A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

Summary - A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel. Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. (Summary taken from Goodreads)

Review - A Great and Terrible Beauty was nothing like I expected in both good and bad ways. I loved the story, it was unique and kept you attention. I felt, though, that it didnt get too interesting until the last 100 pages. There were many things that I didnt see coming that I felt made the wait worth it. Also the ending I thought was spectacular. If I didnt know that there were more I would think to read on though. But the way that it ended was very good for the story. There were some aspects of the story, I felt could have gone into more detail.

Cover - 4 stars

Plot - 5 stars

Characters - 5 stars

Writing - 4 stars

Ending - 4 stars