Overall Opinion of Ruby's Choice

[gali]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I pretty much didn't like the entire first half. I thought the Tap It game was immature and the whole way Ruby got so close with both boys so quickly didn't feel real to me. I thought the characters acted very young for their age regarding their love lives. It felt like a mismatch of a young adult book for 14-15 year olds, but with some sexy scenes that would not be appropriate for that age group. In the first half, Ruby's friends are not well developed and the plot just seemed to be an immature love triangle where Ruby had no regard for either boy's feelings. Brent really cared for her and she seemed to be missing a sensitiviy chip in how she treated him. It seemed like Brent's character was written in such a way that the reader would feel, by default, Reed was the obvious choice. I personally liked Brent and felt he was treated poorly by Ruby. OK, I know they are not real people.

Now let's cut to the second half which saved the book for me. Anna and Sandy get fleshed out more and the dash of supernatural elements is excellently woven through the storyline. I was impressed with this and I don't even usually care for that kind of stuff. The car accident and its aftermath was written well and I loved the epilogue where everything is revealed. I would have liked the book more if the early chapters and graphic scenes were toned down and there was more about Anna and Sandy's lives. Overall I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

I agree the Tap It game was immature, but it was amusing to read how Ruby turned it around. I likes the two parts of the book, but agree that the second part was much more developed. I didn't like Brent at all due to his bouts of jealousy. Anyway, I am glad that you liked the book despite it all.

[V_bansal2912]

Wow..that is all I have...!! I dont really prefer romantic genre....but this was a good book...loved its characters...n actually looking forward for the next book...!!

[Heidi M Simone]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I pretty much didn't like the entire first half. I thought the Tap It game was immature and the whole way Ruby got so close with both boys so quickly didn't feel real to me. I thought the characters acted very young for their age regarding their love lives. It felt like a mismatch of a young adult book for 14-15 year olds, but with some sexy scenes that would not be appropriate for that age group. In the first half, Ruby's friends are not well developed and the plot just seemed to be an immature love triangle where Ruby had no regard for either boy's feelings. Brent really cared for her and she seemed to be missing a sensitiviy chip in how she treated him. It seemed like Brent's character was written in such a way that the reader would feel, by default, Reed was the obvious choice. I personally liked Brent and felt he was treated poorly by Ruby. OK, I know they are not real people.

Now let's cut to the second half which saved the book for me. Anna and Sandy get fleshed out more and the dash of supernatural elements is excellently woven through the storyline. I was impressed with this and I don't even usually care for that kind of stuff. The car accident and its aftermath was written well and I loved the epilogue where everything is revealed. I would have liked the book more if the early chapters and graphic scenes were toned down and there was more about Anna and Sandy's lives. Overall I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

I just finished this book and find that I have very similar feelings as yours, bookowlie. I wasn't a fan of the first part because of the immaturity level. But, I did like the second part because of the character development and focusing on Ruby's friends and powers more.

Although...I will say that I was more happy towards the end to find out that it was a dream and none of that really happened to Ruby. It helped her make her decision to be with Reed easier, which I think is great! Overall, a 3 out of 4 for me.

[Scott]

Overall, I like the book. I read it in just two days, so that must say something.

I thought the Tap It game was immature and the whole way Ruby got so close with both boys so quickly didn't feel real to me.

I agree the Tap It game was immature, but it was amusing to read how Ruby turned it around. I likes the two parts of the book, but agree that the second part was much more developed. I didn't like Brent at all due to his bouts of jealousy. Anyway, I am glad that you liked the book despite it all.

I agree the Tap It game was immature, but I didn't hold that against the story. College-age kids are immature. Also, the game was more at the beginning, so I thought it fit with the coming of age aspect of the story. With that said, at times I did have difficulty putting a finger on the maturity level and thus over personality of some of the characters, especially in the first half, so I think I understand bookowlie's sentiment.

[CallMeMissEllis]

Late to the party but really excited to read this, after reading everyone's feedback

[literarycat]

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book at the beginning. I thought it would be a cave exploration/supernatural drama with young characters. I was hooked at the first and finished the book in a couple of days. It was entirely better than I expected. The characters were believable, with the brief supernatural elements woven throughout in a way that made sense. The ending threw me for a loop. I actually read the last chapter twice to make sure I understood what was happening! I can't wait to read the other books in this series. I rate this 4 out of 4 stars.

I completely agree I went into it not knowing how I would like it,and like everyone else I couldn't put it down. I want to read it again.

[kio]

Overall. I'd rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I really like the story and got into some of the supernatural elements. I would've liked a few more of these elements. I got sick of all the sex/making out scenes, however. They didn't always add to the plot and felt, oftentimes, just thrown in there. I did, though, like how Ruby was tough stuff and didn't put up with a lot of crap from other people.

[CatGitane]

I love pretty much anything that has got to do with supernatural and I am guilty for loving love triangles, so this book appeals to me in a twisted way. However, it seems it's a romance novel as well and I don't sit well with romance... I'm thinking of maybe giving it a try due to the good reviews and rating this book has.

[Bigwig1973]

I think I put this on the 3-star shelf. It's hard for me to relate to Ruby because dreams seem to be so important to her and I hardly ever remember my dreams. It's interesting though. I would recommend this book - I'm not a huge fan of sex scenes in books but it isn't so offensive that I wouldn't recommend the book. I would have been more comfortable recommending this book to my own daughters, for instance, if there were not any sex scenes. But, I think they would still like it regardless. I liked the ending. Initially, I didn't care for the beginning and how it jumped to the scene in the store - I would like to explore caves so that is probably a personal thing.
The author does a nice job describing the women in the book and detailing their relationship. She also does a nice job keeping the supernatural characters distinct from the other characters, even though one would perhaps argue that a healer, and a clairvoyant would also be somewhat supernatural. It's a different level of supernatural, it seems. Overall it was a nice mix of friendship, relationships, supernatural occurrences, practical psychological issues with Reed and Brent and again, friendship. It was all put together fairly well considering how many different elements she managed to weave into the story. I like to write critical essays that propose and defend generally one point and so, it's hard for me to imagine combining so many different elements into a story.

[Miranda Alex]

I am incredibly astonished by how the author skillfully incorporated elements of the supernatural into a romantic tale and made them appear almost plausible (if you are open minded enough). only a little bit clearer than the movie Inception, in my opinion. Excellent work. I'm eager to see if D.F. Jones will write more.

[Mikail Nurur-Rahman1]

This was a quick read for me that I couldn't put down. When I started reading it, I thought it was going to be a boring book about a cave adventure. To my surprise it was a love story that has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I loved the book and can't wait to read the next one!