libba bray a great and terrible beauty series

There is so much I enjoyed about this first book in the series that it is difficult to condense my feelings for you in one blog post, but here I go.įor one, the characters are complex each has their good and their bad qualities, their virtues and their vices. The story and characters are engaging and mysterious with so much more bubbling under the surface. This book melds together 19th century Britain, female friendships, sexual awakenings and magic. Her life in England is far more than elocution lessons and keeping up with this season’s latest fashions Miss Doyle is haunted by visions of another world, one both terrifying and beautiful. After tragedy strikes, however, her life is uprooted and she is sent to board at a girls’ finishing school in England. The year is 1895 and our story follows Gemma Doyle, a young woman from a wealthy English family who has spent her entire life thus far growing up in India.

A Great and Terrible Beauty is the first in her Gemma Doyle series and what a beginning it is. Not only did my first foray into her work not disappoint, it far exceeded all of my expectations. Seeing her discuss the influences and objectives of her young adult work made me see them in a much more complex light than perhaps the blurbs alone would have. Upon reading Bray’s article I immediately ordered both A Great and Terrible Beauty and Beauty Queens by the author.

My interest was peaked in Bray’s writing after reading an article she had written here for EW that Monica from SheMightBeMonica shared online. This is the first book I have read by Libba Bray who is, in fact, quite the prolific author and incredibly popular amongst fans of Young Adult literature.

Libba bray a great and terrible beauty series