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fuzypaech's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
arojo1's review against another edition
5.0
Great ending to the story of Maya, Rafe, Daniel, Corey, etc.
chaneycox's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
1.0
Bullet Review:
That was AWFUL. Running around for 400 billion pages, all the info dumping, all the prolonged action sequences, all the forced romance (because EVERYONE has to tell us about Team Daniel as the two have ZERO chemistry) for THAT SHIT ENDING?!
NO STARS.
Full review to come when I am done doing damage to this waste of paper.
Full Review:
After the events of "The Calling", Maya, Daniel and Corey are in Vancouver on the run. They try to track down help and end up accidentally in contact with Ashton "Ash", Maya's brother. They run around some more, then decide the best way to get help is to drag back the kids from Darkest Powers, in between going to visit her grandmother (for no reason), going to their funeral (amounts to nothing), getting captured, escaping and on and on and so forth.
At this point, I'm sure people are thinking that I just hate read this trilogy. I did not. I actually liked Darkest Powers. I liked Armstrong. But when I started reading "The Gathering", I was astounded at how paper-thin the plot was. How forced the character interactions were. How lame the romance was. And it never got better than what I saw in "The Gathering". Now that I've finished the trilogy, I don't know whether to laugh maniacally or burst into tears.
I was never a fan of the characters; I thought they were all pretty meh. Sure, I appreciate how Maya is way more independent than, say, Bella Swan or most other YA "heroines". But this book doesn't endear me more to any of the characters we've supposedly gotten to know better. All the characters seem to be variations of "snarky teen". Maya...Rafe...Corey...Hayley...Ashton. Oh god, Ashton! What an obnoxious p@#$%. I hated how he was so overprotective and creepy for a sister he just barely met. Stop policing Maya's actions, a-hole. What characters aren't "snarky teens" are just so boring: Daniel. Nicole. Even the reappearance of the Darkest Powers kids can't save the book (and if you are reading to see them: don't), as they seem to be merely caricatures of their former selves. (But even as caricatures, they are STILL better than the characters created for this trilogy.)
What was more obnoxious somehow than the characters themselves was how in this book, Armstrong gave up on Team Rafe and decided to have every character try to promote Team Daniel. Numerous times, from every character, we are told how intimate and close Maya and Daniel are, how they aren't friends, how they read as dating, "Hey, get your boyfriend off me - what do you mean he's not your boyfriend?" - and I'm just tilting my head in bewilderment. I never once read any sort of sexual chemistry between Maya and Daniel, and furthermore, why the flying frak do they have to be romantic partners in the first place? Why is it when a woman shows concern for a male friend, it has to be a romantic relationship? (This is not to say I was Team Rafe, BTW, just that I buy Team Rafe more than Team Daniel.)
But this "show don't tell" is pretty much systematic problem of the entire trilogy. Nothing is learned organically; no one investigates; the information just falls into people's laps like a cat who vomits on you. Need to have Corey find out about his superpower? He does it offscreen and then when there's no action, dumps all the information on Daniel and Maya. Need to fill the audience in on the Darkest Powers events? Infodump from Calvin Antone and Maya relating what she read from the convenient data the author gave her.
Then we have the constant movement, the constant action, as if Armstrong is trying desperately to hide the fact that there isn't enough story to necessitate a 3-book, 300+ page long series. I love action as much as the next girl, but geez, a good 3/4 of the events could have been omitted (such as the romp to visit Maya's grandma), and nothing would have been lost. For instance, the diversion to Grandma's house gave us nothing. They sneak to her house, meet her, learn nothing, meet no new people, get chased back to the mainland. All it does is stretch out the book so it could fill the page quota. That is all.
But the cherry of sorts on this pile of elephant excrement is the absolute crap ending. I can't detail how awful and painful it is, as it would probably be spoilery, but suffice to say: we spend 3 books building to this moment and end up almost exactly where we started. The negotations last one paragraph, and everything is suddenly hunky dory - except for that threat of another trilogy to wrap up what should have been wrapped up here. Meaning, I basically spent all the money on 3 books and the time reading for NOTHING.
