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. 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.
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| *not my image* |
Maya really got on my nerves in the first Darkest Rising book, and she still hasn't redeemed herself in my eyes. I seriously want to punch her in the face, consequences and the fact that she's a fictional character be damned. I mentioned in my review of The Gathering that she's a self-righteous, holier-than-thou, little shit. I still stand by my statement, so much so that I'd be happy to help the St Clouds and the Nasts (villains of the book. Although, really, we see so little development of them that they're hardly villains) kill her. Wow, I'm really into threatening fictional characters today. That's bad, right?
Anyway, like with the previous book, the world building is well done and I really felt like I was immersed in forests or hiding out in cabins along with the characters. This series is actually based in the same world as Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy, which I fucking adore. I'll tell you, knowing this has made this series easier to read, especially seeing as we're given the impression that Maya and her gang might meet Chloe and hers. I'm down for that.
I do want to talk about character development. We had absolutely none of it (or next to none) in The Gathering, so I was anxiously anticipating some changes in Maya. Her character sucks. I was let down, as the only character development we get is her inner monologue all about admitting she's wrong, but not doing a damned thing about it and still acting with that holier-than-thou self righteous attitude. I was utterly disappointed in Maya Delaney, as she has no real concern for anyone else as friends, except maybe Daniel (her best friend) or Rafe (her sort-of boyfriend). God dammit, I don't know if Kelley Armstrong meant to write Maya as such a little shit, but she really is.
Her inner monologue and all round annoying personality overshadow other characters and their journeys. I'm in love with Sam (a kick ass female demon hunter), and you see such a huge difference in her in the second book. However, we don't really see much of it because Maya takes up all of your energy.
One more thing that pisses me off; Nicole. Nicole was originally the cute little blonde girl, innocent & shy. Suddenly, all the blame gets shoved onto her, blame for the deaths of people in the town, for everything. The thing that bugs me about this is how spur of the moment it was; shifting the blame off Sam because she'll be more important in the series. A lot of things that happen in this book were spur of the moment, ridiculous, and completely random. And yet it still manages to be one of the most predictable books ever.
Final opinion: better than The Gathering, but the predictability, Maya (protagonist!), and stupidity really let it down. 3.1/5 stars. I am being very hard on this book, so if you like YA romance/paranormal/urban fantasy kind of stuff, you'll probably like this. I did stay up until 12:30am to finish it, so that's got to count for something! I'm just after a bit more depth, because the characters are often very one-sided and not well-rounded. Until next time, I love you little pixies!
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