Diary of a Mad Brownie by Bruce Coville

Angus Cairns is a brownie from Scotland. He is bound to the McGonagall family by a curse laid on his father by the Queen of Shadows. He has to travel to America to attach himself to the youngest female of age in the family.

Angus's job is to tidy up after his family and his new girl Alex Carhart is determined to be as messy as possible. It takes adjustments on both sides to live together in peace. But that's just the beginning. Angus' curse also affects the men living in the house. Alex's father and brother both take up writing poetry - and they are very bad at it.

Only returning to the Queen of Shadows a precious thing that she lost will lift the curse. Can Angus and Alex figure out what it is and how to return it to the Enchanted Realm?

Kathi Linz

Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

In Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier, the first book in the series, Gwen discovered that she has a time travel gene in her blood. She was never told about it or trained for the possibilities that might happen when the gene kicked in. Since then, her life has turned completely upside down - and STILL no one will tell her what is going on. Now in the last book of the trilogy, Emerald Green, it's up to Gwen and her time traveling partner, Gideon, to work out the secrets of the Circle of Twelve, find out the ultimate goal, and save themselves from the perils that lurk around every corner.

Kathi Linz

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

     

     Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier is the second book in the Ruby Red trilogy.
     Gwyneth, the most recent and last of the Circle of Twelve time travelers, is taking crash courses on etiquette, fashion, dances, and the events of the late 1700's in order to accomplish her mission as a time traveler - except no one will tell her what the mission is and what they hope to accomplish.
     Gwyneth is rapidly falling in love with her time travel partner, Gideon. Gideon despairs of her lack of training and the likelihood of her messing up the plans. Whether he cares for her or not is questionable, and, after visiting with Count Saint-Germain, Gwen understands that Gideon's affection is all an act to make her willing to make sacrifices to complete the mission.
     All through the series, prophetic poetry points to the end goal. The wording sounds as if the whole world will be benefited by their travels, but then again, maybe only one man will gain a prize. Is it worth it to do what she is expected to do?
    Her relatives and co-time travelers, Lucy and Paul, seem to be doing everything in their power to stop the final product of the Circle of Twelve. Whose side should Gwen be on? It's all very confusing since she still can't get a straight answer from anyone to any of her questions.
     The answers will come in the last book of the trilogy, Emerald Green.

Kathi Linz

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

   

     Most time travel stories involve a device of some sort. A few stories, a very few, allow the time traveler to wander up and down the timeline by an inherited ability. The Ruby Red trilogy by Kerstin Gier involves both methods.
     Gwyneth and Charlotte are cousins, both born on the same day - although Gwyneth thinks she was born one day after Charlotte. This particular day had been calculated to be the birthday of the last time traveler in a cycle of twelve who inherit a certain genetic trait. Charlotte trains for time travel her whole life. She learns how to dance the minuet, fence, play piano, and have the appropriate manners for well-born ladies in the 1700's. Gwyneth gets none of this training. Yet the genes happened to fall on Gwyneth's side, leaving her traveling through time with none of the necessary training for it.
     She has to be taken to the headquarters of the Society that handles the business of these time travelers. If Gwen doesn't spend a few hours a day in the past under controlled circumstances, she will be flung backwards in time to a situation possibly/probably unexpected and dangerous.
     There are also planned trips into the past to meet certain people and perform certain tasks. The only other current traveler in this group of 12 is a young man named Gideon who is quite handsome and as carefully trained as Gwen's cousin had been. Some missions require both of them to fulfill. Gideon turns his attentions from Charlotte to Gwen when it becomes obvious that Charlotte won't be traveling to the past, which confuses both girls and makes their home life difficult.
     No one will tell Gwen the rules or the reasons for their missions, leaving her to guess and to poke around. To complicate things even more, someone or some group is trying to kill her and Gideon. Gwen can't decide who to trust except her best friend and the demon of a gargoyle that only she can see.

Kathi Linz