April 10th 2012, HarperCollins326 pages, ARC
Received from Publisher
Second in Darkness Rising series
In Series: The Gathering
Young Adult Fiction
Maya and her friends--all of whom have supernatural powers--have been kidnapped after fleeing from a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set, and after a terrifying helicopter crash they find themselves pursued by evildoers in the Vancouver Island wilderness.
Cover Review:
While this cover is beautiful it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and I prefer my covers to have something to do with the contents. A paw print would be awesome!
While this cover is beautiful it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and I prefer my covers to have something to do with the contents. A paw print would be awesome!
Opinion:
This is almost a post-apoplyptic sequel to The Gathering. Although, I wish I could have connected with the characters more the plot moved at almost a lightening pace and culminated it yet another great ending.
I haven’t read The Gathering for almost a year, so I was a bit lost at first. I usually HATE the author putting the entire previous books into like 500 words in the first chapter, but some explanation of who the characters are would have been nice. Or you know you could not be lazy and read the first one again.
Maya is the narrator and as such I can’t decide if the lack of differentiating between characters was simply because she is judgmental or if the character development was simply poorly done. Either way, I would have liked to see more personality from the characters instead of just 2d stereotypes.
It was hard for me to connect with most of the characters, but each character I enjoyed at some point during the storyline. I did get incredibly annoyed with them as well. When the dog has more personality than the main character you have an issue. Daniel, who is sorta the co-lead, is projected as this stereotypical leader. He seems to always have the right answer at all times and is kinda a boy version of a Mary-Sue. Not that Maya isn’t as well. Does she have any flaws other than “Oh, I expect too much from people sometimes” The only character that didn’t annoy me was Corey. He’s funny, flawed, and simply adorable.
The plot is 5 teens tramping through the forest while dealing becoming supernatural entities and not being able to trust anyone. If the plot is more important to you than characterization than this is the book for you! The plot is never-ending twists and turns with tons of surprises along the way. Having absolutely no one you can trust and having the government (or secret organization) after you with all their gadgets and all you have is your feet and supernatural talents is kinda always gonna be a good plot. At least for me.
I enjoyed the book and finished within a day, but I simply wanted more personality.
Rating:
Rie
I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.
