EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › The Sweet Far Thing

Cover of The Sweet Far Thing

The Sweet Far Thing

819 pages

A dark, enchanting collision of strict societal expectations and wild, perilous magic.

What it feels like

This atmospheric fantasy balances the rigid, corseted world of a London debut with the wild, untamed danger of an enchanted realm. The mood is foreboding and tense, steeped in the shadowy halls of a boarding school and the heavy burden of dark magic. As the narrative unfolds at a brisk pace, it explores the emotional weight of shifting friendships, the grief of lost parents, and the struggle to find one's true role amidst warring secret factions. The prose captures both the stifling manners of high society and the intoxicating lure of supernatural power. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave coming-of-age stories where intense bonds of friendship are tested by perilous magic and dark secrets.

Mood
  • darkly enchanted
  • tense
  • mysterious
  • shadowy
Tone
  • dramatic
  • foreboding
  • earnest
Pace
brisk
Themes
coming of age · burden of power · shifting friendships · societal expectations
The writing
Atmospheric and dramatic, balancing the rigid manners of high society with the wild danger of dark magic.
The arc
Moves from a tense navigation of newfound power and societal pressures to a high-stakes confrontation with destiny and fractured bonds.
Who it's for
Readers who love shadowy boarding school settings mixed with dark, high-stakes magical realms and intense friendship dynamics.
Content notes
  • murder of a parent
  • substance addiction

About the book

IT HAS BEEN A YEAR OF CHANGE since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father alaudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.From the Hardcover edition.

Description from Open Library.

Books like The Sweet Far Thing

See why they match