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A review by writermags
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
3.0
All in all, a pretty good way to spend an afternoon after having oral surgery (I'm fine and in my right mind, I promise).
I was supposed to read Ruby Red for book club a while back, but because I am The Worst, I never even picked it up until last week when I was at the library. I wasn't a huge fan of the blurb ("[Gideon's] obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy [Gwen's] seen in any century..."), but I gave it a shot anyway because book club recommendations are rarely unfounded.
Ruby Red's take on time travel was unique for sure. It was interesting without being a rehash of any popular time-travel related media. In fact, although the book takes place in London, there was not a single reference to Doctor Who. Don't get me wrong, I love the show (Nine all the way), but it was a pleasant surprise.
As I mentioned in one of my status updates, this was the first YA novel I've read in a while that I didn't instantly dislike. There were a few cliches, like Gwen describing her appearance to the audience, her age being sixteen, Lesley's role as the BFF (but more on her in a moment), and so on. However, all things considered, they didn't bother me that much.
The plot wasn't exactly clear-cut, but not in a bad way. It feels more like Gwen's "origin story," telling the tale about her becoming a part of this time-traveling shenanigans and establishing key points for the remainder of the books (or so I believe - I haven't gotten any further in the series). Normally this would annoy me, but it made sense for this book and it honestly wasn't too bad.
Now let's talk about Lesley. Of all the characters in the book, I related to her the most. She was rational, always stuck by Gwen and always believed in her even when what she said made zero sense. I mean, if my best friend told me they could see ghosts and time travel, I'd probably think they were crazy (sorry guys). Plus, she actually enjoys doing all that research for Gwen, and it seems we both have a weird interest in solving mysteries and studying random historical anecdotes.
I don't have much to say about Gwen, good or bad. She was a pretty good MC, but other than that there isn't much to talk about.
Gideon was eh. His arrogance and initial prejudice against Gwen weirdly reminded me of Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, but Gideon lacked Darcy's INTJ-ness and thus I wasn't as attached to him. Still, he wasn't a horrible character.
So all that being said, would I reccomend this book? Sure, go for it. It's got historical fiction and sci-fi elements, fairly engaging characters, and was all in all a pretty great way to spend this afternoon. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up at the library or bookstore!
I was supposed to read Ruby Red for book club a while back, but because I am The Worst, I never even picked it up until last week when I was at the library. I wasn't a huge fan of the blurb ("[Gideon's] obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy [Gwen's] seen in any century..."), but I gave it a shot anyway because book club recommendations are rarely unfounded.
Ruby Red's take on time travel was unique for sure. It was interesting without being a rehash of any popular time-travel related media. In fact, although the book takes place in London, there was not a single reference to Doctor Who. Don't get me wrong, I love the show (Nine all the way), but it was a pleasant surprise.
As I mentioned in one of my status updates, this was the first YA novel I've read in a while that I didn't instantly dislike. There were a few cliches, like Gwen describing her appearance to the audience, her age being sixteen, Lesley's role as the BFF (but more on her in a moment), and so on. However, all things considered, they didn't bother me that much.
The plot wasn't exactly clear-cut, but not in a bad way. It feels more like Gwen's "origin story," telling the tale about her becoming a part of this time-traveling shenanigans and establishing key points for the remainder of the books (or so I believe - I haven't gotten any further in the series). Normally this would annoy me, but it made sense for this book and it honestly wasn't too bad.
Now let's talk about Lesley. Of all the characters in the book, I related to her the most. She was rational, always stuck by Gwen and always believed in her even when what she said made zero sense. I mean, if my best friend told me they could see ghosts and time travel, I'd probably think they were crazy (sorry guys). Plus, she actually enjoys doing all that research for Gwen, and it seems we both have a weird interest in solving mysteries and studying random historical anecdotes.
I don't have much to say about Gwen, good or bad. She was a pretty good MC, but other than that there isn't much to talk about.
Gideon was eh. His arrogance and initial prejudice against Gwen weirdly reminded me of Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, but Gideon lacked Darcy's INTJ-ness and thus I wasn't as attached to him. Still, he wasn't a horrible character.
Spoiler
I didn't care for his romance with Gwen. I thought it was pointless, and it bothered me that Gwen went from hating him to being attracted to him in a matter of days.So all that being said, would I reccomend this book? Sure, go for it. It's got historical fiction and sci-fi elements, fairly engaging characters, and was all in all a pretty great way to spend this afternoon. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up at the library or bookstore!