indiereadergirl0329

Sapphire Blue (Red Ruby Trilogy #2)

By Kerstin Gier (read by Marrisa Calin)

Originally published in German 2009

Four Stars

Genre Young Adult Fantasy

Gwen’s life has been a roller coaster 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.

Once again, Gier tells a captivating story about Gwen Shepard, the unlikely heroine. When we first met Gwen, she discovered she was a Ruby, the last time traveler, the one meant to close the portal of twelve and release some secret; a secret no one trusted to tell her or really know. She was beyond slighted by her family. Because she was so unprepared, as her perfect cousin was meant to be the last gene carrier, she had to quickly catch up and hear about how much of a failure she is by everyone. Except her mom, siblings, and her side kick Leslie.

Now, slightly more adjusted, Gwen is not only accustomed to the dirty looks by the members of the inner circle, but becoming more confident. She is still trying to hold on to her secret about seeing ghosts, as she feels no one in the order would believe her. Luckily, she has a new sidekick, the hilarious  gargoyle demon, Xemerius who started to follow her after Gwen’s kiss with the warm and cold Gideon.  Xemerius is witty, talkative, and really helpful. He makes fun of the order while spying on them. Complains and complains, but oh so witty. I love Leslie, but I laughed every time Xemerius appeared. He was just so right on point with things. His humor was dry. Gwen doesn’t appreciate him as much as she should.

If it was possible, the time traveling aspect became much more intricate and entertaining. The mysteries, oh the intrigue. What really is the secret?  Why Did Paul and Lucy steal the original chronograph? And the Count? Maybe there was one or two dull moments, but hardly any really. Gier’s writing style is simple, easy to understand, but fast paced. You want to turn the pages, and fast. The adventure is there, as well as romance. The romance controls Gwen’s mind, making her get side-tracked often. She gets angry, distrustful, and confused. She becomes her own person in this sequel.  She doesn’t mind breaking rules, speaking up, and telling Gideon and others what she feels. Not always in a polite tone, but gets her point through.

This was a great sequel. I am really happy I started this series. It is a fun read. The time-traveling and mysteries are fun. The characters engaging and worth remembering. Even with listening to this one as an audio oppose to reading it as an e-book, I loved it. The end was great. And, now October needs to get here fast so i can read the last one. I can’t read German, so I need to wait for the English translation.