i’ve finally finished the eight hundred some pages of The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. And I must say that in the last two days I have felt what I believe to be every possible emotion there is. I almost find myself at a loss for words in the shock that I still feel.We once again join in the adventures of the girls of Spence that we have grown to love. The story once is centered on the magic of the Realms and what Gemma must to with it now that she has bound it to herself. Although I rather enjoyed the underlying storyline of Gemma and Kartik, which is just one of many that concludes this tale.It seems that everyone and everything are against Gemma. She can’t seem to open the portal since Christmas and she no longer feels the magic within herself. She fears that the magic has not chosen her to continue in the Order. The mysterious East Wing is being rebuilt and a masked ball is to be held in its wake. And Gemma has still not seen Kartik, and his whereabouts are also a constant strain on her thoughts.When all else fails Gemma feels she will never return to the realms until a mysterious stone is found in the midst of the East Wing construction. Which turns out to be a secret door in which she has seen in her visions complements of a Miss Wilhelmina Wyatt, former Spence Lady and author of A History of Secret Societies.Once back in the Realms, Gemma cannot deny the changes that are happening around her, but yet she is still not ready to share the power. Gemma must carry around the responsibility of the magic, figure out whom she can trust, try to help her friends and also work toward her debut season! No wonder it took eight hundred pages!Bray does not disappoint in the final chapter of Gemma’s tale. The plot twists where plenty! Felicity was her brash self and Ann as insecure as ever, but in the end these girls surprised me for the better! The writing was detailed and painted vivid pictures even more so than the two previous books. I couldn’t put it down, and now that’s it over I fear I will miss these girls. ( )

Gemma has bound the magic to herself and can no longer enter the realms. When she, Ann and Felicity discover another entryway through the under-development East Wing, their joy in the realms resumes. But soon, Gemma is pressured to make the alliance she promised and the creatures of the realms will not be silenced until she does so.

I was really glad to finish this series (and it better be done now!) but this one daunted me a bit. It is way too long, clocking in around 800 pages, many of which feel unnecessary. Bray spends more time in this one discussing things that feel superfluous to the story. Much of what takes place in the real world seemed to drag on, as the action is almost all occurring in the realms. I was incredibly annoyed with Gemma in this one - she seemed much more ignorant than in the previous books. Her adamant refusal to acknowledge what Pip had become and to demonstrate this to Fee and Ann was incredibly frustrating. I was also rather disappointed with the way everything sorted itself out in the end. Fee and Pip never struck me as lesbians and it didn't seem to fit into the story very well. I thought the revelation of Eugenia as traitor was one twist too many - Circe has clearly been the villain all along; why are we changing that so far into the final book? And I absolutely abhored what happened to Kartik - most bizarre ending for a character I have seen in a long time. I am glad I finished out the series (like I said, there better not be anymore!) but I wish it had ended differently. ( )

Amazing books, all three of them! ( )

Gemma Doyle is the worst kind of unreliable narrator. It's not that she herself is untrustworthy, but that throughout this trilogy, she can't figure out who to trust. As a result, the reader never knows who to trust, or what the rules are for "realms" or for the magic that inhabits them. This is problematic if one agrees (which I do) with the general rule for fantasy writing that the rules for the world that the author has created must be clear and consistent. If neither the reader nor the narrator know the rules or who to trust, the story doesn't hang together very well. At least, it doesn't in this case. Some of the people we initially think are friends become enemies, and then some become friends again, and it is never through actual shifting loyalties, but because Gemma doesn't ask the right questions and rarely takes the time to think things through the reader is never quite sure who's on what side. So although she's the only clearly identified "good guy" in the story, I couldn't help but wish she acted more like the heroine she's supposed to be. ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/j... ( )