The Gathering

By Kelley Armstrong

On the heels of the wildly popular "The Darkest Powers" series comes the first in another supernatural YA trilogy from New York Times bestelling author Kelley Armstrong.

Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can't find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students — for every grade from kindergarten to twelve. Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won't go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret — and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9780385668521

Kelley Armstrong

When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night. Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

Reviews for The Gathering

[bm2ng · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this and couldn't believe it was over when I was reading the last page. It seemed too short to me but am really looking forward to book 2.

[itsbookishme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I hoped I would like this one since I've been having a paranormal book slump, well I didn't, I loved it. What or who helped was Maya, I so love me some strong willed heroine. Maya might not have been a bad ass chick but no one messes with her, especially with best bud Daniel beside her.

So, the short version of Maya's life goes like this, Maya lives in a small town or hamlet known as Salmon Creek which also resides on an island. This island is a planned drug research community, the people of Salmon Creek aren't privy to what goes on in the facility and at the moment they seem fine with that. Maya lives a normal life with her parents except cougars(or mountain lions) seem to follow her around. That's doesn't seem too strange until things get even stranger. When a woman shows up on the island claiming to be a reporter doing a story on the minuscule size of the population in the town and asking questions about the young people who reside there, Maya and Daniel start to wonder about the strange death of their friend Serena a year earlier. Then Maya has a run-in with a woman claiming to know what Maya is and it doesn't sound good at all. Then Rafe, one of the most recent residents of Salmon Creek starts to show renewed interests in Maya and knows more about her than she herself does. And the strange doesn't stop there, Maya was on information overload about who she is and more mysteries keep popping up.

Speaking of mystery, this book has a butt-load of them. Suspense and mystery are the secondary themes of this story, you get a lot of supernatural and a pinch of mystery and adventure to go along with it. I was thinking what the heck, something else to figure out what the hell is going on, but it was all good, it just made the story more exciting. I could tell that there was something fishy going on in that town, I mean hamlet, the drug research facility thing seems kinda shady. One of the questions on my mind was, who is actually working there, is it the people that live on the island? That would explain if how secretive things are.

I love Maya's spirit and strength, how she doesn't make the scary things in her life get her down. I love Daniel's scary guy, good guy image and his spidey senses. I love Rafe's determinedness to do what he needs to do to help his sister. Thrilled with myself for finally reading this book after sitting on my to-read shelf for ever. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[samm4-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good. Gets very exciting at the end. Started the next book already...

[ca8bookwyrm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book as much as -- or perhaps more than -- the Darkest Powers trilogy. I enjoy these characters more than Chloe and company (though I do like both) and the setting appeals to me. I look forward to seeing the final release version.

(Note: this review is about the beta version of The Gathering.)

[bdartnall_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maya is a 16 yr old girl living with her family in a corporate-established village on Vancouver Island. An adopted girl who knows she has Native roots but little else about her birth parents, Maya enjoys good friends, miles of woods to explore, and a loving family. The first chapter provides the underlying grief - her best friend Serena's dying at a local lake, in spite of Maya's attempts to save her. But strange things begin to happen: local cougars keep showing up to - mysteriously ?- protect her, a newcomer, Rafe, begins to take a deeper interest in her, and visitors to their tiny community are looking for them. Convoluted plot, much too much "telling" as opposed to just letting the story play out in parts, definitely has the elements of the supernatural, mysterious deaths, NW setting, and lots of interplay between characters. Maya's affinity for taking care of animals in the wild, her ability to climb, her enjoyment of the outdoors does provide a strong female protagonist. Over 300 pages so for readers who can be patient for Maya to find answers. Definitely cliff hanger ending.

[sparkleponies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this was a good book. The characters were likeable. It takes place in a small town and we quickly learn along with the teenagers that something isn't quite right. The kids start showing special powers.

[sarielle-2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Usually, I don't read young adult books, they are too much immature to me. But I decided to give a try to The Gathering regarding the fact that it was written by Kelley Armstrong whose works I generally enjoy.

If I had to describe this book using only one word, I would call it plain. The beginning is very slow, after the good and full of action prologue, the story slows down and the rest of the book is almost completely action-less. The characters are nice but they are entirely indifferent to me. I just didn't care about them and their thoughts or reactions. And the whole story is so simple. I wish it was more developed. Also, the world created by Armstrong is nothing special. As I said, a plain story.

The good thing is that the teenage characters were acting like the real ones would. They were not childish or silly. They actions looked real.

What I really hated is the lack of the ending. A book is not a tv series, for God sake! If I wanted the whole 'to be continue' thing, I would watch one. I absolutely hate cliffhangers. There could be some unsolved threads but I like my story to be complete. Especially that I don't have a desire to read another book in this series.

[gigisiriereads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I hoped I would like this one since I've been having a paranormal book slump, well I didn't, I loved it. What or who helped was Maya, I so love me some strong willed heroine. Maya might not have been a bad ass chick but no one messes with her, especially with best bud Daniel beside her.

So, the short version of Maya's life goes like this, Maya lives in a small town or hamlet known as Salmon Creek which also resides on an island. This island is a planned drug research community, the people of Salmon Creek aren't privy to what goes on in the facility and at the moment they seem fine with that. Maya lives a normal life with her parents except cougars(or mountain lions) seem to follow her around. That's doesn't seem too strange until things get even stranger. When a woman shows up on the island claiming to be a reporter doing a story on the minuscule size of the population in the town and asking questions about the young people who reside there, Maya and Daniel start to wonder about the strange death of their friend Serena a year earlier. Then Maya has a run-in with a woman claiming to know what Maya is and it doesn't sound good at all. Then Rafe, one of the most recent residents of Salmon Creek starts to show renewed interests in Maya and knows more about her than she herself does. And the strange doesn't stop there, Maya was on information overload about who she is and more mysteries keep popping up.

Speaking of mystery, this book has a butt-load of them. Suspense and mystery are the secondary themes of this story, you get a lot of supernatural and a pinch of mystery and adventure to go along with it. I was thinking what the heck, something else to figure out what the hell is going on, but it was all good, it just made the story more exciting. I could tell that there was something fishy going on in that town, I mean hamlet, the drug research facility thing seems kinda shady. One of the questions on my mind was, who is actually working there, is it the people that live on the island? That would explain if how secretive things are.

I love Maya's spirit and strength, how she doesn't make the scary things in her life get her down. I love Daniel's scary guy, good guy image and his spidey senses. I love Rafe's determinedness to do what he needs to do to help his sister. Thrilled with myself for finally reading this book after sitting on my to-read shelf for ever. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[mrslabraden · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Gathering is the first of a series of three books. I had some trouble with this book because I kept wondering when I was going to get to the real story. By the time I finally got to the meat of the story, the book abruptly ended in the middle of a forest fire of unexplained origin. The beginning of the book was about the mysterious death of one teenager who was captain of her swim team and yet drowned in a lake. The other teenager who survives becomes the protagonist. The rest of the story mildly unfolds. A young teenage girl in a small Canadian town who tries to deal with her parents and figure out her relationships with friends is a pretty familiar plot line and doesn't change until the middle of the book when we finally get clues about the possibility of the young girl being a skin-walker. Though we see signs throughout the rest of the book that this might be true, there is also a murder and several unsolved mysteries that the author leaves hanging at the end of the book. The book does attempt to grab the readers' emotions at several points in the story, it just doesn't grab hard enough. I'm not yet sure if I want to take the time to read the other two books in the Darkness Rising series.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Twilight fans looking for a read-alike might consider this series. Conspiracy, mysterious mountain lions, and above all, an attractive bad boy.

[yogiboo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as The Summoning as a start of a trilogy but it was ok. Took me a while to get into it but I do like the way Kelley Armstrong writes. The book will grip you and you will want more and more. Maya is a strong female lead. Love interests Daniel and Rafe are great male characters. Daniel -strong silent type and Rafe sexy broody bad boy that's not so bad! 1st book ended on a good note, looking forward to the next one...

[floratina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

READ IN DUTCH

I actually got to pre-read the Dutch translation of this first book of the newest series by Kelley Armstrong.

As I had never read anything by her before, I didn't really know what to expect. It turned out to be an interesting story about some Native American folklore, something I don't know anything about.

