The Ruby

The Bracelet #4

by Jennie Hansen

Book by Jennie Hansen

Genres: Lds Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, Lds, Historical Romance, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Wendi Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in two days. I couldn't put it down. I'm really sad that this is the last of the series. I would have like to have learned the final resting places of the Diamond and the Saphire too.

[Heidi Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in a series. Jennie Hansen does a good job explaining the trials of immigrant life. I found this book to be an easy and quick read. It follows the life of Charlie Mae after as she escapes from her father's abusive home with her older brother. It then follows her across the plains with a wagon train and onto the California gold fields. Charlie Mae continues to suffer tragedy in her life, but has the ruby that she found next to a dead man (who she watched her father shoot). This ruby becomes a kind of insurance plan for her throughout the story. I enjoyed the book but wish that Hansen would have given more details into what happened with Charlie Mae and the ruby at the end. It seemed like you were left hanging.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, not as well as her others but it was an enjoyable read.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but it upset me. Charlie Mae is dealt a lot of bad cards when she's young. Her hateful father is abusive & her brothers don't seem to care that she's a slave in her house. Through a twist of events, she comes into posession of a very valuable ruby. She makes friends with a Mormon boy and gives the gem to him because she doesn't know what it was. She eventually escapes her father with one of her brothers and they head off to California to seek gold. She falls in love along the way with Chester and meets up with Spencer, the Mormon boy she met, when the wagon train rests in SLC. More bad stuff happens and she has to rush into her marriage. She's happy and they set out to start panning for gold. They live with her brother and his new bride & start finding gold. Things are going along really well and she finds out she's expecting a baby. Life is wonderful and perfect. Then all of the sudden, when they were visiting their claim, some theives come and shoot her husband in the back while he is trying to fight his way into the burning cabin to rescue their baby who is almost a year old. Both perish in the fire and Charlie Mae decides life is over. She goes through the motions of living but doesn't feel alive. She meets up with Spencer again & finds out his wife died in childbirth and eventually, they decide to marry & live happily ever after... The end... I was kinda disappointed in the end. She was so in love with her husband but thinks that she really loved Spencer all along... Didn't make sense in the end, but it was a fun book to read...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ruby is the fourth book in The Bracelet series by Jennie Hansen. It is the story of a girl named Charlie Mae. She is raised constantly taking care of a house full of boys and her elderly grandmother. Her mother is gone, and she is frequently beaten if she doesn't do things to her pa's liking. One night she secretly follows her brothers on a raid on the Mormons, and witnesses her father murder a defenseless man. That is when she finds the Ruby. Being afraid she'll be discovered she hides, but can't find her way home. She finds a friend in the Mormon community of Nauvoo, and his Grandmother teaches Charlie Mae to read and write. Things at home are about to get a lot worse, but Charlie and her brother somehow manage to escape and find themselves on a wagon train to California. Charlie's brother has dreams of mining for gold and becoming rich. I won't say any more on the plot, so you'll just have to get it and read it.

If you haven't read the rest of the series don't worry too much. The stories pretty much stand on their own. The only part you might be confused on is the tie-in with the ruby. The Bracelet is the first book in the series and that story tells where all the gems came from. The following books in the series follows each gem from the bracelet as they become separated and passed around to different people. I really like The Bracelet series. Each book has a lot of action, hardship, drama, spirituality and romance. I highly recommend them.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book last night. At first when I started reading it and the main character was a young girl, I was a little hesitant. But I was quickly caught up in the story and found it completely fascinating. It follows the childhood and young adulthood of Charlie Mae who grows up near Nauvoo. Her father and brothers are abusive, but she is amazingly resourceful and learns to read with the secret help of a Mormon neighbor. Charlie Mae then goes on to teach her brothers to read. She and one of her brothers finally escape and travel to where they join up with a wagon group that takes them across the wilderness to California. The research in THE RUBY was impeccable, and I loved the details that I learned about how it must have been for those crossing the plains anxious to join the gold rush. I also learned some new things about the gold rush and what a corrupt and desperate time it was.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book on The Bracelet series. All of the books are loosely tired together but can be read on their own.

