Momentum

First, don't let anyone tell you Ruby Red is a book.  It's not.  Kerstin Gier has written one book and then broken it into three volumes; Ruby Red is one third of a book.  And I'm not saying I didn't guess that it would leave you poised for the next part of the trilogy, but seriously, absolutely nothing--not one minor little plot point--is resolved here.

Luckily I have Sapphire Blue in hand, but lord only knows how long I'm going to have to wait before Anthea Bell gets around to translating the third (which is called Emerald Green). Oh, huh, apparently October.  Okay, not SO bad.  Let's see if I still care by then, though.  I think momentum is carrying me along here.

Because you know, I'm meh-ish here.  It's actually kind of compelling--I like the very modern sensibility of Gwyneth, and I like that she's not instantly goo-goo over Gideon, just kind of crushy.  But there are SO MANY HOLES.  And not enough characters are asking the first questions that pop into my mind. Like, where does this poem-prophecy come from, and how do you discover that there are only ever going to be X number of time travelers born if they can only ever travel back, and how can there be some sort of universal secret that you KNOW is super important but you don't know what it is that is unlocked after you mix everyone's blood together or whatever?  And the translator did a great job except with the poem, or else the poem is just a mess in the original language, too.  Worst. Mnemonic. Ever.

It's just all over the place.  I like Gwyneth's modern day best friend and her very practical approach to things, but the questions above barely even scratch the surface.  I wish this had been one book; I think it would be better for it.

Speaking of momentum, I have Days of Blood and Starlight in hand, as well, and Laini Taylor, let me tell you, is worth spilling way more drool.  Lianna's reading it right now, and I hope we both love it as much as Daughter of Smoke and Bone--more, in fact, since we have established the relationship and what's keeping them apart, sparing us the awkward romance stuff, or at least its stilted introduction. 

Akiva is really objectified--hot boy who lurves her and broods.  Hopefully he gets a little more depth here.  Also, I think I can safely say that I just want want want more of Brimstone, and that I hope this book will hold that.

My book club commitment this week is to Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, (which I'm pretty sure should not have the word "after" capitalized, but I'm following the convention I'm seeing elsewhere because I'm trying to prevent my innate grammar sticklerism from taking over my life and it's hard.  So hard.) and it's fine, but I'm not quite feeling it yet.  It's got a literary thing going on so far--15% of the way in and it's mostly slice of life during WWI stuff, with some hints that the interesting twist to the structure will get more interesting as time goes on.  I really hope it does.

But I don't have momentum there yet, and anyway that will probably get its own post later.  For now--sequels!