Unfortunately, there were quite a few flaws in the story. Mostly I thought there were illogical connections between parts, and overall things were going quite easy for the main characters. Still, it was nice to read. Sometimes you don't want a very complicated book, and then this is perfect.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately, this was very slow in getting started. I stuck with it because I had enjoyed her previous paranormal YA trilogy and was expecting something. But it took up to about page 220 for that something to happen. The first 200-odd pages are simply teen school life, crushes, hates, bullies, friends, yadayadayada. There are tiny hints of what is coming so it is no shock when it does. But finally the plot gets going, the paranormal aspects arrive and the action is fast-paced; the reading page-turning. I liked the ending and will read the next book, hoping it will jump straight into the plot where the characters have been left at this point. This book could have been better if the first two hundred pages had been reduced to perhaps two chapters, seriously.

[milaxox-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was absolutely amazing. I did not set my expectations too high because of how amazing the darkest powers series was. But it exceeded my expectations. I absolutely love how it was written and I can't wait to read the second book in the series :)

[sofie.roberts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I will start by saying that although this is the first book in the series, it does follow on from the darkest powers series, three books with a different set of characters but which do tie in at the end. Although you could read this set on its own and follow the story, the characters from the first set do come into the picture later on, so I would suggest reading all 6, starting with the summoning. After reading the darkest powers series I was unbearably excited to get going with this set and find out how things end for the characters in darkest powers. This book has a new narrator and set of characters, all just as well developed as I have come to expect from Kelley Armstrong. Maya is strong, determined and a great lead. As you follow her through the confusing shifts in her life and find out more you will start to notice links to the other three books, this is where reading the other books first can be really helpful, it offers more of an incite into what is going on and lets you make some more educated guesses as to Maya's future. Overall I loved this book just as much, if not more than I thought I would. It didn't start off quite as fast paced as the summoning did but gives some time it picked up and left me unable to put it down.

[readerworm12345 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was really good book i read it all in one day because i couldn't put it down. I really liked Annie and felt kinda sorry of her. I didn't like Rafe no matter what he does for his sister I don't think he was a very nice person. I really liked Daniel I think he was really nice and a very good person and a great friend to the main caracter Maya. In the end this was a great book and I can't wait for the next one to come out. I would recomend this to anybody that liked the Darkest Powers books.

[tristan_bruce_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow this story starts off with a KABOOM, and it just keeps coming, right up to the last page. I love Kelley Armstrong's writing, i don't have to TRY to put myself in a characters shoes or imagine their world, you just get sucked right in. It makes the whole experience that much more fun. I wasn't sure what to expect with another bunch of genetically altered kids i thought it may end up being too similar to The Darkest Powers trilogy. I.Was.Wrong. Maya her friends and their whole world is so different. I may even like these Characters more. I'm Canadian so i loved that the book took place here, the little references were cool, like Maya and Daniel using toonies (two dollar coin). The story is fast paced and engaging, i read it in 6 hours. I just couldn't not read it once i started, now i have a long wait till the sequel GAH!. Totally a must read I'm giving it 5 out of 5!!

[talksupe3blogspot · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Gathering is consistent with having interesting personalities. Maya is a strong female protagonist and her attitude is something every sixteen year old should aspire to. I also like her relationship with her parents, very mature but she shows a lot of respect for them. She knows her boundaries and doesn't really push it. Now this is what I didn't really like. The story was slow to build up then towards the last 60+ pages of the book, that's when the conflict starts crashing down so I felt like I was rushing until BAM! The end.

[bevyann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book I loved it!! Maya is a strong main character with enough flaws to make her real. There is enough mystery and twists and turns to keep you wanting to read more. The beginning was a little hard to get into for me however after first several chapters I knew enough of the main characters to want to figure out more.Maya is a mixed heritage teenager who is gradually learning her life isn't so charming as she assumed it would be. Her best friend has died under mysterious circumstances while she was swimming with her. Meanwhile her other best friend is hiding out more and more from a drunk father. She is getting new emotions and strange dreams and she is learning her real mother after leaving her on the doorstep of a church has hidden a lot of secrets from the world. The town where Maya lives is becoming a strange place daily and all the animals that she has always been able to assist are healing rapidly while under her care. Meanwhile a new student at the school has her emotions jumbled and jealousy is rampant with other students. The book does leave you hanging with the town being evacuated and bad guys lurking around the corner attempting to catch/kill Maya for reasons unknown. One of which is a possible twin brother to Maya. Can't wait to get the next installment.

