A Great and Terrible BeautyAuthor: Libba Bray
Series: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy
Publisher: Random House
How Received: library
A Great and Terrible Beauty takes place in 1895. Gemma Doyle, a sixteen year old, is living in India with her mother while all the fun is happening in London. After another argument, she flees from her mother in the middle of an Indian 'city'. Upon getting lost, she enters a trance, a 'vision' is seen. Something attacks the man behind her mother and her mother sees it and takes the noble way out of life - suicide. Gemma leaves the trance only to discover that what she saw was true.
Gemma is sent to Spence Academy to train to become a 'proper young lady'. What she discovers instead, however, is a realm of magic - and a bunch of friends to share it with.
I won't give any more of the plot away for fear of ruining the book for everybody else.
Everybody had been giving this book really great reviews, and the 'foxy' Libba Bray has one of the funniest blogs I've read. I was hoping she would twist in her sense of humor with the dramatics of the book's summary.
The book was enjoyable, but it was just a book. It wasn't a good book, it wasn't a bad book, it wasn't a great book, it wasn't a horrible book. It was just a book. The first half wasn't very exciting to me and I only got caught up with the plot line about half way through the beginning of the second half. The characters were written nicely but some could have been fleshed out a bit more, and the description was vivid but not enough to get me to picture it. I had high hopes for the book - everybody's been giving it great reviews - but it didn't match up to my standards.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
A Great and Terrible Beauty or Book of A Thousand Days?: I'm comparing the Torso Twins and, I have to say, I liked Book of A Thousand Days much better. Shannon Hale weaved in a bit of her comedic talent into the book where as Libba Bray seemed to leave hers out entirely.
Happy reading.
~ Nicole
I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty. I agree it wasn't the best of the best, but it was still really awesome. I'm going to have to read some Shannon Hale now, though, since I've read she was touring with Libba. And you say her book was better so I'll have to read and compare myself.
ReplyDeleteWant to exchange links? I'd appreciate it. Keep up the great reviews. :)
I still want to find out what happens in the sequels, but it's not my top priority reading-wise.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd love to exchange links. ^^ You, too!
Oh dear. *head shaking* I just don't understand it. I am so deeply fond of A Great and Terrible Beauty. But Shannon Hale is amazing... I must go and ponder this for a while.
ReplyDeleteOOH! Link exchanging!
*Aella Siofra*
OOO LINKEY!
ReplyDelete^^" Mehbeh it's just my insane-ness that made me not like it so much, but I do dare to be different. =]
I'm sorry and ashamed to say...I skipped the first half entirely and only began to really get into it much later.As you have said,it's just a book.
ReplyDeleteAw not the best rating... and that's too bad because I just bought this book! Oh well, maybe better luck next time. :P
ReplyDeleteI think this will be part of my year!
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, but Book of a Thousand Days was far better. I know the first book gets slow and too bleh, but the series gets better as it continues. I promise.
ReplyDelete