No wonder people hate reading! No wonder people only read a book when they are on a plane - I would give up on reading if all I was doing was tuning into one massive infodump after another, with boring characters, forced interactions, endless action scenes, capped off by an ending that made the entire trilogy pointless. Hell, I'm so dejected at the end of this trilogy, I'm halfway to quitting reading myself. And I've basically been reading since second grade.
A while back, I read a book, Arclight, that kinda broke me and my love of reading. It wasn't "terrible", but it was just all the various things about reading that I despised that I kinda wanted to quit reading forever.
This book is worse than that. It's worse, because it was pointless. It's worse, because it tries to conceal its problems with plot and characters with endless action and chase sequences. It's worse because it sets up one relationship with actual chemistry but then uses its characters to TELL us how amazing another one - a virtually platonic one - is.
It's worse because after reading this book, I don't know that I can go back and read any of Armstrong's books.
I don't read to hate books; I don't write reviews to hate on books or authors. I write the above out of frustration and despair. Most of the books I was so sure I'd love, I seem to end up feeling "meh" about or hating. And who wants to do any hobby that they hate?
Please excuse me while I go cry into my pillow.
That was AWFUL. Running around for 400 billion pages, all the info dumping, all the prolonged action sequences, all the forced romance (because EVERYONE has to tell us about Team Daniel as the two have ZERO chemistry) for THAT SHIT ENDING?!
NO STARS.
Full review to come when I am done doing damage to this waste of paper.
Full Review:
After the events of "The Calling", Maya, Daniel and Corey are in Vancouver on the run. They try to track down help and end up accidentally in contact with Ashton "Ash", Maya's brother. They run around some more, then decide the best way to get help is to drag back the kids from Darkest Powers, in between going to visit her grandmother (for no reason), going to their funeral (amounts to nothing), getting captured, escaping and on and on and so forth.
At this point, I'm sure people are thinking that I just hate read this trilogy. I did not. I actually liked Darkest Powers. I liked Armstrong. But when I started reading "The Gathering", I was astounded at how paper-thin the plot was. How forced the character interactions were. How lame the romance was. And it never got better than what I saw in "The Gathering". Now that I've finished the trilogy, I don't know whether to laugh maniacally or burst into tears.
I was never a fan of the characters; I thought they were all pretty meh. Sure, I appreciate how Maya is way more independent than, say, Bella Swan or most other YA "heroines". But this book doesn't endear me more to any of the characters we've supposedly gotten to know better. All the characters seem to be variations of "snarky teen". Maya...Rafe...Corey...Hayley...Ashton. Oh god, Ashton! What an obnoxious p@#$%. I hated how he was so overprotective and creepy for a sister he just barely met. Stop policing Maya's actions, a-hole. What characters aren't "snarky teens" are just so boring: Daniel. Nicole. Even the reappearance of the Darkest Powers kids can't save the book (and if you are reading to see them: don't), as they seem to be merely caricatures of their former selves. (But even as caricatures, they are STILL better than the characters created for this trilogy.)
What was more obnoxious somehow than the characters themselves was how in this book, Armstrong gave up on Team Rafe and decided to have every character try to promote Team Daniel. Numerous times, from every character, we are told how intimate and close Maya and Daniel are, how they aren't friends, how they read as dating, "Hey, get your boyfriend off me - what do you mean he's not your boyfriend?" - and I'm just tilting my head in bewilderment. I never once read any sort of sexual chemistry between Maya and Daniel, and furthermore, why the flying frak do they have to be romantic partners in the first place? Why is it when a woman shows concern for a male friend, it has to be a romantic relationship? (This is not to say I was Team Rafe, BTW, just that I buy Team Rafe more than Team Daniel.)
But this "show don't tell" is pretty much systematic problem of the entire trilogy. Nothing is learned organically; no one investigates; the information just falls into people's laps like a cat who vomits on you. Need to have Corey find out about his superpower? He does it offscreen and then when there's no action, dumps all the information on Daniel and Maya. Need to fill the audience in on the Darkest Powers events? Infodump from Calvin Antone and Maya relating what she read from the convenient data the author gave her.
