Review: Ruby Red (Kerstin Gier)

Rating:

Book 36 on My Book List 2020

Part of my „German speaking Authors Year“ challenge.

”Ready for the next adventure, Princess?”
“Ready when you are,” she said softly.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Kerstin Gier fan and to be honest my main motivation to reread this book was to make sure that more people become aware of it. At the beginning of the year I made 2020 my „German speaking Authors Year“ and decided to give a special shout-out to rather unknown (German/Austrian) authors that write great books! Well, Kerstin Gier certainly is one of them! 😉

I’ve read many of her books already but I’ve to admit that this series has a special place in my heart. I just love everything about it. I mean we have a strong heroine, an arrogant love interest, a super interesting time travel element (An inherited time travel gene?! Give it to me! *lol*), mystery, suspense, action, LONDON and a misogynistic, horrible antagonist I really want to kick in his – let’s keep this child-friendly – private parts! ;-P

Plus the friendship between Gwen and Leslie is so relatable that you can easily find yourself and your bestie in them! Admittedly the pacing in this first book is pretty slow, but if you ask me that’s mostly due to the fact that Gier tried to build up her world, characters and ideas first before she decided to dive into the main story line. Which truth be told, isn’t a bad thing. Quite the contrary, if anything it makes everything even better. =)

Still, there was one thing that irked me big time and I just couldn’t ignore it. I don’t know why they did it but they changed the MCs first name from Gwendolyn to Gwyneth and that’s not only ridiculous but also makes absolutely no sense! Especially because they left all the other names exactly like they were in the German version. We still have her mom Grace and her grandma Lady Arista, and all the other original names but they changed Gwendolyn to Gwyneth yet they also insist on using her nickname Gwen? Don’t get me wrong Gwyneth is a beautiful name, but when you’re used to Gwendolyn it’s kinda weird that they felt a need to change it.

Anyway, enough of my pet peeve and back to my review! =)

This is the moment when we’ll use your blood in order to read it into the chronograph! From now on you might have safe passage through the centuries, but you’ll also be spoiled like crazy! So think twice before you take that step. You’ve been warned! 😉

Gwendolyn AND NOT GWYNETH:

”Why couldn’t I remember when Jack the Ripper had prowled the streets of London? And where? Surely not the elegant surroundings of Mayfair, I hoped.”

Haha! Gwen is such an amazing character and definitely one of the pioneers when it comes to strong heroines. I remember reading this book 11 years ago and how much I loved her for being so strong-willed and unimpressed by all those misogynistic men of the lodge! She was completely taken by surprise when her time travel gene kicked in but that certainly didn’t stop her from being true to herself. Unlike Charlotte she never allowed them to use her as a tool and I lived and breathed for her defiance. Yes, she’s scared and has no idea what is happening to her, this however still didn’t stop her from going her own way. Plus she gave Gideon hell for being such an arrogant, prejudiced snob and this alone was worth reading! XD

”Oh, so it’ll pass?” I made myself speak very slowly and distinctly, although I really felt like screeching. “And so if I’ve just killed a man, will that pass, too? My entire life has been turned upside down today – will that pass? Will the fact that an arrogant, long-haired, violin-playing creep in silk stockings can’t think of anything better to do than order me about, even though I’ve just saved his stupid life, will that disappear as well? If you ask me, it’s not surprising that I feel like puking. And just in case you’re wondering, you make me want to throw up too!”

Gideon:

”The young guy had dark, curly hair that fell almost to his shoulders, and such bright green eyes that I thought he must be wearing colored lenses.”

Haha! Okay, I admit it, Gideon might be nice to look at and a welcome sight for sore eyes, but in this first book he’s really obnoxious! The funny thing is that he’s completely different when he’s around Charlotte and their interactions help to see the true person behind all his insufferable behaviour. His heart is in the right place, but all the men in his family and at the lodge had a huge impact on the way he was raised and as it seems he needed a girl like Gwen to reprimand him for his demeanour. Thankfully she’s more than just ready to take up this particular kind of challenge. *lol* I feel that despite him being the future love interest I actually can’t say a lot about him. His role was more that of a side-character but I’m really looking forward to the second book when we get to know him a little bit better. =)

”Anyway, there’s no need,” said Gideon. “I can do it all far better on my own.”

Charlotte:

Charolotte’s eyes had sparkled with fury as she looked at me. “It’s not a stupid gene, it’s a gift. Something very special. And it’s simply wasted on someone like you. But you’re too childish to even understand that.”

I don’t like Charlotte and I think that will never change. Yes, she gets nicer as the series proceeds; this still doesn’t mean that she’s a great character though. I never warmed up to her and I think that’s mostly due to her being insufferable. *lol* I can understand why she’s so pissed that Gwen is the carrier of the time travel gene but it’s not like she took it away from her. Quite the contrary, I’m pretty sure if given the chance Gwen would hand it to her in a heartbeat. So instead of snapping at her cousin she should try to understand how horrible it must be for Gwen to be involved in all this mess. Especially without being prepared the way she was for years. >_< Nope, I’m definitely no Charlotte fan.

Charlotte sighed. “We had fun, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but think of all the new opportunities open to you, Charlotte! I envy you that! You’re free now. You can do anything you like.”
“I never wanted anything but this!”

Count Saint-Germain:

”I’d say the female blood is considerably more sluggish than ours. Just as the female mind is inferior to the masculine intellect. Would you not agree with me, girl?”
Male chauvinist pig, I was thinking as I kept my eyes cast down, stupid, pompous, boring old chatterbox.

YES, GWEN! Give him a piece of your mind! *lol* Gosh, how I hate that man! Seriously, Count Saint-Germain is such a horrible person I can’t even! He’s not only a totally misogynistic a** but also never misses a chance to point out how weak the fair sex is. In his opinion women are just decoration and nice to look at but serve no other purpose than to bear children and to obey their men. Which makes me so damn furious! ARGH!!! I just can’t with this douchebag! Let’s get rid of him and move on! XD

Gwen & Gideon:

”I’d call that an entirely superfluous warning, Uncle Falk,” said Gideon, crossing his arms. “She’s definitely not my type.”

Teasing is a sign of affection! And those two are teasing each other like crazy! *lol* Come to think of it they might even be the reason why I’ve become such a huge fan of the “enemies to lovers” trope. It’s pretty obvious that they don’t like each other at the beginning of the book and except of being attractive there’s nothing else Gideon seems to have going for him. Still, despite their initial animosity there’s a lot of chemistry between those two and it’s a pleasure to witness it whenever it occurs. ;-P I loved how Gideon remarked on Gwen’s classmate being able to touch her while she was busy watching him with Charlotte! I mean the fact alone that Gideon knew he had touched her even though he was talking to Charlotte at that time should have told her everything, but *lol* of course Gwen didn’t notice the implication of that statement. *shakes head* I can’t wait to read “Sapphire Blue”, because I know this is going to get better and better! <333

”Didn’t I tell you to wait in the coach?” I didn’t react, so Gideon took my arm and pulled me to my feet. His face was completely drained of color. “That was incredibly reckless and … dreadfully dangerous and …” He swallowed hard and stared at me. “And, dammit all, rather brave of you.”

”So if he’s not your boyfriend, how come he can touch you?”
“He can’t. To be honest, I hadn’t noticed he was doing it.” I hadn’t noticed because I was fully occupied watching Gideon exchanging sweet nothings with Charlotte.

Gwen & Leslie:

”Where are you now?”
“Oh, Lesley, still in Duke Street. I’m walking as fast as I can.”
“Okay, we’ll stay on the phone until you get to your front door, and the moment you’re home, you have to talk to your mum.”

This conversation sounded so much like something my bestie and I would say! *lol* I’m sure she would have been worried sick as well and would have told me exactly the same thing! It’s adorable how much Leslie cares about Gwen and their friendship warms my heart! Leslie is the best friend ever! I mean she investigates everything and tries to help Gwen as best as she can. She might not be able to time travel herself but I’m pretty sure that Gwen would have been lost without her infos! XD What can go wrong if you have a bestie who’s got your back like that? <333 Exactly! Nothing! 😉

This might have been the second time I read this book but I still loved it as much as the first time around! ❤ Great characters, an amazing time travel element, historical London and an awesome “enemies to lovers trope” made “Ruby Red” an irresistible temptation for me! I hope after reading this you’ll be tempted to give it a try too! 😉 Happy reading!

