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A review by ofravensandincense
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
5.0
The first in a trilogy, A Great and Terrible Beauty introduces Gemma, a 16-year-old English girl living in colonized India in 1895. When her mother is murdered at the beginning of the book, Gemma is sent to a finishing school in England where she discovers there is a lot more to her mother's murder and her own history. Newly discovered powers allow Gemma to take herself and three friends into a realm where magic is possible and these otherwise oppressed girls have all the power. Her actions set off a chain reaction which has a rival group, the Rakshana, threatening Gemma and demanding power they believe belongs to them.
Bray's use of gothic tropes and the supernatural give power to women who would be otherwise powerless in 1895 England, simply raised and 'bred' to be wives and nothing more. The language is beautiful, and the plot is engaging - always leaving the reader to want more. You'll finish it desperately grappling for the next book in the trilogy.
Bray's use of gothic tropes and the supernatural give power to women who would be otherwise powerless in 1895 England, simply raised and 'bred' to be wives and nothing more. The language is beautiful, and the plot is engaging - always leaving the reader to want more. You'll finish it desperately grappling for the next book in the trilogy.