A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1)

Reader reviewed by Insert Book Title

When I first started this book, I thought how boring. However once I actually starting getting deeper into the book, I was drawn in. Gemma Doyle wanted to be just another ordinary girl with an ordinary season in London. And once her mother died she got her wish...sort of. Upon arriving at the school, she is tormented with horrific visions. Soon, she and her friends find a dairy that helped them discover magical realms. But the power becomes too strong, and the girls begin to discover things they didn't want to know. Can Gemma deal with the power...and more importantly what she discovers about her own family?

Reader reviewed by Priyanka



A really great book, first one in the series. its about a girl named Gemma Doyle, who lived in India, but had to move to a boarding school in England after the tragic death of her mother. Gemma befriends Pippa Cross, Ann Bradshaw, and Felicity Worthington, all of whom have been shared in on this secret, and magical land through a diary from a woman named Mary Dowd who left the diary 20 years ago and had died in a fire in the Bording school that they attend. Mary and her Best friend Sarah Reese-Toom died in the fire... or did they? Gemma learns of Circe and This other world, she meets a guy named Kartik from the "rakshana".Does this revew confuse you? Then you gotta READ the book to figure it out. Really, a must read. Super good :)

Reader reviewed by Chey

This book is a great read! I've never liked historical fiction until now. Gemma Doyle is thrown into a stuck up school for young ladies where she clearly doesn't belong, and to add to her difference she learns of the magical rhelms, the powers she holds, and her mother's dark secret. The entire book was captivating, although the first few chapters of the book set in India was hard to get into.

My only negative to this book is that the main character befriends the evil stuck up girls.. it doesn't seem very true to life to me! But regardless of their initial cruel intentions, you learn to love them anyway!

A Great and Terrible Beauty had me rushing to the bookstore to pick up its sequal!

Reader reviewed by KitKat

Hmmm... to be frank, I don't know what to think! The story moved quickly, normally a thing I appreciate - but here, I felt as though I was missing things as the plot flashed by. Gemma was odd, and Felicity was practically bipolar; it was quite difficult to keep up with all of their multiple personalities and changing desires. The storyline was complex and confusing, and while I somewhat enjoyed the book, I won't reread or recommend it...

Reader reviewed by c-alexis

I don't want to say that I disliked the book, but I think that I went into reading it with too-high expectations from all the reviews I read. Overall, the book was interesting and fun to read. I like the presentation of a magical side to the story while portraying the lives of the girls of the Victorian age. For a time when women who still seen as pawns and inferior to men, it is nice to read about a heroine who tries to find a way for herself instead of following the pack. The heroine's group of friends are too flighty to be trusted though, and I feel as if she's made the wrong friends and that may lead to a conflict in the plot. I would definitely continue to read the series though.

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Nourdjan

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray may not be something that you might be inclined to reading, but you might surprise yourself by picking this book up. The story enthralled me from beginning to end. Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle is different from the other girls at the London boarding school she lives in after her mother's tragic and strange death in India. In addition to not having the conformist mentality that girls of her class and station are trained to have, Gemma has a deep, dark problem that she does not know how to control. She has visions of tragic things that come true and has the magic key to enter an alternate place called the Realms, where every desire -- as well as every nightmare -- can come true. When she finds the diary of a girl with similar powers, she learns about a secret society called the Order, and she and three friends decide to explore the magical and strange world. But there are things that Gemma doesn't know about, secrets and mysteries that she will have to figure out on her own. And she tries to do this while a rather strange Indian boy keeps an eye on her and demands that she put a stop to her visions. There are various twists throughout the novel.

Reader reviewed by Sara E.

A friend of mine who learned I liked Twilight, recommended I read this book. I went into it thinking it was about vampires, but as I read the first chapter I realized that probably wasn't the case. (I was too dumb to read the book jacket, I guess...lol) At first, I thought it didn't have any supernatural elements whatsoever. I was wrong. This book, part of the Gemma Doyle trilogy, is the most lovely book I've read in a long time. (Did I just say lovely?) It's creative and original, and I love the victorian time period it's set in.

This is the story of a young girl, Gemma Doyle, discovering who she is and the secrets her mother kept. And a place called the Realms, where many different creatures live and the dead go before they pass on to the other side. This is also a story of friendship, love, and death.

Reader reviewed by Nina

Before reading this book, I thought historical fiction was the most boring genre ever! I only read this because my friend forced me to, but I am very thankful that she did, because otherwise I would have missed out on a great book. The story is captivating and beautifully written and the main character Gemma and her three close friends at Spence Academy form a great quartet. Each one of them has their own faults and it is these faults that create the strong friendship between them. The book is not only about friendship, though, but about the Order, an old group of sorceresses, and the connection that Gemma may have with them. The book is suspenseful until the very end and is never the least bit boring.

Reader reviewed by Erica

This is a great book that starts out the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. Gemma's mother dies and she's shipped of to a finishing school in England. She discovers a new power, and needs to master it. To top it all off, Gemma has many obsticles to face, including a mysterious Indian boy that catches her every move. She makes new friends while attending Spence, and shares with them the amazing power she has been granted. While frolicking in the new world, she discovers someone she thought to be gone. She receives help and discovers her destiny. If she fails, terrible things could happen. She has to believe in herself, and not flinch from the truth. Will she prevail or will she fail?
This is a great novel for anyone who enjoys fantasy and has an open mind! I applaud Ms. Bray on the first novel to a great trilogy. This is one of thoses books you simply cannot put down, you have to keep reading. I have read it a fair few times, and still enjoy it every time discovering new things I missed each time. She hooks you in and doesn't let you go til the book it done. If you enjoyed this one, don't forget the next two books in the series: Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing.

Reader reviewed by Kayla

This book is all about Gemma Doyle. She is living in India until her mother is mysteriously murdered. She then moves to England to go to the boarding school, Spence Academy. While there, she begins to see visions. She begins to unlock how she is involved with the Order.

This is a great book. It will keep you guessing and wanting to read the rest of the series.