A Great and Terrible Beauty

This book is a nostalgic read for me and will always be one that I love. Gemma is insufferable, but she feels like family. Ann still sucks in every way. And Felicity will always be that bitch to aspire to. I love that most of the fantasy books made nowadays has a main character that is more similar to Felicity than Gemma.

Entertaining read, but I never got past the first book. Kind of wish this had been a stand-alone, rather than a series.

DNF at 20%. This book came highly recommended, but it's actually kind of... Boring. And racist. And the main character is a whiny little brat.

4.4
This was a reread of an old favourite that I was planning to donate. 
I didn't think I'd even finish it, but it really surprised me, I still really enjoyed it. I love the setting, I love some of the characters, I love the magic. 
I'm now looking forward to rereading the rest of the trilogy.

I read this book when it was first published while I was in high school. I remembered loving it before beginning this re-read, but I didn't remember much of the plot. I'm trying to get back into reading more, so I re-read The Hobbit, and now I've re-read A Great and Terrible Beauty, both easy, fun reads. This novel takes place in the late 1890s, and the late 19th century-early 20th century is my favorite period for historical fiction. There's gothic and queer themes here, and I do love girls' boarding school stories.

At the beginning of the story, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle's mother dies, and she leaves India, where she's lived almost all her life, to return to England. Her family is not warm, and they send her to a finishing school, Spence. Gemma takes some time to make friends since they're not very welcoming to newcomers. Most of the girls come from wealthy families and are, well, snobs. Gemma shares her room with Ann, the only scholarship student who, because of her status, is an outcast. Because of certain events, Gemma and Ann soon form a friend group with Felicity and Pippa. These two are the most popular and envied girls of the school, though they have their own issues and problems with family. Each of the girls struggle with their place in life, society, and what everyone expects of them.

“No one asks how I am or what I am doing. They could not care less. We're all looking glasses, we girls, existing only to reflect their images back to them as they'd like to be seen. Hollow vessels of girls to be rinsed of our own ambitions, wants, and opinions, just waiting to be filled with the cool, tepid water of gracious compliance.”

There is another element to this book, however, and that is Gemma's magical power. She begins by having visions and soon enters a magical realm. Most of the story involves this power and what it means for Gemma and her friends.

This is a young adult novel, so the writing is pretty streamlined. There are memorable and distinguished moments, though, both of writing and and plot. I read this book quickly, going to it almost every night, and sometimes during the day. Usually, I read once or twice a week at bedtime, which is why it takes me so long to get through a book. As I said earlier, I'm trying to get back into reading and read more books. Reading A Great and Terrible Beauty made me feel like I could enjoy the act again, not just try to finish a book.

This is a trilogy, and I intend to pick up the sequel, but not right away. I'm the kind of reader that can't read the same thing, even the same genre, back-to-back.

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Prompt 45 from 2021 Popsugar Challenge: A book from my TBR chosen at random

Notable quotable: 1. In every end, there is also a beginning. 2. Women who have power are always feared

This is easily the best book I've read so far this year. It heartbreaking and inspiring and beautiful. I meant to read this years ago, and I have no idea why I didn't. I love when main characters have red hair, because that's something I was bullied for all through school. It warmed my heart that Gemma didn't have to go through that. I'll definitely be reading this again, and adding it to my collection.

As a reviewer, I think I am coming to realize what genres are really my favorite and which ones are not. I haven't read that much fantasy but even though I did enjoy this book and it was very well written and laid out, the genre just isn't my absolute favorite. When something is so out there and has a small chance of happening in reality, I tend to have a much harder time fully immersing myself in the story. Don't get me wrong, I would recommend this book for any and all fantasy lovers a million times over, just wasn't my favorite genre is all.

The story follows a young girl named Gemma, who is forced to attend a school in England named Spence, after her mother mysteriously commits suicide. We follow her as she navigates this new world and also tries to make sense of her newfound powers and such. The plot was a very unique one, in my opinion, even though I haven't read much fantasy to begin with. I definitely enjoyed getting lost in Gemma's world, where magic is possible and girls are definitely inferior to men. Libba Bray has a great writing style and I could not stop reading this book, even if the fantasy was a little too out there for me.

Further, the characterization was pretty good. I loved that we got to see what Gemma was thinking because her thoughts were often written in the book in italic font. I love that she is this strong-willed, young woman and her strong spirit is one I absolutely admire myself. The other characters weren't as in-depth but we got somewhat of a picture of them and they definitely all changed and developed as the story progressed and I always love to see that growth in books. Of course, Gemma grew the most and she will definitely be one of my favorite heroines forever. I will absolutely, without a doubt be reading the other books in these series. Although I will probably take a break with some other books before that.

I think the school girl me would have devoured and loved this book without a doubt but since I am older now, it doesn't quite have the same affect. But that's what happens when we get older, we change and our priorities also change as a result. I would absolutely say that this was a terrific book and one of the best fantasy YA novels I've ever read. I can't wait to pick up her newer books, since this one is older. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read!

Magic and India and a private girls finishing school. A little too YA for my mood but otherwise an interesting start to a series.

I didnt love or hate this book, but I have some issues with it. For me the charchters didnt feel like sixteen, it was more like twelve. And how on Earth did they become friends so quickly after what Felicity and her “Sheeps” did to Gemma and Ann. I have seen that Felicity whould bring problems and I am glad that Pippa died.

I wanted to like this but I felt like half this story was a cheap knockoff of A Little Princess. Girl losses a parent, has to leave India to go to a strict boarding school. The other girls don't like her, she befriends a girl who is unpopular or a “charity case”. I liked the beginning, but once they went back to England I lost all interest. I Googled the ending and I'm glad I didn't waste anymore time on this book. Huge let down

holy crap, it's dead poets society, only with real magic rather than the magic created by poetry.

that's very irritating.

also, i think this is why i have not been reading YA: the characters are stupid because they are teenagers. they do stupid things that i cannot at all relate to. they are melodramatic and simple minded and it's painful to read. that isn't necessarily the fault of the author, she knows her audience and they probably do relate quite a bit. i am not them.

the writing, though prone to teenager-y flights of over indulgence, is good. there are some masterful bits that are worth remembering.

I don't think I'll read the rest of the trilogy but on the whole it was a really enjoyable read. It's a mixture of fantasy/paranormal fiction and historical fiction which I think worked really well. The novel was so easy to read, I could easily have read it over a couple of days (I couldn't however due to uni committments!) But it didn't leave me feeling like I wanted to follow the characters any further. If you're into fantasy and/or historical fiction I would definitely recommend :)

I had wanted to read this for a long time, and even though I'm glad I did, I find myself slightly disappointed with it. I wish the story was a little deeper, and the narration seemed only to skim the surface of the story most of the time. Still glad I read it, though!

Nok ei veldig bra bok jeg har lest i det siste! The Victorian Era er en tid jeg liker godt å lese om - pene kjoler, korsetter, gentlemen og tea parties. Når man så blander det med god fantasy så blir det perfekt! Jeg elsket å lese om turene til The Realms (det var så bra beskrevet) og om de forskjellige personlighetene til Gemma, Pippa, Ann og Felicity – særlig Felicity var artig å lese om. I tillegg var det mange tvister i plottet og slutten gjorde meg veldig trist... Den førte til at jeg har lyst til å lese Rebel Angels så fort som mulig!

Elitist, over-romanticized, anachronistic crap. Which is too bad, because Bray isn't a bad writer and the story was interesting enough to keep me mostly engaged (I slept through some of it - audio version).

I use to be a bit of a snob about young adult books, well not really a snob, I just figured I was to old to be reading “those” types of books and would pass them by. Then I read Twilight and suddenly the genre didn't seem all that bad. Since then some of my favorite reads would be classified as young adult and this one definitely falls into that category! This novel had all the elements I love in a good book, set in and earlier time, involves the occult and with a little bit of raciness that I rather enjoy! This is book #1 of a three book collection and I can't wait to read the next two.

This book..was really great :)
It didn't move into the story too slow or anything(It actually started with her Mom dying...)
Some of the stuff surprised me(like how Mary Dowd was her mother..Whoa..)
And that little girl that was with Gemma's Mom..does anyone think that it could be Caroline? It sounded like her after awhile.
And after I heard that Sarah called herself some special name..I knew she was either the Huntress or Connected to Her. And, I was really surprised when we found out that Circe was Sarah..and that neither Mary nor Sarah had died in that fire. Does that mean Eugenia survived in some way? Like she's trapped in the same way as Amar?
And what was up with Kartik? Really..I knew they were going to have some kinda thing when we met him straight at the beginning. And were those dreams Gemma had of him w/ her real? ‘Cuz they were kinda strange..after she saw him again and he didn't say anything to her.
I was kinda sad about Pippa “dying” but not really. Pippa would've gone with Felicity no matter what(So would Ann..but Two could be halfway matched by one..and maybe thrown off course by one).
The Felicity thing REALLY irked me. I wouldn't have taken her back as a friend. Not. At. All. Actually, I probably would've left Pippa alone after what she did to Ms.Moore(Really..how low could you get to blame your troubles on a teacher? Sheeshh..)
Anyways..it was good. And I'd definitely recommend it to peoplez.

I really enjoyed this book. The best way I have found to describe it is that it reminds me of Twilight...but I hated Twilight. Gemma Doyle is an intriguing character whose strength has only begun to be explored (I hope) and while there is the beginnings of a love story, it doesn't overshadow the main plot, which concerns Gemma and her three friends. I have high expectations for the next two books and I can't wait to read them!

The beginning reminds me a bit of The Secret Garden, but then it ends up a little like a Dead Poets Society for girls. Enjoyable.

I liked this book and I am going to read the next books in the series. I got a little frustrated with the interaction with the characters and I thought it was a bit one dimensional and some things were wrapped up a little to cleanly for me but the storyline itself was intriging so on plot alone I would recommend it to young adult fiction readers. I love Kartik and I hope he plays a greater role in the second and third books.