Review: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Darkness Rising, Book #1

Published: April 5th, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

326 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Young adult paranormal/urban fantasy

Acquired this book: From the library

Warning: May contain spoilers

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{Read my review of The Gathering}

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.

 

I’ve been a fan of Kelley Armstrong’s books since before I started blogging, and I continue to love her books more and more. The Calling is the second installment in Armstrong’s Darkness Rising trilogy, and it picks up right after where we left off with The Gathering. In the first book, things ended in the midst of a seriously stressful situation, and the tension, fear, and worry are not only carried over into the second book, it feels like the stakes are even higher somehow.

Armstrong has a real knack for pulling you into the story and making you feel like you’re right there. I was able to feel Maya’s apprehension, anger, worry, confusion. I felt like I was right there with her and her friends, trekking through the forest, trying to figure things out, trying to escape, trying to make it to safety. The book was mostly fast-paced, but it did have a lot of Maya’s internal dialogue as she tried to figure things out. While this would usually detract from my overall enjoyment, the story never failed to hold my interest, and I devoured this book, unable to put it down until I found out what was going to happen.

I loved the supernatural aspect of the book, and getting to see the teens’ powers coming to the surface, and how they dealt with them, especially Maya. I also loved how the book was subtly tied into the Darkest Powers trilogy; it makes me even more excited for the final book in the trilogy, because it seems like there’s a lot yet to happen. 

Intense and action-packed, with plenty of suspense as well as twists, turns, and surprises, The Calling is a fantastic middle book in a thrilling trilogy. I have no doubt the final installment in this trilogy, The Rising, is going to be incredible, and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Maya and her friends.

 

  

Have you read The Calling? What did you think? Are you a fan of Kelley Armstrong's books?

 

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