The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

This is the concluding book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. In The Sweet Far Thing we follow Gemma and her two dear friends Felicity and Anne as they continue on their journeys through the Realms and into the winterland. Kartik has vanished leaving Gemma to wonder what has happened to him and if he is still safe. The construction continues at Spence Academy in the rebuilding of the wing that burned years ago leaving the founder, Mrs. Eugenia Spence, dead. Gemma must discern who among her acquaintances can truly be trusted as there is a huge web of lies being woven all around her. She doesn't know if she can even trust her own thoughts anymore. With the help of her friends and those she comes to rely upon she must defeat the evil within the winterlands that mean to unleash the magic and open the realms leaving no barrier between the mortal world and themselves. Can she make the choices necessary and what will the cost be?

I have listened to the entire Gemma Doyle trilogy on unabridged audiobook and am writing this review on both the audiobook and the novel itself. First on the audio and the narrator. I absolutely loved the story as told by the story teller, as she truly was a storyteller and added such emotion and zest to the story. She did a great job of varying her voice for each character to the point that I didn't even need the written side notes of "Felicity said" or "Anne exclaimed" because I could recognize the voice without it. Much more entertaining and easy to listen to than other audiobooks I have had and I highly recommend it. I enjoy audiobooks while I'm cleaning or driving but still love my real books in my hand when I have the time to sit and enjoy them (with 4 kids that seems a rarity now).

As far as The Sweet Far Thing the novel, I loved it just as much as the first two which is something that doesn't happen very often! It had the adventure and the action and the romance with a great build up to the climax and an ending that left me longing for the characters to still be with me but yet so very happy that things were wrapped up with such finality. No loose threads here. I got to 'watch' as Gemma has finally grown into the woman that can stand on her own confidently with no regrets and know that she has a place in this world all on her own.

The lands that are painted for us in this novel are vivid and full of life. I can picture each area of the realms and the creatures that inhabit these places. Libba Bray's trilogy is definitely going to be at the top of my list of YA series to recommend. It was so tastefully written from start to finish. Only at the end of the 3rd book as things come to a climax was there anything that might be questionable for a girl to read depending on what you find questionable but in the case that you are reading this review because you have a daughter that wants to read the series..... Here is a little elaboration only for the purpose of informing those that would want to be informed, skip this part if you are an adult looking for yourself and don't need the heads up.

****************SPOILER ALERT******************

There are a couple of instances (3 I think) between Gemma and Kartik that get a little heated with heavy kissing and he grabs her breasts while they are both fully clothed.
We find out toward the end of book 3 that Felicity and Pippa are gay and in love with eachother (shocker for me) and Felicity ends up moving to Paris where she has heard there are "others like her" so that she may fall in love again.
The language picks up a little more in the end too with at least one use of B***h and A** among a few other things.
And... of course the entire series is written about magic and death and other worlds. Gemma does not believe in God as Christianity sees Him, she doesn't exactly know what she believes but there is a lot of talk of 'gods'.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Imagine Earth has been taken over little by little by alien beings that implant themselves into our human bodies and take over our lives as if they are us. They do it slowly so nobody will notice, then by the time we do notice they are already everywhere and drawing attention to yourself as a human will only make them take you down as well. They are peaceful beings that are trying to salvage the planet that they find so beautiful. They mean no harm to humans, only to fix what we have taken for granted and destroyed. These aliens are tiny silvery beings that implant themselves into the spine of human bodies and after they are inside it leaves a silver ring that shines in the eyes of anyone that has been changed. This is how the remaining humans can tell who is human or not.

Melanie Stryder has been captured during the rebellion and has been implanted with the soul named Wanderer. Upon waking up Wanderer can hear Melanie talking to her, but Mel is not supposed to be there still. This is where the struggle begins. Melanie is protecting the ones she loves and that is very hard when the enemy is literally inside your head, she must protect her every thought. We follow Melanie and Wanderer as they set out to follow clues in Mel's mind that will lead them to her brother and Jared, the man she loves. Wanderer has grown sympathetic to the humans and their plight, but the Seeker that is assigned to Wanderer to find information on the remaining humans will not let up and is determined to figure out what is being hidden in Melanie's mind.

I will start by saying that the first part of the book is hard to follow the first time you read it. It is science fiction and is giving you a background to work with and you understand it SO much more if you read the book a second time which I highly recommend (loved it even more the second time!). Once you get through understanding the invasion and takeover part and you get into the story and struggle between Wanderer and Melanie it rolls much more smoothly.

The complicated love triangles that are tearing at the characters really drew me in and definitely made me pick sides. The people, relationships and surroundings were all so believably written that you forget this is an alien story. There is so much that goes on in this novel that is quite long but after getting through those first few chapters I was completely sucked in. I never found myself wanting to quit or willing myself to continue on just to find out the end. I enjoyed this book so much and really hope that Stephenie continues on and makes companion books.

I really liked the Twilight saga, but this is so far beyond that. This book is so well written and truly showcases Stephenie Meyer's writing much more so than Twilight did. This story is so different from anything I have read before and I highly recommend it to all of my "reader" friends.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle returns in the fantastic second book of Libba Bray's trilogy. Gemma is still at Spence Academy and has her dear friends Felicity and Ann with her. In this second installment Gemma must find a way to bind the magic in the realms to keep evil from take reign over the world as we know it. She has the help of the loyal Indian boy Kartik that she is attracted to, but knows it would be forbidden in society and in her family.
During christmas break the girls must all head home for visits but that still leaves them all close enough to see each other often allowing them to journey into the realms in search of the way to bind the magic and to help their friend Pippa who is in limbo left in the realms.
Outside of the magic of the realms, Gemma has caught the eye of a very prominent young man in London society, Simon Middleton. She is quite fond of her and begins courting her right away with his mother's approval of Gemma driving him even more than his own desire. Gemma is walking a dangerous line that could leave her exposed and left cast out. The magic is making her weak and ill and she's having a hard time hiding it any longer, but she must finish the job she started, she is the Hope.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I can say with great certainty that the sequel was as good if not better than the first book! I am thoroughly enjoying this series and highly recommend it. I can't wait to start The Sweet Far Thing (book 3).

Gemma is an absolute delight to follow along through the story. She is strong when she needs to be and humble when the need calls. She is a smart and thoughtful character that makes the reader fall in love with her and her world of magical realms. This series is so creative and so well written that I can picture the realms and the creatures that live there as if I've seen the pictures on the page. The magic in the stories is not overwhelming or abused by the girls, though they are tempted a few times. They are responsible with the task they've been given.

I am usually not a fan of "magical" types of books or series but this series has really taken me in. Libba Bray has done a wonderful job with this series especially once you learn that she's a Texan and doesn't live anywhere near London! (not to mention Victorian Era London!) I'll be moving on to read the third book in the series later this week and hope to read Ms. Bray's 'Going Bovine' after that. I know it's completely different from the Gemma series, but I love Libba's writing style and hope that I will love it as much as I love Gemma!

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Lucinda, or Luce as she is referred to throughout the book, is dropped off by her parents at a reform school for teens, Sword & Cross, which is an old abandoned church that has been transformed into this school. It is filled with plenty of misguided teens that ended up there one way or another, but Luce is most concerned about one boy in particular, Daniel. He looks eerily familiar but she can't quite place him. When their eyes meet from across a cemetary during a gathering he smiles as if he knows her as well and Luce can't look away... until he "flips her the bird", gives her a nasty look and turns away. Maybe she's just crazy after all.

Next comes Cam, the extremely good looking guy that is quite taken by Luce and seems to find her no matter where she is and always has the most perfect thing to say or do. He is just too perfect and she doesn't know why she is drawn to Daniel when she has Mr. Perfect swooning over her. She feels so guilty about it, but at the same time knows she can't have a relationship with anyone right now knowing how terribly her last relationship ended. A Fire, a death and Luce with complete amnesia to anything that took place during that evening. Travis is dead and she was shipped off to Sword & Cross under suspicion of the police as being a pyromaniac. She doesn't know what happened and until she figures it out she's not taking any more chances.

There were quite a few places where I found myself skimming through paragraphs of details and descriptions that seemed a little pointless. Constantly hearing descriptions of surroundings and what Luce is seeing got a little old. I wanted to know what was going on, not what was around them.
I found it to be the cliche teenage girl story of 2 gorgeous guys both wanting her, one being the perfect good boy and one being the obvious bad boy. I found Luce to be an Okay protagonist to follow. It took me a bit to finish this book, it seemed to drag along in some points. I liked Luce and Daniel, but there was never quite enough information about Cam. He seemed to always be there, but we never really get to know him.
In all I kind of felt like it was a puzzle that was never quite fully put together. Characters introduced in the very last pages that were apparently always involved in an attempt at a twist but it sort of fell short for me.

Honey Wheat bread or Sandwich rolls

Here is the recipe I use for honey wheat bread. We love it... You can do it in your bread machine using the dough setting or do it in a kitchen aid (that's what I use). This will make one regular sized loaf.


Add to bowl...
2 3/4 cups unbleached flour (all purpose would be fine too)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 packet of yeast
Take a minute to toss all of the dry ingredients together before adding the wet...
1/4 cup honey
1 beaten egg
1 1/4 cup warm milk (not so warm that it will cook the egg!)
2 Tbsp melted butter (butter is much better than margarine)

Turn on the bread machine to the dough setting and follow machines directions. OR
Turn on Kitchen aid to 4 and let it mix and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It is a very sticky dough when mixing, it will not form into a ball in the machine. Once you turn it onto the flour it is very easy to handle.  (or you could leave it in the bread machine for the entire time... I just like the shape of the bread in a traditional loaf pan)

Once it's done flip onto a floured surface and lightly roll it with your hands until it's the size and shape of your bread pan. Grease the bread pan and place dough in it to rise until doubled. I find the best way to do this is in the microwave with a steamy cup of water to prevent drying out and rise faster.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. You may need to cover the bread with foil after the first 20 minutes to keep it from browning too much on the top. If your bread pan is aluminum then you will want to place it on a preheated cookie sheet instead of directly on the rack to prevent the bottom from burning. After removing from the oven brush the loaf with another 2 TBsp of melted butter.

An Alternative...

When you flip it out of the mixing bowl or bread machine lightly roll it out with a rolling pin or press it out with your hands to about 3/4 inch thickness. Find a glass or circle shaped cutter about the size of a hamburger bun and cut circles out placing them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until golden on top and bottom and springy when touched. These are perfect sandwich rolls. Yum.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle is 16 and living in India with her parents. She wishes desperately that she lived in England where she could be going to a proper school like a civilized teenage girl. Her mother believes firmly that she should not go back to live there because she is against all that they stand for in preparing girls to walk the straight and narrow and answer to their husbands every whim. After a disagreement while out in a marketplace Gemma runs off angrily, during her moments apart from her mother she gets sucked into a 'dream' of some sort that takes her over. In this dream her mother is being followed and after being caught she pulls a knife from her bodice and plunges it into her chest. Gemma awakens to find herself still lying in the street with an Indian boy questioning her, but it doesn't take long before that very dream begins to unravel right in front of her, ending in her mother's death.

Gemma is shipped off to the very prep school her mother loathed and she learns all too quickly why her mother was opposed to such a situation. Young girls can be harsh and cruel, especially when there is a new girl and she's in their territory. Gemma must try to fit in as much as she can while knowing something is terribly wrong with her, how did she see her mother's death before it actually happened? If the others find out she will be ridiculed, but it happens again at school and she is starting to think she can't hide it. Then there is the young boy from the street in India, he has followed her to the school and is watching her, leaving cryptic messages and telling her to stop what she's doing but the mystery of The Order is too powerful for her to ignore. Will it also be too powerful for her to overcome?

I enjoyed this book on audio download. I cannot comment on the readability of this novel, but I can tell you that listening to it through my ipod held my attention completely. The person that told the story did a wonderful job. The spiritual nature of this book builds so gradually that by the end it truly reaches a climax and has an ending that doesn't leave you hanging. This is the first book in the Gemma Doyle series and I half expected that I would be left frustrated at the end like other YA series that don't give you a real ending between each installment. I was very pleased with this one.

I love watching the relationships build in the story and seeing how the young girls interacted. It was very real without being cruel or harsh. With this novel taking place in the victorian era there was no issue at all with language, violence or sexual situations since those are all things that were avoided by young ladies in that period. It was not written prudishly or on some moral high ground, just realistic to the period. I love reading a good YA book that is NOT centered around hormone crazy teens, sex and violence! This was just the thing for me. I'm sure that I would have loved reading a hard copy of this book just as much as I loved listening to it on my ipod.

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Chasing Brooklyn is the story of Brooklyn and Nico, two people overcoming the grief of losing a loved one. Lucca was Nico brother and Brooklyn long time boyfriend and an all around great guy that came to a sudden and early demise in a terrible car accident in which his best friend Gabe was driving and survived. In the beginning of the book it is the one year anniversary of Lucca's death, and everyone is taking it quite hard, especially Gabe who was found at home after having over-dosed and now is gone also. Brooklyn is closing down and Nico sees her but doesn't know what to do because it's even harder on him since his parents still haven't moved on with the death of their son either. Suddenly, a whole year after his death, Lucca begins to show up in the dreams of his brother and eventually makes himself present when Nico is away too. His message to Nico... "Help Brooklyn". How? What's wrong with her? She won't talk to him so how is he supposed to know how to help? Will Nico help break down Brooklyn's walls and help her to live again or will the walls that are coming down on him keep them apart?

Chasing Brooklyn is an absolutely beautiful book written in verse as a daily journal of two people dealing with grief and loss. There are so many facets to their lives and relationships with all of the people around them and Schroeder does a great job of showing the feeling and the haze that falls upon them as they are grieving and trying to break through. Living with nightmares and trying to run away from reality is pretty much defining Brooklyn and Nico, fear of living lives again because the person they each loved more than anything no longer has life.

This book is not action packed, it is just a simple and beautifully written look at human emotion and healing and Schroeder did a fantastic job at hitting those emotions straight to the readers heart with the style she writes in. I've never read a book this long written in verse and on top of that it kept me spellbound from beginning to end.