She placed her feet, new buckled shoes and all, up on the pink cushions and pressed her temple against the warm glass with a wistful sigh. And she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that going away to the Billings School for Girls was going to be the best thing that ever happened to her.Īs she sat in the cushioned seat of her bay window overlooking sun-streaked Beacon Hill, she folded her dog-eared copy of The Jungle in her lap, making sure to keep her finger inside to hold her place. She knew that she would much rather spend time with her blustery, good-natured father than her ever-critical, humorless mother-though the company of either was difficult to come by. She knew she couldn’t stand the pink-and-yellow floral wallpaper the decorator had chosen for her room. She knew she preferred summer to all other seasons. Read moreĮven at the tender age of sixteen, Elizabeth Williams was the rare girl who knew her mind. Though it was lots of fun to read, and I’m considering reading the entire series, the storyline is a little clichéd. My adult self, however, finds the story and writing to be a little too juvenile. Until, that is, disaster strikes and they are forced to make a terrible choice.My teenage self would have LOVED this book, and probably the series. Eliza and her friends have enormous amounts of fun trying out their new powers. Then Eliza and her close friends discover several dusty books books containing magic spells, that turn the girls into witches. Eliza makes new friends (despite being overshadowed by perfect May) and though she didn’t intend to, meets a potential husband. Free-thinking Eliza Williams is sent to Billings after the success of her older sister, May.

The Book of Spells – A Private Prequel by Kate Brian, a New York Times bestselling author, is the prequel to the popular Private series.Our story is set at the Billings School for Girls, where young ladies learn to behave properly with the intention of landing a suitable husband.

The book of spells a private prequel