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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
This started a bit slow, but soon evolved in the five star awesomeness that Libba Bray's books have been so far to me.
I could not put it down and read the 548 pages in two days.
The story was like Pride and Prejudice with fantastic elements and deep layered characters where everything was possible. And eerie and unpredictable character revelations and events would happen at any moment, keeping suspense high at all times.
I will soon read the third book in this series and this author is a new favorite of mine.
I could not put it down and read the 548 pages in two days.
The story was like Pride and Prejudice with fantastic elements and deep layered characters where everything was possible. And eerie and unpredictable character revelations and events would happen at any moment, keeping suspense high at all times.
I will soon read the third book in this series and this author is a new favorite of mine.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Classism
Minor: Self harm
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault
Minor: Self harm
Meh. This book did not age as well as I thought it might. Decent YA but it really doesn't lend itself very well to an adult perspective. I still like the premise but I don't feel like I want to spend the time rereading the third book, I'll just remind myself through a synopsis.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Abstractly, I always know how much I enjoy Libba Bray, but whenever one of her books pops up on my TBR, I remember with bright insistence. Since I started this blog, Libba Bray has become one of my absolute favorite authors. Rebel Angels is yet another wonderful book. It’s the second in the Gemma Doyle series and it’s been years since I read the first… but it all came back so quickly. I loved it. I listening to it slowly, often shutting it off and switching to music or my aPHR study materials rather than finish it. This sort of habit is terrible for my reading goals, but I don’t care. Rebel Angels was fun, twisty, imaginative, sad, and sweet. I loved it. And how often do we say that about the middle book in a trilogy?
In fact, I think I enjoyed Rebel Angels more than the first book.
The Realms come to life in this book as we venture far beyond the garden and into the depths of Bray’s world. Each trip into the realms is noticeably wilder and more dangerous. We watch the garden alone transform into a haunted version of something from Alice in Wonderland. We meet new characters inside this world, but we also meet old friends. Or are they?
The setting also pivots in the real world as Gemma, Felicity, and Anne head home to London for the Christmas holiday. We meet more people in society, we watch Gemma’s father struggle. We see Anne take the spotlight for a little while, which was absolutely wonderful. More than anything, I think my favorite character arc in Rebel Angels was Felicity’s. Coming into this story, I was a bit salty about Felicity. I was sure, so sure of her behavior only to learn more about her as we meet her family and venture into her home. It’s one of the things I love about Libba Bray – although she isn’t a POV character, Bray takes time with the supporting characters to give them depth and purpose. Now, ending the second book and heading into the third, I’m as invested in all the supporting characters as I am in Gemma.
Bray’s writing does so well diving into darkness. Nineteenth century England has its own underbelly of unfortunate behaviors, expectations, and the like. Bray picks away at this world like a scab and is not shy at all when it comes to Bedlam. I read her writing as a commentary of history with a raw bite that lets us be ashamed and embarrassed for most of London society as well as the reflections we see in ourselves (yikes). There’s also a moment where Gemma says something incredibly racist and the character she’s talking to reacts extremely appropriately and it’s called out in that way, although Gemma (and Felicity, when told) fails to see the problem. And isn’t that quite typical of our world? That interaction stood out to me. I appreciated its inclusion and I hope it makes others think.
If you read A Great and Terrible Beauty and were on the fence about continuing, this is your sign to carry on. I really enjoyed this book with its twists and turns (at a plot and a personal level). I know I’ll be reading the last book in the trilogy! This is one I’d read again. Anything by Libba Bray is something I’d read again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Cultural appropriation
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Even though it is pretty long, it went by incredibly fast. And it was much better than the first book of the series in my opinion. I still have issues, like the way some of the characters treat each other, but overall it was an improvement.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes