The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong  

Release Date: April 10th 2012
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Random House Canada
Also by this Author: The Summoning; The Awakening; The Reckoning; The Gathering
Buy It: Book Depository

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.

When I picked up The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong last year, I had no idea what kind of surprise I was in for. I hadn't read much paranormal literature in the past, and I wasn't sure I'd like it. It turned out it wasn't so much the paranormal aspect that blew me away as Armstrong's writing: so exciting and easy to read. And as much as I loved The Gathering, the first novel in the Darkness Rising trilogy, when I then read the Darkest Powers trilogy, which consists of the first three books in this Darkest Powers series, I was even more impressed. To me, The Calling reaches the same level as the Darkest Powers Trilogy and in that it surpasses The Gathering.

As great as The Gathering was, it had a lot of background to build on and so was fairly slow-paced until the ending. In contrast, The Calling is explosions and crashes and kidnappings from page one right until the heart-pounding ending. It's one of those books I devoured in a day, and when it ended I just wanted more. Unfortunately there's another year to wait until the final book in this trilogy, The Raising, is released.

Everything that was great and unique about The Gathering is still present in The Calling. I loved the Canadian setting, especially because so much of this novel takes place in the wilderness, which Armstrong expertly brings to life. I loved that the main character was a strong, powerful girl and that not only was Maya not white, but she was also adopted and happens to love her family. There are plenty more secrets that come to the surface in this novel, and Armstrong handles each plot twist in a page-turning and believable way; even the ones I wouldn't normally have believed (Rafe anyone?).

I really loved the way things came together in The Calling and the character growth and dimensions that developed. Sometimes animals get one-dimensional treatment in novels, but I thought Maya's dog, Kenji, had such a real personality for a canine and loved her role in the story.

Overall, The Calling is such a thrilling novel and I absolutely adored it.  It's not a book about complex issues, instead it's easy and enjoyable to read, the kind of story you can disappear into without thinking too hard. I really have nothing negative to say about The Calling, I'll just be desperately waiting for the final book next year because like always, Armstrong ends on an intense and riveting note.