Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

A Great Conclusion to an Amazing Trilogy!

From Goodreads:

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.

Rating: 4 Stars

Emerald Green is the third and final book in the Ruby Red Trilogy, also known as the Precious Stone Trilogy. Just like I did with the first two books in the trilogy, Ruby Red (review) and Sapphire Blue (review), I would like to start the review by addressing the beautiful covers. Both the paperback and hardcover are designed beautifully; however, I prefer the hardcover. The colors are again very vibrant and deep, and the intricate design around the front cover is very elegant.  The green marks in the design are raised and they are made to look and feel like emeralds.

I will try and be as vague as possible in order to avoid spoilers, especially for those of you who didn’t read the first two books in the trilogy yet. The story in Emerald Green picks up where Sapphire Blue left off. The entirety of the trilogy spans over only a few weeks, so the conclusion was fast paced. This book addressed the many things left unanswered by the first two books. Each and every trip in time has a purpose. Gwen and Gideon must find out the ultimate goal that the Count of Saint Germain has in order to defeat him.

I think one of my favorite things about this book was the history that Gier managed to beautifully weave into the story. The beautiful word building made the reader feel like they were transported into another period themselves. I also loved the details shared on the outfits that both Gwen and Gideon had to wear during different trips.

Overall, I was very happy with the character growth in both Gwen and Gideon. I think that although the trilogy spans a mere few weeks, both of them matured and learned from their mistakes as the story progressed. They both seemed to be more grounded in the most extreme of situations. That being said, there were a few instances I found myself quite angry with both. I think that the issues I had with their characters throughout this book only emphasized their overall growth in the end.

Lesley and Xemerius still have huge parts to play in this book. If you read my Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue reviews, you know just how much I adore them. I don’t think that Gwen would have been able to overcome all the obstacles she faced without her best friend Lesley. The bond of friendship between Gwen and Lesley is stronger than ever in this book. Xemerius, the ever so awesome gargoyle ghost, was as funny as ever. He is the one that will have readers laughing out loud at his witty comebacks and sarcastic remarks. In addition to his usual funny self, we get to also see a softer side of him and the love he has for Gwen.

Our lovely James is also part of this book, and I was extremely happy with the way things wrapped up for his character. In this book we got to see him more in his own element and as always he was extremely charming.

I can’t talk about the romance in this book without spoiling it, so I will just settle on saying that I was very satisfied with the way things wrapped up. 

The prophecies presented to us in the first two books slowly unravel and new clues emerge as the final book progresses. Traitors are discovered and we finally get answers to questions collected from the two previous books.

While the ending was quite satisfactory, there were a few things that I still wanted addressed. There were a few loose ends left, but not enough to ruin the story. There are a few characters that I wanted to know more about and also what became of them. Overall, I absolutely loved this series and was quite sad to finish it. It was a marvelous series to read!