Ruby Red Review

I finished reading Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier a few months ago, and fell in love with it. The plot is fairly simple, but the characters and story are both so engaging that I had to go to Amazon as soon as I finished it and purchase the sequel.


Ruby Red Summary:
Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!


Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Ruby Red Review:
This book was originally translated from German, so I was worried the translation would leave the writing feeling a bit choppy, but the translation was very well done. Gwen is a really great character, and Gideon is a character readers will love to hate in the beginning, but be rooting for Gwen to end up with in the end.

What struck me as so great about this book is that the plot is very simple, but the writing and the characters carry the reader to the end of the book. Now that I've finished the sequel, I'm really looking forward to reading Emerald Green when it comes out in October. The one thing I didn't really care for about the first two books is that between the first two books, only 2-3 weeks pass, which feels odd. So much is packed into those couple of weeks. It also makes the romance feel a little less real, but overall I still thought it was excellent.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of YA time travel novels, or anyone who enjoys a good romance.