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.
I am not the biggest fan of the 2nd book or movie of most trilogies. Too many times the author is just sandwiching in some important information between the first book and the last book, and not giving the second book enough substance of it's own. Consequently, my expectation for the second installment of every series has been fairly low. I am glad for my pessimistic opinion because it really helped me to enjoy Sapphire Blue.
First, let's talk about what I loved. I love Gwen. She is, if possible, even more charming in this second book. She doesn't have the greatest head for remembering crucial information that a time-traveler would need to know (like memorizing names, facts, dates, etc.) so she entertains us with her many mistakes. However, she is intelligent, funny, and much more complicated a character than one would expect. In this book you really start to see her potential as an amazing heroine.
I also love the supporting characters. I would stack up Gideon next to Edward Cullen for "perfect teenage romance" . . . except I think he surpasses Edward. He's real enough to be annoyed with Gwen's weaknesses, and is also flawed enough that the author can help him grow and change for the better as the story progresses. I also love Lesley and Xemerius. I thought Xemerius would be really annoying at first, but he turns out to be very, very funny.
And my last "love" of this book is Gwen's little adventures (i.e. mis-adventures) when she attends an 18th century soiree. Let's just say I'll never be able to think of the musical "Cats" again in quite the same way. 'Nuff said.
Now for the things I don't love. Like I alluded to in the beginning, this book is clearly setting up for the third installment and riding the coattails of the first. I had one of those moments at the end where you are surprised it IS the end because there was no really big climax. I also would have liked to see more loose strings from Ruby Red tied up. I can only suppose the author is going to pull all the time-traveling snarls from both Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue together in the third book.
Don't get me wrong, I still LOVED the book. I laughed and I stayed up way too late reading it. It just feels somewhat incomplete on it's own. I give it 3.5 stars for how much I liked it. I think when the third book comes out, and I have a bit more closure, I will probably bump it up to 4 stars.
I know how you feel. I really did love this book, but I did feel like the epilogue was the climax. I think the problem with the series is it really should be on book. I love how cleaver the time travel is and all the things future Gwen is going to do, even though we don't quite know how she gets there, but it will be amazing to read the whole series from beginning to end, because there really isn't a good stopping place.
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