The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray is fantasy series
about a young girl at an English boarding school when she discovers a magical
realm. She learns that she has a magical gifts and she must learn how to use
them. She, along with her friends, must defeat the evil which is unleashed and
return the balance between the world and the realm.
A Great and Terrible
Beauty is the first book, 1895, Gemma Doyle is sent to a boarding school in
England after the death of her mother in India. Once there, she begins to have
clairvoyant visions as she discovers the magical secrets of the Spence Academy
for Young Ladies. She soon becomes friends with Felicity Worthington, the most
popular and influential girl at the school. Along wither her roommate, Ann
Bradshaw and Felicity’s best friend, Pippa Cross, Gemma discovers an ancient
group of women called The Order. The girls decide to start an Order of their
own and discovers a magical cave which bestows magic gifts of immense power.
Soon the power turns evil. Will Gemma and her friends survive?
Rebel Angels is
the second book which begins two months after the events of A Great and Terrible Beauty. The magic
in the caves has been released and the evil sorceress, Circe, and her allies
are free to roam the realm and possibly the human world. Gemma and her friends
must find the “Temple” in order to bind the magic and Circe again. New friends,
teachers and mysterious men are pressuring Gemma to use her magic according to
their plans. Unsure who to trust, Gemma must rely on her own instincts to
battle Circe and restore the magic. Will her chosen allies help or hurt her?
Will she be able to fight the growing threat from Circe?
The Sweet Far Thing
is the last book in which one year has passed since Gemma arrive at the Spence
Academy. She is struggling with the magic from realms and the effects on the
school. When the East Wing of the school is being rebuilt after a fire from
many years ago, a mysterious stone is unearthed and Gemma beings to have
visions of a young girl in a lavender dress with a magical dagger. Time is
running out, can Gemma find the clue to realm the wall between the realm and
her world? What is this mysterious stone? Who is the girl in Gemma’s vision and
can her dagger help end the Circe? Will Gemma and her friends survive?
I enjoyed this series very much. I’ve read it a couple times
over the last few years and it get better and better. I enjoyed the references
to classic Greek tragedies. The descriptions of the school and the grounds
gives the reader the sensation of being there. The interactions between the
characters, especially teenage girls, was realistic. There are many surprises
in the book from the first opening page to the closing lines. This makes
writing a review difficult but makes for a very good read. I highly recommend
the Gemma Doyle trilogy.
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