Last Christmas by Kate Brian

Ariana Osgood is the perfect cookie-cutter Billings girl—perfect on the outside but not so much behind that exterior. Sure, she’s got the perfect boyfriend who loves her, great grades, not to mention a spot in the most elite House at Easton Academy. But she’s also got some secrets, details about her life she’s too embarrassed to tell her friends for fear it would ruin her reputation. But all of Ariana’s good-girl rules and morals just about go out the window when Ariana finds herself trapped on campus during Christmas vacation with bad-boy Thomas Pearson of all people, instead of vacationing in Vermont with her boyfriend Daniel, the guy she loves, or so she tells herself. This chance blizzard all but snows them in, preventing Ariana’s escape from Easton and Thomas’s seductive clutches. But instead of finding a way back to her boyfriend, Ariana finds herself going against all she knows and falling for Thomas. Unfortunately, Ariana and Thomas aren’t the only ones who know about their romance, and in an attempt to protect the only right thing in her life, Ariana unleashes a mother with the potential of ruining not only the lives of several innocent people—but in the end, her own.

Once again, Brian does not disappoint with this shocking and revealing prequel to the addicting Private series. Last Christmas provides valuable insight into the elusive Ariana’s mind and provides the groundwork for an insanity that culminated in Ariana doing the deed, as revealed in Confessions, the fourth book in the series. Brian has a talent for weaving tales with the spoiled attitudes of elite in combination with scandalous romance and physical danger into an incredibly suspenseful tale. The characterization of Ariana was done such that readers can’t help but feel for her despite knowledge of what she’s done, which, as Last Christmas reveals, is much more horrific that one would’ve thought. My only disappointment was that Thomas remained a mysterious figure and I would’ve liked to learn more about him. Nonetheless, Last Christmas is yet another juicy read to please fans of Private.

Even though it is a prequel, I recommend reading Last Christmas after one has already read the first four volumes in the Private series. Devotees to this series will not be able to resist devouring this new and thrilling tale.

Rating: 4.75

Review copy from Amazon Vine