Review: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Calling

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Darkness Rising #2

Release Date: April 10^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 326

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

Source: Bought

On the heels of the wildly popular The Gathering comes the second in the "Darkness Rising" YA trilogy from NYT bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

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.

Kelley Armstrong never fails to impress me. Every one of her books has captivated me from page one, and this one is no exception. I have been craving for this book since I read The Gathering when it first came out. This made me excited for the sequel in the series Darkness Rising, yet it also raised my expectations.

The story starts right where we were left off in The Gathering. Rereading it may be a good idea before reading the Calling, if you don’t really remember what happened. The Calling is really a chase. Maya, Daniel and company are trying to get back home after being caught by the bad guys. They are trying to escape, and to survive in the wild.

This sequel doesn’t bore us. It is fast-paced and keeps you in the story until the ends. The amazing thing about this book is that it brings the story forward, without feeling like it’s just an in-between. Things are happening, but also being resolved. The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was the number of scene featuring Rafe. I really like him as a character, which make me sad that he wasn’t there much. I do like Daniel, simply not as much. Maya is simply amazing as a main character. She is strong, she is wise and she is driven to find the truth. I simply adore her. I love it when novels have strong female character, a girl that can think for herself.

If you love Kelley Armstrong’s books as much as I do, you probably realized that most of her work is interconnected. It is the world of the Darkest Power and Women of the Otherworld. Chances are that the Darkest Power’s character (Chloe, Derek) will meet Maya and company (which would be totally awesome).

Again, this book was far from disappointing. I read it in a matter of hours, being unable to put it down. It was that good. That’s something Kelley Armstrong is amazing at doing, writing novels that you simply need to read. Absolutely a must read for anyone fan of hers.

Waiting On Wednesday (21)

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly Meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. It is an opportunity for us to show books we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week, I'm waiting for:

Title: The Calling
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: April 10th, 2012
Publisher: Doubleday Canada

On the heels of the wildly popular The Gathering comes the second in the "Darkness Rising" YA trilogy from NYT bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

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.

Review: The Gathering

Title: The Gathering

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: April 5^th, 2011

Series: Darkness Rising #1

Number of Pages: 359

Publisher: Double Day Canada

Source: Bought

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.

I’m completely in love with everything Kelley Armstrong writes. She has this way to portray some amazing supernatural characters without making them come across as stereotypical. She never stops to amaze me.

Yet, the one thing that really got on my nerve with this book is the ending. I fell like this book was teasing me so much, building something that will come only in the next book. That’s a mean thing to do! I just can’t stop thinking about the story, the characters and about what will happen next. One of the things I love is that every book she writes seems to have a connection. The all are in the same world. I love this world, so I won’t complain!

I liked Maya, but I got to love her more and more through the books. You get to know her, the good and the bad. She’s not perfect, and she doesn’t believe she is. Daniel is amazingly awesome I must say, but I don’t really like the “maybe he likes her” feeling. I wish I could just say that they were more like brother and sister, like Maya seems to think at some point, yet Daniel really seem to like her more than that. I don’t want him to, because I completely adore Rafe. There’s something mysterious about him. I love how far he is willing to go to protect his sister. There’s just something deeper in him than just the bad boy image, which makes him more than just the usually bad boy character that all girls fall for.

Honestly, if you love Kelley Armstrong’s books as much as I do, you won’t be disappointed with it!

Review: The Reckoning

Wow, I haven't posted in a while. Sorry for that. I only have one week left of school, and a lot of stuff to do. I probably won't post a lot until the 11th, but don't worry, I'll be back. Remember to enter my giveaway here too!


Title: The Reckoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: March 6th 2010
Series: The Darkest Powers #3
Number of Pages: 391
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Source: Bought
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Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I'm on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We're hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We'll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we'd left behind and take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.

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I find it hard to write a review for a sequel. If you haven’t read this series yet, you can read my review for the first one HERE and for the second one HERE.

I’m going to be completely honest… I liked it! This series gets better with every book. I love the story, it keeps me addicted and begging for more. The characters are just so great. I love Chloe. I adore Derek. Simon makes me laugh. Tori is less annoying. I love how the romantic aspect is included, without making it seems fake.

Yet, there is one problem…. WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT? I just don’t think it is the best end she could have given us, simply because it doesn’t seem to tie the loose ends. I was just hoping for a little more closure.

