Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of historic-themed novels. BUT that's why I read this. I'm trying to expand my reading into other categories of literature that I may not always like. And I must say, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray made me like historic literature a lot more than I did. I think it was mostly because there was an adventure tied in with the story rather than a bunch of girls learning to be proper and sitting around a fire all day. Although, there was some of that in this novel. The book is part fantasy, part historic fiction, and part mystery. It had me going until the very end. Much like the Hunger Games series, though, I found that reading it at night was not a smart idea.

In the novel, a young girl named Gemma Doyle(love the name, by the way) is sent to a girls' private school in Englandafter a tragic family accident at her old home, India. After receiving a strange necklace from her mother, she begins to experience visions that eventually come true. She is approached by a boy who seems to continue to follow her that constantly threatens her, telling her to stop having the visions and that she can force them away herself.

That's about all I'll say about the novel. But I absolutely loved the storyline and the creativity of the story. I only gave it 3 out of 5 stars, however, because I am not a huge fan of historic fiction. Also, I was at times confused with when Gemma was having a vision, and when she was in real life. Other than that, I feel that the book is a great summer read! I'll also add that I loveeed the cover!