Review: The Gathering

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Darkness Rising #1
Pages: 359
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5


Summery:
Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island. 

Until now. 

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet. 


Review:

To be honest, I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book.  It was amazing!

I loved this book!  I just loved it.  Everything about it was perfect: the action, the writing, the story line, everything.  Although it kind of started off slow I was kept interested because Kelley Armstrong is such a good writer and she captures your attention on page one and keeps it throughout the whole book.  The story line was really good.  It was a perfect combination of chic-lit and paranormal.  The social and paranormal and mystery parts of this book went together perfectly, and I've never read a book that has that combination and it actually WORKS!  And the worst thing is that Kelley Armstrong put the biggest cliffhanger EVER at the end of this book.  HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!?!?  The ending was amazing though, and really completed an already amazing story.

*swoon**swoon**swoon*  Can you guess who I'm swooning over.  Come on, just take a wild guess!  Well I'll tell you.  Rafe.  *swoon**swoon**swoon* (Sorry, just the mention of his name makes me swoon again).  I LOVE RAFE!!  So nice and sexy and totally hot.  I. love. him.
I also really liked Daniel, but not the same way.  He was the best friend anyone could possibly hope for, and I'm so glad Kelley Armstrong didn't make it into a love triangle because it worked so much better with him being Maya's best friend.  Usually in books like these with that kind of situation it's turned into a love triangle, but if Armstrong had done that, I probably would have given this book like 2 stars, so I'm so glad she didn't.
And, last but not least, I loved Maya.  She was so strong and kick-ass and just perfect.  I loved this cast of characters.

But seriously, if I don't get my hands on the second book in this series I WILL EXPLODE!!