The novel focuses on the life of Doreen Lowe, a junior law associate who lives in Manhattan with her father Max and three ghosts. Yep, you read that correctly, I did say ghosts – because Doreen is struggling to balance her personal needs and dreams with the ghosts of her father’s past.

Willow is born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (more commonly known as Brittle Bones disease) and after a disastrous vacation to Disney World her father Sean meets with an attorney. The lawsuit they are encouraged to file is one of wrongful birth – suggesting that Sean and Charlotte (the mother) should have been made aware earlier on in her pregnancy that Willow suffered from this life-threatening condition. The fly in the ointment? Charlotte’s OB is also her best friend! The story is based around the lawsuit and the devastating effect it has on Charlotte’s relationship with Piper (the OB), Sean, Amelia (her eldest daughter) and Willow.

I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the first; maybe a part of me didn’t like to read stories that made Disneyland feel more like a normal business than a place where you can check your cares and worries at the door and immerse yourself in the magic!

I was drawn in to the story from the start – and the many twists and turns made it a satisfying read. For my UK readers you will understand when I say this would make a perfect ITV drama mini-series!

Libba Bray pens an intriguing and suspenseful tale in A Great and Terrible Beauty and even throws in a hint of passion (not too much – this is a Young Adult novel after all!). I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be on the look out for the other two novels in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy.

Alexandra Fuller is quoted on the cover of this book as saying that Bachrach is “one of the writers [she's] ever read” and I think I’d have to agree with her. This book is probably not a good one to read in public, I got quite a few strange looks as I was sitting there giggling away