Book Review: The Far Sweet Thing

Well, I didn't enjoy this book as much as Rebel Angels, but I still liked it.

In this third and final installment of the Gemma Doyle triology, Gemma is starting to come into her own as she is forced to deal with all the creates of the Realms since she is now the sole holder of the magic. (Sorry, that was a spoiler.)

There are some things that annoyed me in this book, too. Mainly all the time spent in the Realms and how Gemma was sooooo dumb for sooooo long about her friend Pippa. (I know, this review is useless to anyone who hasn't read the book. Oh well.) Part of the reason why I liked Rebel Angels so much is that most of the book took place in London instead of at Spence Academy, so there was a lot more going on. And there weren't really any surprises left for The Far Sweet Thing as most of those had been resolved in Rebel Angels. so I felt like I was just waiting to see what would happen for most of this book instead of being actively engaged in the story.

Anyhoo, that's all I have to say. Not a bad trilogy.

Book Review: Rebel Angels

(Hey! I'm back! Once I finished with that pesky Moot Court stuff I had time to read again!)

I read the prequel to this book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, over a year ago, and I bought this one not long after. But I wasn’t really crazy about the first book so I put off reading this one until just a few weeks ago. I was rather surprised to discover that I liked this one much more!

These books center around the life of sixteen (then later seventeen) year old Gemma Doyle around 1895. Gemma grew up in India with her British parents, but after her mother died a mysterious death she and her family moved back to England and Gemma was enrolled in Spence Academy for Young Girls. It is at Spence that Gemma starts having mysterious visions and learns about a group of women sorceresses called The Order. The background information is all set up in the first book, so maybe that’s why I felt it was dry. By the second book Bray was really able to delve into the secrets of The Order and The Realms (a magical world that only members of The Order are able to access).

There are a lot of things about Gemma that annoyed me at first--mainly that she has an uncanny ability to trust the wrong people. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that is probably very true to life. A young girl without a mother who suddenly finds herself possessing magical powers and being hailed as the next High Priestess would probably be a little confused. Moreover, she is so young and faces so many tough choices and responsibilities that she was probably overwhelmed!

By the way, I should mention that these are YA (young adult) books, but I don’t really care. I AM STILL YOUNG ENOUGH TO READ YA WITHOUT SHAME, DAMN IT.

Anyway, if you like books that have magic and stuff you might like this series.

Sounds Familiar

Well, I FINALLY finished this book last night. It was pretty good, I have to admit. I did stay up until I reached the end. But while it was entertaining, I couldn't help but feel that I had heard this story somewhere before...

...Hmm, let's see, this book had:

- a young person whose mother sacrified herself to save her child
- a young, motherless person who is "the chosen one" and has special abilities
- a group of children at a boarding school that are experimenting with magic
- an evil bad-person who went over to the dark side of the magical world and is determined to destroy the motherless child

Where have I heard that before? Gee... Oh wait!

Now, this book still had a lot of creativity, but honestly it was lacking in originality and that kind of put me off. I know, I know, I read romance novels and I'm put off by a book that lacks originality? I admit it doesn't make much sense, but nevertheless... But it was entertaining. And I'll probably read the sequel

Oh yeah, and the big "surprise" at the end? I totally called it about half-way into the book.

It's a Magical World

Considering that my last contribution was pretty embarrassing, I've decided to post again even though I haven't finished the book I'm reading (and final exams are coming up so I have a good excuse for that, anyway). Besides, Kim wrote about the Venetian whore and her dwarf and she NEVER finished that one.

From the publisher:
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.

When you put it that way, it sounds a little silly. This is actually a YA (young adult) book, but it's received positive reviews from adults so I decided to give it a try. So far I'm liking it, although Gemma makes me sad because she's so sad over losing her mother. I've never been a big fan or paranormal or magical plots, though, so we'll have to see how I feel when I finish.

What about you guys? Do you like reading about magic or do you prefer to read books that could (theoretically) be grounded in reality?