Monday, October 22, 2012

Review: Sapphire Blue

SAPPHIRE BLUE
(The Ruby Red Trilogy #2)
Kerstin Gier
Paranormal Young Adult
368 pages
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Available October 30th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.
 
MY THOUGHTS
Sapphire Blue picks up at the exact moment Ruby Red left off, giving us little time to reacclimate ourselves with this world of time travel before our minds are forced into overdrive trying to remember the finer details of the many varied characters and their relationships with the past, present and future. Luckily, once we get over the mild surprise caused by our abrupt return to Gwen and Gideon’s sides, we’re able to settle back into the story, and our minds have a few minutes to catch up as Gwen helpfully relays the events of her last time-traveling adventure with Gideon to several interested parties. Some of the more intricate nuances of the time-travel gene are lost on us in this second installment, the complications that arise from traveling back in time as well as the ramifications of such an action causing our brains to hurt if we dwell on them too long, but we are thankfully easily able to focus on the larger mystery surrounding the Circle of Twelve and the various prophecies surrounding it, providing us with direction when we might otherwise get overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

Gwen is a delightful heroine, a young woman who deals surprisingly well with the very sudden upheaval in her life, often approaching her situation with humor when we might lash out in anger and frustration were we in her shoes. She absorbs all the snide comments and general disapproval aimed in her direction without ever showing any outward signs of distress, her mental commentary the only thing to tip us off as to how all the negativity swirling around her affects her, but just as her stoicism (particularly with Gideon) starts to frustrate us, she lets loose her true feelings in a torrent of emotion and finally reveals the wounds each verbal slap and slice have caused. Even as tensions with Gideon and the other Guardians run high, Gwen maintains her sense of humor, only allowing a few brief moments of darkness before she lightens the mood with her trademark witty banter.

Gideon, for his part, is a challenging young man to like in this sequel, our vision of the man we want him to be going hazy in the face of the man he’s currently choosing to be, and our teeth left with no other option but to grind a bit in irritation as his moods seem to shift at the flick of a switch. He actively pursues Gwen when they’re alone only to push her away the moment they appear in anyone else’s line of sight or range of hearing, but as Gwen does, Gideon eventually ventures to place his heart on his sleeve and shows the first stirrings of vulnerability. To ensure we're riding the relationship edge throughout with these two, we find that the chapters are occasionally preceded by a poem, quote, or prophecy, some of which cause nervous flutters of anticipation as they hint at dangerous things to come for the hearts of our two protagonists.

Sapphire Blue does conclude mid-story, a few of the reasons why Gwen and Gideon are traveling to certain dates in the past remaining somewhat unclear to us, however, as mentioned before we are well aware of the larger end goal of their time traveling in general, even if the specifics of certain journeys remain a touch murky. The concluding pages do little to quell our aforementioned nervous flutters, instead ratcheting them up to a more fervent and insistent throb as one character’s parting words to Gideon suddenly take the wait for Emerald Green from painful to excruciating.

Rating: 4/5

37 comments:

  1. It does sound good, but at the same time I am all..time travel circle..why?

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    1. It makes more sense when you read it, I promise:)

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  2. I sometimes have a hard time when a book picks up exactly where the other left off, especially if there's a year or more between my readings. Too many books read in the meantime means my brain just doesn't retain... Though I don't like a backstory info-dump either. Ah. Never satisfied, I guess. And, from the way this ended, I think I'll wait until the third book is out to devour the entire trilogy. Then I won't spend the first three chapters trying to remember who's who and what in the world is going on!

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    1. I think if I had just finished Ruby Red I would have been fine, but like you said, when it's a year later and I've read 2039583045982 books since then I just don't retain the finer details. I knew generally what had happened, but with this world, you need to remember those details.

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  3. I haven't read Ruby Red but this one sounds like a fun series! Time travel is hit and miss with me - I sometimes think authors make their 'rules of time travel a little too complex' but I like it when it's done well! However, from reading your review I think the rules may be a little on the confusing side in this one!

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    1. I think time travel is done really well here, I'd just forgotten some of the rules from the first book, and they aren't all reiterated in the beginning of this second book (both a good and bad thing for readers). The world itself and the characters are fabulous I think:)

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  4. I've never heard of this series before, but I'm glad the second novel wasn't too disappointing! Usually, time travel books never work for me since I have so many high expectations of them, but the characters in this one seem too interesting to pass up. Wonderful review, Jenny!

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    1. It was published in Germany originally I think, and they're just now releasing it in the US:)

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  5. Oh, Gideon,Gideon what to do with you? I'm glad this book wasn't a disappointment. While I liked Ruby Red I felt that Gwen acted a little younger than her actual age. I'm glad you liked this one Jenny!

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    1. Right? I want to hug him and punch him at the same time:) He definitely keeps me on my toes though!