Then we have the constant movement, the constant action, as if Armstrong is trying desperately to hide the fact that there isn't enough story to necessitate a 3-book, 300+ page long series. I love action as much as the next girl, but geez, a good 3/4 of the events could have been omitted (such as the romp to visit Maya's grandma), and nothing would have been lost. For instance, the diversion to Grandma's house gave us nothing. They sneak to her house, meet her, learn nothing, meet no new people, get chased back to the mainland. All it does is stretch out the book so it could fill the page quota. That is all.
But the cherry of sorts on this pile of elephant excrement is the absolute crap ending. I can't detail how awful and painful it is, as it would probably be spoilery, but suffice to say: we spend 3 books building to this moment and end up almost exactly where we started. The negotations last one paragraph, and everything is suddenly hunky dory - except for that threat of another trilogy to wrap up what should have been wrapped up here. Meaning, I basically spent all the money on 3 books and the time reading for NOTHING.
No wonder people hate reading! No wonder people only read a book when they are on a plane - I would give up on reading if all I was doing was tuning into one massive infodump after another, with boring characters, forced interactions, endless action scenes, capped off by an ending that made the entire trilogy pointless. Hell, I'm so dejected at the end of this trilogy, I'm halfway to quitting reading myself. And I've basically been reading since second grade.
A while back, I read a book, Arclight, that kinda broke me and my love of reading. It wasn't "terrible", but it was just all the various things about reading that I despised that I kinda wanted to quit reading forever.
This book is worse than that. It's worse, because it was pointless. It's worse, because it tries to conceal its problems with plot and characters with endless action and chase sequences. It's worse because it sets up one relationship with actual chemistry but then uses its characters to TELL us how amazing another one - a virtually platonic one - is.
It's worse because after reading this book, I don't know that I can go back and read any of Armstrong's books.
I don't read to hate books; I don't write reviews to hate on books or authors. I write the above out of frustration and despair. Most of the books I was so sure I'd love, I seem to end up feeling "meh" about or hating. And who wants to do any hobby that they hate?
Please excuse me while I go cry into my pillow.
breezy610's review against another edition
4.0
an awesome conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. the only reason why I gave it four stars is because of who she ended up with. that's the only reason. I am looking forward to read more stuff by Kelly Armstrong.
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Third and last in the Darkness Rising urban fantasy for Young Adults. The series has revolved around a small group of friends who were betrayed by a long-running conspiracy. Based in British Columbia in Canada.
It is loosely associated with Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series in that the cabals are involved and does follow the Darkest Powers series.
My Take
Whew…there was no lack of action, drama, or tension in this one. And I really hate that Armstrong has ended this. Although…I do wonder if it’s merely the end of this particular trilogy. Maya’s plan to use the cabals seems to be setting us up for a new series.
This story was both irritating and fascinating. I loved the action, drama, and tension with all the chases, captures, and escapes. I also loved Maya’s reactions to the ego-ridden Cabal guys. I mean, what did they expect? Why on earth would they imagine any of the kids would be polite to them?? OR help them…get real. I did not love Maya’s stupid behaviors. Her insistence on attending the funeral. The lame “capture” to “save” Ash. The clumsy love triangle.
Oh, please “you forced us to tranquilize you”?? I hate it when the bad guys use this line.
I don’t like Ash, but he and the boys make perfect sense about Maya staying away from the funeral. And she’s acting like a stupid bint by forcing it. I just want to smack her!
The initial capture event was just too stiff with such obvious clues. My eyeballs rolled so much that I gave myself a headache from getting so dizzy.
Maya makes an excellent point with Mattias Nast that people joining the military do some from choice. Unlike the kids.
Okay, yes, I’m bloodthirsty. I’m all in favor of the death penalty. I know that punishing someone by killing them won’t bring back the person they killed, but it does ensure that they will never kill anyone else.
Ash has a very practical, rather terrifying approach to life: “the good guys have ideals, the bad guys win.”
The Story
The truth of Salmon Creek has been sinking in, and the kids are dismayed at the lies and their own worries about much their parents knew. It’s a catch-22, but Maya desperately wants her parents back. And because of what’s happening to Annie. Then a totally unexpected relative catches up with her.
