Book 3), The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle

Do not read this review unless you have finished all three books!

My problems with the series:

The garden, the Borderlands and the Winterlands do not seem like a fully-imagined, autonomous world. In Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," G.R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" and Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain," the fantasy world closes in on you, becomes more real and immediate than your own surroundings, and as you venture through the monotony of everyday life you dream only of escaping back into that place.

Instead of Uruk-hai and White Walkers and Cauldron-Born and dementors we get... centaurs and poppy warriors and a supposedly all-powerful sorceress who spends most of the series in the guise of an art teacher? It really does sound like the fantasy of a 14 year-old girl. One who likes drawing unicorns and playing Candyland.

If you consider the realms as a sort of projection of all the dreams and nightmares of the individual, teenage girls are capable of carrying so much more darkness and terror within their souls. They can imagine a lot more. The realms took on a life of their own for me only at the end of book three, when Pippa morphs into an evil despot and the tree starts eating people. Gemma's human adversaries were similarly disappointing for much of the series. Evil characters are not very frightening when they spend all their time sitting on their hands and making vaguely menacing threats against her.

My biggest complaint: Sometimes, as when Gemma traps Circe in the well at the end of the second book, or frees her mother from the malevolent spirit at the end of the first, or binds all of the magic to herself, I had an incredibly hard time following what was actually going on. I was able to piece together the plot line only when Gemma recounted everything afterwards. There was an absolute disconnect between the scene the author had created in her mind and what she actually got down on paper.

What I liked:

Every time Gemma and her friends ventured into the realms, I was begging for them to go back to 1895 London which seemed a much more interesting and complete world. Bray's descriptions of tea shops and balls, of mud larks and child prostitutes were a fascinating portrait of English society in this period. I love historical fiction, and the squabbles among the privileged young ladies of Spence, Gemma's conflicted feelings about Simon (the sensible choice) and Kartik (the impossible choice), her concerns for her addict father and beastly brother rang true to me.

My favorite characters were dowdy, frightened Ann and the darkly funny Felicity. Daughter to a famous admiral, sexually abused by her father since she was a young girl, and secretly in love with her dead friend Pippa, Felicity is one of the most captivating, complex, and beautiful characters that I have encountered in a long time. At times blind, haughty, and spiteful out of the sense of inherent superiority that her social class has gifted her, at other times astonishingly vulnerable, Felicity merits a series of her own. Pippa's final betrayal lends even more pathos to their relationship.

Bray does a good job of exploring the tensions between what society expects of these girls, the neatly wrapped containers into which it tries to ram them, and what they dream of for themselves. Historical novels like these continue to resound today because girls still struggle between with same tensions--between what you want to be, and what your family, friends, school, church, and American (or English) culture at large demand from you. Even without corsets, we are still constrained. Don't we all wish for secret realms we could sometimes escape into? Instead we have book series like these, which for me work just as well :D

Three stars. Were the realms as consistently exciting as in the third book, I probably would have given it four.

Original Review at Belle of the Literati @ [...]

Power changes everything till it is difficult to say
who are the heroes and who the villains...
And magic itself is neither good nor bad;
it is intent that makes it either."
--Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

Whoo, it is with a small handkerchief that I ultimately finished the final book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. And what a ride it was. Magic, chaos, war, things that go bump in the night, this book had it all. This novel focuses on not only the fate of the realms and the Order, but also the very real life choices Gemma and her friends must make in regards to their destiny outside of the realms. Their season of debut awaits so there are balls and honorings and teas and garden parties, it is all quite splendid...but Gemma can't help but feel like an outsider. She grows so tired of the petty gossip and needless one-upping of each other, she feels quite alien in regards to all these women and wonders if something is wrong with her. Of course, there isn't, it is what it is in regards to the times. But still, she spends the entire novel trying to forge her own way against it. And it isn't only her. Her friends Ann and Felicity are there as well wondering much the same things about their own fates and what they can do to change them.

But of course we cannot forget mentioning the realms. The other world is beginning to crack and break slowly but surely. Pippa is still there we learn and with the band of factory workers in tow as her new subjects...excuse me, friends. Gemma is consistently and constantly torn with how to proceed with her new found ultimate power. Her friends are nagging her, the forest creatures are at unrest and the Winterlands' creatures are nowhere to be found...which is quite unsettling. The story ultimately brings us to the final battle that will finally decide the fate of the magic, the realms, and all the creatures that inhabit it. It is the final battle of good vs. evil...

...Or is it really good vs evil? As my chosen quote above reveals the idea of good and evil is a common theme in this book. Gemma and Co. believe they are on the side of good while the Winterlands are the corrupt evil ones. While I mostly agree with this statement I have to echo what Kartik says at one point in the book:
"People make mistakes, Gemma.
We take the wrong action for the right reasons,
and the right action for the wrong reasons."
--Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

He makes a very valid point with this statement. In his circumstance, looking at it objectively he did wrong by Gemma, but it is only with his explanation and foundation of truths leading up to his ultimate decision does that "evil" intention waver. Bray makes a very fine argument with both quotes I have mentioned. We all believe truly that our reasoning and choices are for the best and people act in curious ways constantly and it is only when we know the person and their intentions and endgame do we really start to perceive the reasoning behind their thoughts and actions. This is where that lovely gray area comes in and we can argue that the world is not made up of just black and white, right and wrong, good and evil, but rather shades of gray depending on the intention of the act. It is a very clever and perceptive idea Ms Bray, I truly enjoyed contemplating this theme. :)

My only negative opinion on the entire series really are the other girls...I could take 'em or leave 'em. I had to take a step back over and over again because I would get so furious at Felicity, Ann and Pippa equally. Felicity at points I love and root for and want to fist pump in the air when she defends Polly but when it comes to the magic of the realms and her constant backlash at Gemma I couldn't stand her. Why is it that Gemma is the only one with a sound head on her shoulders? Could the other girls not see how the magic can corrupt and you can't make rash decisions in regards to the other inhabitants of the realms? It became rather annoying. And Ann, my goodness if I had to hear one more self-deprecating comment I was gonna lose it. I agree wholeheartedly with Felicity when she tells her she no longer feels pity for her if she will do nothing to change her fate. Sing it , sister! Pippa...yikes, where do I begin with her. She is a crazy yatch. I had such a strong endearment towards her at the end of the first book...and it abruptly ended there I'm sorry to say. Ya know that saying 'you made your bed now lie in it?' Yeah that was her. You choose your choice girlfriend so I'm sorry if my sympathy does not align with you. I really thought her personality and maturity turned a corner in the first novel but then she just flipped right back to being self-centered and manipulative. Oh man was she manipulative, and yes I am quite aware it was the effect of the realms but still, made me mad. And the fact that Felicity and Ann would not see it or believe Gemma was so irritating. Any chance they had to knock Gemma down a peg they took. Not cool. While all is well in the end and they all make good choices there were points where I wanted to jump in the book and strangle these girls. K, I'm done with my vent but I had to get it out...really, the series is brilliant and these are the only negative things I have to say.

And seriously...I love Gemma Doyle. Truly I do. I loved reading about her story and her journey. Her characterization and inner monologue and honest choices kept me going in this series. I always wanted to know what she would do next. I think she is a kick-ass female heroine ahead of her time. She fights against the constraints of society and wishes to make her own path and choices, truly commendable, I love characters like her! And Kartik...oh Kartik. Their relationship is one of my favorites. It was subtle and honest and angsty and oh so perfect. Forbidden love on so many levels and they were just so darn cute together! Love love love!

I had a wonderful journey into the realms with Gemma and I am sad to see them go :( Overall, this book was a bit long but I loved all of it because Gemma is a true gem..haha, get it? Horrid, I know but I couldn't help myself. But seriously, these books are a great (but not terrible...get it?!) read so I hope if you're reading these thoughts on the final book you have already read them or I fear I have quite ruined some plot points for you from previous books.

Now that Gemma has eliminated the threat posed by Circe, she can take her time to decide the ultimate fate of the realms' magic she bound to herself. However, not everyone is content to wait. Strange stirrings in the Winterlands, disturbing visions of a mute lady in violet, and startling signs of life from Circe start to convince Gemma that she doesn't have as much time as she thought. When her family becomes a target, she has to learn quickly who to trust. Will she choose wisely?

I think I liked Gemma the least in this third novel of the trilogy. She really became a spoiled, self-centered teenager here, using the magic in incredibly irresponsible ways. At 800+ pages, she had ample opportunity to grate on one's nerves! In the second book there seemed to be hope that she would understand the great responsibility that she has, but that understanding came much too late for way too many people in this third and final book. The ending was unsatisfactory as there is much left to be done in the realms to forge a lasting peace, and I just don't see Gemma as being quite self-sufficient enough to make the choice the does in the end. All in all, though, a great trilogy.

::SPOILERS AHEAD!!::

I love the first two books and was eagerly awaiting to get my hands on this one and finish it. I finally did.

This is the last installment of the Gemma Doyle trilogy, and I have to say that despite the obvious writing talent the author has, this book disappointed me more than anything else.

I thought that this was such a bad ending! It frustrated me how anti-climactic and irrelevant everything was, not to mention dragging with its 800 pages.

First of all, the characters never seem to grow up. They're still the same immature and greedy teenagers that they were in the first book. I expected at least some kind of growth or maturity there somewhere, but found nothing. Felicity and Ann all seem to hate Gemma, and simply use her as a gateway to the realms. Their friendship is not inspiring, nothing special, genuine, or important. Pippa, by far, in my opinion, is the most intriguing character.

Another main character I found interesting was Kartik. I also loved his scenes with Gemma. But of course, the author just had to kill him. I found that unnecessary. Speaking of unnecessary, include Felicity's "shocking" lesbian storyline. It didn't fit! Sorry Libba Bray, it did not work.

::END OF SPOILERS::

THE CONSENSUS: If you do not want to ruin the first two books in your mind, I suggest you skip this one and create your own version of an ending. It would have gone differently, but I'm sure it would be a much better one.

Bad ending to an otherwise entertaining, imaginative series. Disappointing!

The final book in the Gemma Doyle triology was perfect. It wasn't what I wished for, but it was perfect in its own way. There's lots of criticisms attached to The Sweet Far Thing but I find myself less judgemental. While the beginning is "slow" I didnt find it boring or any less than the previous two novels. I found nothing odd of the women's suffrage ideas. In that time there had to be trail blazers who wanted freedom. In 30 years there will be women's right to vote and it had to start somewhere. All in all, I found this a beautiful and touching ending to an incredible triology I very deeply loved.

