ARC REVIEW: Prep School Confidential (Prep School Confidential #1) by Kara Taylor

Title/Series: Prep School Confidential | Prep School Confidential #1
Author: Kara Taylor
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Expected Publication: July 30th 2013
Format: Paperback | Pages: 310
Genre: YA, Mystery, Contemporary
Source: Goodreads First Reads win
★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

Kara Taylor | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne couldn't care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

I was a bit worried first starting it that I wasn't going to like this. I mean it's prep school and at the very start Anne sort of had that spoiled rich girl vibe. That all lasted only about a minute though because I was quickly sucked in to this fun, fast paced read that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was pretty cocky in the beginning, thinking I knew exactly who did it and what was going on. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was so much more complex that I could have ever imagined.

There's a whole lot more to Anne Dowling than just a spoiled prep school girl. She is snarky and funny and incredibly smart. Unlike most of her peers she doesn't have that "I'm better than all of you" type of attitude. She was genuinely friendly to everyone regardless of where they came from. Unless of course you got on her bad side.She was so much fun to read.

My father says I got my big mouth from my Uncle Jason. He landed himself on a federal no-fly list after making casual jokes to a flight attendant about having an explosive in his pants.

Basically Uncle Jason is a dumbass, and so am I.

I was completely intrigued with this suspenseful murder mystery. Every time I would think I knew what was going on and who to trust or not to trust something would happen and I'd be even more confused than ever.and eventually I just didn't trust anybody! The suspense had me turning page after heart pounding page. Wheatley is a small and exclusive prep school that only accepts 50 students each year most of which are kids from very prominent families, politicians and such, there are secrets and cover ups everywhere. Though Anne wasn't afraid to dig into those secrets to find justice for her friend and roommate Isabella, often to the point of putting herself in danger.

Though the murder and Anne's clever investigating are the main story there is a bit of a love triangle and hints of a romance here and there. There's the fellow prep school classmate Brent. He's everything she should be going for. They come from similar backgrounds, he's sweet and watches out for her. And then there's Anthony. Anthony is Isabella's twin and from the wrong side of the tracks. He's got a past and has done some things that she's not sure she can look past. Both guys have a good and bad side and I'm sure we'll get to see more of that in the future installments of the series. Thankfully though the romance is very light in this book and definitely not the focus which was a nice change.

The murder of Isabella may have been cleared up by the end of this book, but things are definitely not over. Other secrets were revealed in trying to find her killer and Anne's determined to take down the rest of the shady individuals at Wheatley. I'm looking forward to what is sure to be some fun adventures with Anne Dowling in the future. This was a brilliant debut novel by Kara Taylor and once you pick it up it's impossible to put down!