[jadestar31 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First off, I have to admit that I love all of Kelley Armstrong's work, her adult series and her young adult series. That having been said, it pains me to admit I didn't enjoy this book very much. There was a certain charm to the Darkest Power Series. Chloe and her friends were far more genuine. Maya and her friends seemed contrived. All of them seemed a little one dimensional and as much as I wanted to care about them, I couldn't. Rafe is no Derek. He was pushy and tried entirely too hard to be charming, but I respected the way Maya handled herself with him. She was clear in her feelings towards him and made sure he knew it. The setting seemed picturesque and the idea of a privately owned medical research town was definitely interesting and unique, but it still didn't sell me on the characters. Speaking of characters, there were so many, it was almost confusing. In the first few chapters, we were introduced to a lot of teenagers AND adults.I don't want to say this book was all bad because Kelley Armstrong is a master at creating a foreboding atmosphere. I was definitely interested in learning what Maya was, and I'm so glad this series doesn't revolve around a typical vampire/werewolf paranormal romance. Also, Maya is a fantastic role model. She's smart, independent, athletic, and thinks for herself. She doesn't let men define her and she doesn't let her feelings for them overwhelm her, which I find admirable. There isn't much action in this book, but that seems to be formulaic for a trilogy. The first book has the intrigue, the second book has the answers, and the third has the action. I have high expectations for the next two books, but I know they can't compare to the Darkest Powers.

[trippingbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good. I'm a little bit surprised at how much I liked The Gathering actually because it's very very clear throughout the book that this, the first in a trilogy, is indeed meant as a setup, and so we spend the whole book learning things and meeting people, but the action is limited. Things happen, for sure, but the only direct action that takes place that seems to be connected to what will be the main conflict in this series doesn't happen until the last chapter, which ends abruptly. VERY abruptly. Almost in the middle of a scene. I love cliffhangers, but this one was a little too cliffhanger-y. And the romance in the book was ok, but not tingly-good. I like the characters in the romance--Maya (who is awesome) and Rafe (who is mysterious and fab)--quite a bit, and they have a unique and interesting supernatural connection. Separately, they're great--I especially love that Maya is so close to her parents, who are not absent at all here--and together they're fine, but I wasn't always feeling their connection in that intense, romantic way. And I'm not sure if we're not supposed to see a triangle in this story either, between Maya, Rafe, and Maya's bestie Daniel, who is also tremendous. It's not an obvious triangle, if it even exists; Daniel is a great friend who seems only to dislike Rafe because Maya goes back and forth about him. There's no jealousy or awkwardness, really, between the two guys. But Maya obviously has very different but no less important relationships with both of them that, ideally, a girl would like to have in one guy instead of two. I'm kind of hoping that something will happen with Maya and Daniel, especially considering that the book goes some way to talk about how Daniel has not yet moved on, really, from the death of his last girlfriend and Maya's best friend, Serena. Signs seem to point to Maya and Daniel having a connection that could become something more than friends easily and at any time. As it stands now, I'd honestly be more surprised if nothing ever happened with them. I was also a fan of the mythology, even though the insight that we get here is merely a taste. I love that there are Native American legends incorporated here. It's such a rich mythology and I'm excited that its being mined. There does seem to be some other thing going on here, though, too. The Benandanti (I think that's how it's spelled), a decidedly NOT Native American group, are mentioned a few times but not really explained. But I'm intrigued, and very much looking forward to the next books. If the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this story in spite of the fact that I'm still not totally sure what's going on doesn't say something, I'm not sure that what does. I have great expectations for the second book, The Calling. Wherein, hopefully, things will happen. There are quite a few things hanging in the air at the end of this book--secondary characters who behave oddly and clearly have some kind of further role to play, mysterious deaths, strangers wandering around the woods, the research the St. Cloud company is doing, Daniel's mother, how Maya's best friend Serena died. I can't even remember all of the plot lines we are introduced to here that need tying up. It wasn't overwhelming, though, honestly. I was more intrigued by all of it than anything else. There's some good mystery building up, and I hope the resolution lives up to the foundation.

