As per the monthly TBR challenge over at Brianna's Mommy...Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Genre: YA Fantasy
Year published: 2003
Why did you get this book? I got this book for several reasons. First, I enjoy young adult literature. Second, the Flitgirl spoke highly of the series last August, and I've been meaning to read it ever since.
Do you like the cover? Very much. If I'd seen it in the store, I would have been compelled to pick it up. A young woman's graceful back, bound in a lacy shift and her laced corset... what's not to love? Victorian underwear on display perfectly conveys the book's themes: freedom vs. constraint.
Did you enjoy the book? Yes! The only thing I don't enjoy is waiting to get my hands on the second book, and waiting for Libba Bray to actually publish the third. Because, really, who wouldn't want to read a series about teenage girls in Victorian England playing with potentially sinister magic? And then there's that dark, omnipresent edge of imperialism... did I mention that it all starts in India? Oh, and the mysterious Hindu hottie that I'm totally in love with, even though he's probably only supposed to be 18? I'm a dirty old woman... and there's so much here to keep me hooked...
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? The author was new to me, and I am aching to finish the next book in the series (hurry up, other library patrons!)
Are you keeping it or passing it on? This is a library book, so I can't pass on the particularly copy I just read. However, it's now on my Amazon Wishlist. I'm hoping The Boyfriend gets it for my birthday, so that I can have my very own copy to reread (and loan to my friends!)
Anything else? I must endorse the writer's style once more: the content is JK Rowling meets Sharon Shinn and Robin McKinley, written in the lush prose of the Victorian era.
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7 comments:
Yay! So glad you liked it. Believe me, Rebel Angels might even be better. You are in for a treat.
Oh, I bought this awhile back, and heard it was good. Thanks for the rec, I will have to dig it out.
Have either of you guys read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight? Another truly awesome YA (contemp. vampire).
I really want to read this book and it's sequel but I haven't been able to find it in the shops or at the library!
I have however got Twilight here to read...looking forward to it!
I enjoyed Twilight very much. It's a really enjoyable book. But these Bray books are something truly special.
"Twilight" is very good, and I love anything that takes place on the Olympic Peninsula (yay, Washington!)
But I must say, I was almost disappointed that Stephanie Meyer is turning this into a series. I thought it should be a stand-alone text.
Libba Bray, on the other hand, could anthologize about her girls until the cows come home and I think I'd pick up every single novel.
Wow this looks really good Kate D. *sigh* Another book has been added to my booksfree account and if I like it just as much as you do, then it's for sure going on my wishlist on amazon. ;)
Great Q&A review...
Picked this one up for my daughter last summer and she fell in love with the characters and with the background for the story. She is reading Rebel Angels (the sequel) this summer.
I actually have this first one in Audiobook format, which I plan to tackle this next month.
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