A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1) in Addicted to YA

Jul 27, 2013 Danielle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013, read-in-july-2013, ya-books, gemma-doyle-series, ya-books-read-in-2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. At first when I read this book I didn't really like it and was kind of bored with it to be honest and almost put it down because I was just like this wasn't for me I wasn't getting into the story or the characters, thinking maybe it had something to do with the historical setting or something. Just something was off with it for me and I was almost done with it, but I am glad that I kept on going because it was so worth it and from the point on where Gemma found Mary's diary, for me, the story ju At first when I read this book I didn't really like it and was kind of bored with it to be honest and almost put it down because I was just like this wasn't for me I wasn't getting into the story or the characters, thinking maybe it had something to do with the historical setting or something. Just something was off with it for me and I was almost done with it, but I am glad that I kept on going because it was so worth it and from the point on where Gemma found Mary's diary, for me, the story just took off and I couldn't put it down for a second after that and was sucked into the world. And I didn't even care that this was a historical book set in 1895 ,which usually I don't enjoy because of the roles delegated to women, but luckily the girls in the story didn't like the roles given to women as well causing them to rebel and be these strong independent women that want to have the choice of what they want out of their life instead of having society dictate to them and what was right for them especially the rule that women were only good for marrying and being a brood mare to continue on the line on and good for nothing else. Schools even prepared girls for this role, making them into "proper" young ladies that men would want to marry because she would be an asset instead of the love of their lives. So I was happy that girl challenged that and wanted control over their own lives and that partly banded them together.

There was mystery and suspense in the story along with a few twists along the way with Mary being Gemma's mother being the big one, and even had me speculating that Mary was Virginia about half way through and just had that gut feeling, but I wasn't really sure until that ah ha moment and was happy to know that I was right. And just the way it was done was very clever and how Gemma found out about in the first place. I also liked how Gemma read Mary's diary (not knowing that it was her mother's and her mother was the one that wanted Gemma to read it so she knew what she was up against and even led Gemma to it through Gemma's dream/visions)and how the pieces of the story from the past came together, showing what Gemma would have to deal with and also what was possible coming with the dangers ahead for her with these powers that she had acquired. And I like how we didn't get all the entries all at once and got it piece by piece which made it more interesting and making complete sense to me. It added to the intrigue to the story and I hated when the girls stopped reading these entries because it was just enough to whet my appetite and then I wanted more and I wanted to see what happened next in the Mary and Sarah story. And it was interesting, terrifying, shocking, revealing and illuminating all that the same time and it made me understand why Gemma's mother wanted to keep Gemma away from London all that time in order to protect her and keep her safe from Circe/Sarah who would eventually come looking for Gemma and wanting her powers for herself. Though I was not surprised that Mary and Sarah both survived the fire, I was surprised that Mary had killed a little girl as part of the sacrifice ritual not thinking she was capable of it just from the diary entries alone which suggest she was a kind woman. And I was shocked along with Gemma that her mother could do such a thing and would have thought it would have been Sara who did it instead because that was just her character. It was just unexpected though Gemma's mother did regret her actions that night and knew she could never make up for what she did in the past, though she kind of did by taking Carolina (the girl she murdered) under her wing and protected her in the other realm and Carolina even helped Virginia to get the message to Gemma and lead her on the path that Gemma's mother wanted.

Not only had Gemma have to do with these visions plus figuring out how to go to the other realm and taking her friends with her (where she encountered her mom who told her about the fact she had powers and she had to be careful how to use them), but also this group that protected the world against magic and from people who could open realms and bring magic to the real world and have done so all their lives, making sure the people of the Order don't thrive. One such boy part of this group was the love interest in the story, though only to a tiny degree in this book and probably will be more developed in future books, but there was definitely and attraction on Gemma part and I wasn't sure but I think on his part as well, though he hid it very well. But he was always there and kept watching her and warned her not to delve into her powers or he was going to hurt her family and so on. Just basically looking over her shoulder and making sure she did the right thing and not use any of her powers at all, but of coarse that doesn't happen and though he threatened her family and gave her disapproving looking, he doesn't really do anything to punish her. Come to find out that his brother who died along with Gemma's mother (though Gemma's mom killed herself and Gemma saw that in a vision)was her mom guardian and was the one to let her mom know that Circe was alive and looking for Gemma, and now Kartik (the boy) seemed to be doing the same for Gemma, looking out for her and even helped her out a couple times even though he believed what she was doing was wrong. So, it will be interesting to see what role he plays in future books and how their relationship will develop over time. It should be pretty hot if Gemma's dreams were anything to go by, which surprised me because I didn't think it would be in a YA historical like that, but there was some serious heat there just in the dream and I am wondered if it will be like that in real life as well (it probably will). And also I was curious to learn if he experienced the same dreams as she did with them feeling they were real as they were real for Gemma. So, I will be curious to learn and I was enjoy the beginning of their relationship though I do wish there was a tad more in this book, but hey it's only the warm up.

