Brad About Books: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Read on March 23, 2013

THE CALLING
Published: April 10, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 326 pages
Source: Amazon.com
Series: Darkness Rising, #2

This review is spoiler free, even if you haven't read The Gathering.

Three words: So. Much. Action. The Calling is an excellent second installment in this fun and unique paranormal series. This is a sequel that shines out!

Maya grows to be such an awesome character. In the first book, she was wandering around, lost and confused about her past and the secrets she holds. But in this book, she's kicking butt and taking names. The character development absolutely soars in this book; I couldn't believe how much all of the characters change for the better.

Daniel, Hayley, and the entire gang develop and turn into kick-butt characters as well. Armstrong did a phenomenal job at connecting the emotions and characters together, and these characters felt authentic. And I absolutely love that.

Plus with all the craziness going on, there is tons of action in The Calling. In The Gathering, most of the action and climatic scenes took place towards the end of the book. There is an action scene on the first page in The Calling: and that's why I loved this sequel even more than the first book. Helicopter crashes, running away from the officials who want to take them away, and so much more, I couldn't help myself by turning these pages so quickly, simply because the story was fast-paced!

But I do have one complaint about this book. Some of the scenes felt a bit... repetitive. Don't get me wrong, the scenes filled with action were great. But after awhile, I began to think, "Didn't they do that 30 pages ago?". I just felt like some of the scenes were repeated and presented in a slightly changed way, which is what knocked it down a star for me. I really loved the action scenes, but after a bit, I started to catch onto the string of events.

But luckily, the ending was phenomenal. I thought the first half of the book was crazy. The second half (especially the final 40 pages) were insane. The story moved along so rapidly and quickly, and The Calling was an absolute page-turner. I couldn't get enough of this book!

Overall, The Calling is a brilliant sequel. Aside from my one flaw, I loved this book. This series is outstanding and fantastic!

MY RATING