I adored the first two Gemma Doyle books by Libby Bray. They were so different than anything I previously had read. I immediately adored Bray's world. Gemma atteneds Spence Academy after her mother's murder in India. She makes friends with three girls attending the English boarding school. Beautiful Pippa, fiesty and scandulous Felicity, and charity case Anne. The girls discover a mysterious, magical place called The Realms. The Realms aren't all goodness and light. There are many dark forces at play and everyone wants power over the Realms and the real world as well.

For three LONG novels, I have been invested in the Realms and the many factions fighting for the power. I have been enamoured with the four main girls who all exhibit signs of light and dark as well. I have pitied the girls, laughed with them, and even shed a tear or two along the way.

While "The Sweet Far Thing" is not a bad book, by any means, it does fall short of the first two. One reason is at 800+ pages it is too long. If these pages were filled with important content or thread closures it might be the perfect legnth. Unforunately I found it to have more filler than usual. There are several new characters and I don't usually think adding new characters into the series on the last book is a good idea. Here it definitely is not. This made the book feel like Bray backed herself into a corner and had to quickly put in some new characters and plots to get herself out of them.

Just this week I read the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Many fans are upset with the choices that author made. She sacrificed some beloved characters as well as made a brazen choice of what to do with one of the members of the love triangle. I spoke out in my review stating that while sad and disappointing, these choices felt natural to the book. They were well thought decisions that stregnthened the series and gave it a satisfying conclusion.

With "Sweet Far Thing", Bray also made some decisions for Gemma and her friends. A couple felt natural. (Pippa, Anne, and Felcity ended up in places that felt in line with the series storyline arc) The other controversial choice was where Kartik ended up. This has to be the biggest "What the Heck?" moment I've come across in my reading. There was no build up to this, no reason for it. It was a jarring and disappointing choice for Bray to make. It will certainly make me think twice about recommending this series to others.

After investing the time and money, not to mention the heart, to this series, I feel that there is ultimately no payoff. Something is missing. Both with Kartik and with the status of Realms at the end. I don't need a happy ending and I don't need all my personal preferences met in a novel, but this was so ridiculous and out there. I give it three stars because I did enjoy it up until the end and I did like the resolutions for some of the characters.

A Great and Terrible Beauty got me interested enough to get the second book. I ate Rebel Angels up ravenously, finishing most of it in a single night. I went and got The Sweet Far Thing the day afterwards, eager to continue.

...That was two weeks ago.

I'm not sure how I managed to get 300 pages in, because I can barely remember most of what I read. I'm now beginning to skip paragraphs. The same things are happening over and over again. Gemma and the gang go on a holiday outing every week, it seems. Also, Gemma's every visit to the realms involve a needy Pippa and an increasingly bratty group of creatures who want a war for a reason that hasn't been made clear, beyond the fact that they... want a portion of the Realms' magic? I just don't get it, and I'm rapidly losing the will to care.

I think most of the fault lies with the characterization. Too many have been introduced, and their personalities are shallow. All of the older women are so similar that if it weren't for their different names, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart from one scene to the next. Simon Middleton is the stereotypical charming young man, and I can't picture his appearance beyond the fact that he has dark hair. And I still haven't gotten over Kartik's tantrum from the second book. He'll always be a jerk, and I'll forever wonder what Gemma sees in him.

It's funny... I really miss Circe! She's the most colorful and well-formed character in the series, and she's become locked underwater and forgotten, leaving us with dull old women and a bunch of increasingly annoying half-formed monsters who won't see reason. Oh well, a lot can change in 500 pages. Perhaps I will yet hit a sweet spot and my attention will be locked onto the story again.

I started reading this book series on a whim when I came across the first book for only $2 at a Borders. Normally YA fantasy series are not my cup of tea, but I read it anyway and found it enjoyable enough. I quickly picked up the second book and read that one as well, but it didn't keep my attention and it took me two or three times as long to get through. So this caused me to not quite rush to get the third in the series. Even after I bought the book on sale again it took me month to get to read it. I finally started this book a little more then 2 weeks ago and am left wondering why I even continued.

I am a quick reader, but I found it hard to read more then 40 pages a day. This book was long, too long, it was 800+ pages and boring, it could have been cut down by more than half. The characters all seemed to change from my memories of them from the first two books. I ended up hating almost every character in the book. The characters acted in ways that seemed very out of character. There actions could not be predicted, which is fine except that most of the surprises made little to no sense. I also found some of the writing confusing, it was unclear to me at certain moments what was happening when the writing switched from traditional prose to more figurative language. In most literature I would probably find this refreshing, but when used here it just seemed almost tacky and wrongly used.

As a whole the series turned out to be a disappointment. The first book had some potential, but it seemed to fizzle as the series went on. At one point in the book towards the end I hoped for a Hamlet like ending where everyone died except some tertiary character.

I finally finished listening to this book this evening, and the first thing i have to say was that it was too long. Don't get me wrong, I love thick books. I ate up every page of Harry Potter, but this one just seemed to drag on. I think she could have easily cut 300 pages and we wouldn't have missed a thing. There were sections that didn't need pages of description, yet other parts that needed more. We spent 750 pages reaching the climax, then only 50 concluding it. The ending felt very rushed, and left an almost sour taste in my mouth.

Unlike others, the sad ending didn't bother me. Sometimes happy endings aren't needed, and i can appreciate an author who is willing to end a series on a sad note (like the Pullman golden compass series) I don't need everything wrapped up in a pretty bow, (cough...cough, breaking dawn) I also didn't really mind that Felicity was gay. It explained her strange connection with Pippa, and made her blind devotion a little more believable. What i didn't get was how after pippa tried to set them on fire, that Felicity wouldn't figure that she'd turned evil, but NO she just has to sneak off and warn her crazed, demon girlfriend that the winterland creatures were coming. It was a little too unbelievable that anyone was that dense. There were a lot of those scenes in this book, and i found myself saying "COME ON!" over and over.

What I didn't like about the book was how stupid Gemma was throughout it. She kept making stupid decision after stupid decision, and i wanted to wring her neck! Nothing is more frustrating than a silly leading character. I also really started getting fed up with Felicity. I understand her troubled past, but she could be so mean sometimes, that i never really cared about her. I guess that was my problem with these books, i didn't love the characters, so i didn't get invested in their lives. I didn't like Gemma, or Felicity, and i positively hated Pippa. Ms. Brey's writing is beautiful, but she didn't create characters that i could connect with.

Overall, it wasn't a bad series, and I'm glad I read it. I did appreciate Gemma's constant feeling of confinement in her female role and thought that her move at the end was appropriate, albeit a little abrupt. I would recommend this series, but won't be re-reading it.

Set in England during the late 1890s, this fantasy trilogy that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty brings us back to Gemma Doyle -- the sixteen-year-old with special powers that give her the ability to visit the equally beautiful and terrifying Realms -- and her friends Felicity and Ann. On the outside, she is experiencing things most girls her age go through. She is about to have her debut as she struggles with self-esteem issues and tries to be there for her two best friends, who have problems of their own. Ann's biggest fear is having to move with some distant relatives to work as their children's governess. She has a beautiful singing voice and discovers she has a knack for acting as well. Will she be able to achieve her goal and become an entertainer, or will her plain looks get in the way? Felicity wants two things -- power and independence. She longs to live life on her terms and enjoy the comfort and luxury of her inheritance. But her close friendship with Pippa and the interference from Felicity's debutante sponsor get in the way. As mentioned before, Gemma has her own issues. Her father is still on opium, her brother is still a callous rogue, and her grandmother is in denial of the problems around her. To make matters worse, Kartik, former member of the Rakshana and the Indian gypsy she's had a crush on since AGATB, is avoiding her. But those problems are nothing compared to what Gemma is facing in the realms. Pippa is acting strangely, Circe wants Gemma's powers, and the Winterlands creatures have threatened to pass over to the real world if Gemma doesn't give her powers to them. Her visions have returned, and they seem to be sending her warnings and signs that she doesn't understand. What secrets must she uncover to protect the creatures in the realms and her schoolmates at the Spence Academy? There are many twists throughout the novel.

As some people have said, we discover things here about Felicity that come as some surprise. She is the most complex character in the book, and therefore the most compelling, since she is obviously depicted as a feminist, but the things that unfold regarding her personal life are nevertheless shocking... or at least they were for me. Gemma has always been a wonderful young heroine with some teen angst of her own. In this book, she is too much in her head, describing her insecurities and lack of insight when it comes to solving the problems in the realms over and over again. There is a twist here with Kartik that is somewhat sad, but there is no other way for this romance to end, since there is no way that a proper English young lady and a gypsy could be together in a story set in Victorian England. Still, this twist left a bad taste in my mouth. Couldn't they have make it a go in some way, or at least keep Kartik... don't want to spoil it for you. All in all, The Sweet Far Thing is an interesting conclusion to this fascinating series. I neither love it nor hate it, but I do know that it's not quite as compelling as the first two books.

I enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy more, since this book was way too long; even the author admitted she wished it could have been two books. I grew tired of the back and forth to the realms that the girls were doing way too much of. Anyway, after getting through the other two books, it was impossible for me to give up or skip to the end of this one, which is one of my weaknesses. Still, things finally resolved satisfactorily.

This book ROCKS.
*spoilers*
The reviews I've been reading have disappointed me.

Most people say this series has been awesome and original, but the ending was bad because it wasn't happy. To this, I say: if the ending was happy, it wouldn't be original!
If Kartik ended up with Gemma, that wouldn't be very realistic, now would it? And it's still open to interpretation whether they'll ever be together in the end. Hence the vision-dream on the last page or so.
I do agree that the New York bit was random. But, hey. New beginnings and all. It's not like she would stay in England, and I think India would be too painful for her mentally what with the connotations (her parents, Kartik).
About the whole friends thing... you really have to look at the time period. In the Victorian era, most "friends" were only there for social climbing. May I recommend THE LUXE for people upset with the supposed lack of friendship in this book.
On a similar note, Felicity and Pippa's sexual orientation is so NOT out-of-the-blue. There are clues throughout the whole series. And Felicity's "relationship" with Ithal was clearly a way for her to try and convince herself she was straight. But you can't deny the truth! ha ha
Oh, and a little heads-up to some of the negative reviewers: if you really hated the book, enough to give it only one or two stars, would you really get so worked up about it? Would you care about the characters that much?

