A Great and Sad Beauty
The first book A Great and Terrible Beauty in this series is irrevocably my favorite book. I felt the second book Rebel Angels was somewhat lacking. It was a great story but not such a great novel. The Sweet Far Thing is my second favorite. (*Spoiler Alert*) It is, of course, sad that Kartik dies. The reader is left in mourning. This I think is necessary. Truthfully I was saddened but also satisfied by the ending. Had Gemma and Kartik married and had the happily ever after, etc. (which would have proved interesting if not impossible in that era), I would have come away from this trilogy (sadly) even more saddened. It would have been too easy. Neither the second nor the third would have matched up to my great opinion of the first.
Some (if not all) fans may be screaming to wrench my hair out after me saying "it's necessary" for Kartik to die. To make my point short, to end such a beautiful story, it was necessary for the hero to make a sacrifice and in this the reader learns the trueness of their love.

Perfect Ending
I love this series and the last book is no exception. It is quite long but I was glad for the extra pages as I wanted to spend as much time as possible in this fictitious world. I am a sucker for happy endings so I was upset to hear that perhaps this wasn't going to be a fairy tale ending. I even put reading the book off, nervous that the end would ruin the whole series for me. Luckily I decided to read it, and I am definitely glad. While everything may not end up peachy keen, I think it helps to deliver a subtle message in the book that most YA novels are lacking...*hint - has to do with feminism.* I loved this series and The Sweet Far Thing was a great final installment.

Mixed Feelings Abound
To get one thing out of the way, like a previous commenter, I read YA novels as an adult because I find "adult" literature to be over saturated with promiscuity and explicit sex/violence/drug use. I am interested in a good story, not cheap thrills. I got a little wary when Kartik and Gemma were getting more alone time, but thankfully Ms. Bray did not veer into Harlequin territory. For that, I thank her. As for themes of incest, self-mutilation, drug use, and homosexuality; these things have been present since ancient times. The fact that they were so thoroughly hushed up during the Victorian era does not mean they didn't exist, and I think Ms. Bray introduced them in a consistent and thoughtful manner.

I plowed through this book in four days, so I'm certain I must have enjoyed it. However, I remember my overarching feeling while reading was that of frustration. Ann and Felicity were so selfish and petulant for most of the book, unable to spare any compassion or thought for Gemma's feelings, that I found myself hoping Gemma would just tell them off and go on her merry way. I know Felicity had her reasons but she was particularly odious right up until the last 100 pages or so.

I don't have the anger the younger readers might have over the Kartik storyline because I was never that invested in it. I found that burgeoning romance to be a bit gimmicky and a way to shoehorn the issues of race, caste, and sexual repression into the novel. On the other hand, I never expected Gemma and Simon to end up together, but discovering that Simon was a pawn in someone else's game seemed to steal a lot of the weight from the second novel (Rebel Angels, which I enjoyed very much). It also seemed like an afterthought, given the reason why Gemma split with Simon. If he was really recruited for that purpose, shouldn't he have given the right answer to continue the ruse and gain the Rakshana's end?

More than anything else, I had a problem with the pacing of this book. There were numerous drawn-out passages of "parties" in a moldering castle where the girls always danced in circles while Gemma felt left out, then when Gemma did something like travel all the way from London to Spence into the realms up the mountain to the well of eternity, it would be covered in one paragraph! That got a bit confusing, as one minute Gemma would be in bed and the next talking to Circe and I'd have to re-read to figure out what the heck happened. I had a tough time believing Gemma wouldn't realize Circe could use magic to escape from the well after everything, especially when Circe pressed her repeatedly to say she gave the magic of her own will. The endless waiting for Gemma to make a decision about what to do in the realms was quite annoying as well. She never really did decide, either, it all just sort of happened at the end.

I was ok with Ann and Felicity's endings, they seemed somewhat believable. I was glad Ann grew a spine in time to seize her chance, and Felicity has the fortune and force of personality to make her way. Gemma's ending is the one that bothered me. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Seemed a little cheesy and overwrought. Feminism hooray! All the "corseted minds" stuff seemed pretty forced and Disney-fied. One minute she's looking forward to her debut and altering Grandma's mind for the extra-fancy dress, the next she's done a complete 180.

One final observation, I agree with the reader who noted that the girls got away with far too much. The way Gemma was acting she would have been packed off to a Sanatorium long before the halfway mark. The girls were very closely watched when it served the story, then sent alone into a gypsy camp full of men when that was useful.

I feel like they didn't give Ms. Bray enough time to prune and fine-tune. I'd rather have a great read than one that met the deadline.

Imaginative, wonderful conclusion
I enjoyed the final installment of the Gemma Doyle trilogy very much. I didn't mind the length at all, I savored every minute of it. Gemma has definitely become one of my favorite literary heroines; her independent spirit and desire to do things differently was refreshing during a time when women weren't often taught to have a voice. The Sweet Far Thing, like its predecessors, was once again magical and enchanting, but incredibly heart-wrenching toward the end. Overall, it was a beautiful conclusion to the trilogy, and one of my all-times favorites.

Great ending to seris, but very sad. :(
I didn't like the ending to this book for one reason. And that reason made me so sad. Kartik dies! How dare that be the end. I hated that. Yeah I know he died for Gemma and that it was true love. But why couldn't they have made it Felicity or Ann who dies? I did really love the travel to the end. It was filled with ups and downs. You learn more about the realms. This book is twice the romance, twice the advanture and twice the magic. To each his own magic! Fans of the previous books will love the ending to the Gemma Doyle seris. I was dissapointed in the end, but this is still one of my favorite books! People who love Harry Potter and people who love the Twilight saga will love this book. Because the Gemma Doyle seris is a cross between the two, Harry Potter because of the magic and Twilight because of the romance. A Sweet Far Thing has many different twists and suprises. Even though the ending is tragic this a great ending to the seris!