Really Ravishing Review (The Calling)

Title: The Calling
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Harper

(From the back cover of the review copy)
In The Calling, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of The Gathering clamoring for more. 


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 lost in the Vancouver Island wilderness. But Maya has a secret. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. It's part of who she really is- and it has something to do with the mysterious paw-print birthmark on her hip. Yet as Maya and her friends face unforeseen dangers, it becomes clear that she's not the only one in their close-knit group with something to hide. If they're going to survive, they'll need all their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

--

Loved it! Much more satisfying to me as a reader than The Gathering was. (You can read my mini review of The Gathering here.)

The Calling picks up right where we left off in The Gathering, rising into the air in the helicopter, escaping the forest fire. And like Maya and her friends, you never catch a break from the action. There's no rest for the escapees, and there's no shortage of excitement. Yay!

Secrets are uncovered surrounding Serena's death, Salmon Creek, Maya's past, and even the teens she's on the run with. Nothing is as it seems.

We even see some flickers of a possible romance. The romance we all WANT to happen, even though our dear Maya is totally blind at the moment. It's okay though, I understand. I was the same way at her age. But she had better figure it out!!

I love Maya, I love Daniel, I love the suspense. But what I really, truly love about the Darkness Rising trilogy is that it's a sister series to the Darkest Powers series. The ties and connections to the DP series is what gives the DR trilogy that extra spark and intrigue that keeps me on my toes. I've not come across many (any?) other books that do that. And it's totally awesome.

It really felt like one story, not smaller stories about the same characters divided into different books. The storyteller is simply taking a breath.

The downside to that, however, is that it's nearly impossible to see the plot. It's a lot of action, moving from one harrowing experience to the next, but really.... something seems to be missing. The mystery surrounding the kidnappers isn't much of a mystery. We know what they're after, why, and who they are. We're waiting for the characters to catch up with us and figure out what they are themselves. And while we wait, they run. I'm a little sad that the story relies so much on the scene-to-scene action, and not on a Big Mystery or complicated plot.

And if that romance we all want is going to happen, things need to speed up a lot in the last book. I hope it does. :-/

I adore Kelley, and I adore her work. But I'm crossing my fingers for the last book. It's going to have to be six kinds of awesome to balance out the rest if the trilogy and make this all worth it.

4 of 5 stars.