But enough with yelling at other reviewers. This book was EXCELLENTLY written. It's one of the best YA books out there. I can't wait to see where Libba Bray goes with future writing. Buy this book. Read it. Enjoy it. Lend it to a friend. :)

This book, being the conclusion of the trilogy, was arguably the most dramatic of the three. Each book had its emotional ups and downs, but there's an added element of urgency and confusion mixed in throughout the third, making it a highly emotional read from start to finish. I'd just finished the book and haven't had the chance to look through interviews or other statements from the author, but I'm very curious to learn how much of the story was planned out in advance, and how much, if any, was made up as she wrote. For such an intricate story, I would assume it had to be mostly the former. Bray was able to balance all of the elements she had set up well, with no one plot point dominating the story, but various themes interwoven throughout, equally sharing the space that had been set up for them to coexist, all coming together in an epic finale.

Rating: 5/5

I wish that Libba Bray loved happy endings as much a J.K. Rowling does. It would have made my review of The Sweet Far Thing a little sweeter.

This book is the darkest of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. It begins as Gemma and her friends prepare for their seasons, when they will be presented before the queen at their society debut and signaling their readiness for marriage. Gemma can't master her curtsey, and that's the least of her problems. The magical realms are out of control, with mythical creatures finding ways through the cracks and into the real world. Gemma no longer holds all the power, and is having problems controlling the power she does have. And her confusing relationship with and feelings for Kartik are only getting more complicated.

The book's ending prevented me from giving this book five stars - but its a satisfying conclusion to the series. I was happy to see Gemma follow her heart - a great message for the young women readers who are the author's target audience.

The Sweet Far Thing concludes the Gemma Doyle trilogy with a somewhat inconsistent and disappointing ending.

The first book A Great & Terrible Beauty promised much but delivered little in the way of character development, plot progression or coherency of the multiple antagonists populating the novel, and left too many loose threads: the Order, the Rakshana, the magic of the realms. Rebel Angels delivered an amazingly well-written, absorbing sequel by honing all the elements lacking in AGTB to engross readers in the magic of Gemma's world. It was somewhat disappointing to discover that the conclusion novel regresses Gemma back to the uncertain, indecisive, and immature character traits that make her so frustrating in the first novel.

The story opens with Gemma, Ann, and Felicity preparing for their society debuts. After binding the magic to herself in RA, Gemma has lost the ability to summon the door of light on command. Her powers seems to have faded when she and her friends discover another door to the realms after construction of the East Wing at Spence unearths buried stones. Making use of this new entrance, the girls' begin visiting the realms once more, where they are surprised to discover Pippa still lingers after believing her lost to the Winterlands.

Very little occurs to progress the story forward during the first half of the 500+ page novel that jumps back and forth between the girls' debut preparations and their trips to the realms (in which they seem to do little but dance and play games) amid tense meetings with the realm tribes. Resentment among the tribes is brewing over Gemma's sole possession of the magic and she is unwittingly forced into pledging uncomfortable new alliances to share the magic with them. Meanwhile, Gemma's insecurities mount when Pippa suddenly develops a magic of her own, and Gemma is no longer its sole owner. One of the most frustrating elements of the story is Gemma's relationship with Kartik, which resumes its on-again, off-again pattern of trust and deceit. But when hidden agendas surface and Gemma can no longer trust her allies, she is forced to seek counsel from Circe, whom she imprisoned in the well of eternity. Gorgon cautions her that war is brewing, and Gemma's fragile claim to the power is threatened as the Winterland creatures amass their armies with a newfound source of power, the Tree of All Souls.

When the plot finally gains momentum as Gemma begins searching for the Tree, the story is chock full of suspenseful action that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

The ending was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the series. The resolution to the war was believable (if not preferable) to the story and its themes, but the four chapters following the climactic battle between the tribes to tie up loose ends back at Spence Academy seemed an overreaching effort on Bray's part to bestow a feminist "lesson" to the novel after the gloomy note on which she ended the fantasy.

The lesbian relationship that seemed to come out of left-field as a tearful disclosure revealed in the final 3/4 of the book made the ending that much more difficult to believe. Bray explored many serious issues in the novel: self-esteem, feminism, sexual abuse, and drug use, but the inclusion of homosexuality in the final quarter was dealt with in a such a hasty, slapdash manner that it did not ring true to the rest of the story.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all was that I truly enjoyed this series (the author's gift for storytelling is evident and the prose absorbing enough to hook readers on page 1) but the ending failed to live up to expectations.

This third and final book in the Gemma Doyle series was incredibly similar to the second. Maddeningly slow to get started, but with beautiful descriptions of locations. Again, Gemma allows her friends to push her into making stupid decisions and even makes some of her own. This was also by far the worst about stringing you along forever before telling you anything about what was really going on. Although this review is mostly negative, that's simply because the changes compared to the first book in the series are mostly bad things. I still enjoyed the world the author created and the evocative descriptions. I would definitely recommend the whole series; just don't expect to like the sequels quite as much as the first book.

The first book A Great and Terrible Beauty in this series is irrevocably my favorite book. I felt the second book Rebel Angels was somewhat lacking. It was a great story but not such a great novel. The Sweet Far Thing is my second favorite. (*Spoiler Alert*) It is, of course, sad that Kartik dies. The reader is left in mourning. This I think is necessary. Truthfully I was saddened but also satisfied by the ending. Had Gemma and Kartik married and had the happily ever after, etc. (which would have proved interesting if not impossible in that era), I would have come away from this trilogy (sadly) even more saddened. It would have been too easy. Neither the second nor the third would have matched up to my great opinion of the first.
Some (if not all) fans may be screaming to wrench my hair out after me saying "it's necessary" for Kartik to die. To make my point short, to end such a beautiful story, it was necessary for the hero to make a sacrifice and in this the reader learns the trueness of their love.

This is the concluding book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. In The Sweet Far Thing we follow Gemma and her two dear friends Felicity and Anne as they continue on their journeys through the Realms and into the winterland. Kartik has vanished leaving Gemma to wonder what has happened to him and if he is still safe. The construction continues at Spence Academy in the rebuilding of the wing that burned years ago leaving the founder, Eugenia Spence, dead. Gemma must discern who among her acquaintances can truly be trusted as there is a huge web of lies being woven all around her. She doesn't know if she can even trust her own thoughts anymore. With the help of her friends and those she comes to rely upon she must defeat the evil within the winterlands that mean to unleash the magic and open the realms leaving no barrier between the mortal world and themselves. Can she make the choices necessary and what will the cost be?

I have listened to the entire Gemma Doyle trilogy on unabridged audiobook and am writing this review on both the audiobook and the novel itself. First on the audio and the narrator. I absolutely loved the story as told by the story teller, as she truly was a storyteller and added such emotion and zest to the story. She did a great job of varying her voice for each character to the point that I didn't even need the written side notes of "Felicity said" or "Anne exclaimed" because I could recognize the voice without it. Much more entertaining and easy to listen to than other audiobooks I have had and I highly recommend it. I enjoy audiobooks while I'm cleaning or driving but still love my real books in my hand when I have the time to sit and enjoy them (with 4 kids that seems a rarity now).

As far as The Sweet Far Thing the novel, I loved it just as much as the first two which is something that doesn't happen very often! It had the adventure and the action and the romance with a great build up to the climax and an ending that left me longing for the characters to still be with me but yet so very happy that things were wrapped up with such finality. No loose threads here. I got to 'watch' as Gemma has finally grown into the woman that can stand on her own confidently with no regrets and know that she has a place in this world all on her own.

The lands that are painted for us in this novel are vivid and full of life. I can picture each area of the realms and the creatures that inhabit these places. Libba Bray's trilogy is definitely going to be at the top of my list of YA series to recommend. It was so tastefully written from start to finish. Only at the end of the 3rd book as things come to a climax was there anything that might be questionable for a girl to read depending on what you find questionable but in the case that you are reading this review because you have a daughter that wants to read the series..... Here is a little elaboration only for the purpose of informing those that would want to be informed, skip this part if you are an adult looking for yourself and don't need the heads up.

****************SPOILER ALERT******************

There are a couple of instances (3 I think) between Gemma and Kartik that get a little heated with heavy kissing and he grabs her breasts while they are both fully clothed.
We find out toward the end of book 3 that Felicity and Pippa are gay and in love with eachother (shocker for me) and Felicity ends up moving to Paris where she has heard there are "others like her" so that she may fall in love again.
The language picks up a little more in the end too with at least one use of B***h and A** among a few other things.
And... of course the entire series is written about witch-like magic and death and other worlds. Gemma does not believe in God as Christianity sees Him, she doesn't exactly know what she believes but there is talk of 'gods'.

The Sweet Far Thing is the conclusion to Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy. This installment centers on Gemma dealing with confusing visions and attempting to control the magic and those who want it, as well as trying to make perfect lives for herself and her friends.

The book was quite good. All the same quips and light parts, as well as the romance and the horror, but at over 800 pages long, the book dragged at many parts. Gemma's visions were hard to interpret and boring, and every time they went into the realms it was pretty much the same scene. It took me a lot longer to read this one than the others, not because it was longer, but because it was less interesting.

The main issue in this book is that Gemma, Ann and Felicity are constantly trying to use magic to solve their problems. They change Ann's appearance so she can go to the theatre, and she meets a famous actress who gets her an audition for the company. Ann nails the audition, but she can't help but wonder if they would have accepted her if she looked like herself. Felicity and Gemma use the magic to make sure Felicity can come out and get her inheritance, and Felicity wants to use the magic to make sure she doesn't have to marry. Gemma tries to heal her father with the magic, which we learned in the last two books won't work, but she just keeps trying.

But the awesome thing is that Ann gets what she's always wanted, and she gives it up because she doesn't think she earned it. She goes to be a governess for her cousins, and for at least 50 pages, she's not even mentioned. I didn't really notice. But then, Gemma and Felicity go to visit and use the magic to get her back to Spence. Much farther into the book, Ann discovers an add for girls and she decides to audition, as herself this time. She arrives late and is turned away, and I thought Gemma was going to use the magic and make everything better. But then Ann sticks up for herself and sings, impressing the man and earning herself a spot in the company. This was fantastic because Ann did it herself. She didn't need to magic to make things happen, and it showed that not everything can be fixed with magic: sometimes you just need to work hard and persevere, age old morals.

