Ruby Red Book

"Ready for the next adventure, Princess?"
"Ready when you are," she said softly.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Kerstin Gier fan and to be honest my main motivation to reread this book was to make sure that more people become aware of it. At the beginning of the year I made 2020 my "German speaking Authors Year" and decided to give a special shout-out to rather unknown (German/Austrian) authors that write great books! Well, Kerstin Gier certainly is one of them! ;-)

I've read many of her books already but I've to admit that this series has a special place in my heart. I just love everything about it. I mean we have a strong heroine, an arrogant love interest, a super interesting time travel element (An inherited time travel gene?! Give it to me! *lol*), mystery, suspense, action, LONDON and a misogynistic, horrible antagonist I really want to kick in his - let's keep this child-friendly - private parts! ;-P

Plus the friendship between Gwen and Leslie is so relatable that you can easily find yourself and your bestie in them! Admittedly the pacing in this first book is pretty slow, but if you ask me that's mostly due to the fact that Gier tried to build up her world, characters and ideas first before she decided to dive into the main story line. Which truth be told, isn't a bad thing. Quite the contrary, if anything it makes everything even better. =)

Still, there was one thing that irked me big time and I just couldn't ignore it. I don't know why they did it but they changed the MCs first name from Gwendolyn to Gwyneth and that's not only ridiculous but also makes absolutely no sense! Especially because they left all the other names exactly like they were in the German version. We still have her mom Grace and her grandma Lady Arista, and all the other original names but they changed Gwendolyn to Gwyneth yet they also insist on using her nickname Gwen? O_o Don't get me wrong Gwyneth is a beautiful name, but when you're used to Gwendolyn it's kinda weird that they felt a need to change it.

Anyway, enough of my pet peeve and back to my review! =)

The characters:

This is the moment when we'll use your blood in order to read it into the chronograph! From now on you might have safe passage through the centuries, but you'll also be spoiled like crazy! So think twice before you take that step. You've been warned! ;-)

Gwendolyn AND NOT GWYNETH:

"Why couldn't I remember when Jack the Ripper had prowled the streets of London? And where? Surely not the elegant surroundings of Mayfair, I hoped."

Haha! Gwen is such an amazing character and definitely one of the pioneers when it comes to strong heroines. I remember reading this book 11 years ago and how much I loved her for being so strong-willed and unimpressed by all those misogynistic men of the lodge! She was completely taken by surprise when her time travel gene kicked in but that certainly didn't stop her from being true to herself. Unlike Charlotte she never allowed them to use her as a tool and I lived and breathed for her defiance. Yes, she's scared and has no idea what is happening to her, this however still didn't stop her from going her own way. Plus she gave Gideon hell for being such an arrogant, prejudiced snob and this alone was worth reading! XD

"Oh, so it'll pass?" I made myself speak very slowly and distinctly, although I really felt like screeching. "And so if I've just killed a man, will that pass, too? My entire life has been turned upside down today - will that pass? Will the fact that an arrogant, long-haired, violin-playing creep in silk stockings can't think of anything better to do than order me about, even though I've just saved his stupid life, will that disappear as well? If you ask me, it's not surprising that I feel like puking. And just in case you're wondering, you make me want to throw up too!"

Gideon:

"The young guy had dark, curly hair that fell almost to his shoulders, and such bright green eyes that I thought he must be wearing colored lenses."

Haha! Okay, I admit it, Gideon might be nice to look at and a welcome sight for sore eyes, but in this first book he's really obnoxious! The funny thing is that he's completely different when he's around Charlotte and their interactions help to see the true person behind all his insufferable behaviour. His heart is in the right place, but all the men in his family and at the lodge had a huge impact on the way he was raised and as it seems he needed a girl like Gwen to reprimand him for his demeanour. Thankfully she's more than just ready to take up this particular kind of challenge. *lol* I feel that despite him being the future love interest I actually can't say a lot about him. His role was more that of a side-character but I'm really looking forward to the second book when we get to know him a little bit better. =)

"Anyway, there's no need," said Gideon. "I can do it all far better on my own."

Charlotte:

Charolotte's eyes had sparkled with fury as she looked at me. "It's not a stupid gene, it's a gift. Something very special. And it's simply wasted on someone like you. But you're too childish to even understand that."