This book is about Charlie Mae who is pretty much a slave in her own house. Her father is very cruel and abusive. She doesn't know what happened to her mother. Finally, when things get very bad, Charlie Mae and her brother escape the cruelty and end up on a wagon train headed to California. Both find their true loves on the wagon train, get married, and spend a couple of years panning for gold. However, life is not all good for Charlie Mae. Not only is she running from her cruel father, but other people are trying to kidnap her. When her life is finally calming down, tragedy strikes, and Charlie Mae doesn't think she can go on.

I've enjoyed this series. I thought this last book wasn't quite as good as the others, but I would recommend the series.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the 4 books in this series this one was my least favorite. It was okay, but not as interesting to me as the others. And the scenes where you're supposed to feel sad I really just felt disappointed. The ending also seemed a bit odd, like there should be more to the story and then it just kind of ends. Overall it was good to read because it was the last in a series that I really enjoyed. I would have a hard time believing this story could stand on its own.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book in the series The Bracelet by this author. I probably enjoyed it more than the others because there was a lot of action. Not much concerning the ruby itself but murders and how family members turn against each other. It is interesting how people from the same parents can be so different. It takes a long time for the girl Charlie Mae to find peace and some happiness which only lasted so long. She does learn about love and forgiveness and eternal families in the end.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've now read all 4 books in the series,but didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. Although the book was called The Ruby, the actual ruby didn't really have that much to do with the story. I felt, though, that after reading the first three books I had to finish the fourthm and it was just "okay."

[Kristelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "The Topaz" which is twenty years after "The Emerald" it was weird to jump back to the 1840's for this book. There wasn't as much in this book to keep it going compared to "The Bracelet" and "The Topaz". It also seemed like a really random place to stop the series. Not all of the jewels had their own book. An okay book but not really a finisher to a series.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ruby traveled a lot! Charlie Mae's pa was horribly mean to the entire family and was also part of the mob determined to get rid of the Mormons. When Charlotte is aided by a young boy and his grandma, she realizes how wrong her father is. Blessed to be aided by a determined brother, Irwin, she is able to run away to the west. She finds love and purpose to her life.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 4.5

I don't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that I did not know this was what I call a hankie book--a book where I would cry. I avoid those books and probably would not have been able to even pick up the book to finish the series.

This series has had such likable and memorable characters that I feel like I have personally been acquainted with them all.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book in the bracelet series. It was pretty good, but wasn't as good as the other three. The middle gets a little long, but it picks up again closer to the end and ends on a happy note (of course).

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4th book in this series and I really enjoyed it. Got it for Christmas. Suspense and romance, two basics for a good read. I am going to go back and read the first three again, I can't remember too much about them, just that I remembered enjoying them.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the bracelet series. I have enjoyed all of them and have shared them with my non-lds friends- even though there is some "churchy" stuff in them. It is a quick read and the story moves right along...time flies when you are into a good book:)

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as the previous books in the series because it lacked the excitement that Jennie Hansen writes so well. I was disappointed with the abrupt deaths and the too-easy resolution. It's easy to read, and the main character is likable.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me going the whole time! Wow, what a story. Easy reading. LDS based, but the basic storyline only skirted the religion part of it. Great reading! This is book #4 in The Bracelet series.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one up until the last few chapters. I was wanting more dialogue and falling in love between Charlie Mae and the Spencer. More follow up about her sister in law and brother and their acceptance of the gospel would have been nice too. Overall,I enjoyed this book.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was very good, but I wish that a book had been written about what happened to the sapphire after the Pedersons died, and what happened to the diamond after Clyde stole it from the dead hand of Kraft Rundell after Clyde's father and the others killed Kraft.

[Darilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on CD on a recent 4 hour car ride. I finished it almost by the time I got there. It kept my interest the entire time and I even went back and listened to the first CD again on my way home.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this series!

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book very much. Definitely not one of the author's best works. But since it's the last in the Bracelet series I had to see it through.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning was great, but then it became a kind of travel log of this young woman.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a bit formulaic for me. So many tragedies and then riding off into the sunset. i listened to the CDs - so I think the story might have been abridged to which I say thank goodness.

[Jonni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, I liked the 3rd best, but in all totally loved this series. Thanks Stacey.

[Jodee Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little slower than the last one and brought tears at the end. It was wrapped up nicely though. A Happy ending for all involved. Good lesson on endurance.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one didn't grip me as much as some of Jennie Hansen's other books but it is still a good story.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bracelet Series
4of4

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick afternoon read. Good story, a little bit predictable but then a shock and sadness that works out ok.