Read up to 90% from September 8th, 2016 to September 25th, 2016. Then completed on January 9th, 2017.

I was so, so close to giving this book two and a half stars. And then I realized that 3 out of first 4 books that I’ve read in so far in 2017 have been 2-star reads! :(

NOT having a good reading year so far.

Gemma was far too annoying. She found something in everything and anything to complain about. Also, maybe the female friendship may have been portrayed as “realistic” but it’s not the kind of friendship that I prefer. -.-

My biggest question: WHAT THE EFF IS HAPPENING?! (Well, I understood by myself afterwards. But Gemma helped me understand her by like -0.000000000000000001%. Yes. Gemma makes my percentage numbers go negative.)

It seemed very clique-y and unnecessary description/drama was added for around the first 45% of this book. This made the book a lot harder to get through. Gemma continuously REFUSES to listen to people who mean well for her and literally suffers from TSTL syndrome!

But the second half is definitely this book’s shining point! FINALLY we get SOMETHING. This has kept me invested enough to read Rebel Angels. Maybe I’ll enjoy it more this time since my expectations are so low.

I don’t know if I’d recommend this book to anyone. It was an emotional roller coaster of confusion, frustration and just plain cringing from the characters, excessive descriptions and very (VERY!!!!) slow moving plot.

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Update January 9th, 2017: YAY! FINALLY got back to this book! DEFINITELY finishing this one tonight since I’d been 90% done around the time I had to stop reading. :D

Update September 25th, 2016: I’m putting this book on hold because I have an actual copy of this on my iPad. But I put books on hold (from like, SECOND SEMESTER STARTED OF LAST YEAR) and I got 10 of them. Today. For three weeks. Without renewal. So, as soon as my library books are out of the way, I’ll get right back to this!

While I worked at the bookstore I kept coming across this young adult book with a very gorgeous cover. So when I saw it at the library a few weeks later I knew it was just meant to be. I remember being absorbed from the moment I opened the cover. I only had to wait a few months for the second book (Rebel Angel) but the third (The Sweet Far Thing) wouldn't be out for two years. By that time I was busy graduating from University and figuring out my life. I did manage to purchase a copy though, so good on me. Recently I read the first two books in Bray's newest series, The Diviners, (second book is Lair of Dreams) and I loved them. It got me thinking that I never finished the Gemma Doyle Trilogy that I had enjoyed so much. My goal this year was to reread the first two and finally read the last book...

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY
(Gemma Doyle Trilogy: #1)
Written by Libba Bray
(Narrated by Josephine Bailey)
2003; Simon & Schuster (403 Pages)
(Audio length: 11 hours and 13 minutes)
Genre: historical fiction, young adult, romance, paranormal

RATING: ★★★★★

Gemma is still trying to come to terms with foreseeing her mother's death, and then having to see it come true. Her brother and grandmother think she should leave India to attend Spence Academy for Girls in England. As if Gemma wasn't having a bad enough time the girls at the school have decided to snub her and make her an outcast. Her roommate is a scholarship student who sides with the popular girls even though she too is made fun of by them. The tide turns when she saves and in turns blackmails, Felicity the leader of the pack. Trying to prove herself to Felicity and beautiful Pippa, Gemma brings along Ann and reveals some of her secrets and they soon find themselves involved in a supernatural mystery that could leave them in great peril.

I listened to A Great and Terrible Beauty on audio this time just for something different and really enjoyed Bailey's narration. Her impression of Ann's nasally voice is spot-on, I think. This is a perfect example of a young adult novel that is for both teens and adults. There is nothing in this novel that is appropriate for a teen that watches young adult shows and movies. Yet the plot is intricate enough to keep an adult engrossed. Having just watched Penny Dreadful (definitely NOT for teens) I was geared up for the Victorian supernatural world. I enjoyed the characters - main and secondary - as they were each so different and realistic. I read this first when I was 24 and now at 35 I still would rate it a 5 star. I really fell into the world created by Bray.

My Novelesque Blog

*3,5 tähteä*

Huomaan jälleen, että salaperäisyys onnistuu aina vetämään minua puoleensa. Tykkäsin nimittäin tästä paljon ja nautin etenkin siitä miten salaperäisyyden lisäksi yliluonnollisuus ja historiallisuus yhdistyivät juoneen. Mukavan kevyttä ja nautinnollista eikä niin tyypillistä luettavaa YA:n puolelta.

Miksi muita osia ei ole suomennettu?!

I had to push through this one. Listened to it while walking the dog most of the time and I was just never that into it. Several of the characters are annoying and I absolutely HATE books where one character could just tell people what they know and prevent something terrible from happening.

I won't be continuing this series.

Sigh, I gave it 4 stars and now I must explain why, which is awful. Basically, this book has YA tropes all over it, but it wasn't done in an annoying, obnoxious way. So that's probably why I liked it.