I don't like Charlotte and I think that will never change. Yes, she gets nicer as the series proceeds; this still doesn't mean that she's a great character though. I never warmed up to her and I think that's mostly due to her being insufferable. *lol* I can understand why she's so pissed that Gwen is the carrier of the time travel gene but it's not like she took it away from her. Quite the contrary, I'm pretty sure if given the chance Gwen would hand it to her in a heartbeat. So instead of snapping at her cousin she should try to understand how horrible it must be for Gwen to be involved in all this mess. Especially without being prepared the way she was for years. >_< Nope, I'm definitely no Charlotte fan.

Charlotte sighed. "We had fun, didn't we?"
"Yes, but think of all the new opportunities open to you, Charlotte! I envy you that! You're free now. You can do anything you like."
"I never wanted anything but this!"

Count Saint-Germain:

"I'd say the female blood is considerably more sluggish than ours. Just as the female mind is inferior to the masculine intellect. Would you not agree with me, girl?"
Male chauvinist pig, I was thinking as I kept my eyes cast down, stupid, pompous, boring old chatterbox.

YES, GWEN! Give him a piece of your mind! *lol* Gosh, how I hate that man! Seriously, Count Saint-Germain is such a horrible person I can't even! He's not only a totally misogynistic a** but also never misses a chance to point out how weak the fair sex is. In his opinion women are just decoration and nice to look at but serve no other purpose than to bear children and to obey their men. Which makes me so damn furious! ARGH!!! I just can't with this douchebag! Let's get rid of him and move on! XD

The relationships & ships:

Gwen & Gideon:

"I'd call that an entirely superfluous warning, Uncle Falk," said Gideon, crossing his arms. "She's definitely not my type."

Teasing is a sign of affection! And those two are teasing each other like crazy! *lol* Come to think of it they might even be the reason why I've become such a huge fan of the "enemies to lovers" trope. It's pretty obvious that they don't like each other at the beginning of the book and except of being attractive there's nothing else Gideon seems to have going for him. Still, despite their initial animosity there's a lot of chemistry between those two and it's a pleasure to witness it whenever it occurs. ;-P I loved how Gideon remarked on Gwen's classmate being able to touch her while she was busy watching him with Charlotte! I mean the fact alone that Gideon knew he had touched her even though he was talking to Charlotte at that time should have told her everything, but *lol* of course Gwen didn't notice the implication of that statement. *shakes head* I can't wait to read "Sapphire Blue", because I know this is going to get better and better! <333

"Didn't I tell you to wait in the coach?" I didn't react, so Gideon took my arm and pulled me to my feet. His face was completely drained of color. "That was incredibly reckless and … dreadfully dangerous and …" He swallowed hard and stared at me. "And, dammit all, rather brave of you."

"So if he's not your boyfriend, how come he can touch you?"
"He can't. To be honest, I hadn't noticed he was doing it." I hadn't noticed because I was fully occupied watching Gideon exchanging sweet nothings with Charlotte.

Gwen & Leslie:

"Where are you now?"
"Oh, Lesley, still in Duke Street. I'm walking as fast as I can."
"Okay, we'll stay on the phone until you get to your front door, and the moment you're home, you have to talk to your mum."

This conversation sounded so much like something my bestie and I would say! *lol* I'm sure she would have been worried sick as well and would have told me exactly the same thing! It's adorable how much Leslie cares about Gwen and their friendship warms my heart! Leslie is the best friend ever! I mean she investigates everything and tries to help Gwen as best as she can. She might not be able to time travel herself but I'm pretty sure that Gwen would have been lost without her infos! XD What can go wrong if you have a bestie who's got your back like that? <333 Exactly! Nothing! ;-)

Conclusion:

This might have been the second time I read this book but I still loved it as much as the first time around! <3 Great characters, an amazing time travel element, historical London and an awesome "enemies to lovers trope" made "Ruby Red" an irresistible temptation for me! I hope after reading this you'll be tempted to give it a try too! ;-) Happy reading!

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There are plenty of good reasons to start with "Ruby Red" today:

1.) It's Valentine's Day (Happy Valentine to you all!!!) and this is the perfect time to start with a teen romance! <333

2.) "Ruby Red" has a time travel element and since those are rare in fantasy books I read them whenever I get a chance.

3.) This is the first book I'll read for my "German speaking Authors Year" and since it's already February it's about time I get my groove on!! From January - March it's Romances and Science Fiction and this falls in both categories! So it's the perfect book! XD

4.) As it happens "Ruby Red" is also on My Book List 2020!

5.) I love Gwendolyn and Gideon! Those two give me life! And yes this is a reread because more people need to know about this series!!! It's too amazing to stay unnoticed! ;-)

6.) I can't think of a sixth reason but for now five should suffice, right? *lol*