Product Description

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a
laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1143 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-26
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 832 pages

From AudioFile
The concluding chapter of Bray's trilogy (A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, 2004, and REBEL ANGELS, 2005) is again given voice by Josephine Bailey, who creates the many characters of this rich Victorian world. As Gemma Doyle and her friends at Spence Academy deal with the strictures of their society--worrying about making their debuts and escaping from under the tight control of their fathers and brothers--they must, at the same time, sort out the lethal mystery that surrounds the Realms, a complex alter-universe peopled by mythical creatures and the undead. Bailey's narration establishes the necessary continuity with the previous books, allowing listeners of the first two volumes to resume their connection to the Realms and Victorian England. S.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, October 29, 2007:
“A huge work of massive ambition.”

Review, People, December 24, 2007:
"This is a rare treat that offers a bit of everything--romance, magic, history, Gothic intrigue--and delivers on all of it in 819 beautifully crafted pages."

About the Author
Libba Bray is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, son, and a cat of questionable intelligence.

Customer Reviews

Who can Gemma trust?
Third book of the Gemma Doyle trilogy.

Historical fiction with a generous mix of fantasy and romance that features strong female characters who question the repressive rules placed on women in Victorian society.

As in the previous novels, not everything is what it seems. Good and evil are two sides of the same coin and Gemma struggles to figure out who is trying to help her and who will do her harm. Who can she trust? And can she even trust herself? Gemma is is a compelling character because she is not perfect. She makes some selfish choices, but in the end she finds strength and fairness within herself. Ann, Felicity, and Kartik also struggle to find a balance between their desires and what is right.

Fans of the first two books in the trilogy, will devour this one as well.

I am now in love with this series
"A Great and Terrible Beauty" (the first of this spellbinding trilogy) was one of those books that I passed up numerous times on my many trips to the bookstore, only glancing at it from time to time out out of slight curiousity, which wasn't enough to make me wanna buy it. Then I came across it one day at the library, and figured I'd give it a chance, and I was glad I did! I eagerly devoured the book, and upon finishing it, I raced to the bookstore to pick up the second book in the series, "Rebel Angel" eager to continue on with the series, and I finished it as quickly as the first one, and then of course immediately got the last book "A Sweet and Far Thing" and now, only about a week later, I have finished the series. The author is an exquisite writer, and brings the realms to life down to every last detail, making you wish you could jump into the pages of the book, if only to see the realms for yourself.

I have to say that this one was my favorite out of the three. I was a bit surprised that this one was quite a big longer than the first two books (a little over 800 pages) but I think that is what made it the most interesting. I don't agree with some of you who say the book should have been cut in half, as I found that it kept my attention from the beginning, all the way to the end. I actually wished that the book could have been gone on even longer! I was sad to see the story of Gemma and her friends, felicity, anne, and Pippa, come to an end and actually found myself in tears after having finished the book. I believe that because this book was so long, I really got to know the characters even more, and as I read the book, I found myself wishing I were with them in the pages, venturing with them into the realms.

This book continues the story of Gemma, felicity, and anne, and their adventures into the mystical realms. I found this one more action packed than the first two books, because in this one Gemma is dealing with a power struggle between herself, the order, the rakshana, and the various creatures of the realm, who all want the magic to themselves.

I don't want to give anything away, so ill try not to go into a whole lot of detail (but in any case, beware because the things I say may contain spoilers) but I will say that I actually liked the bittersweet ending for Gemma and her love interest, Katrik. Granted, I don't think what happened to Katrik necessarily had to happen, but I think it was a better than "and Gemma and Katrik lived happily ever after!" to me that just would have been corny, although a part of me does wish they would have been able to finally be together. But I think what happened to him helped Gemma to become an even stronger person, and helped to shape who she was and had a big part in the decision she makes toward the end of the book.

I must say, I also was not at all surpised of the relationship between Felicity and Pippa. I don't think it just came out of nowhere as some of you have said. true, nothing was revealed in the first two books to make it seem like they were anything other than friends, but the author does start to build it up in this book, as you see Felicity always eager to go into the realms, constantly bringing Pippa presents, and just the overall closeness between them.

So yes, I was quite impressed with this book, but like I said, I was sad to see the series end, and I hope the author continues to write, as I find her to be a very talented storyteller. I think it would be great if she came up with a follow-up to this series, to let us know what becomes of Gemma, Felicity, and Anne, and of course to let us know what becomes of the realms, because the author kind of left that as a loose end.

All in all, if you have not read this series, I strongly recommend that you do as I believe you will be as enthralled as I was by the journey of Gemma and her friends

Sad ending, but great story
Not everything in life ends how we want it...especially books. I think the whole trilogy was beautifully written and had just the right amount of ups and downs, suspence and drama, and love and heartache. As with all books, I wish this didn't end. I want to know more! I want to know what happens to Gemma now. I want to see things further in the future of Gemma's life. I wish Bray would turn this Trilogy into a never ending Saga. LoL! I absolutely loved all 3 books and wish I had another to read to know more about the life of Gemma Doyle.