We got a bit more of the theme expressed in the last books: parents as protectors. Gemma gets inside Mr. Fowlson's head, and she sees that he was abused by his mother when he was younger. This explains his motivations and lets the reader sympathize with him, and I actually quite liked him.

Miss McCleethy talks a lot about controlling chaos. She thinks the world is something to be finely controlled, and that no one should be allowed to run free. I would have more to say on this, but I accidentally returned the book before I wrote this review, so if you've got your book, look at page 334, and decide the point of this for yourself.

Gemma's real problem is that she can trust literally no one. Everyone she has ever trusted has betrayed her, and she doesn't have an adult that she can go to and ask questions. She believes what Miss Moore tells her, she believes what Eugenia Spence tells her. She doesn't trust Miss McCleethy, and even Kartik has lied to her. Gemma needs someone that she can ask about the realms and the magic who will answer her truthfully, and she doesn't have that, meaning she has to find the way for herself about everything. Gemma's role model is herself. She makes her own choices and mistakes, and no one will tell her what to do. She knows she is powerful and she decides what to do with it.

Again, the racism is apparent, especially between the gypsies and Mr. Miller's men. They clearly hate each other and blame each other for disappearances and destruction. It's clear in the realms as well, because none of the people who live their trust one another. But of course, in the end they band together to defeat a common enemy, and thus, their hate is destroyed, which was cliche, but nice.

Kartik finally got to do something! Mostly he and Gemma just kissed, and other times he held a knife and glared at Fowlson, but still, he was there. And then of course he wasn't.

When they went into the realms, and Bray listed off the group (Fowlson, McCleethy, Gemma, Ann, Felicity, and Kartik), I knew someone wasn't coming back. That group was way too small for them all to make it. My first thought was McCleethy and my second thought was Kartik. I was completely right.

Pippa totally killed McCleethy, which was not cool. Pippa became mad with power, and it drove her to the brink. She wanted to get more, and she didn't care about sacrificing people to do it. She had her band of followers, and they treated her like a god. Pippa killed Mr. Darcy the rabbit, little blind Wendy, and Miss McCleethy. However, Pippa got hers when the castle collapsed, taking her along with it.

Then we get to the battle, and first Gemma is killed. She has to decide if she wants to cross over or go back, and of course she decides to go back, but not before giving her spot on the other side to Circe, who helped her in the end. Gemma comes back and defeats the tree, but the tree's magic enters Kartik, and the tree takes him into it.

This sucked. This totally sucked. But you knew it was coming because Gemma and Kartik could never have their happy ending. But Kartik lived on the tree, and he visited Gemma in her dreams. He realized this was his purpose in life, and he accepted it. I didn't, but he did.

Gemma comes out successfully, but then decides she wants to go to America to study. Her father lets her, and he himself goes to India, presumably to die. Tom is fine, Ann is an actress, and Felicity goes to France where she can hopefully find some lesbians to hang out.

Speaking of, I loved the revelation that Pippa and Felicity were in love. It made everything so much sadder and more real, and Gemma tells Felicity that her love is the strongest magic there is. The characters are all driven by love, either for their family and friends or for their people.

But my favorite character will always be Brigid. That woman is amazing. She's kind and loyal, and brave when the school is attacked, and instead of choosing to forget everything and live in ignorance, she decides to keep her memories and stay on her guard. She's wonderful.

The series ended with optimism, but I couldn't quite get over the death of Kartik. Overall, the first book was the best, followed by the second, and then the third. The rest of the series couldn't live up to the wonderful first book, and the third one was especially dull and then heart-wrenching. I definitely recommend the series, especially if you love to cry like I do!

I do understand the fact that people of different stations and races were expected to strictly adhere to 'their own kind', but this is a book, where anything can happen. That is what artistic license and imagination are for. Even with these stipulations, Gemma and Kartik may have possibly been able to get married in India, as Gemma had grown up there and could have been viewed as being one of 'them.' If that wouldn't have worked, then why not in America, the land of the free? Yes, these rules were pretty much the standard no matter what part of the world you lived in during that era, but it wasn't nearly as bad in America as elsewhere, and they could have forged a life together in a brand new, wild and unexplored country where the inhabitants make their own rules.

I will have to go back and look for it in the book, because I don't recall Kartik saying exactly where he planned on going when he told Gemma he was leaving so as not to endanger her after having the dream about his brother, but I do remember him saying the name of the ship was the HMS Orlando. When Gemma's father went back to India, it was on the HMS Victoria. If it was the Orlando headed for America, Gemma most likely made her decision to start her new life in which she had to do the unthinkable (for a woman) and work to supplement her small monthly allowance there, based on that. She could have chose America in the hopes that she would have a better chance of being accepted there while going to university as a liberated woman, which was virtually unheard of back then, and in a way, following in what would have been Kartik's footsteps.

I also was extremely disappointed that Gemma and Kartik didn't at least get to outright TELL each other that they loved each other before their untimely separation. I know that Kartik was being valiant, and ultimately showing his love by sacrificing himself for Gemma, but I, as a few other readers expressed in their reviews, was more expecting Mr. Fowlson to take her place for the reason that he was attached to Miss McCleethy as her Rakshana protector and lover, and by becoming the tree, spending eternity with her.

Maybe--just maybe, it's not REALLY over. Just because the series was entitled the Gemma Doyle Trilogy doesn't mean there can't now be one about Kartik that begins where he switches places with Gemma. There are many ways the story could go on from here--It could tell how love transcends and overcomes all obstacles, and about the tree being purified by his selfless act and no longer needing a human soul to exist, thus releasing him once the land begins to start the process of healing. He could have some sort of dream or revelation while being connected to the tree, telling him his true destiny is to be by Gemma's side as her other half, and protector while she helps the different creatures of the realms learn how to start anew with the shared power they all have now. OR since the trilogy really only talked about the garden, Borderlands, and Winterlands doesn't mean those were the whole of the realms. There could be many other places they never discovered. Someone from another part of that world, who has special powers could run across the tree, and realizing Kartik is trapped inside may find a way to save him from it. Not to mention that there will always be greedy people wanting power over all, whether it be someone who already lives in the realms, or an unwary person from our world who somehow stumbles upon a previously unknown doorway (who says the only one has to be the one the girls found, and not one in another totally different part of the world), who will try to tip the balance and take over....

(Edited to add the following 6/04/08) I flipped through the book and found on page 151, Kartik tells Gemma he is going to sea on the HMS Orlando, which leaves Bristol in 6 weeks time, but does not say where it is going to. Also on page 220, he says that as soon as his debt to the gypsies is paid, he will be on his way to Bristol to join the Orlando, but no mention of where it is headed. Page 362 he tells her he's leaving after he takes her to meet with the Rakshana, but no new info on where the destination is. When Gemma goes to America, it doesn't say the name of the ship she is on. I could've sworn that someone said something about going to New York at some earlier part of the story, though. Since it doesn't tell which ship Gemma embarked upon to seek her fortune, all we can do is hope that something plants a seed in the author's mind about continuing Kartik's story where it left off, and somehow he is sprung from his trap to achieve a different destiny if she doesn't already have one in full bloom.

I feel a bit sad reviewing this because this was the final book in the series. I hate endings..they make me sad!Infact I tried to read this book as slowly as possible ... However I was glad that The Sweet Far thing was a long book because I could savor it longer. I wish the series would have been unending though! Gemma doyle trilogy has to be one of my very favorite series. It is much more than a young adult book or just one more fantasy series. Tht's what i love about these series-it's beauty and the fact it is so much deeper than it appears to be. I fell in love with the first book,with its message to women ,about independence ,about chosing one's own identity and the fact that a woman is so much more than a wife, sister , daughter etc.It was about daring to choose a path less taken. I was a tiny bit disappointed with the second book, because at times it seemed to drag and I felt like skipping some parts . But what remained constant in both books was Libba Bray's beautiful lyrical prose that made me want to read some lines over and over again. No, this series is not yet another fantasy adventure, for me , it has been a beautiful ride which has made me think and contemplate. I live in a country where so many many women are still struggling to break free of all that binds them..all that stops them from living a life of teir own choosing.That is why this book is so important to me.I , as a woman, am still searching and trying to make a mark of my own, in a society that is dominated by men.
Wow! I could go on and on. But let me come to the book itself now-The Sweet far thing , Part 3 of the Gemma Doyle trilogy.
In this final part , Gemma has more powers than she could ever have imagined ..at times she is unable to control it and at the same time she feels more powerful and reluctant to part with it. However , the Order is no more her friend because they are seking to have all the power .Gemma is compelled to forge an allegiance with the creatures of the realms but is confused . She is afraid of what all the creatures are capable of , once they have magic of their own. Further, she is reluctant to let go of her powers or share it with anyone else. Felicity and Ann expect her to share the magic with them and Gemma is not entirely sure whether she wants them to, but is compelled by their friendship.
I felt Gemma was more mature in this book. She has to grapple with so many things-whom to trust, wherer to part with her magic, her feelings for Kartik and her friendship with Felicity , Ann and Pippa.At times , she feels qute alone because she doesn't know where to turn and feels Kartik slipping away from her.She has to deal with family tensions, with confusion about her real place in the world and so on. She even grapples with whether the magic is boon or bane - it creates a world of lies, an illusion which is only temporary.
Felicity is still not likeable to me. I feel she is selfish and cruel at times. As for Ann, I felt she has grown a bit stronger and more confident , with the magic of the realms. She is able to talk back and take a stand.
I felt so happy because there is more of Kartik in this book. There are some beautiful moments with Gemma and Kartik. I found myself waiting for more Gemma-Kartik moments! Who can resist this guy?? Moreover Kartik is from my own country..that makes him even more swoonworthy I guess..I keep on looking for guys who look like Kartik..but Alas! noone comes close!!*sigh*
Anyways, on a serious note, I love how we get to know Kartik more in this book.Here , Kartik is no his arrogant and "oh-so-confident" self .
In fact we are shown his fears and his doubts. He is somehow more human in this book.
Gemma feels herself desiring Kartik even more. She knows it is dangerous even imagining something between them ,but is drawn towards him and is torn between her feelings and doing "what is correct". What I liked was Gemma was not afraid of her sexuality,her feelings,her desires..she didn't feel ashamed of them , the way women were made to feel at that time and still are , in so many societies. There are some beautiful and passionate Kartik-Gemma moments.
This novel raises many questions , which is relevant even in today's world. Haven't we all wondered where is it that we truly belong?
Haven't we all struggled to be more than just ordinary? Haven't we all , sometime or the other, felt so alone and misunderstood, even when we are surrounded by people? So many of us , atleast once in our lifetime, have wanted more from our life, more than what is "destined" for us..we have wondered whether there is more to life than being just "someone's something." I admit this series further reinforces my feminist views. Further this novel explores the subjects of homosexuality and child abuse.
I understand people were very disappoined with the ending. I myself was on the verge of tears. But reasonably speaking that was the only way to end.
Overall
Amazing series! This trilogy is about a girl, who lived in times when women were "corsetted", when it was "scandalous" for a girl to have a
mind of her own, when getting a rich husband was a woman's only aim in life - this novel is about a girl who questioned ,a girl who dared to follow a different path.It evoked so many emotions in me.The beautiful passages from this novel themselves bring a lump to my throat.I recommend this book to all you women out there , whether you are adults/young adults or whether you like fantasy or not!All I can say is "WOW!".How I wish Libba Bray had written more books in the series . This novel is for every adult/young adult who wants to read a well- written intelligent fantasy.
Recommended: Hell YES! To every woman! And to everyone who has ever questioned life or struggled with identity issues.

