Review: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count: 359 pages, Paperback

Date Published:  April 10th 2012 (first published April 5th 2011)

Goodreads Blurb

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.

My Thoughts: I LOVED IT. The setting being so close to home was something new and exciting that I want more of!

If any of you don't already know, I live in a city about an hour out of Vancouver, BC. It's a rarity that my family travels over to Vancouver Island, but we do occasionally. Reading this book was so great. If you are from BC, especially the Lower Mainland to the island region, I can assure you that you will definitely appreciate some of the humor directed to our suckish weather, (a.k.a our TERRIBLE winters). Those of you who live in tiny, tiny towns will probably appreciate this book as well. This was actually one of my favorite parts about the book, because I could relate to a bit of how Maya was feeling about her environment. The setting was realistic and enjoyable. I could almost see the forest Maya loved so much and smell the many trees she so enjoyed.There is the feeling of absolute isolation and at times I had to 'wake up' and remember that I don't live in Maya's town.

Now onto the story. This is the first book I have read of Armstrong's. I tried reading her Darkest Powers series but couldn't get into it that  easily. That being said, I was hardly hesitant about reading this book. The plot sounds interesting enough and once again, the setting intrigued me. Reading the blurb, the story sounds like your generic teen paranormal with the epic bad boy and the mysterious powers. But while those two aspects are true, this book is not  'generic'. I was expecting something a lot different than what we got. For example, the cougars were a nice change in animals. I think everyone's so used to reading about wolves that even the smallest thing, like having a feline instead of canine can make the book just that much more unique.

I really liked Maya. She was funny and strong, while still vulnerable. She falls hard for Rafe, even though she doesn't think it's that great of an idea... Rafe is definitely a great love-interest. I'm curious to know more about him as we don't find out a lot in this book. I also really enjoyed the importance of Maya's heritage. It's an interesting twist to put into a supernatural type of book. Here's a girl with two incredible adoptive parents. She seems to act pretty uninterested in her background, but on the inside she's craving to know more. Then there's Daniel. I'm definitely hoping that the author won't make a love-triangle with him and Rafe and Maya. There were little hints to that, but nothing seriously worrying. Though, I cracked up at the suggestion of Maya's father buying Daniel a new truck just so that he'll marry her.

This was a truly incredible book. I've got The Calling on my shelf, ready to go as soon as soon a I post this, because the cliffhanger was almost unbearable. Well, no. The chapter sampler in the back of my paperback version is what made the wait a bit excruciatingly painful. I usually don't read those, but something made me keep reading. Oh well! I'm going to finish this and get some reading in before I have dinner!

Talk to you guys soon,
-Kristy