Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

What readers think of A Great and Terrible Beauty, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty

by Libba Bray
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Dec 1, 2003, 416 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2005, 432 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 8 of 9
There are currently 65 reader reviews for A Great and Terrible Beauty
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Marley

GREAT BOOK
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray is a delightful novel containing both passion and terror. This novel is intended for teen girls who are looking for a delectable fantasy to read on spare time instead of watching television. Her novel has inspired me to keep on reading her books and to stay away from the television. Overall Great Book.
Jessica Snowdon

A Great and Terrible Beauty
A Great and Terrible Beauty is a creepy and elegant story at the same time. It takes place at Spence Academy in London England which gives it an interesting setting. I, as an 18 year old read it in about 1 month! This novel did have some dull moments but overall would definitely recommend this story to any of my friends and family.
Sally

This book was pretty good, but it left obvious room for a sequel. The way the story evolved was pretty intense, but I liked it. I got home after buying it, and did not put it down until it was finished.
Henry

This book was an excellent read that left me wanting more. I hope the rumours are true that there is going to be a sequel, though, because the ending will dissapoint if this is the only book.
ethnee

I think that the book "A great and terrible beauty," was pretty good. It had magical things in it and normal things that could have really happened. I didn't give it a five because there was something that didn't grab me. I am not sure what it is and can't pin piont it. It was a really good book and I would recommend it to people who like magic and romance. The girls at spence's seemed real, and I love books set in the Elizabethian age and Victorian age. It was really good and I am waiting for the second one.
Kari

The Great and Terrible Beauty
Although the book was great at the beginning, when she gets to the finishing school, it slows down and takes a downhill turn. Although it describes the challenges of 'mean girls' and Victorian society of how girls were supposed to bow down to their husband's every will, it did give a good insight of what times were like back then. I was slightly disappointed when after Gemma discovered the realms, and she took her friends with her, nothing major really happened after that. Kartik wasn't in the book very much, which was annoying since he was telling her constantly to stop using her powers, yet he didn't really enforce it. There were only certain spots in the book that really had you hooked in, and then when it got dull and you felt like putting it down again, another event would happen and it looked as if things would turn around again...it was pretty good overall, but I wouldn't read it again unless I was told to do so for an assignment.
Sheila

Mine
I thought it was a good book, though it took me a while to get past the beginning, and books I can't get into and like it from the beginning aren't my favourites, I've read better but it was okay
Angelina

Ehhh!! :(
I personally did not think this book was all that great as everyone said it was going to be. It was really boring in the beginning and I guess it got better towards the end, but I definitely disagree with all those reviews about this book being FANTASTIC and AMAZING!! I didn't think it was all that good and I am rating it as poor...sorry everyone hate me if you want, but I'm the only one telling the truth here! =(

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Our Evenings
    Our Evenings
    by Alan Hollinghurst
    Alan Hollinghurst's novel Our Evenings is the fictional autobiography of Dave Win, a British ...
  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.