The ending is one of the best cliff hangers I have read in a while. Kate Brian has done an amazing job by revealing in this book that Sabine was the real killer of Cheyenne. Sabine is not as nice as we all thought. Especially when Reed confronts her and Sabine ends up pulling a gun on Reed. The final paragraph is Sabine pulling the trigger. What will happen next?!? ( )

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Life couldn't possibly get any worse for Reed Brennan, could it?

Welcome to book eight of the PRIVATE series by Kate Brian.

When we left the Girls of Billings in AMBITION, Reed had just pulled of the coup of the year with the fundraiser to save the school, only to have her reputation smeared across campus via the technology of cell phones. Someone had caught her 5-minute make-out session with Dash McCafferty, Noelle Lange's on-again/off-again boyfriend.

Reed has just returned to Easton Academy after Thanksgiving break, and her first night back, she receives the shocking news that the Girls of Billing have voted her out. It wasn't a unanimous vote, but still, majority rules, and the only home she's ever wanted at Easton is no longer hers. She now knows how far Noelle will go to get back at anyone that crosses her.

So Reed finds herself in a disgustingly ugly small single in, dare she think it, Pemberly? But Reed packs her stuff and, with the help of her few remaining friends from Billings, moves. But it gets even worse. For her next-door neighbor is none other than her ex-boyfriend Josh Hollis' new girlfriend, Ivy Slade. But Reed isn't beaten yet. She's bound and determined to get back into Billings and clear her name of everything. Granted, she can't undo the error with Dash, but she can find out who is responsible for Cheyenne's death and who's been stalking her.

Yes, even with moving into Pemberly, Reed is still finding mysterious items of Cheyenne's in her room. Things keep appearing but Reed refuses to think she could possibly have anything to do with it. She keeps telling everyone that she had nothing to gain by murdering Cheyenne. Cromwell was already expelling her, so there was no reason to make it worse on Cheyenne.

REVELATION will let the reader finally know the truth of Cheyenne's death. As Reed investigates and gets closer to the truth, people that she thought she couldn't count on come to her aid. And those she thought were the ones she could always count on may turn out to be the ones she should've been watching out for all along.

Readers have to wait until February 2009 to find out the continuation of Reed and the aftereffects of the Easton Academy Holiday Dinner. However, those needing their fix of Easton Academy have the LAST CHRISTMAS: THE PRIVATE PREQUEL to look forward to on October 7, 2008. And the new series with Ariana Osgood (isn't she locked up?) is due out on December 30, 2008. ( )

In Revelation, Reed finds herself ostracized from the Billings House. She now resides in a single room adjacent to her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend. Reed is in disbelief with how quickly she has fallen. Once she had everything within her grasp and now, well now. . . she’s an outcast.

I liked that Reed had the chance to escape the chains of the Billings House. Together, these girls are so one-dimensional that it’s hard to like them. I thought Reed finally had the chance to discover her true self. She oscillated between grieving for her former life and taking a stand against those who doubted her involvement in Cheyenne’s murder.

The only issue I had with the book was the author gave away the killer’s identity in one innocent sentence. As soon as I read it, I knew this person killed Cheyenne. The sentence was so random, so innocent, that if the reader wasn’t paying attention, he/she would have missed the clue. Now, on the other hand, the motive behind the murder and sending Reed those haunting e-mails, was a twist. I didn’t see THAT coming at all. ( )

When we left the Girls of Billings in "Ambition (Private, Book 7)" Reed had just pulled of the coup of the year with the fundraiser to save the school, only to have her reputation smeared across campus, when someone distributed her short make-out session video with Dash, Noelle's on-again/off-again boyfriend. That is one girl you should never cross.

Returning to Easton Academy after Thanksgiving break, she receives the shocking news that the Girls of Billing have voted her out. Everyone in Easton also agrees that Reed is Cheyenne's murderer, since she has the most to gain for her death. Reed now knows how far Noelle will go to get back at anyone that crosses her.

She suddenly finds herself in a disgustingly ugly small single in Pemberly and her next-door neighbor is none other than her ex-boyfriend Josh Hollis' new girlfriend, Ivy Slade. To add to her paranoia, even after moving out of Billings, Reed is still finding mysterious items of Cheyenne's in her room.

The more Reed investigates, the more she uncovers. And as any Billings Girl knows...secrets can be deadly. As she investigates and gets closer to the truth, people that she thought she couldn't count on come to her aid. And those she thought were the ones she could always count on may turn out to be the ones she should've been watching out for all along.

This is the most revealing installment in the Private series since "Confessions". What makes this one so great is that many questions and loose ends are finally answered. You also get a lot of new scattered pieces to this intriguing puzzle. Various characters are developed in this book and you get a bigger picture and stronger sense of who they are and what roles they play in Reed's life. The cliffhanger is also extremely shocking, not to mention frustrating, since the next book, "Paradise Lost (Private, Book 9)" won't come out until February next year.

For now, I will just have to settle with hunting down the prequel book "Last Christmas" -- one which centers on Ariana Osgood and Thomas Pearson -- and wait for the release of "Privilege" (the spinoff to "Private") also centered on Ariana.

Book Details:

Title Revelation (Private, Book 8)
Author Kate Brian
Reviewed By Purplycookie ( )