A review by bibliophile_jpeg
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

5.0

I cannot believe this trilogy isn't rated 5 stars, it changed my LIFE. I don't even remember the first time I've read it or how many times since. Libba Bray seriously was gifted by the gods for this saga, and at the time, I don't think there was anything else like it. In fact, I still haven't found another author that gave me the warm, urgent, panicked, chilled, fierce, and melancholy feelings at all once that the Gemma Doyle series gave me. I'm also not big on period pieces, but Bray's description of 19th century England and all of the etiquette and comforts involved, it felt like I had been drifted away, homesick for a time I'd never even lived in. The connection that Bray builds between her characters and her readers is just amazing, and years later, I still feel pity and pride for the fictional girls. This book seriously swept me up, wrapped me in colorful Indian scarves, threw me into the torrential downpour of old England, pushed me through a portal into another magical realm, and sent me home knowing that it was, in fact, NOT a dream. I would pay huge money to read this series again for the first time.