The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: Out now!

Publishers: Harper

Pages: 326pgs

The Story

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is - a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home. Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

In The Calling, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy. New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of The Gathering clamoring for more.

The Review

I really enjoyed the first book in the Darkness Rising series, The Gathering, and while I don't usually set up high hopes for a sequel nor expect it to be be even better than the first book - merely because I don't want to be disappointed by them - but unfortunately I did have high hopes for Kelley Armstrong's second installment of her newest YA series, and unfortunately for her and unfortunately for me with this book alone, I didn't enjoy this sequel all so 'much'. It was fun in certain respects but there just wasn't enough to keep me gripped throughout the book.

As I was reading THE CALLING I couldn't help but compare it to Kelley Armstrong's previous YA series the Darkest Powers and while I understand this is supposed to be a spin-off series of that original series however I still felt like nothing new was being added into this particular storyline. Kids with special powers. Kids constantly on the run. Kids being watched by a group of powerful government-like people. Same old, same old. The main problem with this book - for me at least - was it being set mostly in the wilderness or rather the way it was handled in that lonely wilderness. While being in the woods and the whole survival thing is there to prepare us for what's going to happen in the final book of the trilogy, but I don't know . . . I just didn't like it. After all, I felt like most of the characters were making too many hasty decisions and I forgot who was chasing who by the time I finished this book. I was confused and disoriented. However, the only redemption this book had was Maya, the main heroine. She seemed to be the only one with her head screwed on throughout every single situation she experienced. Maybe not when it comes to love . . . but she's great as always.

Personally, I find Maya to be that kind of heroine that you'll always have to support and stand behind. She's brave. She's tough. She's someone willing to listening to others. She appreciates help when its needed. She's totally kick-ass and . . . she manages to keep everyone together, even when things seem to break further and further apart from these group of teens featured in the book. For sure, Maya still may have struggled with her feelings and emotions (especially with her 'two' love interests) which caused her to make further mistakes, but eventually in time she manages to pull through many obstacles for which I'm grateful for.

As for the other supporting characters that we meet once more, I can't say I'd particularly cared for them all this time round, though I did love Daniel a little bit more which is good. Like the awesome guy that he is, Daniel is the super best friend everyone needs to have in their lives (he's an all-round good guy what can I say?) and he doesn't judge people for their mistakes - which is, one of the best qualities about him. While our dear Rafe - Maya's other bad boy of a love interest - remains missing for the majority of the book (which really peeved me off since I wanted more from his character), but having Maya and Daniel team up together in this sequel had a very likable appeal to me and in the end made me enjoy the book even more.

Overall, THE CALLING was a  very, very different sequel. It didn't necessarily have the same feelings that I had experienced from the previous book, which was probably due to the fact that there was a lot of movement and nature going on within the storyline, so I guess that part may have had something to do with my lower rating. But even with this book failing to impress me, but considering what happened in the end, I'm still fairly eager to read the third and final installment of the trilogy, which I'm sure will make me fall back in love with this series again. I'm almost sure of it!

The Rating

3 1/2 / 5 stars