BOOK BLURB: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1)

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads:

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.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma 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. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.

***

Date Read: April 9, 2013
Rating: 3.5 Stars

I truly believe that this could have been better. Honestly, it was good. I was completely engrossed by the latter half of the book. But the problem is it's quite hard to get yourself into the book. First of all, Gemma Doyle is not one of the best protagonists around. Even her friends were hard to predict at first. Then, the intentions become a little more obvious and by the end, it got a bit confusing. And I do agree with the reviews I have read, about poor character development. Gemma Doyle from page one is not really far from the Gemma Doyle by the end of the book. Also, I don't know if it was just me, but I really found it hard to picture India and London in the year 1891. Yes, the petticoats, gloves, corsets and carriages are present. But from the way it was written, it wasn't 1900ish. Maybe a little, but it was not constant throughout the book. (Judgement is based from comparison with other books set in the Victorian period.)

I really did like A Great and Terrible Beauty. The mystery behind Spence, the magic, the realms and the Order... I liked them, too bad the story picked up at the later part of the book. Also, I was looking for Gemma's romantic interest, because who doesn't want some romance in their books? (Definitely not me). Let's just say the romantic side of A Great and Terrible Beauty was a little subdued. It was there, just bubbling to sprout, but not always present. Although it the love story went quiet, it was okay. I couldn't say I did not like it.

So, with that and the great title, I give A Great and Terrible Beauty 3.5 stars.

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BOOK BLURB: Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1)

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

***

Date Read: January 28, 2013
Rating: 4 stars

Unspoken is that kind of book that will keep you reading until the very last page because you really want to uncover the truth behind all the secrets and mystery surrounding the plot. It's that kind of book that obviously doesn't give out anything in beginning so you'll have to find out when it ends. It was good but sometimes you almost want to just shout in frustration because it takes a bit too long to reveal who the Lynburns really are. But the magic and mystery worked out pretty well all throughout the book. I definitely didn't see all those things coming in the end. I probably would have but I didn't really make an effort to wack my brain and guess what's going to happen or who's killing who. I even felt creeped out a few times which isn't a surprise because I easily get freaked out by a lot of things.

The characters, I guess, were well-developed too, but the setting wasn't as appealing. Apart from having a weird name, Sorry-in-the-Vale was your typical mysterious town where everybody knows everybody. I have read quite a few books with the same kind of town. The people in the town, though, were more interesting than the place they live on.

Kami Glass is a very lively and an extremely entertaining character. She's smart and funny, which makes her one of the reasons that I enjoyed the book. Another thing that I like about Kami and what sets her apart is that she doesn't constantly swoon over Jared, or even Ash. Maybe she does, but not the exaggerated adoration a lot of girls in books do. Jared, on the other hand, was not placed on a pedestal and showered with redeeming qualities, which I liked as well. What didn't please me is their very confusing relationship. Are they friends or are they more? What happened when they were fourteen? It was just so difficult to think if they would really work out. The ending did not help either. But despite their weird connection and their puzzling relationship, I still enjoyed some of their shared moments.

Holly and Angela were the minor characters that were fairly entertaining, tolerable and very unexpected. I didn't even thought that the secret was like that. I just didn't see that coming.

What else? The ending was nice. It was intense and a bit thrilling. It didn't really end with an annoying cliffhanger. Just the right sentences to lead you to the next books. :D

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BOOK BLURB: Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

***

Date Read: August 29, 2012

Whew! Finally! After 21 days of struggling to finish the book, I'm finally done with Beautiful Creatures. Now don't get me wrong. It took me 3 weeks to finish not because it wasn't good or anything like that. I was just really busy and Beautiful Creatures wasn't the kind of book that gets you all distracted from your work. It didn't meet my expectations, thus, leaving me a bit disappointed.

To be honest, I felt detached from the story and the characters while reading this. I just couldn't make sense of it at first. I felt like the book/story was supposed to be dark and mysterious, but it wasn't as dark and mysterious as I hoped it would be. I didn't even feel the spark between Ethan and Lena's relationship. It's like they didn't have enough chemistry together. Their relationship was a bit hurried, I think. It was like Ethan saying, "I want something different. The new girl is different. Now, I want her to be my girlfriend."

I didn't like Ethan that much. And Lena, too. I didn't like Gatlin. (Ugh! All the thoughts that are coming out are negative thoughts. Sorry!)

Sorry if my thoughts about the book turned out like that. There had been a lot of great reviews for this book and I guess I got carried away. I raised my expectations high and look where it got me.

I actually debated whether to give this book a two or three rating. I settled with three because there were still some parts that got me entertained.

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teepee J