And that’s not all that catches up with Maya. Love, truth, other experiments…cabals…eek…
The Characters
Maya Delaney is a skin-walker along with Rafe and Annie. Kenjii is Maya’s German shepherd. Rick Delaney is her adoptive father. She has been best friends with Daniel Bianchi, a benandanti—a demon-hunter, since kindergarten. Corey Carling is the one most likely to be goofing off, although he does suffer horribly from headaches.
Rafe Martinez was sent in to Salmon Creek to spy for the cabals, but he double-crossed them when he fell in love. Annie is his sister, and he’s desperate to find help for her.
The rest of the kids include Hayley Morris (xana), Sam Russo, and Nicole (xana), the one who killed Maya’s best friend and Daniel’s girlfriend, Serena (see The Gathering, 1). Brendan Hajek is at the funeral with his mother, Dr. Hajek.
Mrs. Tillson is the widow of the mayor (see The Calling, 2); Nicole is her daughter and Sam is her niece. Chief Carling is Corey’s mom; his brother Travis is with her. Mr. Bianchi is Daniel’s father, and his older brothers are with him.
Cyril Mitchell, used to work for the Edison Group, and he’s an emergency contact number Maya got from another skin-walker. Sylvia Mitchell is his bitter daughter. Ashton is Maya’s twin brother.
The Genesis Project (from the Darkest Powers series)
Derek Bae is a scary, off-the-charts-smart werewolf, Kit Bae is his adoptive dad, and Simon is Kit’s son; Chloe is a necromancer and Dr. Lauren Fellows is her aunt; Victoria (Tori) is a witch; and, Liz Delaney was one of the experiments until she “died”.
Rachelle Rodgers, a fire half-demon, is one of the new kids who shows up.
Men who work for the Nast cabal include:
The trigger-happy Moreno. Calvin Antone is Maya’s biological father. Mattias Nast is the CEO’s nephew and incredibly clueless. Sean Nast is probably their best hope (Savannah just turned twenty at the end of this story). Dr. Maggie Inglis was head of the lab at Salmon Creek with a series of secrets. Dr. Wiley is another medical doctor.
Bill Wilson is the city idiot.
Project Phoenix, based in Salmon Creek, was a genetic experiment to resurrect extinct, supernatural types. Project Genesis was about experimenting with supernatural children as guinea pigs. Cabals are corporations of witches and supernaturals, each at war with the other: the St. Clouds had founded Salmon Creek and the Project; the Nasts thought the kids were valuable commodities; the Cortezes are considered the most powerful—the one to which Lucas Cortez is heir; and, the Boyds are the smallest.
Xana are a “kind of Spanish mermaid-siren cross”; sileni have visions and charm; skin-walkers change into animals and have healing powers; and, benandanti are the demon-hunters with the power of persuasion.
The Cover
The cover is dark with a close-up of Maya’s head and shoulders—her head is turned toward us while her eyes look over her shoulders, shoulders that are in profile. A beautiful girl with long, dark, wavy hair wearing a silver and pearl drop earring.
The title is a salute to their escape and their successes in The Rising.
It is loosely associated with Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series in that the cabals are involved and does follow the Darkest Powers series.
My Take
Whew…there was no lack of action, drama, or tension in this one. And I really hate that Armstrong has ended this. Although…I do wonder if it’s merely the end of this particular trilogy. Maya’s plan to use the cabals seems to be setting us up for a new series.
This story was both irritating and fascinating. I loved the action, drama, and tension with all the chases, captures, and escapes. I also loved Maya’s reactions to the ego-ridden Cabal guys. I mean, what did they expect? Why on earth would they imagine any of the kids would be polite to them?? OR help them…get real. I did not love Maya’s stupid behaviors. Her insistence on attending the funeral. The lame “capture” to “save” Ash. The clumsy love triangle.
Oh, please “you forced us to tranquilize you”?? I hate it when the bad guys use this line.
I don’t like Ash, but he and the boys make perfect sense about Maya staying away from the funeral. And she’s acting like a stupid bint by forcing it. I just want to smack her!
The initial capture event was just too stiff with such obvious clues. My eyeballs rolled so much that I gave myself a headache from getting so dizzy.
Maya makes an excellent point with Mattias Nast that people joining the military do some from choice. Unlike the kids.
