Set just moments when Gideon kisses Gwen, her blissful make-out is interrupted by a demon gargoyle. Once again, Gwen’s ability to see ghosts and demons ruin her semi-normal life. But the nuisance, Xemerius is nothing compared to the flip-flopping nature of Gideon de Villers and the fact that no one in the Inner Circle is willing to tell her what’s going on. Instead, the presence of Lucy and Paul’s ambush in 1912 has only made them more suspicious that she’ll turn traitor on them in the future. When she hasn’t done anything yet nor does she know what she will do!

All the timey-whimey whirl-around of characters seeking answers from their present selves on what their future selves will do can get confusing. Especially as it’s apparent that their time-travel within the time travel started the chaos. But Gwen’s mother said it best that you can trust no one which Gwen’s heartbreakingly learns in her attempts to find an ally in the present. Yet there is hope as Gwen, and the readers gain more clues that point to why the Count is a devious mastermind and what the prophecy truly means.

My previous complaint about the pacing and Gwen’s immaturity is thankfully rectified. Gier keeps up a fast-paced, spending less time on exposition and more time on characters taking active steps in figuring out the intentions of others, even getting a hand from their future selves although they don’t fully understand how or why.

There’s more to it but I wouldn’t explain it well with all the timey-whimy, and this is a no spoilers blog. Nonetheless, I found the time travel plot to be very interesting, intense and even amusing at times like when Gwen gets drunk at her first 18th century soiree and regales the guests with her rendition of Memory. It is also heartwarming as she does find one ally in her grandfather (though he’s in his 20s when she meets him) that adds nice character moments while progressing the story by delivering Paul and Lucy’s backstories and motivations. Lesley even gets to join the fray, proving her smarts and being something other than the wild best friend trope. I like the layers.

On the romantic side, Gwen’s interest in Gideon is still unbelievable to me but I can wave it off as first love intensity. It helps that Xemerius and Lesley act as sane people (and demon) by reminding Gwen that figuring out the whole chronograph mystery is more important than Gideon being a dick.

And seriously, he’s a dick. Though Gwen is partially blinded by jealousy over her perfectly snobby cousin, Charlotte that she assumes Charlotte and Gideon developed a something-something and he’s toying with them. That’s Gwen’s biased lens but what is not biased is how easily Gideon snaps from kissing her to accusing her of being a traitor, yelling at her then joking around. He’s like a teenage Rochester and his sad backstory didn’t make him more endearing to me. Loneliness and elder child syndrome is a thin excuse for his volatile moodiness. But I know, Gier is going to end up pairing them together anyway so I guess I’ll have to deal.

A more interesting moody man is Count Saint Germaine who is infinately easier to read because you know he’s the bad guy. Yet his suave, manipulative cadence, supernatural skills and manipulative brilliance makes him a compulsive read. Even as he lulls Gwen with his gentleman act, you also get shivers by the cold blood underneath.

Count Saint Germain isn’t the only danger as the story opens up another player. The Florentine Alliance is a longtime enemy of Saint Germain, made up of religious nuts who think Saint Germain and the time travelers are Satanic spawn. And Paul and Lucy make a mistake in doing an enemy of my enemy gambit that ends up setting all time travelers in danger, particularly the female Monterose line!

Sapphire Blue avoids the sophmore slump other books fall into by upping the stakes and expanding the possibilities of the future. While some plot threads like Paul and Lucy’s connection to Gwen and Gwen’s power in relation to the prophecy can be easily predicted, Gier’s blend of historical adventure and magical realism make me excited to see what happens next.

4 stars.