Title: Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2)
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Books 2006
Genre: YA
Pages: 592
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; YA; Semi-Charmed Challenge -- Trilogy read
How I Got It: I own it!
Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy—spending time with her friends in the city, attending balls in fancy gowns with plunging necklines, and dallying with the handsome Lord Denby. Yet amid these distractions, her visions intensify—visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened that only the realms can explain.The lure is strong, and soon Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world that Gemma takes 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. Kartik is back, desperately insisting to Gemma that she must bind the magic, lest colossal disaster befall her. Gemma is willing to comply, for this would bring her face-to-face with her late mother's greatest friend, now Gemma's foe—Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task. . . .
I think this was a much stronger book than A Great and Terrible Beauty. We finally see Gemma beginning to grow up and find her own identity. I hated that she bowed to so many others in the first book. Her defiance as the Priestess is awesome. Ann is still annoying as ever and Felicity is still as conceited as ever. I loved seeing the changes in the Realm after the destruction of the Runes. Plus we get to meet some great new characters. The Gorgon was most definitely my favorite. And the mystery of who Circe is pushed the story along at a great pace. My only complaint: I want more Kartik!
Gemma Doyle