[yabookiemonster · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong's The Darkest Powers series, but I have to say that I loved The Gathering even more! I especially loved the fact that it was set in Canada (being Canadian and all!), which is something that I don't see very often in the YA books that I read, so that was just the cherry on top of this awesome read!Maya was a really awesome character, someone who I could see myself being friends with, which was really nice. She was quite a feisty girl, definitely had some spunk, and I really liked that about her. She was brave, most definitely not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for herself, which is an attribute that I really value in a character! I thought that she was so mature and I was really impressed with how she dealt with some hard situations and was able to keep herself composed. Overall, I thought Maya was such a strong and intelligent girl and she pretty much embodied everything that I love in a main character!I also really liked the character Rafe! I have such a weakness for the bad boy character, even more so when the bad boy is such a sweetheart underneath their persona, and Rafe was just that type of bad boy. At the beginning of the book, he seemed like such a player, quite cocky and full of himself, but as we got to know him better, we really saw a different side of him, a much softer, more vulnerable side of him and I really liked that!The plot of this book was quite interesting and different! It had a little bit of mystery, a touch of romance, and some supernatural elements to it! I loved the way that Kelley Armstrong blended it all together to create this great and unique story! I really loved that the plot kept me guessing what was going to happen next, that I wasn't able to predict everthing. This book definitely kept me reading and I finished it quite fast! It was such an easy read and Kelley Armstrong's writing is awesome and just flows so well!I would really recommend checking out The Gathering if you are a fan of Kelley Armstrong's The Darkest Powers series, or if you are just a fan of YA paranormal romance novels in general, as I am! This book had great, easy to connect with characters, an awesome, intriguing plot and lovely writing! I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel to this great book, especially after the huge cliffhanger that we were left with! I think that Kelley Armstrong has yet another great series on her hands!

[sarahzee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

DAMN! That's no fair!! I was shocked at the ending! biggest cilfhangger ever!!!! I loved this book, it was a good read after the annoying Zoey (HoN series) and Luce (fallen series), I missed these funny heroins, characters you actually love rather want to kill! ((( Yes Zoey I would like to kill you! I can't blame Nafarat for that!!! And Luce... just DIE!!)))Anyways, Maya was someone I liked, and the guys, yum yum! there wasn't your typical bad boy mystery guy who shoos you off telling you : It's for your own good sake, you snowflake!) I couldn't decide who I liked more, Danial or Rafe! I can like them both right?? The story was slow for me, till I found it's gonna be a trilogy, so the ending and the pace made sense, there's a lot to figure out. At the moment I'm not sure what to guess, I'm sure I'm gonna be surprised. This is the first book I read By Kelly Armstrong, I wasn't to eger to read the other ones, but now I can't wait!! Loved This book, definitely a goodread ;)4.5/5

[roxyrolla · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book, really enjoyed the characters!

[brandileigh2003 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Huh. Just had a weird moment as a book blogger. I have wanted to read The Gathering because I totally loved Darkest Powers series. But then I went to search for my reviews... and it was before I was blogging. It's hard to believe that moment of searching and remembering that this hasn't been an amazing part of my life for as long as I even thought. So. Here's a plug for an older series that is amazing. Derek was smoking hot and I loved the story line and I was pretty sad when it ended and I knew my time with the characters was coming to an end. So here I am three years late discovering the series and my love for her writing and characters that are easy to like. Maya has an affinity for the animals and she has a bordering on weird relationship with the bob cats in the area. And she really begins to wonder when she's called a witch by an old lady at a tattoo parlor when she went in to get work done on her birthmark, shaped like a cat's paw. I enjoyed the exploration into her abilities as well as the mystery with the rest of the town. The medical research, the focus on the teens, the death of Maya's best friend the summer before. I feel like it did take a bit to get set up in the paranormal aspect of the plot, but I didn't mind at all because I liked Maya as a character. The cast of secondary characters was great as well. Daniel, her best friend was great to read about. I loved the easy time they spent together and their natural sweet friendship. They were so open with each other and he is such a good guy, protective and strong that I was still half rooting for a relationship between the two. But as the synopsis suggests, the bad boy sexy new guy makes an appearance. Just like Maya since Rafe has done the catch and release with so many other girls, I was so weary of him and his advances on Maya. But the fact that he lets down his guard and his relationship with his sister I can't help but give him a chance. Plus the chemistry between him and Maya is pretty undeniable. I will definitely be continuing this series, but the ending to the first book didn't really give me a whole ton of closure. It felt like it stopped too soon with climax and not answering enough questions while still raising even more. But that aside, it was an enjoyable and quick read. Bottom Line: Fun paranormal set-up, lots of bad boy chemistry.

