The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 288pgs

The Story

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the St. Clouds and a rival Cabal, they’re quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it’s not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they’re so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she’ll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can’t keep running forever.

The Review

Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the sequel, The Calling, but I've actually quite enjoyed this trilogy on a whole. Sure I will admit that this particular series may not have beaten my love for Kelley Armstrong's original Darkest Powers series which this spin-off series is based on, but the author sure knows how to thrill her readers with intense characters, complicated situations and plenty of drama to keep you guessing on how the book will come to an end. So considering THE RISING is the final book of a trilogy, I thought it was pretty good and was definitely a major improvement to the previous sequel.

Within the course of this series, we got pretty familiar with Maya and her group of friends, especially with her love interests Rafe and Daniel. However, I found in this book it finally opened up a lot more doors to Maya's past and potential future with her friends and family and love interests, which was a nice change up considering the sequel - at least I found - was the weakest book out of all three and offered no excitement to me. Plus this book was really intense and definitely gripping so it was very hard to put down. Well . . . except when some characters were being stupid . . . but hey, it happens to the best of us I guess. 

Overall, THE RISING was a decent final book. In terms of the ending though, I was 'mostly' satisfied with it. It surprised me (that's for sure) because it was NOT at all how I imagined the series to end in that particular way, but with the obvious love triangle finally being solved and with everything wrapped up in a nice ta-da way . . . that's all you can really ask for. I may have wanted more from the characters in that ending and maybe an insight to where they are later down the track, but on a whole, I was mostly satisfied with it. A yay for Maya's decision in a love interest! I'm very happy about that part!

The Rating

4/5 stars

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

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: 12th April, 2011

Publisher: ATOM

Pages: 359pgs

The Story

Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can't find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred-people, and her school has only sixty-eight students - for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.

Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won't go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret - and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: her paw-print birthmark.

The Review

If you're looking for an interesting adventure, than look no further. Here we have THE GATHERING by Kelley Armstrong! This book has everything a book lover will always love to read about: a great cast of characters, a small isolated community, supernatural elements, and a secretive scientific company that have secrets of their own, ones that you must decide whether to trust or to expose.

Honestly, I have to say that I was surprised how much I liked this book. Sometimes the YA paranormal genre offers nothing really new and uses the same cliche storylines . . . and to me it sounded like another shapeshifter story. However, since being a huge fan of Armstrong's previous YA series, Darkest Powers, I knew that she would write another great adventure since this book is a spin-off. And she did just that. Much to my surprise after the first couple of chapters, I quickly found myself immersed with the storyline and the mythology Armstrong crafted in this little gated community. And with the element of 'bad boy Rafe' entering the picture, let's just say the book can do no wrong.

What really captured me was the cast of characters. All of them - not just Maya - are completely engaging and it didn't matter if a couple were annoying little pests . . . they were nonetheless interesting and very multi-layered. Maya in particular was a great heroine. She's strong, smart, witty, and can definitely hold her own. Sure she has a lot of emotions and maybe not so lucky in her choices of men, but she's a great character that readers will like. Anyway like I said before, I was very surprised by the appeal of this book. This now brings me to the writing. I love Vancouver. I haven't had the pleasure of travelling over there, but one day I will have to! The imagery Armstrong weaved into her writing was a great pleasure to read about. Through the writing itself I could actually visualize the trees and the cliffs, the lake, the forests, and even the collections of small shops that made the town's 'downtown' area. The town seemed so real to me and Armstrong's writing made it all come alive.

THE GATHERING is a great book, really. Some readers may be tired of the paranormal aspect in novels but be sure to check out this one. From what I know, this book is the first of a trilogy, so even with a lot of questions unanswered in this installment, I'm still looking forward to the sequel!

The Rating

4/5 stars