The concluding volume in the trilogy begun in <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">A Great and Terrible Beauty is a huge work of massive ambition, an undertaking that involves the plaiting and tying off a dozen plot threads—impending war in the realms and heroine Gemma Doyle’s control of its magic being the central thread but, perhaps, not the most interesting. In chronicling Gemma’s first year at Spence Academy, Bray has, over three books, widened her canvas from finishing school to fin-de-siècle London, weaving in the defining movements of the era—labor strikes over factory conditions, suffrage, the “radical” Impressionists just across the Channel, even fashion trends like bloomers for women daring enough to ride bicycles. Gemma is both buffeted and bolstered by her exposure to these developments, and readers experience how they shape her burgeoning understanding of who she is and who she may become. Some of Gemma’s struggle is about power. As exalted as she is within the realms for her role as High Priestess of the secret society, her “otherness” marks her as unsuitable for proper Victorian circles. Gemma chafes not only at the physical constraints of a corset but at the myriad restrictions placed on women. Her quest is to break free, but at what cost? Bray poses these vital questions without sacrificing the gothic undertones of the previous volumes—the body count is high, and the deaths, gruesome. That creepiness is balanced by the fully realized company of players, including the insufferable headmistress, Mrs. Nightwing, the acid-tongued Felicity Worthington, hunky heartthrob Kartik and, of course, Gemma herself, a heroine readily embraced. Ages 14-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Dec.)

Fans of the Gemma Doyle series, which began with A Great and Terrible Beauty     (2003), will grab this novel, in which Gemma seeks to restore magic to the Realms, help friends and family at home, and find her place between the worlds. Given the page count, however, they'll need to set aside plenty of reading time. Scenes in the realms are weighed down by description, and they don't always advance the plot. Yet Bray does recapture the menace, mystery, and heady romance of the previous books, as well as the wry, sharp sense of the Victorian society.

In this final book of the trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels), Gemma must dig deeper into the realms' mysteries. Who can she trust, and who is the true evil to fight? Gemma also fears losing her magic and her freedom. Lyrical prose and well-realized characters make this a satisfying curl-up-and-read volume.

This trilogy closer fails to deliver on the potential of the stellar A Great and Terrible Beauty (2004). Schoolgirl Gemma is facing the consequences of her impulsive commitment to share the magic of the Realms with all magical creatures. Living up to her promises will require giving up her own powers, and without those powers, how will Gemma and her friends ever escape the choking propriety that Victorian society demands? Moreover, villains abound: Realms creatures keep turning up dead, villainous Circe might not be as destroyed as everyone thought and impatient centaurs turn against Gemma. Unfortunately, in this installment, Gemma's mystical adventure has slowed to a grinding pace. After hundreds of pages of inaction, rich descriptions descend to wordiness and Gemma's adolescent development is stilted, and the sex-positive, queer-friendly spirit of A Great and Terrible Beauty has vanished, replaced with a harsh magical morality. (Fantasy. YA)

Gr 9 Up-This hefty tome is the final installment in this popular historical fantasy trilogy starring plucky Victorian schoolgirl Gemma Doyle. Having unloosed the magic of the realms beyond her world in A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003) and bound it to herself as priestess in Rebel Angels (2005, both Delacorte), Gemma is now faced with deciding whether to fight or ally with the many creatures of the realms who want access to the magic. She also must decide whether the mysterious members of the Order and of the Rakshana who dog her steps are to be trusted, or whether they simply seek to compound their power by taking the magic for themselves. The realms themselves seem to be changing, growing darker and more dangerous by the day-a change echoed by Gemma's friend Pippa, who seems to be turning into something not wholly human as she grows more entrenched in the realms. With the addition of a fairly chaste romance with lust object and erstwhile enemy Kartik and all the real-world drama that accompanies Gemma's troubled family life and upcoming social debut, the novel is somewhat overstuffed and overlong, crammed full of perhaps too many characters, plotlines, and breathless intrigue. As in previous installments, some of the protofeminist musings placed in the mouths of Gemma and her friends ring a bit false. However, the novel's fast-paced and exciting ending and Bray's lyrical descriptions of the decaying realms are sure to enchant readers who loved Gemma's previous exploits.-Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Things have not gone well for Gemma since she bound the magic of the realms to herself. Former ally Kartik becomes an enemy. A mute woman in lavender appears in her visions and sends her cryptic messages. After decades of lying in a burnt ruin, Spence School rebuilds the East wing with disturbing results. Gemma's friends fare no better. Her undead friend, Pippa, grows dependent on magic. Felicity's inheritance depends on the good intentions of a malicious gossip, and Ann struggles to break free of her predestined fate as governess to her cousin's mucus-oozing children. As the magic within Gemma grows more unpredictable and the line between reality and the realms grows fainter, she learns that nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. All good things must come to an end, and so must Bray's historical fantasy saga. Bray certainly deserves accolades for creating well-written, multi-genre fiction with complex characters. At 800-plus pages, however, the book suffers from too much detail and not enough action. There are many interesting tidbits sprinkled about the book like literary Easter eggs, but by page 500, the reader might begin to tire of repeated descriptions of the strife between the realms' citizens, the political machinations of the Rakshana, and Gemma's indecisiveness. This book is, in short, put-downable, an entirely undesirable attribute for a series finale. Nevertheless readers will want to find out the fate of their favorite characters as the novel moves towards its poignant ending.-Angelica Delgado.