[Review] Emerald Green - Kerstin Gier

Title of Book: Emerald Green
Series: Precious Stone #3
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Year: 2013
Language: English
Translator: Anthea Bell
Format: Hardback
Pages: 451




Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is. She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along. Emerald Green is the stunning conclusion to Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy, picking up where Sapphire Blue left off; reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.


This is a review of the final book in a series. Beware of spoilers ahead.
Emerald Green is the final book in the Precious Stones trilogy. To be honest, there’s a blurry line between Sapphire Blue storyline and this book to me, since I marathon-read this trilogy. I’m not sure where exactly the second book ends and where Emerald Green starts. What I do remember is the second book kind of ends with Gwyneth (or Gwen) confronted Gideon about his feeling for her. From there on, everything that’s been built up since book one starts to make sense.
The plot, for instance, is more complex than the previous two books. The timeline is more intricate and confusing at the same time; because it jumps back and forth between the present time and past time when Gwen and Gideon elapsed. Most of the time, their elapse timeline coincides with the events from the previous books. Since I read the series back to back, it was easy for me to remember what happened in the previous books. But there’s a time when I questioned the logic of the timeline. Regrettably, I won’t be able to elaborate more without spoiling the story. It’s regarding Count Saint-Germain and the mystery surrounding the Circle of Twelve. My point is, it made me think about it over and over again just to make sense of it. So I had less enjoyment out of this book than the previous ones.
As for Gwen, she becomes more and more annoying. Oh my God. Just like I said in my review of Sapphire Blue, Gwen’s immaturity and childishness show up whenever Gideon is in the picture. She becomes more dramatic and she clearly doesn’t have her priorities straight. When you’re in a life and death situation, a boy’s lip would be the last thing on your mind. Not for Gwen. There’s also a lot of love declaration, which made me feel itchy. I mean, these are two teenagers who barely know each other and they already talk about love or true love. Come on. Maybe that’s just me, I don’t know. If you’re okay with that, that’s fine.
Overall, it’s a fun series. But if we talk about this book specifically, I don’t think it’s a good final book. The ending is a bit convenience. If only what makes them survive is introduced more from the previous books and built up from there. Then maybe, the ending won’t appear that convenience. As for the confusing timeline and the time travel aspect, maybe if you just read it and accept it at face value and not overthink it, you would enjoy the story more. Unfortunately, I’m the kind of person that tends to think about it so I could understand the logic. Especially because it’s a time travel book, which could easily have a logical contradiction in the plot. Either way, it’s a fun series and recommended for those who seek young adult time travel books.


No comments :

Post a Comment