The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle Trilogy #3)

Sweet FAr Thing

I love this book! I was on the edge of my set when reading parts of it. Near the end I even started crying. Libba Bray is a wonderful author. Her writing made me feel like I was Gemma (the main character). I must say you should read her other two books ¿A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. Sweet far thing is the third book in this series. This book is mostly for girls but there is some war like scenes. My favorite part is the hot romance between Gemma and her lover Kartik. Their love is delayed a lot, which made me a little unhappy. I would of like to see on things happen between them I want to say more but I don¿t want to ruin the ending. Gemma and her friends must find a way to save the realms and our world from the evil Winterlands, or is it the Winterland that is evil? Who is the bad guy? Who can Gemma trust? This book has many fantasy creatures like pixies, nymphs, gargoyles, and many other magical being. This book won¿t bored you believe me.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

AMAZING!!!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! It had everything- a little romance, awesome action, suspense, and more. I have only read two books in my entire life that made me cry, this was one of them. I love how it is told in present tense, too. The best thing about this book is how it all comes together in the end. It's like a mystery in a way. You have to put the pieces together like a puzzle and in the end it is just amazing when all the questions are answered. PERFECT story.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved it

So I loved this series! It has become one of my favorites. This book, the last in the series, was a bit dragged out, but it still kept me reading and not wanting to put it down. I hated the ending with one very important character dying. I cried when it happened, so even though I didn't like that it happened, if a book can stir that kind of emotion, it is good. I'm not a very emotional person anyway and the fact that the book hooked me in and made me feel shows that it's worth reading. The characters are excellently developed and they make you feel what they are feeling. Very good book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I didn't like the ending

Kartik and Gemma should be together in some way (in the realms even). It wasn't a happy ending. She is still lonely. You read books to lift your spirits and inspire you, make you hopeful. At least that is why I read books. I was disappointed.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Angieville: THE SWEET FAR THING

And so ends the trilogy that began with A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY , continued with REBEL ANGELS, and concludes in this final volume, THE SWEET FAR THING. I liked the first one well enough because of its unique blend of a wild, magical, mythical realm barely constrained behind stiff Victorian curtains. I really got into the second one as the plot became more complex, Gemma came into her own powers, Felicity and Ann's stories became more layered, and poor beautiful Pippa was relegated to the Realms indefinitely. When I saw how thick the third one was, my eagerness ratcheted up a notch. After all, I have been sitting around lately asking for longer books. Suddenly, here one is.

Unfortunately, 800 pages later, the best thing about it remains the first four words, it's lovely title, taken from a poem by W.B. Yeats. And it does capture the extremely bittersweet feel of the last portion of the book. But somehow this installment failed to capture my imagination. It frustrated me more than anything. Instead of making good use of everything she fought for in REBEL ANGELS, Gemma spends the entire novel trying to decide whether or not to do what she decided to do at the end of the last book. Not until the final pages does she get a grip on herself and do what needs to be done. I thought we were done with crippling indecision in the previous books. I wanted the Gorgon to just let loose and throttle her! Meanwhile, Felicity and Ann are apparently thirteen again and spend the majority of their time being petty and distrustful, backstabbing Gemma whenever they get the chance. Pippa is the most interesting of the original friends, munching on the berries of the dead in all her Miss Havisham glory. But her path is extremely predictable. And Kartik? Fiery, beautiful Kartik? Sigh. The end to his story had far too much in common with Merlin's fate for my taste. I will say that the scene where Gemma and Kartik place their hands inside the stone was achingly beautiful. But, as with much in this hefty book, it was too little too late and I'm left feeling sad. Wishing, somehow, it could all have gone differently.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

The third and final book in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy, THE SWEET FAR THING picks up a few months after REBEL ANGELS ended.

It's now spring, and Gemma has been unable to reenter the realms with or without her friends since the Christmas holidays, when she sealed all the magic inside herself. She has grown uneasy with dreams of the supposedly dead Circe and the absence of Kartrik, despite his pledge to support her. As Mrs. Nightwing oversees the rebuilding of Spence Academy's long destroyed East Wing, Gemma discovers a door that leads into the realms. Soon she, Felicity, and Ann have rejoined Pippa in the realms.

