Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay so I actually give it 3++ stars..., 3 April 2008
...the only reason it doesn't get 4 is because other books that I've reviewed on here and given 4 are better. Fairs fair.
Okay, this book, along with 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' are good, pretty gripping books (to a certain extent), and i'll certainly want to read the third one. However, I only bought this book because I was out of my mind with boredom and I couldn't find anything else that I fancied. Also, I found that I could quite willing leave the book for a break to go and watch TV or something. Coming from me, a girl who lets nothing (including uni work) get in the way of finishing a good novel, I think that speaks volumes!
The lead character is a girl who has a modern personality in a novel set in the 18th century, or around that time anyway, and everytime she has a bit of modern rebelion I think it jarrs a bit with her setting. I'm all for a fiesty heroine who wants to escape the bonds placed on her by society, but make it a bit more believable please...
Her 'friends' consist of a girl who bullied her in the first novel, and continues to show flashes of that cruel streak throughout both the novels, making me wonder why Gemma was friends with such a back-stabbing, malicious and spiteful little girl in the first place! This really bugs me. It makes for good reading, granted, but to me it doesn't quite ring true...Gemma is not meek enough to be following the crowd or sucking up to this girl because she's scared of her, so why does she stand for it??
However, that said, a secret is revealed in this novel about Felicity which goes some way to explaining why she pushes away and aims to hurt those closest to her.
A new love intrest is introduced in this novel which makes things a tad more exciting, however how it ends is very frustrating and makes the reader wonder why Gemma doesn't just try to articulate herself better, or think of better lies! Wanting to know how her love life sorts it self out is one of the main reasons i want to read the third book, because as a novel about magic and 'other worlds' it's not one of the best.
To conclude:
The magical stuff is good, the storyline is pretty original as far as I know, but I didn't fall in love with this book (or it's predesesor) and for me that says it all, as I fall in love with books and characters very easily :)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this series, 19 Nov 2008
REBEL ANGELS is the second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy and goes to prove that A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, the first in the series, was not a one-trick pony. The sentence on the front of the cover, "A gripping sequel of passion and peril", does not do the novel justice.
The book's main character, Gemma Doyle is a young girl who is a student at Spence Academy for Girls. Gemma suffers from visions and she is the one who is able to go from this world into another known as the Realms where magic runs free. The Realms can be heavenly - your every wish can be granted, but because Gemma does not know all that there is to the Relams and the magic it contains, how safe it is is another matter. As heaven can quickly turn to Hell.
In this installment, Gemma and her friends are looking forward to Christmas; to the balls and social events. But since their last battle in the Realms, the magic is now loose rather than being stable. And Gemma's visions are becomeing more intense. Three girls in white are haunting her, trying to warn her of something.
In order to maintain stability, Gemma has to return to the Realms to bind the magic once more. But who, if anyone can she trust, and just what are the dangers Gemma faces?
That is a very basic plot. This book - as with the first in the series - has a lot going for it. Bray takes on a variety of issues; drug abuse, child abuse, self harm, friendship, loyalty and betrayal to name but a few. And this is what I love about the books. Although they have the touches of magic and romance, at the root of them they also have a stark honesty to them which is relevant at any time in history.
While some reviewers may not like or understand why Gemma would be friends with Ann, Felicity and Pippa because she seems to have irritations about all of them, I think this is a true reflection of the friendships that many girls, and women, have. Humans are complex; there is good and bad, light and dark in all of us and often friendships cannot be fully comprehended from the outside. In my personal opinion, this only goes to make the series more interesting.
Highly recommended.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond Brilliant, 3 Aug 2007
My friend lent me 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' and 'Rebel Angels'. She confirmed to me that the books were incredibly good so I was very keen to read them. Both books left me speechless.
The Second book was slightly different to the first, it focused on the relationships Gemma had with different characters from the book. The realms seemed to be lacking the positive atmosphere they had in the first book and the author highlighted possible rivalries for future books. Gemma experiences confusion throughout the novel, which sometimes leads her astray. The twists in this book makes the book extremely mysterious, secrets start to unfold as they did in the first book.
Set in the late 1800s the author uses this time to capture the old fashioned lifestyle that Gemma had until she became aware of her powers, the author uses a range of descriptive, historical information to create an image in the reader's mind.
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