Review: The Precious Stone Trilogy by Kerstin Gier (Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, Emerald Green)

The Ruby Red - Book One

Although I had never seen him before, I recognized him immediately. I'd have known his voice anywhere. This was the guy I'd seen on my last journey back in time.

Or more precisely, the one who'd kissed my doppelganger while I was hiding behind the curtain in disbelief.

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.

She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century . . . .

The Sapphire Blue - Book Two

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

The Emerald Green - Book Three

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.

Paperback.

Full length novels.
300+ pages.

Third person, single pov.

No.

Book one - No.
The other two, yes.

No, no cliffhangers but the first two books end with ZERO resolution.
It's definitely one of those book trilogies that is one big story cut into 3 parts...

Not really... More like a potential love triangle that causes angst but has no real substance.

Mild violence.
Sword fighting and the like.

I fell in love with the idea of this series because of youtube fan made videos (pieced together from the movie adaptations of the books which are in German, fyi) and the beautiful covers.

My anticipation and expectation going into the first book was ridiculously high and that meant the potential for an epic let down was huge.
After reading the series, I can say that it wasn't awesome but it was pretty damn good.

The story focuses on Gwyneth who is part of a family with a 'time-travelling' gene.
The crux is that only so many people will develop the ability and their births have been calculated to occur on specific dates. Gwyneth and her cousin are born a day apart and her cousin was supposed to be the time-traveller and was trained all her life to be prepared for it but surprise! It's Gwyneth who is the time-traveller.
She is a normal teenage girl, with normal teenage problems and the only 'abnormal' thing about her - until the time travelling - is that she can see ghosts.
When she is suddenly thrust into the world of time-travelling with all the secrets, mystery and danger, she isn't prepared but she handles things pretty well. She's likeable and she's real.

The plot is twisty and convoluted as most things are when time travel is involved...
There is mystery layered upon mystery and it's a little bit confusing at times but it's compelling and leaves you really wanting to know wtf is going on! Who are these people?! Why are there only 12 time-travellers? What is the purpose? What's with the aunt's visions? What is so special about Gwyneth's powers? What drives the bad guy?
Questions, questions, questions that will keep you going book after book until all is revealed.

Plus, there's the swoony, broody, moody, protective guy, an eccentric family, the super loyal BFF, a bitchy rival, a ghost and a snarky demonesqe creature which all add to the entertainment.

My only issue with the series were that the dialogue was a bit stilted and immature.
 I don't know if this is a result of the translation being a bit too literal, as opposed to just capturing the sentiment, or whether it's that jarring in its native tongue too but it was awkward as hell.

I can't say that I think this series will be for everyone but if you don't mind a little teenage romantic drama and enjoy a good time-travelling adventure then you should check it out!

OMG the covers! The beautiful, beautiful covers!
I have the paperbacks of the books and they are even more beautiful in person... All embossed and shiny and gorgeous.

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“Unfortunately it's an incontrovertible fact that sound common sense flies out of the window as soon as love comes in through the door.”

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