
Reed Brennan arrived at Easton Academy expecting to find an idyllic private school experience -- challenging classes, adorably preppy boys, and a chance to create a new life for herself. Instead, she discovered lies, deception, blackmail, and...murder. But, thankfully, the killers were caught and the nightmare is finally over. Now, with a new school year ahead of her, Reed steps back on Easton's ivy-covered campus ready to start over. So when the headmaster announces that billings is forbidden from holding their traditional, secretive initiation, Reed is relieved. She champions the new rules and the six new girls the administration has picked to live in Billings Hall: Constance, Missy, Lorna, Kiki, Astrid, and newcomer Sabine. But Reed's fellow Billings resident and new nemesis, Cheyenne Martin, believes the changes are a mockery of Billings history. Despite the new rules, Cheyenne vows to keep the old ways alive, no matter what -- or who -- stands in her way...


Blurb - Legacy:
The price of power...After Cheyenne Martin's death, everyone at Easton Academy is struggling to recover from yet another tragedy--especially the girls of Billings Hall. With Cheyenne gone, they need to elect a new leader. And who better than Reed Brennan, the ultimate Billings Girls? As the new Billings president, Reed suddenly has access to power she never imagined. Gossip is reported to her immediately, she has first dibs on everything from dining tables to dorm rooms, and Billings's most powerful alumnae are at her beck and call. So when Easton's students discover they're the only prep school on the East Coast not invited to this year's all-inclusive Legacy party, everyone turns to Reed to get them back on the list. Reed is the most powerful girl at Easton. She revels in her newfound status, but knows better than anyone that the Bilings leaders have a tainted legacy: Ariana was institutionalized, Noelle was expelled, and Cheyenne just died. History has a way of repeating itself at Easton, and now that Reed has everything she's ever wanted, she has everything to lose.


My Thoughts:
These books are my guilty pleasure at the moment. They’re part of the Private series by Kate Brian and are about a young girl Reed Brennan. In the first books Reed has just arrived at the prestigious Easton Academy and is trying to work her way into the elite world of a group called The Billings Girls. In Inner Circle Reed is recovering from a horrifying experience that happened in the previous books (I’m trying not to give anything away!) and Billings House is being run by a girl called Cheyenne who is taking all the power to her head. Against the wishes of the new principal, and against Reed’s conscience, Cheyenne and the rest of the girls in the house have decided to go ahead with the usual initiations for the new Billings girls.


It’s interesting to see what life in a private boarding school is like, especially with girls that are that rich. I also kind of enjoyed (even though I don’t condone it) the initiations that the girls had to go through and the level of bitchiness that was in the house. I think it was the level of juiciness that was in the story! lol It was nice to see Reed sticking up for herself and the other girls though especially in a world of high school peer pressure and bullying.

In Legacy, the students at Easton are looking forward to the yearly Legacy Ball. This is an event that only third generation Easton students can attend, however they’re crushed to find out that nobody has received their invites for the year. So Reed and her friends decide that they have to find out what’s going on and find a way to get into the ball.

I really enjoyed the touch of mystery that was in Legacy. This was probably a little lighter than Inner Circle, with a new coffee shop opening at the school (yes please!) and the big issue being that the students might not have been able to attend a dance and that their dress purchases would have gone to waste. But of course like all the books in the Private series, it ends with a cliff hanger that made me reserve the next book in the series.

Ratings: Both get ****