Rebel Angels

Reader reviewed by Holly

Rebel Angels, the second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy is about Gemma journey to save the realm from Circe. Shocking realisations lead  to scandal. This book is a great mix of romance, fantasy, the victorian era, and much more. I thought this book was really awesome and the details wre great you could almost picture yourself in the realm. This book sete up the last book in the series perfectly. I also love the relationship between gemma and katrik. A great read but make sure you pay attention or you will get lost.

Reader reviewed by Chey

Rebel Angels is the second book of the Gemma Doyle triliogy. It continues with the same witty sarcasm Libba Bray intruduces in the first book. This book gets slightly darker and we get to see Gemma develop an even closer friendship with Ann and Felicity and we see her family struggles as well. This book will have you aching for book 3, A Sweet Far Thing to see what finally happens in this saga. The only down side was that I feel as though not much really happened in Rebel Angels, and all the loose ends are left to for the third book.

Reader reviewed by carmen alexis

If you are fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty, you won't be disappointed with the sequel. And I love how it's set for Christmas time... what a perfect way to start my holidays. Anyways, about the book, I am going to admit that I still have the same conflicted emotions about the book as I did the first in the trilogy. I love Gemma Doyle. I think she's brave, stubborn and not like other girls. But her weakness seems to be the girls she calls her friends. It's true that eventually she will see the truth in them and usually does what she has to for the sake of everyone. But I feel as if Felicity and Ann have too much over her. Fee and Ann... are just not the sidekicks you imagine. True, they have a lot of redeeming points-- Fee has power in school, is spirited and lively. Ann ... honestly, at the moment, I can't seem to think of her redeeming points. Okay, she sings good.... gosh, that sounds weak. But the truth is... Fee and Ann gang up on Gemma a lot, forcing her to do things that usually lead them astray. So though they do help her out in the end, I get this uneasy feeling about them.
As for the rest of the characters, well, great job on that. I loved Gemma and Kartik's chemistry in this book. I thought Simon was charming until... proven otherwise. I loved Tom's better, professional and compassionate side. I loved Gemma's father despite his weaknesses. As for Ms. Cleethly and Ms. Moore... awesome! haha. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet. So there you have it.

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Katie

Sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma Doyle learns new things about the realms. Her relationship with Kartik changes slowly. And a brand new teacher, Ms. McCleethy starts teaching at Spence. But she turns out to be part of the Order, the magical group Gemma comes from, and Gemma's visions lead her to be suspicious of her. Ms. Moore, Gemma's favorite Spence teacher who got kicked out, is Gemma's closest friend. But when McCleethy and Moore's identities come to light, the true is frightening.
I think this book was worth the wait after A Great and Terrible Beauty. The speed of the book was great because it alway kept me on my toes. An excellent sequel.

Reader reviewed by YouKn0wYaLuvMe

I loved this book!! Gemma, in Rebel Angels (the first book of 3 in a series), just lost her mother and is sent to boarding school.

There she learns about a secret group that her mother was involved in and how it has to do with her.

Making friends and going to a magical place to meet and aid the dead while defeating the antagonist that caused her mother to commit suicide is the job that she has stumbled upon and in this book, it proves Gemma's courage and strong-will.

Reader reviewed by Natalie

the sequel to A Great And Terrible Beauty continues with Gemma and her friends going into the realms despite that fact that its not safe to be in there since Circe, her mothers enemy might be there. THis book is really great. cant wait for the next part!

Reader reviewed by ALA

The companion to "A Great and Terrible Beauty" does not disappoint!

The adventures of Gemma and her friends continue, but the peril is much greater now. Gemma is warned by her friend Kartik that she must find a certain temple within the realms before Circe and her followers do. There she must bind the magic, for it has been running freely through the realms for too long now. Gemma cannot find the temple alone. She knows this, and must trust her friends to help her. But with the magic runnig loose, none within the realms can be trusted. Gemma must rely on instinct to stay alive, find the temple, and keep what happened at the end of th first book from repeating itself.

Outside the realms trouble is stirring too. There is a new teacher at school-one who seems to know something. Gemma must discover whether she is a foe or ally-her life may depend on it.

Fate leads Gemma to Nell Hawkins, a girl in an insane asylum who claims to have driven herself mad to keep Circe from using her. Gemma needs to retain information from her, but how much of what she says is true, and how much is the rabble of a lunatic? Can Gemma solve the riddles and find the temple before it is too late?

Before I read Rebel Angels, I was afraid that in the time it took Libba Bray to write a second book, it wouldn't quite flow from the first one. I was proved wrong! the book seems more like someone took a machete and chopped this book right off the last chapter of "A Great and Terrible Beauty" than someone wrote it seperately. I love the dialogue style the book is written in, and I am happy that she could incorporate humor and embarrassment without ruining the mysterious and formal style of the book. Libba Bray is so good at making the book "fantastically" realistic. This book is a must read!

Reader reviewed by chatterbox891

I purchased this book last Saturday and finished it that evening! I am in love with all aspects of this book, the love, the magic, the friendships!! No book can compare.
Once again, you meet Gemma Doyle at her school, Spence. With her friends Ann and Felicity, she debates using her magic and entering the realms. In the realms she is met by her friend Pippa, and Gemma is overcome by the thought that she is responsible for Pippa's death. Will she find her enemy Circe? Love?