I agree. This book is convoluted, dreary, dull and disappointing. I could empathize with Gemma’s confusion about whom to share the magic of the realm with. Gemma and her friends are sometimes irritating, but in the first two books of this series, the desire to know what happens next was sufficient to let me tolerate their immaturity. Unfortunately in the last book, everything that happens simply made me wish to have it all end soon. It would have been better if Gemma could have trusted Kartik completely. Kartik could have given her some guidance on how to use the magic, given that he is least interested in wanting to use it for his own purposes and given that Gemma seems too immature to handle all the magic on her own. That would have made the book less bleak. Also, the author should have made a sharp distinction between spirits who are in the thrall of the dark forces (like Euginea, Amar)because of the sacrifices they made and those who in some sense are willing to become corrupted in order to obtain power like Circe. I had enjoyed the first two books of the series. But, reading this book made it all seem to have been a waste of time.

this is a school project that i had to do but i do lovr your books and cant wait to read the fourth one if there is one

Enjoy,
Lilly-Anne

1. Fall For You- Second Hand Serenade
2. Lover Dearest- Marianas Trench
3. Your Guardian Angel- Second Hand Serenade
4. Down- Jason Walker

ZENO: independence theme was definitely pushed way too far. You can be independent and still love someone and be happy with them forever. gemma might as well be up in solitary confinement cause now she is soo alone. human beings are very social indeed. that is why we need friends, family, husbands, wives, pets, even strangers. hummanity cannot exist if we did not socialize with people and move to new york. maybe libba is trying to say that although life has a stupendis amount of hardships, you can still start over and try to pick yourself up and brush your shoulders. after all, that is exactly what she did right?/ WRONG!!! she, or gemma, will never be able to start “fresh”. no one can.we have memory locked up in out brains and we will remember stuff. scratches go away, but scars dont. and i am so happy you asked that Q. why cant a women be independent AND be with the love of their life? gemma could have been with them three ladies, but no. she though of kartik and decided to stay living on earth. she could have easily ate them stupid berries and forget all her trouble, but no she loved kartik. and for what. for him to be turned into a tree. that flabergasting.

KAJAL: i like your endings by the way lol. and folwson should have been turned into the tree instead. HE had nothing left, not gemma. she had so much. kartik is definitely the more mysterious one. that is one reason why many of us girls love him. even though he makes us mad when he runs off, ignores gemma, or any of that, he still has that mysteriousness that makes even the most proudest of girls want him.

GEMMA: lol i kept flipping through pages looking for his name. its like even my eyes loved when it say his name. i would skim through the pages and soon as my eyes see his name, my hand stops and i must read what happens. the cave of sighs was so perfect. all that was needed was for it to be real, and not some dream. and i loved it when gemma gave him magic and told him he could do anything. and instead of him turning stones into rubies, all he wanted to do is kiss her and be with her. he did not need magic for that. well maybe he does now since he’s stuck in a tree!! and ur right, she was not the one to agree with society rules which would make it even more fitting for her and kartik to be together. kartik dying and gemma running away is so not her. she would have eloped with him….just like the author did with her husband.

ASHLEIGH: me too. i re read all the romantic parts too and i cried even on that. i kept thinking that this was it. after i read these parts with them still alive, there will be no more them alive, but only she alive.

that is so true to whoever said this (i cant remember who) that if gemma was in the tree, he would have tried all his might to somehow get her back. for her to accept him in the tree and move to new york is strictly and plainly retarded!! he loved her to death. which is so perfect because kartik was a rough dude. he has been through a lot with amar dying, his dreams of gemma dying, being tortured by fowlson, fowlson telling gemma how he had her as a weak spot, rummaging through london and england to find food. he also felt alone in the world and so did gemma. they could be alone together, which would make them not alone! it was definitely embarrassing for kartik to have to go through fowlson telling gemma everything. that probably hurt his manhood. men need their manhood to stay alive. a women knowing his weaknesses makes him feel less protective and more vulnerable. they like the feeling of being the hero to their girl’s lives. they want her to feel safe around them and for her not to find a single fault within him that would make her think any less of him.
also, someone said this too. how gemma did not like or prefer the life of married people. she did not want to be tied down. well it all depends on WHO she marries. kartik would not tie her down at all. and everytime marriage was brought up in the book, gemma thought of kartik. she would have loved to marry him. and kartik definitely would have loved to marry her. you can tell by his good dreams about her. the henna on her hands and feet, the bangles, the sari, the everything. he wanted to marry her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and his bad dreams were sad. when he said that he could see amar in a distance and nomatter how much he ran, he could not keep up and then she died. that is almost exactly how it happened. in the winterlands, he was calling after gemma when she toughed the tree. he was chasing amar, but could not get closer. and she pretty much died (mentally). in order for her NOT to DIE, he sacrificed himself for her and yea. yes it was noble of him and cute that he felt that this was his destiny and yadda yadda yadda. but i did like the ending. i just dont like that it was the ending ending. if she comes out with a fourth book. fowlson should make gemma take him into the realms because he is sad and no one wants him anymore. in order for him to be closer to sahira in any way, he would have to be in the realms. fowlson could give himself to the tree and the tree could let go of kartik. and him and gemma could stay in new york and be married and have so much fun and romance!
btw…that is grows how felicity is gay….ewww sorry but i did not like that part. but it did make sense why she valued freedom. her father rapes her and she is either gay or bi. of course she would never to be tied down and forced to do what ever socity wants her to do but still. gay?? come on now