Go, Maya!
“I don’t do compliant.”
Okay, yes, I’m bloodthirsty. I’m all in favor of the death penalty. I know that punishing someone by killing them won’t bring back the person they killed, but it does ensure that they will never kill anyone else.
Ash has a very practical, rather terrifying approach to life: “the good guys have ideals, the bad guys win.”
The Story
The truth of Salmon Creek has been sinking in, and the kids are dismayed at the lies and their own worries about much their parents knew. It’s a catch-22, but Maya desperately wants her parents back. And because of what’s happening to Annie. Then a totally unexpected relative catches up with her.
And that’s not all that catches up with Maya. Love, truth, other experiments…cabals…eek…
The Characters
Maya Delaney is a skin-walker along with Rafe and Annie. Kenjii is Maya’s German shepherd. Rick Delaney is her adoptive father. She has been best friends with Daniel Bianchi, a benandanti—a demon-hunter, since kindergarten. Corey Carling is the one most likely to be goofing off, although he does suffer horribly from headaches.
Rafe Martinez was sent in to Salmon Creek to spy for the cabals, but he double-crossed them when he fell in love. Annie is his sister, and he’s desperate to find help for her.
The rest of the kids include Hayley Morris (xana), Sam Russo, and Nicole (xana), the one who killed Maya’s best friend and Daniel’s girlfriend, Serena (see The Gathering, 1). Brendan Hajek is at the funeral with his mother, Dr. Hajek.
Mrs. Tillson is the widow of the mayor (see The Calling, 2); Nicole is her daughter and Sam is her niece. Chief Carling is Corey’s mom; his brother Travis is with her. Mr. Bianchi is Daniel’s father, and his older brothers are with him.
Cyril Mitchell, used to work for the Edison Group, and he’s an emergency contact number Maya got from another skin-walker. Sylvia Mitchell is his bitter daughter. Ashton is Maya’s twin brother.
The Genesis Project (from the Darkest Powers series)
Derek Bae is a scary, off-the-charts-smart werewolf, Kit Bae is his adoptive dad, and Simon is Kit’s son; Chloe is a necromancer and Dr. Lauren Fellows is her aunt; Victoria (Tori) is a witch; and, Liz Delaney was one of the experiments until she “died”.
Rachelle Rodgers, a fire half-demon, is one of the new kids who shows up.
Men who work for the Nast cabal include:
The trigger-happy Moreno. Calvin Antone is Maya’s biological father. Mattias Nast is the CEO’s nephew and incredibly clueless. Sean Nast is probably their best hope (Savannah just turned twenty at the end of this story). Dr. Maggie Inglis was head of the lab at Salmon Creek with a series of secrets. Dr. Wiley is another medical doctor.
Bill Wilson is the city idiot.
Project Phoenix, based in Salmon Creek, was a genetic experiment to resurrect extinct, supernatural types. Project Genesis was about experimenting with supernatural children as guinea pigs. Cabals are corporations of witches and supernaturals, each at war with the other: the St. Clouds had founded Salmon Creek and the Project; the Nasts thought the kids were valuable commodities; the Cortezes are considered the most powerful—the one to which Lucas Cortez is heir; and, the Boyds are the smallest.
Xana are a “kind of Spanish mermaid-siren cross”; sileni have visions and charm; skin-walkers change into animals and have healing powers; and, benandanti are the demon-hunters with the power of persuasion.
The Cover
The cover is dark with a close-up of Maya’s head and shoulders—her head is turned toward us while her eyes look over her shoulders, shoulders that are in profile. A beautiful girl with long, dark, wavy hair wearing a silver and pearl drop earring.
The title is a salute to their escape and their successes in The Rising.
novelette's review against another edition
4.0
Good book, but end tied up too neatly. I really hope we see a lot more
vampire_mother's review against another edition
5.0
OMG I loved this book!!! The epilogue was amazing and I kind of was shocked, you know?
I thought that Maya will remain with Rafe, but hey... it's quite sweet that she got that poor man out of friendzone :)
I thought that Maya will remain with Rafe, but hey... it's quite sweet that she got that poor man out of friendzone :)