Review: Emerald Green (Ruby Red #3) by Kerstin Gier

Release date: October 4, 2013
Author info: Website | Facebook
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 464
Format: Ebook
Source: Purchased
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is. She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

This stunning conclusion picks up where Sapphire Blue left off, reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

I started on this series way behind everyone else, but I believe I can honestly say it's one of my favorites. Because the three Ruby Red books take place over just a couple of weeks, they feel fast paced and immediate. Not only that, but I quickly fell in love with Gwen, Lesley, and everyone else involved. It's such a fun series that's surprisingly complicated and handles time travel in such an interesting way.

Beginning just after the end of Sapphire Blue, Emerald Green starts with heartbreak. Gwen has just learned that Gideon has likely been using her for his own gains and she, in regular teenage fashion, believes it to be the end of the world. But Gwen has larger problems, knowing she can't trust Count Saint-Germain as they grow closer to completing the circle--the repercussions of which no one will tell her. In a conclusion that will leave you guessing and enthralled, the Ruby Red trilogy comes to a close with a bang.

Gwen is almost annoyingly overdramatic, but there's just something so charming about her. Even though she's wallowing in sadness and crying at the drop of the hat, she's still determined to figure out what's going on at the Lodge. She's smart and fast-acting to a fault at times. And she just has the best comebacks--I'm always laughing out loud at what she says and her reactions.

We're still treated to the lovely friendship between Gwen and Lesley, which is just as strong as ever, and Lesley plays an important part in helping Gwen--and that's so refreshing to see a best friend just as present, even when the heroine gets her special ability. And, I believe I said this before, but Gideon still doesn't feel fully fleshed out--especially in comparison to Gwen and Lesley (a lot of the characters really). There a couple of moments where he shows some real personality, but for the most part he's just there to cause Gwen grief and to be the handsome love interest. It's not the biggest bother in the world, but it would be so awesome if out heroine had a hero who rivals or challenges her in some way.

Nonetheless, this series is ridiculously fun to read. From bouncing back and forth in time to Gwen's crazily funny lines, you'll enjoy yourself all the way through. No, it's not perfect--and I don't think any book in the series is--but that doesn't diminish the entertainment factor. It's also an interesting take on time travel that keeps you on your toes. Even as it's imperfect, if you like time travel and laughing, I completely recommend this series.

About the author:

Kerstin Gier started writing women's novels in 1995 when she found herself with a fresh teaching diploma in hand but without steady work. She is best known in the United States for her Ruby Red Trilogy, and her first book, Männer und andere Katastrophen (Men and Other Disasters), was recently made into a movie starring actress and singer Heike Makatsch. Her subsequent books have enjoyed great popularity in Germany as well. Her novel Das unmoralische Sonderangebot (The Immoral Deal) won the 2005 Best German-Language Romance Novel Prize from the Association of German-Language Romance Writers (DeLiA).

Gier, born in 1966, now works full-time as a freelance writer in a village near Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, where she lives with her husband, son, two cats, and three chickens.