Rating: 
Summary: Best Book Ever!
Review:
A friend of mine told me about this awesome book she had read, A Great and Terrible Beauty. She told me to pick it up and read it, and I did.
I loved it! Especially the Victorian setting... I'm a sucker for that time period. It's a very unique book, very different from most books that I have read.
It was a easy and very entertaining read. One of those books that pull you in and makes you feel like you're part of the story.
Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: A good book....but not the best.
Review: "A great and terrible beauty" was a very good read, and it pleases the reader well with a good fantasy and adventure. however, as i opine, the novel could have been revised into even better. many things had been left unaswered by the end of the book, such as what the Rakshana really is in which Kartik is involved, was Gemma's mother really an illusion or was she actually there in the other world (I'm still not sure), why Circe needed to kill Gemma's mother, what Amar's, Kartik's brother, rols was as guardian to the mother, etc. From my reading, I'm deeming there would be a sequal to the novel since nothing much is resolved between Gemma and Circe...All in all, if the book was revised some what, it could have been better. :)
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book...And Certainly Not Terrible
Review: "Wow!" was all I could say after reading this book. I was awed by the characters, the setting and the lyracisim of the story, which seemed so believable despite its fantastical plot. The book centers around Gemma Doyle, a 16-year-old British teen living in India during the late 1800's. Anxious to go live in London, Gemma is miserable in this foreign land, to say the least. When her mother dies mysteriously, Gemma is sent to an English boarding school, Spence, to finish her education.
But trouble doesn't stop there. Gemma is haunted by mysterious visions, where she sees her mother, a young girl and a myserious beast. At the same time, she must attempt to assimilate into the elite Spence society. Later, Gemma uncovers the diary of Mary Dowd, which unleases the story of the Order, an old Spence society, no longer existing, that was comprised of girls who traveled to other realms and the spirit world. In addition, the secrets of Mary's death, and her friend Sarah's, are unraveled. When one of Gemma's new friends decides to reinstate the Order, Gemma and two others join her. But this coming-of-age heroine will quickly discover that all is not as it seems...and someone (something?) is after her.
This is an incredible story. It is well-written and captivating. The characters, especially Gemma's friend Felicity, literally seem to step off the pages and enter our world. But what really sets this book apart from any others is the way that Libba Bray has woven a sharp analysis of Victorian society into a gripping fictional tale. A Great and Terrible Beauty is a must-read that will stick with young adult readers long after the last page has been turned.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: A Great and Terible Beauty skillfully combines a traditional Victorian setting with modern-style teenage drama. This is Mean Girls as gothic melodrama, and both the rich, repressive finishing school setting and the antics of troubled, bitchy teenage girls are familiar, but uniquely enjoyable combined like this. Teenage struggles against adult hypocricy are the same in all time periods, and the power of [repressed] female sexuality is a theme that arises perfectly from the Victorian-- and adolescent time period. In these ways it is a perfect book, and the fantasy elements -- menacing secret societies, utopian alternate worlds -- should be the icing on a delicious cake, but this is where the author stumbles. As with so many supernatural plots, the mystery is tantalizing at first, but as more is revealed, it only gets confusing and messy. There will be a sequel, which might tie the mystical strands tighter into the overall structure of the story, but the ending of this novel left me unsatisfied, and not in a good way. Still, it's a great read for anyone who enjoys period fiction or remembers what it's like to be 16.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT book
Review: Anyone who loves adventure, victorian times and girls who take chances would love this book. Mrs. Bray did a wonderful job and inspires me to start writing.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Keep
Review: From the first time I saw this book I was hooked. When I finally got around to reading it, I coudn't put it down. I read it in two days! Between school and chores. I absolutely loved it. It was very intriguing and dark, but the nice, suspensful kind. It has a little of everything, magic, friendship, romance... anyone who's fascinated by magic and things like that would love it. I don't mean to build it up, saying it's the best and the greatest, it depends on tates. I will say though, that once you read it, you won't be sorry.
Another thing about this is... I don't think the story ends here. At least I hope not. I think there may be a another installement. And I'm definetely looking forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: intriguing Victorian coming-of-age
Review: I picked this up thinking it was a fantasy, but although it has some fantasy elements, I wound up particularly liking the sharp dialogue and perceptive analysis of the relationships among teenage girls. Through their words and actions, the girls demonstrate that although many things have changed since the Victorian era -- such as what women can and cannot expect from their lives -- many aspects of adolescence (cliques, rebellion, emerging self-understanding) haven't changed a bit. The fantasy part actually struck me as a bit weak, though that may be partly because (not knowing it was the first part of a trilogy) I read the whole book expecting things to be resolved and explained at the end. Instead, the end feels more like a beginning, but I look forward to the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: Magical, sweet and true to times
Review: I'm going to be straight to the point.
This book is true to how women were at the time this book is set for. How girls have to deal with marriage, and schooling. And with the lovely mix of magic, be it good and bad, makes you wonder if a story like this really could have happened. It kept me so intrigued that I didn't really want to put the book down. The last parts are the romance and how it can affect a friendship, and what power can do to some people.
This is a book for people of all ages, and I don't mean just women, boys will find this interesting as well.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Amazing!!
Review: My advice: Go out buy this book RIGHT NOW!! This is my favorite book, and for good reason. Sometimes you pick up a book you've already read but you want to read it again so you try. Soon you notice you're skipping pages cause you already know what's going to happen or it's a boring part or many other reasons. With this book, you never want to stop reading, even if you've read it before! There's never a dull moment. The characters are splendid and easy to relate to. You find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the characters as if they were real people. This book will take you on a grand adventure throughy fantasy and reality, opening your mind to new posibilities. I loved it and I hope you do too!
Rating:
Summary: Deliciously dark
Review: No matter how well I think I know this book, I keep coming back to it--I just read it for the third time, which was almost as wonderful as the first time I breathlessly tore through it. Gemma Doyle, brought up under the British occupation of India in 1895, must suddenly move to an English boarding school after her mother dies under mysterious circumstances. Though she receives a less-than-cheerful welcome at Spence, she manipulates her way into a circle of powerful girls and with them explores her mysterious past and her growing powers as a member of the ancient Order.
I was originally intrigued by A Great and Terrible Beauty as the quintessential Gothic Victorian novel, the kind I've been dying to find and read. Bray delivers in this aspect; her atmosphere is wonderfully dark and haunting, and she evokes a clear, saddening sense of the Victorian obsession with beauty, perfection, and doll-like women who do as they're told. Though she sometimes beats the reader over the head with her emphasis on the powerlessness of Victorian women, she nevertheless makes the reader feel a great sympathy with these girls who long for independence. On an unrelated note, Bray's word choice is exquisite--I love the way she puts her sentences together, in an elegant manner that adds to the atmosphere.
Yet Bray adds the dimension of a powerful beast trying to stop Gemma's exploration of her supernatural abilities, and though the majority of the book keeps the reader frightened and aware of this looming darkness, the ending fails to maintain this terrifying feel. The book culminates in a stereotypical fantasy battle that threw me off the first time I read it and almost made me want to laugh this last time.
I guess I might be a purist, wishing that Bray could have stayed with a straightforward, realistic Gothic novel, but she handles the fantastical element well, only slipping near the end. Overall she creates a world I'm always reluctant to leave, despite my qualms with the magic. A Great and Terrible Beauty is just that, a book beautiful in its atmosphere and surroundings, great in its perspective, and terrible in the way Victorians idolized their women.
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