One of my main reading loves is Victorian/gothic fiction (Jane Eyre, and more contemporary, The Thirteenth Tale). Beginning this series was very exciting and I devoured the first two books and could not wait to get to the third. Just as exciting was that TSFT was 800 pages! What bliss, or so I thought! Although I must admit I did love the series, I, along with many reviewers, felt that Kartik did not have to die. What would have been more tortuous was if he survived (one reviewer made the excellent suggestion that Fowlson be devoured by the Tree, therefore enabling him to be with McCleethy, but I digress...)and knowing that Kartik and Gemma could never be together--and they could not because one must remember this was Victorian England where races, as well as classes, stayed separate. To know that the other was alive in their futures, and with another person of their own race and class would have been pure agony for them. I too was not thrilled how Gemma went to Circe for advice and then at the end how Gemma granted her a rebirth of sorts and a happily ever after in the realms.

Yes, one of Libba Bray's points was that having a man does not equal happiness, but having RELATIONSHIPS does--whether it be with a male or female, and in the end, Gemma is alone, on her way to a foreign country, which I didn't quite understand either. I did not see that coming. If she belonged in any country, it should have been India.

However, kudos, Ms. Bray, for a fantastic, however minorly flawed series. But then again, nothing is perfect.

Gemma Doyle is the worst kind of unreliable narrator. It's not that she herself is untrustworthy, but that throughout this trilogy, she can't figure out who to trust. As a result, the reader never knows who to trust, or what the rules are for "realms" or for the magic that inhabits them. This is problematic if one agrees (which I do) with the general rule for fantasy writing that the rules for the world that the author has created must be clear and consistent. If neither the reader nor the narrator know the rules or who to trust, the story doesn't hang together very well. At least, it doesn't in this case. Some of the people we initially think are friends become enemies, and then some become friends again, and it is never through actual shifting loyalties, but because Gemma doesn't ask the right questions and rarely takes the time to think things through the reader is never quite sure who's on what side. So although she's the only clearly identified "good guy" in the story, I couldn't help but wish she acted more like the heroine she's supposed to be.

I read A Great and Terrible Beauty (the first book in this series) a long time ago, and I wasn't really into it. Then my best friend read the entire series, and she told me that they were amazing, so I decided to give them a shot. Rebel Angels was extremely suspenseful and entertaining, and I couldn't wait to read the third one. I had to wait a while to check it out at the library, but as soon as I began reading it, I was sucked right back into Gemma's world of magic and confusion. Libba Bray wrote Gemma with a feisty personality that I like in a girl, and her characters are passionate and intense. Towards the end of the book, after she has suffered great losses and achieved great things, Gemma emerges as a new person with a new outlook on life. Her deep understand of the world's truth and humanity's lies is moving. I was close to tears at the end. Gemma spoke of truths that most people are too afraid to speak of for fear that it will offend or sound uncaring. To be honest, I agreed with Gemma on most of her thoughts. This novel may be filled with fantasy and magic, but I learned more from it than I did in my AP Biology book. Profound truths and feelings spoke to me, and I would recommend this book to anyone who sometimes feels lost or alone. Two thumbs up because of it's amazing plot and wonderful creation of characters that we can all relate to.

Thankfully, this is over. I thought I would never get through this last installment of Gemma Doyle trilogy. Why, oh why does this book have to be so long? Take out 300-400 pages of unnecessary secondary characters and going nowhere plot lines, its 5 epilogues, and "The Sweet Far Thing" would be a reasonably decent book (I suppose). But alas, Bray chooses to ruin her own rather original series with this endless and bizarre last installment.

I've read quite a few reviews and know how many people are disappointed with the ending. I don't really mind where all the characters end up in this story, but I rather mind how and why they get there.

Gemma's books have never been about romance for me. The underlying idea of these books is women's independence, I get it. So I probably wouldn't have minded Kartik's sacrifice if it made any sense. For me, he dies because of Gemma's stupidity. Should she have done what she promised to do in the end of book 2 (divide the magic among the inhabitants of the realms), none of the events in the books would have happened. Thus his death is pointless in my opinion. In fact, the more I think of the details of Kartik's death, the less I understand what and why exactly happened to him. Basically, Gemma stabs the Tree releasing Winterlands' magic, Kartik sucks in this magic, then pours the magic into Gemma and then becomes a part of the Tree. WTH just happened? Why does he even have to do it? If the Tree doesn't have any more magic, how can it have this power to accept his sacrifice and why is it needed? If the Tree still holds on its evil power, how does Kartik's sacrifice change anything? Doesn't it mean that the Tree will continue its evil business in the Winterlands and will eventually corrupt Kartik the same way it did Eugenia? How is this a solution?

Now to Felicity and Pippa. Seriously, where does the gay issue come from? I have no objections to homosexuality being portrayed in YA literature, but it is handled very heavy-handedly by Bray in this book. First of all, there is no clue about this in the first two books - Felicity is caught kissing a gypsy man, Pippa dreams of a knight in shiny armor. This leads me to believe that this turn in the girls' relationship is an afterthought on Bray's part. Another issue here is that considering that Felicity is only 16 and a victim of sexual abuse, can we really be sure that her newly found sexual preference is a real one and not caused by the abuse? I just think Bray shouldn't have brought up this issue if she didn't have time to handle it responsibly and thoughtfully.

Lastly, "The Sweet Far Thing" is an unbearably long and convoluted tale that needs editing badly. First two books have a great balance of real and supernatural with a great women's independence message. This third book is unnecessarily full of numerous subplots, redundant scenes, and pages of feminist propaganda. I understand Bray wanted to give us her opinion on about every women's issue out there, but it doesn't translate into a good book.

Overall, a disappointing conclusion to an imaginative and original series. I don't necessarily regret reading the trilogy, but I will definitely not recommend it to anyone. Two stars only because I was able to finish it and it gives some kind of closure.

"A Great and Terrible Beauty" (the first of this spellbinding trilogy) was one of those books that I passed up numerous times on my many trips to the bookstore, only glancing at it from time to time out out of slight curiousity, which wasn't enough to make me wanna buy it. Then I came across it one day at the library, and figured I'd give it a chance, and I was glad I did! I eagerly devoured the book, and upon finishing it, I raced to the bookstore to pick up the second book in the series, "Rebel Angel" eager to continue on with the series, and I finished it as quickly as the first one, and then of course immediately got the last book "A Sweet and Far Thing" and now, only about a week later, I have finished the series. The author is an exquisite writer, and brings the realms to life down to every last detail, making you wish you could jump into the pages of the book, if only to see the realms for yourself.

I have to say that this one was my favorite out of the three. I was a bit surprised that this one was quite a big longer than the first two books (a little over 800 pages) but I think that is what made it the most interesting. I don't agree with some of you who say the book should have been cut in half, as I found that it kept my attention from the beginning, all the way to the end. I actually wished that the book could have been gone on even longer! I was sad to see the story of Gemma and her friends, felicity, anne, and Pippa, come to an end and actually found myself in tears after having finished the book. I believe that because this book was so long, I really got to know the characters even more, and as I read the book, I found myself wishing I were with them in the pages, venturing with them into the realms.

This book continues the story of Gemma, felicity, and anne, and their adventures into the mystical realms. I found this one more action packed than the first two books, because in this one Gemma is dealing with a power struggle between herself, the order, the rakshana, and the various creatures of the realm, who all want the magic to themselves.

I don't want to give anything away, so ill try not to go into a whole lot of detail (but in any case, beware because the things I say may contain spoilers) but I will say that I actually liked the bittersweet ending for Gemma and her love interest, Katrik. Granted, I don't think what happened to Katrik necessarily had to happen, but I think it was a better than "and Gemma and Katrik lived happily ever after!" to me that just would have been corny, although a part of me does wish they would have been able to finally be together. But I think what happened to him helped Gemma to become an even stronger person, and helped to shape who she was and had a big part in the decision she makes toward the end of the book.

I must say, I also was not at all surpised of the relationship between Felicity and Pippa. I don't think it just came out of nowhere as some of you have said. true, nothing was revealed in the first two books to make it seem like they were anything other than friends, but the author does start to build it up in this book, as you see Felicity always eager to go into the realms, constantly bringing Pippa presents, and just the overall closeness between them.

So yes, I was quite impressed with this book, but like I said, I was sad to see the series end, and I hope the author continues to write, as I find her to be a very talented storyteller. I think it would be great if she came up with a follow-up to this series, to let us know what becomes of Gemma, Felicity, and Anne, and of course to let us know what becomes of the realms, because the author kind of left that as a loose end.

All in all, if you have not read this series, I strongly recommend that you do as I believe you will be as enthralled as I was by the journey of Gemma and her friends

Wow, I just finished the last book in this trilogy and am so happy I read it. This book captured me from the very beginning to the very end. Libba Bray has a wonderful way of writing so that you feel you are actually standing there in the story looking on as it plays out.

The book did not really leave me with a "feel good" feeling, but more sad and reflective. I do feel the ending was extremely fitting for all the characters. It was well worth reading....all 800+ pages!! As a matter of fact, I really did not want the book to end.

Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty (including Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing.)
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Edition: Paperback: 2003
Back Cover Summary: Gemma Doyle isn't like other girls. Girls with impeccable manners, who speak when spoken to, who remember their station, and who will lie back and think of England when it's required of them.
No, sixteen-year-old Gemma is an island unto herself, sent to Spence Academy in London after tragedy strikes her family in India. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds a chilly reception. But she's not completely alone...she'd been followed by a mysterious young man, who warns her to close her mind against the visions.
For it's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds; there she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadowy group called the Order. It's there that her destiny waits...if only she can believe in it.

*******

The first thing that stood out to me about this book was the cover. It instantly hit me as a book I would enjoy reading. It looked to be in a time period I love and the girl on the cover had red hair just like me. :) (Ohhh! When things are simple.)

High Notes: It definitely turned out to be in a time period I love! (Victorian England) so that was a giant plus for me. But would it follow up with equally interesting characters? Yes, it did. Gemma is a very interesting character. She goes from a rather carefree adventurer, loved by her family, to a motherless young woman who has been dumped off at a boarding school for girls, inhabited by stuck up prisses (some of which you grow to love or hate), surrounded by woods full of gypsies, and smothered in dark secrets. Oh! And there is a secret portal to another world that only Gemma can open! From the very start I was intrigued and continued to be all the way until the third book (which slowed down quite a bit, but picked up in the end, thankfully.)

There is also a pretty good love story between Gemma and one of the gypsy boys.

Low Notes: As intriguing as the "other" world may sound, the real world was actually more interesting. In the other world, Gemma and her friends have powers, which they spend conjuring butterflies and flowers. (This is not a joke. Butterflies and flowers. Wouldn't you do something else if you had powers?) Every now and then, they venture from a relatively safe meadow to other parts of the world and encounter interesting creatures, but other than that, it's rather boring. I very much preferred when the girls were in the real world, running from a secret order, uncovering the past of the boarding school, avoiding embarrassing marriage proposals, and getting out of all the trouble they found themselves in.

Ratings:

Character Development: 4.5/5
Dialogue: 5/5
Prose: 4/5
Believability: 3/5 (I would give it a five if the whole book was based solely in the "real" world, but the "other" worldly stuff was ridiculous for the most part. Butterflies and flowers!)
Style and Grammar: 5/5
Overall Rating: 86% Fascinating!

After devouring A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels, I couldn't wait for The Sweet Far Thing to arrive. And when it finally did and I had read it, I thought it was amazing! The dark and entrancing writing you fell in love with in the previous novels, was even more present in this one. The same characters were back, each with their own personality and journey. I hate how people keep saying this was a horrible book because it wasn't! While it was very, very long, it was a wonderful read. It was exciting, adventurous, mysterious, beautiful, and yes, very sad. I loved the ending and how it didn't really give you all the answers as to what happened to the characters. This was a great end to one of the best series I've ever read. It really was.

The magical world of the Realms is very poorly imagined. There is no explanation of how it's meant to work: rules are invented and discarded, and it's obvious that the author has very little capacity to create a rich and meaningful world or to animate the characters in it. In the non-magical world of this book, all of the characters are one-dimensional and wooden. The primary theme of the oppression of women is repeated over and over and over, and it is simply a rip-off of territory covered by Jane Austen and Ibsen and many others in the last century. The imitation of the author in this case cannot be taken as flattery, however, since her writing is so terrible. The dialogue is flat, the action is idiotically plotted, and the denouement is a chaotic mess of events. By the end it was a struggle to read each page--the lack of writing skill had drained any remaining interest that I had in the characters.

The thing that made me write a review, however, was the author's choice to publish an interview with herself at the end of the book. It's crude self-promotion. She apparently thinks she's a real wit, but at least the intellectual dullness of the interview confirms my reading of her prose.

The worst part of the whole thing is that she's clearly planning sequels since she's sent the heroine off to college with a promise to return to the Realms to finish the work of righting them. I can't wait--yawn.

This is definitely my favorite of the three books.

A Sweet Far Thing is set several months after Rebel Angels ends, and Gemma Doyle and her friends have returned to Spence to spend the final months before their debuts (or in Ann's case, before she becomes a governess). But much is changing. Gemma has not been able to enter the realms ever since taking all the magic into her, and Spence is finally rebuilding the East Wing. It is through a mysterious door in the East Wing that Gemma and her friends finally reenter the realms and discover their friend Pippa. But not is all well in the realms either; the Winterlands creatures thirst for power. It is up to Gemma to save both the realms and the mortal world before disaster befalls them all.

I actually *like* Gemma's character because she's not always likeable and she is frustrating at times. In a twisted way, I love when main characters are so far from perfect that you want to smack them and tell them how to do better. I never once pitied Gemma, which a different author may have tried to make me do. And I liked the other characters as well, most of whom are well-developed.

I enjoyed the plot twists and was grateful for the length of the book. I raced through it and could barely put it down until I decided that three-thirty was late enough to be staying up and grudgingly put the book down. And I loved the ending. I thought it was practically perfect.

The only thing that bothered me on occasion was the writing; I can't pinpoint an exact reason, but at times it just seemed stiff. But everything else made up for it.

This is a magnficent end to an excellent trilogy.

Overall, I enjoyed this audio listen. It was not quite as engaging as book two in the series but far better than book one. All the loose ends came to a close (even if some were a bit predictable) and there is room for future expansion. This book would have been a solid four star rating except I felt the ending dragged on. Every time I thought we were wrapping up, more story was added and then closed out. It made sense, but I was really just ready for it to be done.

I was dissappointed in the last book of the Gemma Doyle trilogy. There were a lot of loose ends, and it seemed to be rushed through a lot of the story, and way slow through other parts. I enjoyed the journey, but it lacked a certain pull to keep me completely entertained and interested that the other two books did not lack. And while Anne and Fee and Gemma were there at Spence, it seems they never went to class, like they had all the freedoms in the world, and they were supposed to be young and controlled teens. What was the purpous of that setting if she wasnt going to use it in her last book I wonder? The tree had little explaination, as did a lot of the other little stories entertwined in this book. It wasn't a total flop, as it did keep my interest in parts of the book, but it certainly lacked the finness her other two books possessed. Plus, I am completely confused about Kartik and their story ending at the tree...hmmm? If things in the realms and ownership of the magic were "changing", then why did Kartik have be taken by the tree, why would any soul have to be a part of the tree? Did I miss something? I guess I'll just finish the story in my own immagination, and make it a great ending! It surely could have been better, but all in all, it deserves 3 stars.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS* Unlike some other reviewers, I did not find the ending of this series to be "hideous". It was provocative and thought provoking and It was true to the tone of the series. This is a gothic tale of a girl who holds a great and fearsome magic. Her mother had to take her own life to avoid being ravaged by the darkness, there were sacrifices of little girls along the way...there were many macabre happenings throughout this series that made it the thrilling read that it was!!!

This last book had dark and gruesome moments most certainly. It had that bit of exquisite agony and sacrifice that must often be made in tales of heroism and darkness. I was most pleased that the author allowed us a glimpse into the intense friendship between Felicity and Pippa...it had its own brand of pain and agony brought on by the Victorian era that praised strict moral code ladylike pursuits at all costs. It was Gemma's connection to her girlfriends that spoke most poignantly to me. They were complex and full of the kind of trust and loyalty and deep love that girls forge with one another.

This was a brilliant ending to a fascinating and expertly woven tale of friendship, longing, fortitude in a time that did not look kindly upon any of those things. Very GIRL POWER!!!

Well done Ms. Bray! WELL DONE!!!!

The Sweet Far Thing is a very disappointing ending to a really well made series. The first two books within the Gemma Doyle trilogy are well thought out and beautifully executed, sadly the Sweet Far Thing fell short. As presented from the very beggining of the story Gemma is a strong woman with a will and piece of mind that stands strong. She does things that are stupid at times and don't always make sense but through most of the story her character is reliable. Due to this fact the last ten chapters of this trilogy don't wholly make sense. I mean I completely understand that in life people die and ones life doesn't always have the happy ending they wish for. But throughout the trilogy the moral Libba Bray presents is that no one is alone in the world and even in the darkness there is light. For Gemma what ever light she had truly went out. Gemma is left completely alone defeating one of the main messages presented within the story and thus contradicting the book itself. This was a grave mistake. The book continually explains that gemma must accept that she isn't alone in her world, and that once such an acceptance is made success will be possible. Instead everything Libba Bray presents is thwarted by Gemma going off to America and secluding herself. She inevitably is alone. Now I know her future is ones own to create but the ending left far to much wanting. Gemma spends a large part of the books feeling helpless and secluding herself, learning to be her own person granted, but inevitably forcing herself to be alone.
The character of Kartik is the means to change all that. Her friends, though by her side, continually leave her alone and are fairly un-supportive. Felicity with her own self obsession and Ann with her continual lack of guts. Throughout the books they leave Gemma to fend for herself and Kartik in the end seems to be the only character to stand by and help her throughout. Sure at times the girls listen to her but there are numerous times when they do not, Felicity especially.
This leaves the reader to rely on Kartik. To feel that there is some constant throughout the book. Some being that is there till the end. But when he dies that constant is taken away and Gemma is ALONE. Not physically but emotionally. And yes in life people are alone, but that is why they read. To escape their lives which may not be adventurous and are already lonesome enough. That is why I believe this book is so disappointing. Because when Gemma ends up alone so do they.
I believe Libba Bray is a very good writer and for most of the trilogy I was a fan. I just believe that the ending was shoty. It was a hard dose of reality I felt didn't need to be dealt.I warn all that this book leaves one emptier than when they start it and not in any satisfying form. All in all a disappointment.

Can anyone say love/hate relationship? That sums up exactly how I feel about the book. Yet, this is by far my favorite book out of the three in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. Ugh!

The series is wrapped up nicely. The realms are peaceful again. Ann, Felecity and Gemma find there way in the world. As well, Kartik finds his purpose.

Two things I have to say about this book, and they are random. One, it is a very thick book. Remember, my love/hate relationship? I normally like big, thick books but this one was too long. Two, Gemma has red hair. I have red hair. I love all protagonist characters with red hair. I know, shallow. But it is true.

The ending is beautiful, but I hated it.

