9/04/2016

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

I never thought that after the first two beautiful books it could get any better. But it did. The third and last of the Ruby Red trilogy is full of answers, entertainment, romance, loyalty, friendship and the perfect story to make a rainy day bright and sunny. The time-traveling between the present and the past combined with some fantastic fantasy elements set in London is again well done by the author. And in the end, the author not only gives all the important questions a logical answer but also some very stunning ones.

Emerald Green

by Kerstin Gier
Ruby Red Trilogy #3
Publisher Macmillan on August 10, 2013
Genre Young Adult
Pages 464
Format Hardcover
Source Library

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶½

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. And finally, Gwen uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.

Story

Gwen has finally found a way to get the answers she needs, to put the big time travel puzzle together, and that not every good looking boy is really a charming one. And when her meetings with her Grandfather make it very clear to her, that the Count´s plan isn´t exactly how the present time-traveling society thinks, it is on her, to bring everything to a good end. And during that, she also learns that she is way more than only the Ruby and final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve.

Style

Emerald Green is written from Gwen´s point of view and has a lot of surprises and new characters to offer. The timeframe of the trilogy is around two weeks, and the story continues almost seamlessly. Again, the book starts with a prolog in which Lucy and Paul have their turn, then jumps into the present of Gwen and Gideon before the story is closed with an epilog at Lucy´s and Paul´s new place.

Kerstin Gier´s writing style is fresh, clear, and very charming. A lot of humor comes through the lines, a smart and lovely protagonist shows the reader that she´s learned quite a lot since the first book and the figure of Xemerius is so much fun. The book starts with a prolog, goes to the present of the story, and at the end of the book back to the past in an epilog over Lucy and Paul.

Hilarious scenes and funny dialogues round up the picture and give the reader its very own pleasure. Okay, there are some serious dialogues as well, but the way how Xemerius talks to Gwen and his comments about everyone and everything is one hell of fun. 

Characters

Within a short period of time, the protagonist has changed quite a bit. Yes, she is still sixteen years old and knows how to have fun, even in the moments when she is actually supposed to be quiet and act as told. But that isn´t how Gwen does things. She needs to know more than only “because the Count told us so”. 

The author has once again created some lovely and beautiful characters. But there are some others as well. The bitchy cousin who envies Gwen for what she is, who is jealous that she isn´t any longer in the center of attention or the puffed-up Aunt who can´t cope with the fact that not she has born the gene carrier but her younger sister. Or the formal butler, who seems to be just in the right place at the right time when Gwen needs him.

And then there is the creature Xemerius. He tops them all. He is fun, says comical things, has a huge variety of words to say, and is an even bigger help for Gwen when she is in need of it.

Conclusion

Emerald Green is from my point of view the best of this entire trilogy. The author answers almost all the open questions the reader and Gwen still had from the first two books and brings even a lot more into the light. And the big surprises that await not only the protagonist but also the reader give this third book the perfect end.

Happy reading

Kerstin Gier

Kerstin Gier, born in 1966, is working as a freelance writer since 1995, and already had huge success with her first books huge success. Meanwhile, she wrote countless novels for grownups and YA, which are regularly on bestseller lists. Her Ruby Red Trilogy Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green became world bestsellers and were filmed with famous actors for the big screen. The DeLIA-Award winner lives with her family nearby Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.

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