Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date: 5/10/11
Pages: 324
Grade: C

GoodReads Synopsis: Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon, the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.
  
Review: I SO wanted to love this book.  I've loved every novel concerning time travel thus far and with all the International acclaim for this book I knew it was going to be a winner! Unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype in my mind...which made me very frustrated.

My challenges with this book start with the fact that it's 300+ pages that only span 4 days. So it moved very slowly.  It moved so slowly because the author was providing so much background. The story didn't really start until about the last 30-50 pages.I've read many series where the first book was primarily spent laying groundwork for the rest of the series ("Mayfair Witches" by Anne Rice is the first one to come to mind), and I went on to love the rest of the series. I'm sincerely hoping that will be the case with this series.

The book ended with a cliffhanger and a kiss...a bit of romance will always suck me in.  What I enjoyed the most was the epilogue...It hinted that everyone may not be who they *think* they are. Which really has my curiosity piqued.  I am anxiously waiting for the next novel in the series which is due out Spring 2012...I'm holding out hope that it and the third novel of this trilogy will live up to the hype in the media as well as my imagination.