4 Oranges
I really enjoyed reading
Ruby Red. It was entertaining, fun, rather unique... but ultimately? Too short. I wasn't ready for the adventure to end. So maybe the biggest problem with
Ruby Red is that I want to move on to the sequel right away. You know. If you can call that a problem.
I love this
concept. Time travel is carried in genes and uncontrolled by nature. So Gwen just randomly gets sucked into the past for a half hour and then goes back. I love it so much. This is actually my first time travel novel, though, so perhaps I'm easily impressed. But I liked how this was tied to a prophecy and a mysterious secret society, bound by strict time travel rules... it's just so interesting, I kept reading until I was done. I couldn't stop myself. So compulsively readable? Check.
Gwen as a main character rather impressed me. She's not really the strong female character, but she's so realistic, and I loved that. I mean, she's been kept in the dark about the ins and outs of time travel and the prophecy all her life and then out of nowhere gets sucked into the past. Her shock, fears, and disbelief are really understandable and make her quite the endearing character. She also shows she can be brave when it's necessary, and I'm excited about the small ways in which her character already grew in this novel and will likely keep doing so in the rest of the series. I loved her sass as well.
I have a new book boyfriend and his name is
Gideon. I just love him. He totally pulls the cocky, arrogant attitude off at the beginning, but as he travels with Gwen, he sees that he needs to be more supportive of her. And he totally pulls that off as well. He can be so freaking sweet.
I'm a bit on the fence about the
romance to be honest. I absolutely loved it at the beginning, because it was clearly a love-hate relationship. I giggled like a mad woman every time Gwen thought about what a dick Gideon was. However, it was overly obvious that she felt more for him, just by how she got jealous when he was talking to other girls and checked to see if she had impressed him at times. I wish it had transitioned a
little more slowly. That would have made it ultimately more endearing. So while I was a bit frustrated with the ending, I kind of loved it as well. The preview for the next book in any case does indicate it's not going to be all super mushy lovey dovey stuff, so that's good. If it
is... well, we'll see that when it happens.
But as I stated up front,
this book is too short. Maybe it only feels that way because I blazed through it at such a high speed. However, I really feel like very little concrete happened. I mean, we're teased with all these mysteries and prophecies, and in this book, almost
nothing is revealed about that. It takes almost half the novel (I believe) before Gwen actually admits to her family that she's the one who has time traveled. It's odd. I wouldn't say it was slow in the beginning, but I guess that could have been condensed a bit. So while I loved reading about the time traveling, about this world and their families, I felt teased. It almost felt like this was a prequel, and the next book would be the true beginning. I dunno. I'm weird. This might just be me.
There is one other small negative thing to mention. I know that this is a translation from the original German book, but it really could have used another
editing round. I couldn't help but get distracted by some of the mistakes. Some of it read as really clunky, and not just because they tried to emulate British English.
Summing Up...
This book makes me really excited about not only the series as a whole, but also about the time travel genre. I've been staying away from it for far too long, that much is obvious. I loved the characters and the concept, and my biggest problem is just that I want more. So I may just continue on to
Sapphire Blue right away. (Anyone else always think of
Pokémon when writing these titles, btw?) In any case, I'm going to go watch the movie now!
GIF it to me straight!
The Doctor dances because time travel makes him happy.
Recommended To...
Fans of time travel and swoon-worthy boys.
Bonus Round!
I need your help, loyal followers. Because this series confuses me. ...With its gorgeous covers. You see, I was first totally enthralled with the girl-in-a-dress cover, because, though cliché, it is just stunning. But now I think I'm more fond of the original hardback covers. I can't decide, so... COVER BATTLE TIME! (Click to enlarge the images!)
vs.
I feel like I have to pick between the two but it's impossible. Can we just say that both designs are absolutely stunning??? Anyway, which would you rather have on your shelf?
Let me know in the comments!