(The) Calling #2 by Kelly Armstrong

Genre: Cougars, Shapeshifter 

Hardcover: 326 Pages

Published: April 10, 2012

Series: Darkness Rising

            1. The Gathering

            2. The Calling

            3. The Rising

Rating:★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

In THE CALLING, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy,New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of THE GATHERING clamoring for more.

My Review:

            As always Armstrong wasted no time in getting right back to the story where we last left off in The Gathering. The plot line was slower in this second installment and the story didn't really pick up pace. I don't know why the publishers do this whole trilogy thing and make the second book duller than a donkey eating hay, but the story lacked oomph. The characters that I came to love were just waiting for something to happen......perhaps for the third book? Besides there being a slow plot, missing romance, and hardly any action, there seems to be a lot going on. Half way through this book I realized it is very similar to The Summoning, another series by Armstrong. And Later you find out they are connected. I thought that part was very cool since I have read that series and it's a very good one.

            As I was saying, there is a lot going on. Maya and her friends know the town is hiding something from them. And as one by one her friends start to discover they have powers, more questions are left unanswered. Not to mention Maya's biological father was in town and may have deliberately set the entire forest on fire to 'help' Maya and her friends. Which led to them being kidnapped by their town, fighting the bad guys in a helicopter, and falling a thousand feet into the Vancouver Island Wilderness. Now they are in this wilderness fighting for their lives with the one thing they all have: their extraordinary abilities. While trying to survive on their own, they stumble upon another human project similar to theirs and discover there just may be a way out for them. Overall, a very slow read. I would have been totally fine with just two books in this series. It would have been something different, but then so many people wouldn't hate this book. Hopefully, the third book has a lot more action and romance. I can't wait to see who Maya ends up with. (BTW, I'm Team Rafe!)