All is far from well, however. Within the realms, the various tribes strive to convince Gemma to share her magic, and she finds herself unable to trust any of them. Circe is not dead after all, and her warnings frighten Gemma. And what of the new visions, in which Gemma sees a former student of Spence Academy, who writes of the Tree of All Souls?

Outside the realms, there is just as much uncertainty. Gemma prepares for her debut and tries to make her peace with her father and brother. Felicity's headstrong behavior has put her on the verge of losing her inheritance and freedom. Ann must decide whether to risk everything on the chance of a career in the theatre.

As dark forces spread through the realms and the girls' debuts approach, Gemma must find more strength in herself than she ever thought possible, and decide just what kind of woman she wants to be -- for herself, not anyone else.

Fans of the trilogy will tear through this book, eager to reach its conclusion and learn the fates of all its characters. Bray's descriptions of Victorian life and the mysterious realms are as colorful as ever. Gemma makes a sympathetic if sometimes frustrating narrator, believable in her struggle to make the right decision. At over 800 pages, THE SWEET FAR THING is far longer than either of the books before it, and there is some repetition to the earlier scenes, but those who love the world will be happy to spend as much time there as they can. Toward the end, the plot picks up to a heart-pounding pace. Between cheering the happier parts of the ending, and grieving over its inevitable sadness, readers will be glad to have lived through this tale with Gemma and her friends.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very good

This was such a great read. I could relate to all the characters. I'm actually kind of sad the series is over... I would love to read about Gemma and all of her new experiences as she grows older/wiser, etc.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love

Loved it soo much!!
Very well played Miss Bray:)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

LOOOOOOOVE IT!!!

This book was so amazing! The only thing that I didn't like was that it had to end:(

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stunning and Tragic

This book was an incredible ending to the trilogy but I absolutely bawled at the ending!!! I won't spoil it, but it is somewhat tragic...

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

One of my new favorite series!

I loved it. Like it's maybe one of my new favorite series... because it combines all my favorite things. I adore historical fiction, I really like fantasy-ish other-worldly stuff, and I like Young Adult where there is a flawed but kickass heroine. These books are phenomenal, I would recommend the series to anyone!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Amaziing!

if you are into magic, fun and frienship with a touch of romance this novel is totally for you, the first time i read it i couldnt put it down. i know this is not a good review but seriously give it a try with this book, you'll really enjoy it

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I LOVE YOU!

The last of the Gemma Doyle trilogy was a story that made me think. I haven't been this in love with a series in a very long time and my love affair with books has been widespread. It takes a really great book to make my emotions act up to the point where it can make me cry, yell out in frustration, and laugh out loud with sheer joy. The love portrayed between Gemma and Kartik was undeniably one of the sweetest and most gentle of love stories. This book offers so much more than just mystery and fantasy, it gives greater depths into what true friendship is all about and how life may not seem so different as it is written in a book. We can all take a piece of it and apply it to our own lives. I heart Libba Bray!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Enchanting

Every page had me holding my breath and I gave up the luxury of a good night's sleep to read as much as i could.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

.

=)

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Woah

Many people are saying that they didnt like the ending. I will not spoil anything, although i thought the ending was crafted beautyfully. Libba did the only thing, really, to end this series with no open ends and a new begging for all. Whos to say what will happen to gemma, or kartik, or felicity, ann, and the rest of the relms? Right then the future is bright for them to shape it as they like. An absoluty wonderful story.

Good book.... poor kartik

Why kartik???????????)': i cried so hard!! Will he and gemma be together again when she dies? Or is she going to meet someone else?

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I want another!!

I loved the entier seriece though i do wish there was a continuation to know what has happend to them all and the relms. :'(

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Omg! Me gusta!!!!

Iv read this book many times and i still never get tired of it... but the end makes me cry and want a forth book

Amazing!

I loved this book soo much. I was a bit disappointed with the ending but i loved the rest so much that the end didnt really matter

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.