Rua by Miranda Kavi

Goodreads Blurb

A girl with an unknown destiny. 
A boy from a hidden world. 
When Celeste starts at a new school in a small, Kansas town, she hears whispering voices, has vivid nightmares, and swarms of blackbirds follow her every move. She is oddly drawn to aloof Rylan, the other new student who has his own secrets. 
The exact moment she turns seventeen, she wakes to a bedroom full of strange creatures, purple light emanating from her hands, and Rylan breaking in through her bedroom window.
He knows what she is . . .

So here's another one of those indie books that was recommended to me! (By Lisseth at Read-a-holicz this time) And then, of course, majoy cover love! I love the purple and the designs and how wonderfully it portrays the book! 

Something I've noticed in indie books is that...well, I'll write a Random Musings post for that! Expect it sometime in Nov!

Anyways, what I did like: Plot and creep factor!

What I didn't like: The romance.

What was iffy: Characters and world building.

The characters were definitely amusing and I loved each their personalities! Especially Tink's. He was just hilarious and I loved how supportive he was, but it irritated me how quickly he became friends with Celeste. Within a day he was already doing all this stuff for her, protecting her and it was just...oh so very unrealistic. And then there was also that stereotypical vibe each character gave off. I mean, they each had different awesome personalities...but they acted like stereotypes. Tink was gay and he was so extremely girly and was literally acting like a girl in a guy's body. And then Rylan had that whole mysterious/know-it-all love interest who was instantly attracted to Celeste...and it...wasn't...good.

The world-building, while it dived more in depth in world-building than most indie books I've read, it still didn't explain WHERE it came from. Why are there only five Tuatha? Why did they have a nature connection? Why only one? But there were a few explanations; just not enough to completely satisfy my curiosity. But the world was definitely interesting and had a lot of potential! I just wish we could've dived deeper into it rather than grazing the surface.

The romance was very insta-lovey and that annoyed me to no end. Rylan wanted to kiss her "ever since he laid eyes on her" and Celeste was attracted (VERY attracted) to Rylan within the first day. And it was just...really really annoying for a girl who likes slow and steady. So...romance...not for me. 

Now the PLOT was amazing! At least,  near the end it was. There were a few plot twists, but nothing very major or anything that completely shocked me. In the beginning there were so many creepy things that happened and I absolutely loved that! The Sidhe in Rua aren't exactly...fae/fey...more...Otherwordly. You'll see what I mean! But the plot was really the only thing I actually liked, I'm sad to say. 

Pages: 265

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Publisher: Indie published

Release Date: August 28, 2012

Rating: 2.5--->2 stars