A reasonably satisfactory end to the series, but this book took far too long to get there. The first 2/3 of this book could have been trimmed by at least half cut out and it would have been a far sweeter thing.

This finale I thought was going to be spectacular. Yet in the beginning it was very repetitive and I felt no one or anything was progressing forward until about page 500 or so. It frustrated me that so many new people were coming into play and more situations/events were arising and it seemed the book was coming to and end.

I didn't like the ending. I loved the action parts when it did speed up. Once it did get started it was amazing...and then the ending. I just didn't really like anything about it. I was so confused at what Libba Bray was trying to get at with the whole tree at the end...I may have to re-read it a couple times to 'get it'(which is rare for me to do and I don't think should be nessacary). We definately needed more Kartik...I'll end my review at that.

Read this trilogy when I was in high school - 2010. Seven years later and I still think about the book and am buying NOW to reread it. Truly beautiful book with amazing imagery, eloquently written, and captivating and dynamic characters. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that they will always remember, and a book that allows the reader to create a world they can spend hours in.

This trilogy was an enjoyable read, and I'm reviewing it as a whole rather than its parts because I read it all in one go. Bray did a good job creating the characters. There was Felicity, who despite her appearance as a strong, independent young woman, has a dark past and finds herself weak before her father. Pippa, the most beautiful girl around, is unmarriagable. Ann, who carries extraordinary talent, is ignored and unaccepted by society. And finally Gemma, who already comes from a respectable family. Her family attempts to mold into a respectable young lady by the standards of that time, something the opinionated Gemma is not meant to be. Together, they grow and defeat their inner demons. When they discover magic, they feel themselves blessed and given an opportunity to change their circumstance. Given a tremendous amount of power, they were at times self-serving despite their initially good intentions, which showed how truly human they were. However, in the end, magic did nothing for them and the power to change their lives was found within themselves all along. I enjoyed following these girls' journeys, as they matured and grew into respectable young women that reflected the coming of a new age.

I knocked down a star from my rating because I thought the general magical-quest-to-defeat-evil-and-restore-order could have been further developed. After a while I got tired of how easy Gemma had it in solving all the mysteries. She almost completely relied on her visions, and they revealed themselves quite slowly. In addition, it seemed that all the "magical" characters in the book knew bits of everything and are willing to share whatever they know with Gemma, be they "good" or "bad" characters. Although they are willing to share the information, they did so cryptically. If they were going to tell her things in the first place, why must they do so in a way that makes her run about town to figure it out (which she never does until another character conveniently drops her another big clue). For example, instead of saying "Beware the birth of May," they would have said "Beware of Eugenia." Really, was that so hard? So in that sense, it didn't make any sense to me why some characters were saying the things they did. Everyone knew everything from the start, Gemma just needed to ask the right people, which I believe is a little too easy for an adventure series. Also, I don't know if it's just me, or where the names "the realms" and "Winterlands" a little lame? And where is everyone in the "order" that is presently living? The Rakshana as a secrety society made sense because there were ranks and many people in it.

The conclusion of the book was perfect. It was pretty ironic that Ann, who started out with less than any of them, gained the most. All of the other girls who started with so much, by the end, lost a piece of themselves. And in terms of reputation, they were pretty much ready to throw that away as well. Of course it was heartbreaking, but I believe that sacrifices are necessary to achieve as much as they have. And I'm a bit of a masochist, so I like it when stories shread my heart to pieces.

This is a perfect fast paced and gripping finale to the Gemma Doyle trilogy. Readers will love to follow Gemma as she grapples with personal, social and magical dilemma's. In this final installment of the trilogy friendships are tested, new worlds explored and romance discovered. I was hooked from the very beginning of this book, and found my heart racing along with the plot line. My biggest problem with this book is that it was the last one. I was completely drawn into the Victorian and magical worlds created by Libba Bray. When it was over I felt like I had lost my friends. I highly reccomend this and the other Gemma Doyle books.

I finally finished this book and it was LONG, way longer than it needed to be. I was actually kinda disappointed in the way that it ended. Things were resolved, but they also really weren't. It made me sad that after all that Gemma had lost, she still had to lose more and still wasn't really finished with her quest. The end kinda ruined the whole series for me.

Libba Bray is so about feminism that she just has to prove it to us by this book's ending... So she spends two AMAZING BOOKS building up to this..? Seriously? The ending makes NO sense to me, it seems like the most random thing ever.

P.S. if you're looking for a happy ending....

I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy, despite the sometimes obvious "girl who just can't fit in" characterization. This book was the weak link. The ending of "The Sweet Far Thing" was extremely disappointing and left a lot of loose ends. I'm not someone who requires happy endings, but I felt very cheated. The books are long, and after the time invested in reading them, I had hoped for something...more.

I felt those 800 pages. Like others, around pg 600 I began to skim to move things a long. Gemma was just to stupid. Giving Circe magic, and Pippa for that matter. Her friends had almost no redeem qualities to them. I began to like Felicity in book 2, but in this book she had no personality other than selfish and spoiled. The friendship of the four girls just became unbelievable because they were all so unlikeable. It was a disappointing end, mostly because nothing happened.

Not everything in life ends how we want it...especially books. I think the whole trilogy was beautifully written and had just the right amount of ups and downs, suspence and drama, and love and heartache. As with all books, I wish this didn't end. I want to know more! I want to know what happens to Gemma now. I want to see things further in the future of Gemma's life. I wish Bray would turn this Trilogy into a never ending Saga. LoL! I absolutely loved all 3 books and wish I had another to read to know more about the life of Gemma Doyle.

An intense, terrifying, journey and poignant end to a deliciously gothic series. I was delighted to see so many of the main characters triumph over their weaknesses--in their own time and their own ways. I never felt that the story was too long. There was some ambiguity with the details towards the end, and there were some terrible tragedies, but over all the writing quality was compelling, the characters were richly-drawn. and I was held captive until the bitter-sweet end. Fantastic read. One of my favorite YA Fantasy Series.

I've read many fictional, fantasy books because of my sister. Libba Bray has outdone herself by far in this book. After reading twilight, I never thought that i would find another book that would come close to twilight. This book is the one of two other series that I find a 10 on a scale of 1-10. It is by far the best book in the whole Gemma Doyle trilogy...it is filled with the twists that everyone will enjoy. The romance is not overdone, as it is in some books. Gemma is still stuggling with the magic and believing in herself. In additon to all of this, Pippa doesn't seem to have the ability to do what she must, for some reason or other. Kartik also returns, and thus, the plot twist. I Loved IT! I RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE who loves reading fantasy books. I am more of a vampire/werewolf/crime/action kind of bookworm, but The Sweet Far Thing totally surpassed my expectations.

*****CAUTION: SPOILERS**********

Let me preface this by saying that this has been a complicated relationship, with this trilogy. I have had issues and enjoyments with these books, and this review will tackle some (actually, most) of them. I start with the faults first. Do not think I hate the books. It's complicated.

First of all, I think it too long. The first 300 pages could have been cut. NOTHING HAPPENS. And someone has to tell Libba Bray that it is simply absurd to have these adventures in the realms and then have it all forgotten and cast aside, to have normal occurrences back at Spence. It's like something monumental happens and the next thing you know, everyone's talking about bonnets and balls.

Another thing. Libba Bray's writing can be too convoluted, full of an awareness of its sometimes excellent phrases. Convoluted: in about 3 sentences, Gemma goes from being in Spence to being in the realms. "I reach the door". Oh, so in about 30 seconds, she managed to escape whoever she was talking to, run outside, put her hands on the stone, and enter the realms unnoticed?
Then there are things like the scene in which she looks at gargoyles. She is in her bed, then she "looks at the gargoyles", "turning her head" to do so. For God's sake, she would have to get up out of the bed first and open a window in order to see the decorations that are ON THE ROOF.
I noticed this at the end of "Rebel Angels", the last pages of which was, simply put, chaotic. For a good 50 pages (the last 50 pages), I had no idea what was happening, or, rather, too many things were happening and too few were being explained or understood. Gemma flew between the realms and the "real" world again, while I wondered why she just didn't stay in the realms and sort out the problem if the situation there was so crucial and why exactly she was running around London if the realms were in such a dire situation.

Also, someone needs to tell Libba Bray that her protagonist, Gemma Doyle, is frustratingly, unchangeably STUPID. What kind of person defeats an evil force that was responsible for her mother's death and then, one book later, GIVES THAT IMPRISONED VILLAIN MAGIC?!? What the hell did Gemma THINK would happen by giving CIRCE more magic in exchange for stupid information? That nothing would happen? That this evil person would do nothing? Or that Pippa could be trusted, especially, as we are told OVER AND OVER, as her eyes are constantly shifting from their normal violent to a frightening white-blue? And that her teeth have become sharp? And that there is something unsettling about her now?

And why, WHY is Pippa still around? I thought we dealt with this back in Book 1, for God's sake. It shouldn't take 2 more books to get rid of her. She died, she didn't cross over, she was corrupted. All right, fine. End it. I'm tired of hearing the girls say, "Oh, let's visit Pippa," and the endless reminders of "Boohoo, I'm dead and trapped" and "Boohoo, Gemma, you left me here,"

(Also, does no one else notice a correlation here between these infuriating, 2-syllable, -a sound ending names? Gemma? Pippa? Libba?)

And Gemma NEEDS A BACKBONE. I am sick and tired of hearing "I know I shouldn't go to the realms today but Felicity and Ann want to go" and "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but they're my friends". Oh, yeah. Friends. They're such good friends that Felicity controls every action and conversation, snaps, and dominates, and can be downright nasty and unseeing to both Gemma and Ann. And Ann never sticks up for herself or for Gemma, and even shallowly abandons her to try and be part of Felicity's company.

Too many pages of nothing happen, in which some crucial points are revealed. Those things should be expanded on, not endless depictions of all of the girls at Spence.

Also, someone needs to tell Libba Bray that her frequent face-value injections of "British humour" (on which, the flap tells us, she was raised) are not that witty. Also, they are downright anachronistic. No Victorian girl would say "Right. Jolly good." That sort of terse, modern speech came later; or, if it was used at all in 1895, it would have been by "lower-class" fishmongers or dockworkers, certainly not by a young lady of considerable "upper-class" status.

