The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong

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.

My Thoughts:
Honestly, I don't think this book really needed to exist. It pretty much began and ended in the same place and we didn't really learn much from anything that happened. The few things we did learn could have been tacked onto the end of the first book or the beginning of the next book. And the huge, major plotline that began in the beginning and was resolved at the end was unnecessary and unbelievable.

For some reason trilogies are the thing to do for series. For some series two books would be sufficient. Even a stand-alone is enough for some stories! For this series, book two does not need to exist. Most of it was pointless and didn't move the plot along.

That said, it's an entertaining fluff read. Armstrong has an effortless writing style that you just want to keep reading even when nothing's happening. It's engaging and you care enough about the characters to keep reading.

There was this one major thing that bothered me, though (other than that other major thing previously mentioned): For the entirety of book 1 and just about the entirety of the this book no one trusts Sam. They all think she's stand-offish and mean and don't trust whatever she says. But then Sam tells Maya something. A major something. And without any kind of real trust-building or friendship Maya believes her. She hardly questions Sam at all. And the thing that Sam tells Maya is so off-the-wall ridiculous that I was annoyed. And then the fact that it turns out to be true annoyed me even more. Because it was dumb. And part of the mystery of the book is solved in a dumb way and I'm annoyed by it. The mystery was interesting. The way it played it out was stupid. That's all.

I don't know, I don't really have much to say about The Calling. It was a quick read. All fluff. Not much happened. I'm excited for the third book, though, because Maya's people are gonna meet Chloe's people (from the Darkest Powers series) and that should be fun. At least I hope it will be.

Sexual Content: Mild
Language: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate