Sad, yet satisfying conclusion

Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy, in my opinion, is a bittersweet masterpiece. Not only is the prose flawless and the plot suspenseful, but the characters are so memorable and flawed that they are like best friends. Gemma Doyle is a hero that all teens (or any female, for that matter) can relate to, regardless of age or circumstance. While uniquely gifted and strong, Gemma still feels apart from the world, a rebel angel in the midst of Victorian propriety, left to wonder where she belongs or if she belongs anywhere. In The Sweet Far Thing, the final installment in Libba Bray’s series, Gemma must fight to restore order to the realms, and if she succeeds, the cost, though she knows not what it is, will be dear. Her motives challenged by people in the realms and out (even her best friends, Felicity and Ann), Gemma fights to discover who she can trust to help her heal the wounds and the ancient grudges in the realms once and for all. To further her angst and confusion, Gemma is still under the spell of the mysterious Kartik, who she grows more and more attracted to, despite the fact that it is forbidden for an English lady to fall in love with an Indian. Plagued by nightmares of his own, Kartik’s affections wax and wane, as he struggles between the love he feels and the purpose he knows is inevitable. Don’t expect a happy ending from this novel, but be prepared to laugh, to cry, and to basically swell with all sorts of emotion as you relate to Gemma as she struggles to fulfill her purpose and sets to the task of discovering who she is. This novel is a long read, running around 800 pages, but it is well worth the time. This series is destined to become one of my favorites, and it is likely that I will read all three of them again.