Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Right when Reed Brennan was accepted into the Billings Girls' clique and had finally gotten over her ex-boyfriend (if you could call him that) Thomas Pearce, she discovers that Thomas, the guy that she truly loved, was found dead. Now Reed feels guilty for ever moving on or thinking the worst about Thomas. It's hard for Reed to mourn his death since everyone around her is watching her every move and emotions. It doesn't help either that Thomas's parents couldn't care less that their son has passed away--or how Taylor, Kiran, Noelle, and Arianna are all acting very strange. Especially Taylor, who seems to be crying more than Reed over the death of Thomas.

Being at school doesn't help Reed's problems either. She can hardly focus on her school work, since her mind is always on Thomas. There are detectives there investigating Thomas's death, guessing that he was murdered, and interviewing all of the students about Thomas and his past.

But there is only one person that can actually keep Reed sane, and that's Josh. He's the only that actually makes her laugh now and she feels happy whenever she's around him. Except for the fact that he was Thomas's best friend and he did share a room with Thomas. Right when Reed begins to fall for Josh, she discovers things about his past that not only could hurt their relationship but also be the answers to all of the questions that she has.

Kate Brian does it again in this third installment of the PRIVATE series. UNTOUCHABLE delves deeper into the lives of the students that attend Easton Academy. Who knew a private school could have so many secrets? With another cliffhanger, the only thing the reader can think about is, "why is the next book so far away?" ( )

Untouchable is the 3rd book in the Private series. The book opens with Thomas’s funeral. There are still unanswered questions surrounding his death. Everyone has different theories on why Thomas died and each thinks he was murdered. As the police continue to investigate, more and more details are revealed about Thomas’s life.

Reed is trying to move forward after her first real loss. She doesn’t know what to do as everyone is constantly watching her every move and commenting on everything she does. She does find solace in her friendship with Josh, Thomas’s best friend.

With Untouchable, the plot thickens and at times I found it difficult to believe what anyone said. I knew the Billings Girls were still keeping secrets from Reed, however were they protecting her or themselves? Their “friendship” felt more forced to me in this book than the previous novels. Reed appeared to feel this way as well, however she continued to make excuses to remain friends with them. Secrets, lies and cover-up continue to be the themes of this series.

Now that a “suspect” has been arrested, I wonder will the details of Thomas’s death finally be revealed. I guess I’ll have to read Confessions to find out. ( )

Cheating, partying, blackmail, and now...murder?

Can the Billings Girls remain untouchable?

Reed's boyfriend, Thomas Pearson -- the popular, easygoing, irresistibly handsome and charismatic boy she fell in love with -- is dead. No one knows how it happened, and everyone is after the truth. Or are they?

Life at Easton Academy begins to feel very different: Taylor is acting like the poster child for Prozac, Kiran is spiking her cornflakes, Noelle is being kind of...nice, and Arianna keeps floating along as if nothing has happened.

As if that wasn't enough, Reed finds herself falling for Thomas' roomie, Josh. But how could she move on so soon after Thomas's death? But when Reed breaks the news about Josh to the Billings Girls, there's no fun game of tell-all. Instead, Josh begins to look like suspect No. 1 in the murder of Thomas Pearson.

Arianna's ominous words to Reed, "You are one of us now," in "Private", foreshadowed some rather intense drama in store for the heroine. After all, the Billings girls aren't the typical high-privilege girls. Are they simply spoiled girls with nothing better to do other than to cause mayhem around them, or are they the generous and mysterious girls that somehow manage to find themselves in the middle of the aforementioned mayhem? Hmm. There is only one way to find out.

Book Details:

Title Untouchable (Private, Book 3)
Author Kate Brian
Reviewed By Purplycookie ( )

So, at the end of Invitation Only, Reed Brennan's ex-boyfriend Thomas Pearson (popular, charismatic, perpetual drunkard) turned up dead - effectively killing the buzz from sneaking out to the most exclusive party that ever was. Oops. Inconvenient of him.

But in the aftermath of Thomas' death and the police questioning, life at Easton starts to feel very different (thank goodness). Taylor is bursting into weepy fits at the drop of a hat. Kiran can't seem to go an hour without a spiked drink, Noelle is actually attempting niceness, and the chemistry between Josh and Reed makes a run for the moon.

Who would have thought that it would only take a murder investigation to turn this series around? Finally, finally, Reed starts to see through the perfect, pretty exterior of the Billings Girls and suspect that their showering her with materialistic gifts doesn't necessarily mean that they like her. Or that she owes them undying loyalty forever and ever. Nor does she think the only way she'll ever become anything is by copying their exploitative, manipulative ways. Instead she actually tries to STUDY! And she finally, FINALLY begins to question. What's going on with Taylor that everyone is trying to hide from her? Why is Noelle trying to destroy the one relationship that makes Reed feel like she's alive again?

My only big gripe? I really, really liked Josh. I liked the fact that he was a nice guy. And I'm annoyed that for the second time in three books, Reed learns a deep, dark secret about the boy she falls all over immediately after (BIG FAT SPOILER) sleeping with him. (Also I'm annoyed by the 50s fadeout sex, although I can appreciate that these are meant to be kept PG-13. If you can't come right out and say: we had sex, while constantly going on and on about your lost virginity...*sighs*). Couldn't there be one decent person on campus (and no, Reed totally doesn't count. See last book. See first book for that matter)?

And the book ends on this huge, gigantic cliff-hanger. Two actually. Yes, I'm simultaneously dangling over two separate precipices. So I'd advise you to have the next installment on hand. Because this on actually made me want to read further. Not in the begrudging - I really want to know what happened, but I hate the thought of trudging to the solution amidst these obnoxious characters - way. Because I finally care some of the characters (Taylor and Josh, I'm still on the fence about Reed).

If you've made it this far, this is definitely not going to be the book that turns you off the series.

Also posted at my blog ( )