The Gathering by Kelly Armstrong (Darkness Rising #1)

The Gathering
by Kelley Armstrong
Pages: 359
Released: April 12, 2011

The Gathering
Summary: Maya lives in a very small town with a research lab on Vancouver Island. She lives with her adopted parents and does not know much about her biological family. The book starts out with a prologue in which Maya and her friend Serena are swimming in their town's lake. After chatting and talking to one another, Serena is suddenly pulled under and Maya is not able to save her and her body is pulled out of the lake later that day. A few years pass and Maya is still coping with Serena's death and strange things have been going on in town. From her strange paw print birthmark to the connection that Maya has with the animals. Maya and her friend try and uncover the mystery behind their friend, Serena's, death and the town itself. Add in a mysterious bad boy and secrets of the town and the strange people that Maya meet along the way.


My Thoughts Note: This is my first Kelley Armstrong book, and I didn't have a problem reading it without reading her previous ones.

What I liked: I liked the mystery of the book. The prologue really had me at the edge of my seat and I was ready to find out the mystery behind Serena's death and the strange things that have been happening to Maya. I liked Maya's funny relationship with her parents (reminded me of Olive Penderghast's parents from Easy A) and the kids in school. I thought it was a new take on the supernatural type book and I can't wait to see the secrets that the will reveal in the next book. Armstrong's writing style is simple and easy to follow along which makes the mystery a bit easier to uncover.

What I disliked: With that said, this book was alright. I the premise was interesting and so were some of the characters, but I didn't really get into the book as much as I thought I would. It might be because I had some high expectations going into this book and was waiting for that moment that I would be hooked and at the edge of my seat. After the prologue, I felt the beginning was a bit slow and when they do uncover something "huge," it wasn't very shocking to me. I think because Armstrong didn't really build up to it and would just have it happen out of the blue (which does work at times, but I think she doesn't do enough to build up the tension and mysteriousness).

Conclusion: All in all, I would say pick this book up if you see it at the library or give the first prologue and first chapter a read if you see it in the bookstore. I am going to read the second book when it comes out though because they left a lot of questions and didn't explain much about Serena.

3.5/5 stars

Source: Library.