Review: The Upside of Unrequited (Becky Albertalli)

Rating:

Book 3 of My Book List 2020

”Falling in love is terrifying.”

This book was definitely better than “Leah on the Offbeat” but it still wasn’t as great as “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda”. So I guess that means that for me it’s somewhere right in the middle. There were many things I loved about “The Upside of Unrequited”, but I also had some issues I just couldn’t seem to be able to ignore. Which is kinda good, because I like to address my issues head-on. (and I need to write something into my reviews after all, right? They would be boring without a little bit of controversy. *lol*)

”This is going to sound weird, but I think I need to be rejected. I think I need it like I need a flu shot. Or like those therapists who make you hold snakes until you’re not afraid of snakes anymore.

So keeping that in mind let’s talk about the things I loved first: I really liked that Molly was such a relatable teen. I mean she was super insecure and didn’t know how to act around guys she liked and she was crushing on 26 boys and nothing ever happened with any of them! I don’t know about you, but I think this was a really healthy rep! Yes, Molly is seventeen in the book and never kissed a boy, let alone held his hand. It’s often mentioned that she feels stupid and childish because of it, but it’s also implied that this is totally okay. And it is!

She looks at me. “Wow. Like, you can’t. You actually can’t admit it.”
I cover my face.
“This is so sad and adorable.”
“I’m twelve years old. I know.”
“You seriously are.” She laughs. “Which is okay! But you’re gonna have to turn thirteen.”

These days it feels like teens have to deal with this enormous pressure of having a bf/gf in order to be valued and accepted. It was already bad when I was a teen but looking at the next generation now I can see how much this has changed. A teen that’s seventeen and has no romantic experience? Almost impossible. Most of them seem to have their first bf/gf at the age of 12 or 13 and there are some that are even younger. So I’m glad that Molly was a character that only crushed but never followed through with it. It’s okay to have crushes and to wait for the right person, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! 😉

”Because that’s the thing about change. It’s so painfully normal. It’s the most basic of all tragedies.”

Another topic that was dealt with was the power of change and the problems that come along with it. Molly and her twin sister Cassie start to go into different directions because they both make new
experiences, fall in love and start to have a life outside of each other’s orbit. Which is so “coming of age” that it was actually pretty painful to watch. The chasm that opened between them felt very realistic though and even though it hurt to see their sisterly bond getting stretched so much, it was still a great rep. I think everyone who has a sibling can relate to that and I was reminded of the time my sister got her first bf.

”I remember when she got a boyfriend, and she just fell off the grid. It sucked.”
“Yeah.”
“And no one warns you about this. No one tells you how hard it is, because, yay, love! And we’re so happy for them! But there’s this sharp edge to it, right? Because yeah, you’re happy for them. But you’ve also lost them.”

Those words from Patty rang so true! No one warns you what happens when your sibling starts to date someone and yes, it is some sort of loss. I remember when my sister started to date her first bf. We always used to hang out in our room and watched our favourite TV show together. And well, when she got her first bf I found myself making some comment about the show, turning my head towards her bed just to realize that she wasn’t there anymore. I think what I’m trying to say with this is that you have your rituals and once another person comes into your life, those little rituals sort of die. They are replaced with new people, new experiences and other new rituals. To grow up means to change and you have to accept that change and go with it in order to keep in touch.

”It’s just I’m having trouble balancing this. I’m not used to having another person be this important to me.”
She’s staring at her knees, tears pooling in her eyes.
“And I don’t want to lose us, you know?”

I liked that the issue was addressed in the end but I still think they should have talked more about everything that happened. For twins that were so close before, they actually didn’t do a lot of talking and this led to many misunderstandings and problems during the book. So I found myself being annoyed that they just couldn’t seem to be able to talk about their issues. *lol* I’m a very direct person though so I guess this might count as my subjective opinion. 😉

”I KNOW! She fell asleep watching Harry Potter. Side-eye emoji.
I write back frantically. WHAT? That is the worst. She is the worst.
She’s a squib, he writes. Which makes me smile all the way to Woodley Park.”