It was also interesting seeing Gemma come into her powers and making her stronger as the book progressed because at first she didn't want anything to do with them. In the beginning of the story when she came to the school she was sad and depressed and feeling slightly guilty over her mother's death feeling it was her fault that if she hadn't run away from her mother in the first place her mother wouldn't have come after her then the dark presence wouldn't have been after her mom then her mom wouldn't have killed herself to evade capture. So, she wasn't happy and she was missing her mom so much and regretted not only her death but the fact she argued and rebelled against her about coming to London instead of being stuck in England. So, she didn't even want to be at the school at all and didn't care about anything except keeping these visions under control. Then she dealt with the mean girls, which was another problem she didn't want to deal with, but she stood up to them nicely not being their doormat, which earned her respect and then friendship later on (though at first it was a matter of convenience because Gemma learned that Felicity was seeing a gyspy boy on the side-and society would frown on that thinking gyspies are the lowest of the low--and Felicity wanted to make sure that stayed a secret so she stuck close to Gemma, but then later on they do become genuine friends along with Pippa)and this friendship became important in the story because they formed this secret group called the new Order so they could have control over their own lives and not be stuck in what society said they should do, bonding them together. Of coarse they learn about Gemma's powers and were fascinated by them and wanted in. Gemma did take them into another realm where everything was perfect and the girls got what they wanted. Gemma got to be with her mother. Ann got to be beautiful. Felicity got to learn how to be strong and protect herself by training with a huntress, and Pippa got a shinning knight who she could fall in love with and he her and not being to forced to marry someone she didn't love like she had to do in real life. So, this took them away from their problems in their own life and live a fantasy one. But this soon became a problem because they got drunk on the power and wanted not just the magic the realm could provide, but also in real life as well, and even though Gemma's mother warned her not to take the magic outside of the realm until she was ready to control her powers, but they did it anyway and while it was perfect for a little while it proved to much. With Felicity being taken over by an evil spirit and wanting the power to transport all by herself without the use of Gemma and she did exactly that even doing the same sacrifice ritual that Mary and Sarah did. But the evil monster who promised to give Felicity that power attacked them and tried to get to the real world. Pippa wound up drowning with the rest of the girls escaping from the monster back to the real world with Pippa's body being the only thing present and was still breathing but unconscious.

Gemma went back to the realm to retrieve Pippa and bring her back to the real world, but before that she confronted the monster again and the monster nearly took over and weakened her until Gemma decided to forgive her mom than the monster got weaker and left (In order for Gemma's mother to pass on and move onto the next life, her mom needed to complete a soul mission of some sort which was having Gemma forgive her for what she did and then she could move on. And though Gemma was upset when she learned the truth about her mother, she did forgive her mother for lying to her all that time)so with the creature gone, Gemma came upon Pippa and saving her from the water. When Gemma tried to take her back to the real world, Pippa refused knowing that she would be forced into a world she didn't want and married to a man she didn't love and decided to stay in the realm with her knight who was waiting for across the way. So Pippa stayed and her body died in the real world and she gone.

Circe is still at large, and we haven't come to see her yet (or that we know of I have feeling it is someone Gemma has met already, but we just don't know it) and I am assuming is still after Gemma and wants her powers. Circe/Sarah was very power hungry and still is wanting to control everything and be this powerful being. She is a little bit of a mystery, but we understand her bit from what happened in the past from the diary entries and saw how devious and evil she can be. It'll be curious to see when she shows up and how she presents herself to Gemma at first. But now Gemma doesn't have her mom anymore to rely on so she needs to keep her wits about her and her eyes open for this threat. It'll be interesting how this series will continue on in the future and hopefully Gemma can defeat Circe in the end with the help of her friends and Kartik and even find some more members of the Order that can help her on her way.

And I'm looking forward to finding out and hoping the next books are as exciting, mysterious, suspenseful, interesting, and intriguing with a flare of supernatural thrown in, and I couldn't put it down, which is what a good book should be. I was very impressed with book and thoroughly enjoyed it immensely and didn't mind that it was a historical after all. The plot was just so great that I couldn't help being sucked into this world and immersed with these characters as well and will be rooting for them. So I look forward to more mystery and intrigue in the next installments and hope that it is as good as this one was. ...more

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Aug 13, 2009 Tressa (Wishful Endings) rated it liked it

This is the first book in the Gemma Doyle series. This could have been a really great series, but the author added some things (sensual) that I felt withdrew from the story and made it unacceptable for me. It's really too bad because otherwise the books grab your attention from the start and are quite imaginative. ...more

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