[blog_gal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was much better than I expected. I loved the characters and the plot. The characters are very well developed. The plot was very well thought out. I cannot wait to read the next book. The only things that I did not like about this book was a few cuss words and a few sexual innuendos.
I loved the characters of Maya, Daniel and especially Rafe. I also hope that I get to know more about Annie and I hope that she got away from the fire. I love the romantic tension between Maya and Rafe.

[kayla3marie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this novel made a fun read, though it didn't suck me in quite as much as the Darkest Powers trilogy did. Despite following the same story line as the previous trilogy, it had a completely different feel. Instead of following a group of teenagers with supernatural abilities, this book really only focused on Maya and her discovery of her new power. Her power (plus a handful of other abilities that were merely hinted at) were very different from the powers we came across in the past trilogy. I won't spoil what Maya's supernatural ability is, but I will say that Maya never truly experienced her power. She just discovered that she possessed it. Because of this, I thought that this book was kind of slow going. There was also very little mention of the science experiment, which was brought into the book only at the very end, leaving us with a heck of a cliffhanger. All in all, though, I thought the book was very well-written, and I found this new direction with the science experiment plot line (though not as entertaining as the first trilogy) was very refreshing and interesting. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

[thereisabook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great spin-off of the darkest powers series! It's not too similar to the books but this is definitely a good thing. It uses a different myth - the Navajo skin walkers - but still has links such as Dr Lyle and Davidoff. It reminds me a lot of Rachel Hawthornes series, but I think thats just because they both have a character called Rafe and a research facility. I love Kelley Armstrongs work and this is a great new book for her current fans and a great place to start reading for new YA readers.

[jdonnelly14_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***Maya is a soon to be sixteen year old girl who lives in a very small island town in Canada. She's adopted, found at a hospital abandoned when she was only a babe, her only clue to her heritage are her native features and a paw-print birth mark. After watching her best friend violently drown the year before, she afraid to get close to anyone other than her best friend Daniel. She especially doesn't want to get close to Rafe, the first new boy to enter the tiny school in a long time. However when Rafe begins pursuing her in earnest she finds herself unable to resist his bad boy allure and find herself drawn into a world she previously never knew or would have believed existed. When strange things begin to happen in the tiny town, Maya, with the help of Daniel and Rafe, must search for answers about who she is, what really caused her best friend Selena, the captain of the swim team, to drown the previous year and the mysterious research project related to her birth.This is a book that really draws you in from page one when you witness the Selena's death through Maya eyes. The setting is so vividly described a reader can easily picture themselves in the tiny village of Salmon Creek with it's expansive forests, massive rock formations and beautiful lakes. The characters are well rounded and intriguing. Each character is a bit of a mystery in and of themselves you can relate to each in way. You keep reading wanting to learn more about them, what makes them tick and why they behave the way they do. It's clear that there's something more to each of these children than what they appear, the question is what, the answer is even they don't really know everything. It's not so much the pace of this novel that keeps you reading, I wouldn't describe it as fast paced by any means. It's more that it slowly draws you in as Armstrong weaves this world and characters around you. You don't even realize how hooked you are until the book is almost finished and barely any time has passed since picking it up. It the mystery of the characters more than anything else that draws a reader into this novel. Don't get me wrong there are a few fast paced action scenes that have you on the edge of your seat wondering and worrying about the character's fates. However these scenes are few and far between. My main issue with this book is in my personal opinion it doesn't have a full story arc, it's more like an impressive beginning to another story. It doesn't follow the goal established, obstacles toward goal, goal accomplished pattern that most novels include. While I wouldn't say skip it, I might recommend waiting until the next book in the Darkness Rising series is released before purchasing it. To me the ending was so abrupt I started wondering if my e-book copy was truncated or something. When I finished this novel I really didn't think I'd reached the end, I was messaging all over the place asking for confirmation that I did indeed have the full title and didn't need to go back and re-download it from the site I purchased it at. When I learned that this was indeed the end of the novel I was pretty disappointed because I'd become so engrossed in these characters, the novel was such a great beginning and then the novel was just over. Don't get me wrong I'd definitely recommend this book, but personally I feel this is one of those series that you wait to read until the entire trilogy or series is released before reading.

[donnerlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Gathering is like the first act in a three act play. It introduces the main characters and leads into the conflict. Unfortunately, it also ends with a television like cliff hanger but instead of waiting three or four months to find out what happens readers may have to wait an entire year.