Blair, Serena, Nate and Dan may be confined to their television show now, but the Upper East Side still exists in novels --- and now it's ruled by the Carlyle triplets, the newest students at Constance Billard and St. Jude's. This second Carlyle adventure is chock-full of bitchiness, status and dating.

Avery Carlyle is excited to be the Constance Billard student liaison for its board of overseers, but then is shocked when she sees that it's just a group of old women not unlike the girls at her high school --- obsessed with fashion, money and who’s dating whom. The only difference is that Avery is accepted here because she's the granddaughter of a famous socialite who was friends with all of them.

Owen Carlyle just can't catch a break --- at least in his love life. The girl he's still mooning over from the summer is getting back together with her boyfriend Rhys, who just happens to be on Owen's swim team. Enter Jack Laurent, who has been dumped by her boyfriend, who is now with Owen's other sister, Baby. Jack hatches a plan that involves fake dating Owen, but she seems to have trouble remembering that it's all pretend.

For Baby, life is pretty good. Still allowed to go to Constance, even after ditching school got her into a little trouble, she has been added to the staff of Rancor, the student magazine, and she and her pal Sydney are making tons of new friends while trying to find the perfect story for it. Unfortunately, her boyfriend J.P. doesn't quite understand, and Baby has just met a cute Spanish guy who likes her. What's a girl to do?

YOU JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH mostly revolves around the many dating triangles surrounding the students of Constance Billard and St. Jude's. Dating is hard, but when you add a date auction to the picture, it just becomes unbearable. Owen, Rhys and the St. Jude's swim team are participating in a charity event in which they'll be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Leading up to the event, which almost requires that you go with a date as well as buy one, emotions fly. And expect some date switching by the end of the night.

This new Gossip Girl series isn't quite as entrancing as the original, though it definitely has its moments. For diehard fans who can't get enough, this will sate your appetite for a while. But the characters seem harder to grasp than the earlier ones we all love, especially since they have even more outlandish names, and the story feels a bit more tired and less unique than the previous books.

Thankfully, the best thing about Gossip Girl, its snarky omniscient narrator, has not disappeared. And the world created by Cecily von Ziegesar remains in tact, with even more trendy New York locations to visit. That, as always, is a treat.

    --- Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gómez (hannahgomez@gmail.com)