Speaking of anachronisms, the use of the present-tense is initially startling because it is so thoroughly modern and is not a usual element of historical fiction. One can grow accustomed to it, but sudden sentences (involving contractions), like "I'm running..." scream of the 21st century. Or idiomatic expressions like "I'll get to it" or "Hear me out". I get the sense (or perhaps I get the sense that this is what others will say) that Libba Bray is trying to ensnare modern readers, ones who don't normally enjoy historical fiction. The result is to make those who do wince and become annoyed and frustrated. Too much of that leads to rage against the author, believe me.

And then, just when these blaring things are coming to a head, something like Pippa's and Felicity's love is revealed. It's one of those elements, like the realization of Felicity's father's molestation of her, that make me go, "Wow. Okay.". And the story gains some weight, some splendour. It becomes more dramatic, heavier; I take it more seriously; I respect it more.

But you see why this have been a complex relationship. The story is absorbing but sometimes rushed, frenzied, unclear, and convoluted. The characters are NOT one-dimensional, but they are all frustrating (or can be), Gemma above all. I predicted each realization (like Circe's escape from the well) that sluggishly hit her 100 pages in advance.

Sometimes Bray doesn't take care with the details of the realms. Maybe I should have re-read the 2nd book before I started the 3rd, but the intricacies of the who exactly Philon, Creostuc, Asha, and everybody else are need to be clearer.

This review may sound vitriolic. It is not necessarily meant to be. I have all 3 books. I bought each with excitement and happiness. I read this last one in one day straight. I did nothing but sit on my bed from noon to two in the morning and read. I am eager to talk about them, and I do like them, alright, even (this last book has allowed me to saw it) love them, but at times the issues I have with the characters, ploy, and Bray's writing take head and make me frustrated.

I think this book in particular is too long. The first 300 pages of it needn't have existed. I am not sure why they did. I was utterly unable to name a single important thing that happened during them. All it does is set up Wilhelmina, the visions, etc., etc.
I understand when books need to/ want to simply "establish a mood", but really, this is too much.

HOWEVER, THAT SAID: I have said this a complex relationship. Frustration/Enjoyment. I enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, love, enjoy many parts of this book.
There are nice, even lovely sentences, metaphors, and especially, imagery. (Though this sometimes does not placate me towards the other flaws.)

And I get the sense that this book is really more (or that Bray has tried to make it more) about *existence*. During the battle in the realms, the backdrop of 1895 faded away and when Gemma returns, the Victorian world of its "corseted" truths (I also really liked Bray's use of the corset imagery with the truth that Victorian society--and, in that message, ours too--restrains and the blinders its people desperately employ to survive with a minimum of pain) and putting on appearances seems inconsequential and shallow. It is what Gemma has been battling against. This book is about existence, disobedience, truth, appearances, doubt, the necessity to know the truth always, about ourselves and others, the necessity not to lock away but to confront.

So really, the ending of "The Sweet Far Thing" was quite touching. And the very end, Gemma's and her friend's fates, didn't strike me as part of this master plan to show the reader the message of "Do what makes you happy", "Do what you want", "Be who you are,". I think this is because one of the things Bray does do is that she has proven Gemma's journey to us, so when she embarks on her decision to "be who she is", we know who that person is, and we have been her fighting her way through confusion and doubt, through sorrow, through utter loneliness and distrust, into clarity and determination, out of necessity, out of survival. We have seen her make choices, accept the consequences, fight, live, die. It's like a great catharsis; at the end, we must simple be. And yet, the complexity that I love about it is that even as Gemma stands in the middle of her debut ball and forsakes it for its shallowness and appearances, she acknowledges that some people need those appearances and illusions, and that someday, when they are ready, they will cast "the bricks" (more good imagery) down, confront the light of truth and honesty, and then perhaps built more illusions. But, instead of feeling complete and utter contempt, she leaves these people to it, because she understands. She herself has relied on illusions; now she has broken them down. But she knows that not everyone can, and must do it in their own time.

I suppose the sweet far thing to which the title refers is the bell in Yeat's poem that calls us onwards, to death or life. But really, the book advocates the sweet *near* thing: the immediacy of existence, the present consciousness of oneself, because only then--or rather, here--can that thing become sweet. It becomes self-actualization and understanding of the world. But perhaps the element of the far enters when one views this from afar, and sees the journey that one must take to achieve the sweet near thing.

Complicated feelings: there are flaws in this trilogy, but this third book somewhat redeems them.

Any book that can get me to think of existence and that can impart such a feeling, a message, that even though it is clearly written out, also lingers unspoken, in the very feel of the book, is worth consideration and understanding.

I felt changed by this book.

That said, there are some lingering problems. Why is Circe suddenly good? What is it with the Tree?.....

Damn you, Libba Bray. Bravo, Libba Bray.

The conclusion to the Gemma Doyle series is a satisfying finish to an above-par trilogy. Libba Bray's style is, as always, deep and poignant, though it can get a little convoluted (I counted about 9 adjectives and 5 adverbs in one sentence alone).

On to the plot. The book started off pretty slow, but soon it felt too many things were happening at once. I felt the whole plotline with Wilhemina Wyatt was terribly rushed, and even the end of the book didn't resolve it that well. However, I give TSFT 5 stars because of the superb ending. No spoilers: It was well-suited to the overall tone of the trilogy. Other reviewers call it depressing, and it's definitely not a happy Disney ending. But given the darkness and the violence of all three books, a "and they all lived happily ever after" would have ruined the whole series. The ending was hopeful, realistic, and touching. I also like how the subplots concerning Thomas, Gemma's father, and Ann were wrapped up. Felicity's revelation was stunning, but it just made the whole scenario with Pippa more convincing. A beautiful ending that made me want to cry.

SPOILER WARNING.

Once I finished the final book in the series I was eager to go online and read everyone's thoughts on A Sweet Far Thing. I'm not going to summarize the story for you, nor am I going to provide a list of things I liked and disliked about the book. This review is for those of you who felt cheated by Kartik's untimely end. I, like many of you was heartbroken when Kartik died. Despite his presence being rather sporadic throughout the series, I too had grown rather attached to his character. I wanted Kartik to find his destiny, to confront his brother, and confess his love for Gemma. I expected all three of these events to happen in the final book. However, I knew that Gemma and Kartik would not have their happily ever after. I was not surprised in the least that they did not end up together (in the physical sense, that is). In the spiritual sense, well, that is something entirely different.

One of Bray's flaws when it comes to writing, is that there is never enough evidence to support her claims. Felicity was a character I had the largest issue with. Through out the course of the series we discover that she was sexually abused as a child and in love with her best friend Pippa. I did not foresee either of these revelations. There was no indication whatsoever that Felicity and Pippa shared feelings for one another other than intense friendship. Also, there are certain signs that indicate when a person has been abused and I just didn't recall anything from the text that eluded to Felicity's tortured past.

Kartik and Gemma's relationship, however, is an entirely different story. From the very beginning their destinies were intertwined. Both had experienced a great loss and both were expected to complete a difficult task. Many things brought them closer together and at the same time tore them even farther apart. Deep down both characters knew they wouldn't be together in the end. They had a common purpose but two entirely different fates. If you need proof, go back to the passages that detail Kartik's dreams/visions. Gemma was meant to die, and Kartik fulfilled his duty as a true member of the Rakshana by protecting his priestess. Kartik sacrificed himself so that Gemma could live and do what she was destined to do: bring magic back to the Realms. Otherwise, why did she come back from the dead? She could have taken the easy route and left the harsh reality behind and lived in paradise. They both made difficult choices, but they did what they believed to be right and they sacrificed a great deal. I for one believe that in the future Kartik and Gemma will find a way to be together. After all, Kartik isn't truly dead. He lives on in the realms and Gemma is apart of the realms, so in a sense, they will never be apart.

(Mild spoilers) Let me start by saying I would give more stars if I could, for this installment as well as for the trilogy as a whole, I was as profoundly moved by TSFT, as I have been with the preceeding two novels, if not more so. Libba Bray has a way of writing that makes it impossible to turn the pages fast enough. I will say also that I understand the extreem upset over A certain character's fate, it let the air out of my happy balloon too, and for a moment I was mentally screaming WHY Libba WHY! After I calmed down though I saw that it made a sad sort of sense. This person's love for Gemma was not tainted by the desire for power through magic. I wish that could have been enough.

Miss Bray uses the word sacrifice repeatedly throughout the book. I saw this as a subtle warning to her readers that somthing very difficult and painful was to come before the end. I think after the beautiful cave of sighs sequence, there was a part of me that knew how it would be. As awful as it was, I don't think it was the wrong choice. It's easy and preferable to romanticize, to put their relationship on a pedestal where the smallmindedness of the times couldn't reach them. But the reality would have been somthing very different. This is the only reason I can think of for the author's choice.

At the end of RA I was of of the opinion that Felicity and Ann only befriended Gemma for the magic and what it could do for them, and I spent a large part of TSFT of the same mind. But by the end I found that my opinion had changed. yes they coveted the magic, yes they encouraged Gemma's doubts about sharing it,yes they had selfish motivations brought on by a desperate need to free themselves. and in Felicity's case other more powerful reasons besides. In the end though they stood with her and faced almost certain death, that's pretty high up there on the friendship list in my book.

I've seen other reveiwers call Gemma immature and without back bone, while I get how they might think that, I strongly disagree. Yes there were points where I wanted to shake Gemma till she rattled, but I think it was critical that we as readers understand the temptation she faces and to feel that up until the moment of Gemma's decision it's intirely possible even probable that her weaknesses will win out and she will fail. Plus how many 17 year olds do you know the have their sh*# together all the time. I know I didn't.

Was there to much Pippa, on the serface yes But consider, it's human nature to believe the best in the people one loves, until we are faced with absolute proof to the contrary. And given Felicity's considerable blind spot, it's not really all that suprising that it's a long and terrible journey to the realization of what Pipa has become. I didn't mind it.

In the run up to TSFT It seems there was an expectation for a lot of Kartik Gemma time, I think that the lack there of made their time together far more powerful. (I loved the hedgehog coversation.)

I also loved the way the Rakshana where dealt with in the end, not to mention how many unexpected allies showed up to the party. As well as the fact that Ann found the strength to save herself. as did Felicity, without magic.

I am so thankful to miss Bray for this exceptional trilogy, though the end is bitter sweet in more was then one. It's amazing how real the books have become. it's extreemly rare that I become so attached to a storyline. I will miss it terribly. Here's hoping that her next book isn't to far away.