Ruby Red (The Ruby Red Trilogy, #1)

by Kerstin Gier

Anthea Bell (Translator)

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, Lesley. 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...

• ISBN10: 0805092528
• ISBN13: 9780805092523
• Publish Date: 10 May 2011
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Henry Holt & Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Ruby Red was a lot of fun! It's full of time travel, secrets, and mayhem! Gwyneth and her family are impatiently waiting for her cousin Charlotte to make her first disappearance into the past. It could happen at any time, but then, Gwynth is the one who winds up traveling back and is completely unprepared! After the third occurrence, she's finally convinced to tell her mother, which then reveals a bunch of family secrets and drama. Good times! Now, Gwyneth is part of a mission that involves going back to various points in history with Gideon, another young time traveler. But it becomes clear that no one knows who they can trust, since Gwyneth and Gideon always seem to be one step behind.

I really enjoyed Ruby Red from the very beginning, since I love stories with eccentric families, and Gwyneth's can most certainly be described as that! Charlotte is the golden child, prepped her entire life to be the time traveler. She can speak several languages, knows her history, and can fence. Meanwhile, Gwyneth knows a lot about movies. Her family completely freaks out when her mother says Gwyn is actually the one, making all kinds of crazy accusations and are convinced of some kind of conspiracy. But they've just got to accept that Gwyn is the Ruby, and she's not going to disappear and sabotage their plans like her aunt Lucy, whom no one has seen in 16 years. Of course, there's more family secrets revealed as time goes on (and back).

However, I really have no idea what the plot is in Ruby Red. Gwyn and Gideon are part of some kind of mission, but I don't know what they're doing. There's the mystery of Lucy's disappearance, why Gwyneth's mom lied about her birthday, and who keeps thwarting all of their attempts to talk to other travelers in the past. Stuff is happening, but I don't know why. Then it all just kind of ends. Not on a cliffhanger, exactly. The book just stops. I suppose I'm intrigued enough to want to continue.

Ruby Red was loads of fun, so that did kind of make up for the confusion with the plot. I loved how time travel worked. It's fairly simple, being a genetic thing, and having a device to control where/when they go after their initial spontaneous trip. Gwyneth can also see and communicate with ghosts! That was a neat addition, although it didn't seem to add much overall, other than making Gwyn more special. Hopefully, this talent will come in handy in the following books.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[nitzan_schwarz]

2013 cleaning my shelves challenge

4.5 stars

[Chelsea]

I'm pretty impressed with how this book turned out. At the start it was a bit slow and boring but a few chapters in you couldn't put the book down. I was never really a fan of time travel books but this one is really entertaining. I like how there's not too much history and there's a story in the past and the future.
I didn't really like the main character at first but she did start to grow on me. She was a little boring at first but she really developed as a character. The other characters aren't too bad but I found you don't really see a lot of anyone else. Maybe the best friend but even the main boy isn't around enough for any of his personality to get through.
The writing in this book isn't the greatest but its still easy to read. It was a little choppy sometimes and I found that not a lot happened in this book. The main character discovers she can travel back in time and starts to learn a bit about it. There's not really a big story in this one but I think there's a nice set up for a really good second book. We'll have to see I guess.

[mrs_mander_reads]

I really liked the story... Sometimes the dialogue felt a little cheesed up, but that might have something to with the vernacular it's written in. Looking forward to the next one.

[Kelsenator]

For more reviews make sure to visit Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf!

When I saw that this was about time travel I knew I had to read it! I was enjoying it so much that next thing I knew it was done, and luckily I have the next book so I can go right to it.

There were so many things I liked about this book, especially the interesting characters. The Guardians and their order were so mysterious and you can tell they were hiding many secrets, it was hard to tell who was trustable and not and I loved it. You don’t find out everything in the first book, but I liked not having it all revealed, just means more for the next books!

The Count Saint-Germain was another powerful character, he seemed old and frail when you first meet him but he’s definitely creepy and strong at the same time, and I’m excited to see how he ties into the rest of the series since he’s from the past. Gwyneth was the main character, and although she hasn’t been raised to be a time traveler I think she stands up pretty well. She’s definitely got some strength in her, and quite an opinion, and I can’t wait to see her spread out even more in the next books.

The time travel was awesome of course, not only the historical places and outfits they got to wear, but how it worked and was set up was cool. Like for instance there are 12 time travelers over the ages, and they are all linked by names of gems, but they all play a bigger role that we find out later.

If you’re looking for some time travelling fun with some romance and historical settings then this book is for you!

[journalingirl]

This book was amazing. I need the next one ASAP.

[rakesandrogues]

RUBY RED had been sitting on my shelf for a while now. When it came out earlier this year, I could not wait to pick it up. Fortunately, I manage to squeeze in a readathon during Hurricane Irene. I had huge expectations for this book because of my love of time travel. It’s one of those books that I really wanted to love but only liking it when I’ve finished it.

The premise was hands down fantastic. I love that Gier takes the time to explain the why‘s and the science of this novel. There are some aspects that really just cannot be explained, but the characters actually make an attempt to figure out the supernatural instead of just accepting that it’s cool and it happens. There’s so much mystery regarding time travel, and I love the fact that we are just in the dark as Gwenyth is. I can’t wait to see what Gwenyth and Gideon uncover in the following books.

The writing of this book was just okay for me. I wish that I could have read this in the original German. I feel like the author’s writing was lost in translation, but I guess I really won’t know for sure unless I learn German.

I was disappointed with the romance in RUBY RED. I guess I read a lot of reviews, and even watching the trailer, that led me to believe that it would be kind of epic. I really did like the chemistry between Gwenyth and Gideon but I think that it was so rushed toward the end. It was disappointing and I wished that there was more development before anything happened between them.

I would say this one is only a must buy because of the stunning cover. The book itself is gorgeous and it’s worthy of a spot on my shelf.

There is no doubt that this is a series that I will continue to read. I wish that the first book had a little more substance, and didn’t leave me hanging for more. Now that the characters and backstory have been established, I’m very positive that the sequel will be fantastic.