YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Description: "Ah, Christmas! Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy, spending time with her friends in the city, attending ritzy balls, and on a somber note, tending to her ailing father. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man, Lord Denby, has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma’s visions intensify–visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain...

The lure is strong, and before long, Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world of the realms that Gemma alone can bring them to. To the girls’ great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.

But all is not well in the realms–or out. The mysterious Kartik has reappeared, telling Gemma she must find the Temple and bind the magic, else great disaster will befall her. Gemma’s willing to do his intrusive bidding, despite the dangers it brings, for it means she will meet up with her mother’s greatest friend–and now her foe, Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task."

Me and Rachel are reading this. Feel free to join us! :)

Excited! I hope this one is better than the first one. :)

Same, I liked the first book, but it lacked in action.

Honestly? I didn't really like the first one that much at all so I am hoping that this one is much better. I have heard that the third one is the best of the series so I hope it keeps improving 'til then. :)

I like charming stories whit girls doing charming things and if magical places are involved all the better XD. It's a personal preference of mine. I like to dream a lot. Of course, the magic must be done right, not like in Hex Hall for example... yuck. That story had no magic to it whatsoever.

"I have heard that the third one is the best of the series"
I actually heard the opposite. This is the best book in the series and the last one has a lower rating because of the sad ending. (view spoiler)[Love interest dies or something like that. (hide spoiler)] The ratings tend to confirm what I said :).

I like this sort of book normally too but A Great and Terrible beauty didn't work for me. I hope this one is different!! :)

Really!? Oh no, that's not good news. I hope that it is better and not worse. I didn't even like the first one so I cannot imagine a worst one! Drats!! :(

I'm about to start this now. Cannot believe how mug longer it is than the first book. :)

I really need to go back to reading this series!

2% - Great introduction. I didn't realise this was going to be told for Katrik's perspective! :)

@Maddie Which book are you up to?? You should join us! :)

I need to re-read the first one haha. That's the only one I've read.

I can't even remember the characters apart from Gemma and Circe lol.

I should probably too since I cannot remember anything. I am hoping to pick it up as I go along!!

Better than me. Whose Circe?? :)

Circe is the evil one. Remember? The one in the other world.

Rachel, I'll join you tomorrow, I need to finish Alienated today for the challenge and that book in itself is a challenge >.<. Sorry.

I'm going to go to bed now. Talk to you later!

@Maddie Oh right!! I forgot about that!! Thanks for reminding me. Talk later then!! :)

@Tessa Don't worry about it! :) I hope you enjoy Alienated! :)

5% - Thank goodness they explain everything. I didn't remember three quarters of that!! :)

11% - (view spoiler)[How awkward!! Poor Gemma. That would have been even more embarrassing in those times too. (hide spoiler)]

20% - (view spoiler)[Ugh, how can people stand these characters!? They are so damn bitchy to each other. Gemma is horrible. Felicity and her treat Ann terribly. Oh and how I didn't miss Pippa.

Also, I don't get Gemma's fascination with Katrik. She has met him like twice. (hide spoiler)]

25% - I had to stop for a bit. I am finding it a little too dull for my taste. Gemma is such a jerk to her friends and everyone in general.

(view spoiler)[I like Simon already though! I hope he is in it more. I have a feeling he will be.

I didn't like how Gemma instantly assumed her brother was the one at fault after eavesdropping on their argument. He father isn't exactly in his best frame of mind yet she assumes Thomas is the one at fault?? (hide spoiler)]

31% - Stopping here for tonight. Didn't get as much as I wanted to get read but oh well! That is what I get for watching movies and trying to read at the same time!

(view spoiler)[I like that so far it is much more eventful than the previous book and it flows better too but it is very dull. The characters are such bitches to one another and I don't like any of them in the slightest. They drive me insane!! (hide spoiler)]

33% - This is so dull. I have barely read anything all day even though I have been desperately trying to. It is so boring and I really dislike Gemma and Felicity and everyone. I don't know if I can read any more of this...

How are you going so far??

Wow it's that bad Rachel?? That makes me sad. :(

Did you like the first one?? I wasn't fond of it so trying to get through 550 pages of pretty much the same thing is killing me. I don't think I can make myself read anymore. Would it be okay if I gave up on it? I know that we organised to read it and everything but I don't want to make myself read something that I am hating so much. I will still discuss with you, as much as I can anyway. :)

Yeah I loved the first one haha. Is this worse than Conspiracy 365?

Well, if you liked the first one you will probably love this one. Its practically the same thing. Kind of but not really. It isn't my thing, that's all. Conspiracy 365 is just dull, not "bad" if that makes sense. I don't like this though.

Tessa, I don't think I am going to go on sorry. This is just not for me. I gave this series a decent go and cannot deal with it anymore. Sorry! :(

Oh righto. Well A Great and Terrible Beauty had 2 of my favourite genres mixed together.

It had a lot of my favourite genres too but it just wasn't for me. :(

Alright. Hopefully the next books you read are.

Ahaha, I hope so too! :P

What are you planning reading next? How about you just PM me so we don't spam this thread haha.

Ahah okay. :)

Rachel wrote: "20% - Ugh, how can people stand these characters!? They are so damn bitchy to each other. Gemma is horrible. Felicity and her treat Ann terribly. Oh and how I didn't miss Pippa.