It has a school.
It has a leading female with special superpowersTM.
It has a light vs. dark fight.
It doesn't have much of a love story though, so there's that. And Lord knows I don't object to this one.

Gemma was allright, phew. Usually I'm annoyed with YA female leads because besides their powers, there's nothing to them but a dull personality with occassional sass lines. Gemma was fun. She was childish at times, but then again, she basically is a child. I am not mind blown as I am with, lets say, Nina Zenik, but Gemma is fine and I really wasn't annoyed with her at all.

I have to object to not having enough info on other girls. It feels to me like characterization of them was done in a bit of a superficial way. There wasn't enough depth to it. The way they started it, I thought they'd all be enemies divided into two or three groups, and then, 50 pages later, they're doing blood oaths. Now, how did THAT happen? Cecily, Martha and another one whoose name I keep forgetting are still just names to me. However, baddassery wasn't forced onto these characters. They are simply girls from a very sexist time, sometimes vain, sometimes shallow, shaped by the society they lived in. It was real, and I like it realistic.

The pacing is slow, but I didn't mind because it really gives you the time to take all of the aesthetic in. I'm so weak when it's about fields, and flowers, and woods, and corsets and the moonlight and everything. + MYSTERY! How do you even dislike it? I couldn't if I tried!

What do I say about the ending? It happened kinda fast, btw. what's with all the Goblet of Fire vibe? I mean? They enter the magic world through a portal, there's a skeletal creature with red eyes in a black cloak and snakes are coming from the bushes? Plus, one of the good ones dies? Voluntarily, yes, but still... I swear, ever since I read HP, there's HP in every other book I read.

So, basically, I'm very pleased with the story and it's nothing deep or groundbreaking, but it's a great example of what a YA book should be like without making me do the eye roll every 2.3 seconds.

This book surprised me, in a good way though. I liked the mix of historical/science fiction. The ending was really great and surprising! Can't wait for the next one!

3.5 stars. Still on the fence about whether or not I'm going to love this series. The time period is very different than what I typically read, but I did enjoy it. The magical side of things was a bit clichéd and expected, but the book made up for it with the boarding school environment (which I have a huge thing for) and the addition of the Gypsies. Looking forward to see what the next book holds!

Is it fair to say I hate a book if I didn't even finish it? My high school English teacher would say No. But I don't care. I hated this book. It was painful for me to read. I didn't like the story or the characters. I agonized over each word that was written. For nearly 6 weeks I tried to make myself sit down and read it. When there was a choice between scrubbing my toilet and reading this book, I chose the toilet!

I know there will be some who will throw me into the streets and cast stones at me for saying that. But whatever--I didn't like the book, nor would I EVER recommend it to anyone else to read!

I’ve had bad luck with highly touted YA lately (barfs on Twilight) but was unable to resist this one, probably on account of the cover because corsets and old-fashioned undies fascinate me (even my wedding dress had a corset back). And after the first chapter, I wanted to strangle the main character, Gemma, for being the worst kind of whiny, teenage bitch out there, so I kept thinking, "Oh God, here we go again." I was ready to chalk this one up as another disappointment but then things changed lightening fast and I couldn’t put this one down. I don’t always do well with suspense (I’m a nervous-enough sort of person on my own, thank you very much) but this one had just the right amount to make me excited to read it without giving me hot flashes.

The cattiness between some of the main characters made me a little bit crazy but only because it reminded me so much of the mean games I remember 16-year-old girls playing—so much of it felt very realistic. And then playing that against the unknown supernatural world Gemma and her friends are suddenly faced with made this a fast but enjoyable read for me. I look forward to reading the next in the series and hope it’s up to snuff.

Exactamente no sé qué decir. En parte me ha gustado, pero me ha faltado algo, quizá más romance o acción.

This is a young adult book, so I tried really hard to take that into consideration when judging it, but there are so many other, well-done kid/teen books out there that I feel OK about occasionally trashing one.

It basically follows the same overdone storyline we've all seen way too many times: boarding school kids whose parents don't want them discover they have magical powers, and they go through the whole 'magic for good versus magic for evil' struggle. This one didn't work because there was nothing new or imaginative about the story, and the whole book just felt... well, "flat" is the first word that comes to mind. The story was frustratingly predictable, the characters one-dimensional, and the writing drab.

I appreciate that the author was trying to encourage a bit of feminist thinking by showing how repressive the Victorian era was for young women, but I think the best way she could have had a positive influence on young readers would be by having a strong protagonist. Instead, the main character is just as annoyingly angsty and self-conscious as all the other angsty teenagers in the book.

Re-read again in 2020. I still adore this book. It is still perfect. My hearts beats for this book like no other. No further questions your honour

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Still perfect. Remains one of my all-time favourites! <333