Realms Review: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'

Many of us are used to stories where magic is defined by rules. In fact, most, if not all, magic has rules, but what if you didn't know them? What if you had to figure them out on your own? Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty does just that. Gemma, the protagonist, stumbles across a magical world she has discovered through visions. She, and three other girls, unravel their powers there, and discover when they return to their world that the magic lasts for a little bit outside the strange world, but doesn't last forever. It wears off, leaving them wanting to return, but an evil also lurks in that world.
          Bray's elaborate and beautiful settings hook you in and make the reader lust after the magical world and Victorian England, where most of the story takes place. The characters are all well-developed and exceed your expectations as you read on and learn they are more than their stereotypes. Felicity is not just the snobby leader, but a girl who dreams of being more than she's allowed to be. Pippa may be beautiful and seemingly stuck up, but she hides a terrible illness she's afraid of. Ann seems to be a weak sidekick, but she also has a quiet strength. Gemma, the protagonist, is not easily manipulated, and finds her own sense of leadership along with her sense of self; she changes immensely throughout the whole trilogy.
          For a novel with well-written and strong female characters, as well as a dangerous plot full of unexpected twists and turns, A Great and Terrible Beauty might be the right story for you. The beginning, we found, was a little slow, but if you can plough through it, we promise it picks up, and we promise you won't be disappointed. We give this book four out of five stars.

Realms Review