Also, I don't get..."
You clearly never went to an all-girls high-school. Trust me, what these girls are doing to each other is minimal. This can escalate pretty fast and while boys fight with fists girls will torment you verbally for years. I was to one of such school for the duration of 4 years and swore to send my kids to a mixed school even if it's not that prestigious. The psychological torment was too much. I think in a class full of girls there is a certain missing balance because the boys are missing and usually adolescent girls divide their time to 2 things: how they look and boys. If the second this misses [the boys part] they will find other ways to entertain themselves by picking on their classmates.

About Gemma and Katrik: she was pretty much in love with him since book one. Ever since he kissed her she was a puddle at his feet.

I'm sorry you didn't like it. I found Gemma's life very similar with the one I had at her age minus the magical realism, that brings a plus to the story in my opinion.

I do admit the story is slow, but I am not bored at all. I let her world fascinate me bit by bit :) .

@Madison, if you still want to try this one I'm still reading it. Only 20% done so far ^^.

70% in:
I must say I'm disappointed by the lack of character development in this book. I can understand their mean girl act, but considering what they went through, they should have a stronger bound.

(view spoiler)[I don't understand what Gemma sees in Simon, he's a stuck up and a gossip. Not a gentleman at all. I can't believe she ditched Kartik for this prick... (hide spoiler)]

The writing is exquisite, beautiful magic like scenes of the Victorian Era and the magic realm, but that's pretty much the only thing this story has. :( It could be so great, if only the characters wouldn't be so static.

@Tessa I always refused to be sent to a girls' school. All through primary school I was only friends with guys, I was never a "feminine" girl that got along with other girls that well so an all girls school sounded like torture to me!!

I am glad you are enjoying it though. I hope Maddie can join you!! :)

Plus, I don't know if I ship Katrik and Gemma. They barely know each other!!

I will admit that I like the writing a lot too. :)

"Tessa I always refused to be sent to a girls' school. All through primary school I was only friends with guys, I was never a "feminine" girl that got along with other girls that well so an all girls school sounded like torture to me!!"

It's not that easy when parents think that's best for you. I would like to say that I was a rebellious teenager and ran away from home when I was asked to apply to that school, but I wasn't. I was actually excited at first [before I knew what I was getting myself into XD]. It was also not that bad because the school was close to my home so no boarding drama was involved. After my 6 hours of torture I got home and was free to spend the rest of the day as I liked. :)
It was a great school and it did get me into my college of choice, but that's where the good parts ended. And, it did matured me a lot. That's why I'm a bit unhappy about the fact that the characters in this second novel seem to get back to their bratty behavior from the begging of book 1. But, what can I say, maybe teenagers do take longer to grow up. I don't remember how long it took me to stop fighting with the other girls.

"Plus, I don't know if I ship Katrik and Gemma. They barely know each other!!
He's an attractive young guy and she's a horny teenager. Really, when you were 16 did you spent a lot of time in getting to know the guy before you kissed him? :P

Hmm least it was a good school I guess. I don't know what I would do if I was forced to attend a girl's school. Not run away but certainly put up a fight!! :)

Ahaha I am 16 now and I most certainly don't go around kissing guys that I don't know!! I can barely talk to them... :D

Aww, you're the shy type, so sweet XD. Well, it's better like that. Kissing boys you don't know doesn't usually turn into an everlasting romance :P.

Ahaha! I guess I am a bit... :) I can imagine it wouldn't! Honestly though I cannot imagine any randoms wanting to kiss me so I think I am all set. :)

90% in:
(view spoiler)[Totally saw that coming: Miss Moore being Circe. There were so many dropped hints regarding this that you would have to be stupid to not notice. really, I wish it would have been less obvious. The second they were in the realms and she knew what the sirens were going to do to Ann they should have realize who she was. Kartik betraying the Rakshana for her was also predictable, and she so did not deserve his help after shoving him away for Simon. (hide spoiler)]
Will finish this tomorrow. :)

Done! This was not that bad of a read actually. The writing was so beautiful, I just wish she would have developed a little time to her characters as well. *sigh*
(view spoiler)[In the end, this book was not so bad, but not good enough to convince me that the last one in the trilogy is worth my time. I'm not going to read 800 pages of beautiful writing if I don't like the story or the characters that much.
I'm happy Gemma decided to leave Simon. She showed a little maturity there, but I have a feeling she's going to be back in her naive state starting book 3. (hide spoiler)]
A good read, but not worth that many pages.

@Tessa I am glad that enjoyed it! The writing is rather pretty, I have to agree. :)

If the characters wouldn't follow the same circle: naive/stupid - tragic happenings - a little more mature and back again I would have considered to read the last book in the series as well. But since that book is longer than the bible and probably teach me even less I decided to give it a skip :) .

Oh, I found that they did that too and it was rather annoying. I borrowed the last book at the same time as Rebel Angels and its 800+ pages. Way too long!!

If you absolutely aren't going to read it and want to know what happens in it (I did this so my curiosity would be sated), I recommend reading Tatiana's review here. It tells you what happens exactly. There are some rather dramatic end twists!

"Sorry, this person isn't accepting friends."
Gosh, must be a rather pretentious secret club where you trade spoilers and stuff XD. Send me a copy of her review on pm if you want to save my soul XD.