Next to the great diverse cast (we have two moms, twins, a pansexual Korean-American character, a gay character, a medical anxiety rep etc.) the friendships in “The Upside of Unrequited” were definitely among my favourite things about this book! XD I loved how Molly and Simon bonded not only over their friendship with Abby but also over their mutual love for Harry Potter. *lol* Those two were just great and I really enjoyed reading about their short interactions. =)

”And I always tell Molly: you’re a little zaftig, of course, but you have a lovely face. Isn’t she lovely?”

So I think now that I talked about the many things I liked, it’s finally time to tackle the problematic topic I had issues with: I really didn’t like that Molly considered herself to be a “fat girl”. So what? She’s not a skinny size zero mannequin and actually has some curves. What’s wrong with that? Nothing! If anything the only thing that’s wrong, is the fact that her grandma made her feel bad about not being skinny. Her grandma was called out on her behaviour though and it was shown that she had her own problems and issues to deal with, but ultimately was a good person. (Which was great because it made her a complex and realistic character.) Still, what I really had issues with is the fact that Molly thought that “girls like her” don’t get boyfriends and apparently needed one to tell her that she’s beautiful before she could accept herself.

”Even if he likes me, I’m not sure he’d like me naked. I hate that I’m even thinking that. I hate hating my body. Actually, I don’t even hate my body. I just worry everyone else might.”

I didn’t like that Leah in “Leah on the Offbeat” always thought about herself as a “fat girl” and I still didn’t enjoy seeing this kind of self-perception in here. It’s like Becky tries to show us that everyone is different, that there are girls with curves out there and that this is okay, yet at the same time they always seem to have problems to accept themselves. Which, with all due respect, is bulls*it! It’s okay to have a normal body, everyone has their problem areas and no one is as skinny as all those models in magazines! For once I’d love to see a normal character in a YA book! (I’m not talking about the “I’m so plain but everyone still loves me because as it turns out I’m actually pretty special- trope” here) And if you truly want to write about girls with curves, then please, please, PLEASE, let them be content with them for once!!! I mean, hell, there are actually people out there that are okay with their body. It would be really sad if all of us would hate themselves like Molly does.

I can only speak for myself but a couple of years ago (yes, I was a teen back then) I posted a picture of myself on social media and there was a guy that commented: “You look great but your boobs are too small.” So what? Yes, my butt is probably bigger than my boobs. I know that and I’m fine with it. *shrugs* And just in case you’re interested in my answer. I told him the following: “Thanks, I’m content with my boobs!!!” Well, apparently some people found this answer so hilarious that they actually founded a group called: “I’m content with my boobs.” But that’s a story for another day. *lol*

To get back to the topic at hand: There are people that love their body, stand by it and accept themselves exactly the way they are! And it would be really refreshing to read about a YA character that doesn’t have issues with its size. I hated that Molly needed a boyfriend to feel good in her skin and the message that was conveyed with that was really wrong. Like only a bf or gf can make you feel beautiful and valued. *shakes head*

“The Upside of Unrequited” was a great book and once I started to read it I found myself rushing through the pages. There were many things I loved: For instance the diverse cast, the different reps and the undeniable fact that it made me feel all giddy and happy at the end. (Which, if you ask me, seems to be a typical Becky Albertalli trade mark. ;-)) Unfortunately there were also some things I had issues with and so this ended up being a 3,5 paws (rounded up to 4) book for me. Still, it was a fast and nice read and it tackled a lot of important topics that are rarely mentioned in other YA books. So for this alone “The Upside of Unrequited” is definitely worth a try. 😉 Happy reading!

My Book List 2020

Hey there my lovelies! =)

In my „Preparing my Book List 2020 & The “How many books of my TBR 2019 can I pack into the last 4 weeks of the year” challenge. ;-P“ blog post I mentioned that I would try to read 40 books this year and that there were only 33 on my list so far. I asked you for recommendations to fill in those last seven blank spots and boy did I get many awesome suggestions! XD

In fact it were so many that I made a bowl with all of them and blindly pulled out seven of them! *lol* Thank you so much for participating! I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into your answers and I hope you’ll find your recommendation at the end of the following list! ❤

So here I go:

