Review - Emerald Green

Original Title: Smaragdgrün

Series: Edelstein-Trilogie, #1 (Precious Stone Trilogy #2)

Author: Kerstin Gier
Published: January 5th 2010
Publisher: Arena Verlag

AND NOW WHAT...??

I don't want to get back to my life. I tried to slow down during the last pages, I really tried... but the book ended. I confess, I didn't want it, I wasn't ready to say goodbye. How do you do that with characters whose journey you joined, and shared their worries, their happiness, their tears, their laughter...? How can you know things they don't, and resist the urge to tell them? 

I will miss them. This isn't fair! I want more! It got me turning pages since the very start, and I enjoyed every minute! I literally held my breath in some parts, specially at the end, because the unexpected definitely has a big place in this story. For those who read it and know the last chapters, yeah, I didn't see that coming in a million years.

I admit that I didn't really care about what happened outside the world of the Guardians and the Circle of Twelve... You know, the whole green costume party at Cynthia Dale's house and all the teen affairs... I read those parts without truly giving them my attention, I only wanted to know more about the other travelers, and the gems, and the true purpose of the evil count of St. Germain. 

Kerstin Gier creates cliffhangers that are simply MEAN. Because you need to know more. A detail I loved, from the very first book, and that I forgot to mention in my other reviews, is the fact that she puts little quotes and records from the Annals of the Guardians at the beginning of each chapter. It's a different way of start, and the books wouldn't be the same without them. In fact, I returned more than once to Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue to check the list of the time travelers, and see their gemstones and animals, in an attempt to guess what would happen next, and deduce Aunt Maddy's visions, who, by the way, along with Xemerius, has the funniest lines in the whole story.

The discoveries in this book are breathtaking. About Gwen, her family, the count of St. Germain, the Florentine Alliance... They had me turning pages late at night, I couldn't put it down. Gwen and Gideon are lovely together, Gideon in love is very sweet, though I have to say, I didn't trust him for most of the book (but again, neither did Gwen, and she's the one telling the story, so, therefore, I didn't trust him either). But still... As it happened in the previous books, the love story didn't grab me so much, my main attention was over the Guardians, the cronograph, the Circle of Twelve, Lucy and Paul... I love when Gwen's 21st century mind clashes with the 18th century one, specially during the lessons with Mr. Giordano, and the ball scene, and the way she expressed her jealousy over Gideon and Lady Lavinia's all-too-much deep neckline... It had me laughing out loud for quite a while! Oh, and James... a whole different story, but I liked what happened to him; he deserved it.

(By the way, once again, my applause to Madame Rossini! I loved Gwen's dress for the ball, and I could see it in my head! So beautiful!).

Besides one or two points that are not totally clear, it is an AMAZING STORY. I truly loved it and I didn't want it to end! Definitely, a must-read for all those who love adventure, time travel, fantasy, and of course, breathtaking surprises and cliffhangers that will leave you reeling on your sit. You won't be disappointed!