Still, I adore you, Kelley Armstrong. She is an amazing writer, for both Young Adult and Adult. You should definitely check her out.

4/5. Why? Because the ending is missing something. There are too many unanswered questions to really satisfy me.

Review: The Awakening

Title: The Awakening           

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: May 1^st, 2009

Series: Darkest Powers #2

Number of Pages: 357

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

Source: Bought

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If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

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This series is getting better and better. Where the first one was slow at first, this one brings you back to the story quite fast. I’m really getting into this series now, and I recognize the wonders Armstrong can do.

The story continues in this sequel, after the Edison Group caught Chloe. As soon as I started reading it, I just couldn’t put it down. I had to know what would happen next, I still have to. The ending is great, because it makes you want to pick the next one, without torturing you. I’ll read the Reckoning soon, but I won’t die waiting for it.

I really like the characters more and more. Derek is really getting on my good side. I just really like him, there is something really interesting about him. Tori is annoying, but she’s getting better. She makes me laugh sometime. Simon ended up annoying me a little in this book, yet I can’t really say why. Chloe is growing through the books, a thing I like. She seems a little more mature and confident.

Kelley Armstrong is such an amazing writer. I absolutely love her; I can’t wait to read more from her. I still prefer her adult series a little more, but I’m enjoying the Darkest Power more now than I did at first.

Overall, it is getting really good. I would give it a 4/5 

Review: The Summoning

Title: The Summoning

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: July 1^st, 2008

Series: Darkest Powers #1

Number of Pages: 390

PublisherL Doubleday Canada

Source: Bought

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After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home. 

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

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I was really excited about reading this book. After all, I LOVE the Women of The Otherworld series, and I had heard so many great comments about Armstrong’s YA series. Yet, it wasn’t as good as I was expected. I just was disappointed, because I was really hoping to love it. I liked it, just not enough to go to all my friends and tell them they should read it NOW.

The book was really slow for me at first. I just couldn’t get into the story. It took me 150 pages to really get into it. After that, I was captivated, but this first part is one of the reason I was disappointed in this book. As good as the plot was, I just needed a little something more. The ending is killing me, to be honest. I really want to know what happen to everyone. I have to; it will probably keep me up tonight… It shows that she already knew this would be a series, because the ending screams “Sequel!”

I like Derek so much! There is something about him that makes him such an interesting character. His brother Simon didn’t interest me as much. I’m rooting for the big guy! Chloe was great to me. She reacted in a normal way. It would have really sucked if she just had accepted that she could see ghosts. That wouldn’t have been realistic. Other than that, the characters didn’t make any big impression on me. Except maybe for Rae, I feel like her real problem isn’t fire, but attention. Maybe not as extreme as Tori, who completely annoy me in a good way, but it is still there.

I love Kelley Armstrong. I think she’s an amazing writer, but I don’t think it is her best work ever. I think her adult series was better. Yet, it won’t stop me from buying the sequel really soon, so I can know what will happen next for Chloe and company.

It is a great first book for this series. Based on just the first one, I wouldn’t tell you to put it on the top of your list, but maybe the sequel will change my mind!

7/10!

Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Women of the Otherworld #1
Release Date: September 25th, 2001

Number of Pages: 422

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Source: Bought

Smart, sexy, and supernatural, meet the Women of the Otherworld- Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf- and she’s tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her- her temper, her violence- but requires it. Worst of all, Elena realizes she’s growing content with that life, with being that person. Overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, Elena leaves the Pack and moves to the city to try living as a human. When the Pack leader calls to ask for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she’ll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really.
An erotically charged thriller, Bitten will awaken the voracious appetite of every reader, as the age-old battle between human and beast comes to a head in one small town and within one woman’s body.

This is probably one of my favorite series. It is not part an YA books, but I still adore it. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone under 16, even 18. Why? Simply because there’s violence, sex and some crude remarks. I have read all the books of this series, and I absolutely love Kelley Armstrong style. Some of you may know her for her books  The Summoning, The Awakening and The Reckoning (which I have not read.)

I like how she presents strong female characters, instead of using the damsel in distress kind of characters (or simply a Mary-Sue. I hate Mary-Sue.) She doesn’t try to reinvent the supernatural races, but she does give them their own twist.

Perfect for a day off, or a long trip, as you may not be able to put it down once you start it

One Of my Favorites.