1.) Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo

2.) The Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon

3.) The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli

4.) This Savage Song – Victoria Schwab

5.) The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern

6.) House of Salt and Sorrows – Erin A. Craig

7.) Wayward Son – Rainbow Rowell

8.) Call Down the Hawk – Maggie Stiefvater

9.) The Wicked King – Holly Black

10.) Stalking Jack the Ripper – Kerri Maniscalco

11.) A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer

12.) The Wise Man’s Fear – Patrick Rothfuss

13.) Aurora Rising – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

14.) The Dragon Republic – R.F. Kuang

15.) The Foxhole Court – Nora Sakavic

16.) Serpent & Dove – Shelby Mahurin

17.) And I Darken – Kiersten White

18.) Iron Gold – Pierce Brown

19.) Evenfall – Ais

20.) The Language of Thorns – Leigh Bardugo

21.) Scythe – Neal Shusterman

22.) The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson

23.) Red Seas Under Red Skies – Scott Lynch

24.) Ghosts of the Shadow Market – Cassandra Clare

25.) Chain of Gold – Cassandra Clare (release date: March 3rd)

26.) Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb

27.) I Wish You All the Best – Mason Deaver (release date: May 5th)

28.) Imagine Me – Tahereh Mafi (release date: March 31st)

29.) Vengeful – V.E. Schwab

30.) Wicked Lovely – Melissa Marr (re-read)

31.) Furies of Calderon – Jim Butcher (re-read)

32.) Broken Throne – Victoria Aveyard

33.) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (release date: May 19th)

34.) Uprooted – Naomi Novik

35.) Radiance – Grace Draven

36.) Ruby Red – Kerstin Gier

37.) The Coffin Maker – Breeann Allison

38.) Frogkisser – Garth Nix

39.) Sword of Kaigen – M.L. Wang (I actually pulled it out, Hamad!!! *lol*)

40.) Old Magic – Marianne Curley

I’m really looking forward to read all of those books and I hope that by the end of the year I will have ticked them off my list. Considering it all, I wasn’t doing all that bad with My Book List 2019 and I’m pretty sure that I’ll continue to scratch out the remaining books of my old list in 2020. 😉 To post it on here definitely helped me to read the books I planned to read and it kind of forced me to keep to some sort of reading schedule. (Which is definitely a good thing when it comes to me. *lol*)

Anyway! What about you? Did you already read some of the books on my list or are you planning to read them in near future? How many books do you want to read in 2020? Are you looking forward to some of those new releases too? Let me know!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox

Preparing my Book List 2020 & The “How many books of my TBR 2019 can I pack into the last 4 weeks of the year” challenge! ;-P

Hey there, my lovelies!

As some of you might know I always make a Book List (which I don’t follow) for the upcoming year and I thought this year I might go for it pretty early. XD Last year it was some sort of last minute thing but this time around I want to plan it better so I figured I might just go for it now. 🙂

I know, I know, I’m still not done with My Book List 2019 but I’m working on it with my „How many books of my TBR 2019 can I pack into the last 4 weeks of the year“ challenge! And before you ask: Yes, this is an actual thing! *lol* You can join me if you want! I’m sure I’m not the only one who just realized that there are way too many unread books on „My Book List 2019“, right? Come on, throw me a bone here! 😛 *lol*

Anywayyy! Moving on!

What I was about to say is that I’m planning to read 42 books next year, one book for every week of the year. And even though I’m going to set my goodreads challenge on 60 books I decided that I’ll once again only settle for 40 fixed books this year. So here’s where you come into play: I want you to give me some book recommendations because I’m only choosing 33 books myself and the other 7 books are up to you! 😉 (It’s 7 because I like the number. Like the 7 deadly sins, 7 days of the week, 7 colours of the rainbow (I especially like that one and what does it say about me that I thought of the 7 deadly sins first? *lol*) Never mind! What it comes down to is that I want to read seven books that YOU chose for me! 😉

I’m basically open to any genre but I might confess that I’m not big on autobiographies, self-help or religious books. So there’s that. I hope I’ll get lots of recommendations from you. Just comment on this post and if you feel like it, it can be even more than one book. In the end I’ll put all your suggestions into a bowl and will pull them out blindly. 😀 This way it should be fair. 😉

I really enjoyed last years recommendations so I hope I’ll discover many great and new books in 2020! Thank you for reading all this (I just can’t seem to be able to write short posts. >_<) and happy reading!!

*hugs’n’kisses*

The Sassy Library Fox