A mysterious boarding school, a group of bullying and gossiping snobby wealthy beautiful girls, a fantasy realm where anything is possible – the perfect recipe for a perfect fantasy young adult novel. This book is an amazing take on fantasy, horror, and historical fiction, with a touch of romance which balances everything out perfectly.
I picked up this book on a impulse because the book cover seemed interesting. Once I started reading the book, A Great and Terrible Beauty became unput-downable. The story, its characters and events were absolutely captivating and mystical. I loved the backdrop of Victorian England and the way women were viewed and what was expected from them in those times. The female characters spoke volumes about this particularly difficult time period for women. Each character was different in many dimensions compared to the other and had many interesting qualities and behaviours. There was great mystery, suspense, horror, magic and romance in the novel.
I fell in love with this book and Libba Bray's writing is capturing. This novel is one of the best readings I've done in a while and I recommend A Great and Terrible Beauty very highly.
