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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray


Author: Libba Bray
Pages: 592
Source: Purchased by Barnes and Noble
Series or Standalone?: 2nd in series

Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy—spending time with her friends in the city, attending balls in fancy gowns with plunging necklines, and dallying with the handsome Lord Denby. Yet amid these distractions, her visions intensify—visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened that only the realms can explain. The lure is strong, and soon Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world that Gemma takes them to. To the girls' great joy, their beloved

Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship. But all is not well in the realms—or out. Kartik is back, desperately insisting to Gemma that she must bind the magic, lest colossal disaster befall her. Gemma is willing to comply, for this would bring her face-to-face with her late mother's greatest friend, now Gemma's foe—Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task. . . .

* * *

I actually read this series out of order, with Rebel Angels being the first one I read. I don’t exactly remember why I did it, but I’m pretty sure it was because I didn’t realize this was a sequel until after about 50 pages in and I was sitting there going “Whaat the fuuuuuhhhh?” So I bought AGTB, read it, and then reread Rebel Angels.

What I love about Libba Bray, is she writes with this certain… je ne sais quoi. She wrote through the mind of a teenage girl in the Victorian Era, who was going through many traumas, and pulled it off seamlessly. I was really into the story, and all throughout I could definitely picture Victorian England around me, along with the Gothic structure of Spence Academy. The Realms are delved into much further than in the first book, and are opened up to us through Bray’s flawless writing. Now we see the darker side of The Realms- -and Pippa.

Ah, Pippa. Let me just come out and say it: Pippa is one creepy bitch. I wasn’t getting good vibes from her the entire time she was present in any scene, and there were so many little nuances that all is not well in Pippaland. I think she’s gone off the deep end.

The plot in this book was well-thought out, and really caught me by surprise. I had no idea who Circe would be, and I still have all these questions that I’m hoping will be answered in The Sweet Far Thing. The romance between Gemma and Kartik was much more tangible here, but still teasingly uneventful. Kartik drops several hints, as does Gemma, but at the same time, she’s being courted by Simon Middleton, a wealthy and handsome Englishman, which really gets Kartik’s knickers in a bunch. I’m reeeaaally looking forward to seeing their romance progress.

Gemma and her friends pack quite an adventure, and this novel definitely did not disappoint fans of the first one. If you haven’t read A Great and Terrible Beauty yet, go buy it now!

Other books in this series:
1st-A Great and Terrible Beauty (click for my review)
3rd-The Sweet Far Thing

Other books by this author:
Going Bovine

Plot: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Uniqueness: 4.5/5
Characters: 3/5
Overall:

1 comment:

  1. So glad you enjoyed this one. I loved this entire series. I though, like you, that Bray's writing was addictive, the characters were awesome and the plot was great. And Pippa? You're so right, one creepy bitch. Thanks so much for the review!

    ReplyDelete

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