A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1)

Reader reviewed by Chloe

This book was incredible. The plot was suspensful and scary, yet touching. The characters become nto only, gemma's friends, but your own as well, and The writing is...you want to quote it! I was sucked in when my friend recommended it to me, i couldn't put it down, adn at the end i didnt sleep, truly deeply a great read! I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book, or even anyone who doesn't!

Reader reviewed by Christy

The story is about 16 year old Gemma Doyle being forced to attend Spence Academy in London and leave her home in India. While their she becomes friends with three very different girls. Ann a plain girl who doesn't fit in with the rest. Felicity who is the most powerful girl at Spence. And Pippa who is always at Felicity's side. While there the girls some how can enter this magical realm where anything can happen. But there is also a dark side to it too. A side which is also connected to Gemma's mother and the mysteriors Kartik.
I found this book dull at times and sometimes got confused because there was so much going on all at once. But still it is an okay read through I wouldn't reccomend to many people. Also the endIng does leave you wantIng to know more.

Reader reviewed by chatterbox891

This book was so great that I have to type in caps. THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME!!!!!

After her mother's death (suicide), Gemma Doyle is whisked away from her home in India to a finishing school in England, 1895. There she finds friends (after a bit of trouble) and finds that she has magic powers and belongs to a group of powerful women called, the Order. Gemma and her friends dabble in the magics until they must fight the evil Circe. Read and find out what happens in the SUPERB story!

Reader reviewed by noxzeema

Gemma Doyle is still reeling from her mother's death when she is shipped off to an all girl boarding school. There she meets Felicity, Pippa, and Ann. Soon after Gemma arrives, supernatural things start occuring, and the four girls dig deeper and deeper into the past of Spence Academy for girls, the past no one wants remembered.

Reader reviewed by Alyssa

I truly picked up the book because its cover was interesting. It seemed to be about a great and terrible beauty and set in historical times. I couldn't imagine what could be so terrible about beauty but I guess its one of those things that are good and bad for you, a gift and a curse. I loved the book. It was a great story about a young woman finding herself and holding on to her truth while being thrown into a world qiute unlike her own. I recommend it. It is beautiful literature.

Reader reviewed by Ria

A Great and Terrible Beauty is about a girl named Gemma. She's living in India when her 16th b-day rolls around. She begs her mother to take her to London, but her mother refuses. Then, an accident takes her mother's life and Gemma is sent to Spence boarding school. Gemma notices an Indian man following her around.
The first girl Gemma meets is Ann, her roommate, a scholarship student who the other girls don't like. Gemma is soon acquainted with the popular girls, Pippa and Felicity, who torment her until Gemma puts a stop to it.
One night, Gemma is outside when a girl appears and takes her to a place where the diary of Mary Dowd is hidden, but she doesn't start reading it immediately.
Soon, Pippa and Felicity start asking Gemma to spend time with them. And slowly, Gemma starts reading Mary Dowd's diary. One day, while going on a trip to some caves, the girls come across some drawings. The topic of the Order, a group of powerful women, comes up. Felicity and Gemma entertain the thoughts of starting their own order, which they do, inviting only Pippa and Ann.
The ritual was to read part of Mary's diary each meeting. With more and more information about the Order, Gemma realizes that she has a certain power which she doesn't know much about, and her powers are developing. After a while, Gemma figures out how to travel to the other world, where she meets her mother. Slowly, her mother teaches Gemma about her gift, and tells her that Circe is out to get her.
Gemma brings her 3 friends to the world, and soon they are obsessed with their secret. They visit daily, until Gemma finds out disconcerting information on who Circe is. It then becomes a battle between Circe and Gemma for the ultimate power.

This was one of the best books I have ever read. The story was so powerful. The suspense kept me reading until I finished. The characters were so developed that the reader felt like they really knew them, especially Gemma. The light romance kept the story from becoming too sappy. I didn't really like the ending as much. The entire book was sooo good until it came to the ending. The book was really well written. I'm sad that it's over! I definately give this book a 5 out of 5.

Reader reviewed by Kris

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray captures all who read it. Beauty is about a young teen, Gemma, who is relentless and curious. This novel started in India, where Gemma was in the market place with her mother, once again arguing over whether or not she should be allowed to go to London for schooling. Her last words to her mother were "I don't care if you come home at all." I, for one, can completely relate to this feeling of resent. Little did Gemma know, though, that her words would be true and her mother would not return home later that day. Since her mother's death, Gemma received her wish and was sent to Spence Academy to become a lady. There the headmistress does little to make her feel welcome, and her only comfort is her roommate, Ann, who is knowledgeable and always absorbed in reading. After proving her worth, she becomes acquaintances with Felicity and Pippa, and eventually they even become friendly. With them, she discovers a great and terrible power that Kartik, the mysterious man she met in the marketplace, tries to warn her to control.

Bray weaves a story of danger, suspense, magic, mystery, and desire. She sets it over 100 years in the past, in India and London. She creates the heroine, Gemma, and truly releases her eccentric and stubborn spirit. Then she adds three friends, one with brains, one with beauty, and one with leadership into this already capturing mix. On top of this all, she puts in a dash of magic and romance for the final blend. All these ingredients together create a most wonderful story to read, impossible to put down once started. Though some parts may be slightly confusing, such as distinguishing Pippa from Felicity, they do not take away from the story at all. I would give A Great and Terrible Beauty 5 out of 5 stars. I cannot wait until the next book in the trilogy.

Reprinted here with author's permission.