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  6. I love when I want the next book but hate when I have to wait! We all know I don't wait well LOL

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    1. I don't wait well either. I fail at waiting. I'm going to have to reread this book before Emerald Green comes out, I know it:)

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  7. Ahh I'm really curious about how this book ends! I've come across this book before (or at least, I've seen the cover around) but didn't realise it was a part of a series. I'll did to take a look at the first book. Great review, Jenny! :)

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    1. I hope you give this series a try Sam! They're fun reads, and Gwen has a great sense of humor:)

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  8. I just skimmed this book since I haven't read the first one yet. That reminds me to get back to it. I checked it out at the library once but didn't have time to read it.

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    1. I like this series quite a bit. It definitely would help to read them close together though, I should have refreshed before picking this one up:)

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  9. I haven't even read Ruby Red yet. Huh. So many books, Jenny. SO MANY BOOKS. *mind boggles*

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    1. I KNOW!!!! I need to get paid to read books so I can quit my job and finally get to all the books on my list. If someone could just pay me like $.50 a page, that would be awesome ;-)

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  10. Cnadace was raving about this series recently as well, I am loving a good time travel book and the characters sound like fun. I am also eager to check out a book translanted from German! I will definitely be adding this series to my list, but may wait to read it closer to the release of Emerald as I don't want to be like you hungrily awaiting the next book. Happy
    Monday Jenny!

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    1. Probably a good idea to wait, it's a complicated plot and you would definitely benefit from reading the books in rapid succession:)

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  11. Okay, I've wanted to read RR and haven't gotten to it, but SB makes me want to read it more. Why? The title... it's my birthstone. Hey, I'm easy. LOL

    THEN your review! AH! These characters sound delish! Gideon would probably get on my nerves until that vulnerability but it all sounds fun. I know I'm waiting until the 3rd tho... stops mid-story? ARGH! I hate that!

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  12. Why haven't I heard of this series? I really enjoy stories about time travel and this sounds really good. I'll have to check it out. Plus, I LOVE that cover! Thanks for the great review!

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  13. Okay I again am probably one of the last to hear about this awesome series, I must have been behind my rock somewhere again! So thank you Jenny for this fantastic review and for putting this book on my radar, the characters sound fantastic, and despite you mentioning some confusing parts, I want to get onto this series asap, I think your review will leave me with nervous flutters if I don't! :)

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  14. I haven't heard enough about Ruby Red to decide whether to read it or not. But really, Sapphire Blue sounds like awesome. I mean, Gwen sounds awesome! She seems hilarious and I already admire her temperament.

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  15. I definitely think this is a series that goes best reading one right after another because like you I had a bit of a hard time remembering everything and piecing it together. I really love the story and characters though. Gideon is frustrating but yet I kind of like not really knowing if he's good or bad. I tend to believe he's really good, but then sometimes I wonder. And Gwen is just an awesome character and I loved Xemerius! Glad you enjoyed it too!

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  16. *whimper* As much as I LOVE this series, it kind of looks like I'm going to have to wait for the third book to come out instead of torturing myself with a mid-ending.

    Or maybe not. The series is that good.

    I'm self-serving and masochistic that way.

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  17. Oh, I don't care, I've been dying for this one since the first one came out! I love this series. Great review, you have me salivating.

    Heather

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  18. This cover looks stunning just like the cover for Ruby Red !! I read Ruby Red in French when it came out and enjoyed it but not enough to continue the series though .. I'm glad you really enjoyed this one Jenny :) !!

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  19. I remember reading the first book and loving it. I will so have to pick up the next book now! Thanks for the awesome review :)

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  20. Ironically, I'm going to review Ruby Red tomorrow. I skimmed your review since I only read the first book but I'm thrilled to find a YAish enough book for younger readers. Looking forward to more Gwen and Gideon adventures.

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  21. I haven't read the first in this series but I see your 4 stars, so I need to change that ASAP. I love the names, though, Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue, and Emerald Green! I love the jewel incorporated theme. :)

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  22. Jenny, I thought Ruby Red was okay probably because I didn't get all the little details about the Circle of Twelve mystery. I'm still curious about giving this one a try although the fact that this one concludes in mid-story doesn't sound too appealing. It may just end up leaving me even more confused.

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  23. I loved Ruby Red, but I didn't like this one *quite* as much, probably because Gideon drove me insane with his hot and cold behaviour. Still I find the time travel secret society type thing (lol) to be really fascinating, and I reallllly wish I could read German so I can find out what happens in book 3!

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  24. Ooooh I can't wait for these! I just bought the first book and am seriously itching to open and reeeeaaad it!! ;)

    Thanks for the review - I had to skim it because I didn't want anything spoiled, but it made me so excited for the first book! :D

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  25. I have Ruby Red but haven't read it yet. Sounds like I should read these close together.

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