Now I Know (The Rising by Kelley Armstrong)

Review of

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Maya Delaney is a skin-walker - a supernatural who can "Shift" into the shape of a cougar. But her gift comes with a terrible cost. With every transformation, she risks losing  touch with her human nature - for ever. 

Maya and her friends are on the run from the people who experimented on them and transformed them into supernaturals in the first place. They know they must confront their enemies if they are to have any hope of a future. In order to succeed, Maya will need to use her dangerous, unpredictable powers - but the price of freedom could be too high a price to pay...

Oh, yet another review I've rewritten several times because I wasn't sure if it was good enough. Well, here goes. 

I was super excited at last to get my hands on this book. But I have to say, it wasn’t really what I’d expected.

The book is like a ping pong ball. Weirdly enough my favorite in the series is the previous book, which was so tightly packed and moved fast and was evenly paced. This one bounces around a little more, which sort of makes sense because it is about running from danger and getting thrown around. But it wasn’t always exactly a pleasant read. It did keep me reading, but at times I was feeling a little like things should stop and we should focus on a certain aspect for a little longer. You always want to have longer moments and more details, but this felt like it would have improved the pacing or made things impact more.

And because the Darkest Powers sort of meets up with this series in this book, it makes the two series click a little more but then again, that just makes the differences stand out a little more. The DP’s characters are more “themselves”, fully realized characters that you grab onto immediately. DR’s characters are more thin, but more self-standing. The reason why I’m saying that about the characters is that while DR’s characters are all a part of the story and their own characters, some of the kids are just thrown around when it feels like it, but after three books I don’t know anything about them. 

That could be because of Maya. Her narrative is the biggest difference between her and Chloe. They have a lot of similar qualities, like wanting to do the best thing for everyone. But then, Maya’s more independent, she’s used to being the best and being allowed to go her own way. She’s used to others following her but she’s not quite obnoxious about it, it’s just the way things are for her. She does admit at some points that she isn’t the best and some of her actions toward others weren’t exactly fair. She does what’s best for everyone, but she’s used to doing things her way and knowing the best way to do it. She also uses a lot of explaining in her narration: she goes over them for the reader instead of us witnessing them as she experiences them or thinks about them. It’s quite peculiar and a part of me likes and then again another part of me likes the in-control and taking-control Maya so much that I wish I’d seen more of her doing the things she tells about. 

Now, one of my biggest problems with this book is the relationship between Daniel and Maya. This could be spoilery. But pretty much, the book looks at them with this look of “will they won’t they” and a lot of characters echo that. I mean, the story has been inching towards that for the past two books, but it really picks up in this one. This is just a personal opinion but I so have a problem with “best friends turned lovers” -thing. You really, really have to sell it for me in order for it to work. But I have to admit, Armstrong really does sell it well. I think a re-read will settle this matter for me, but hey. 

The final solution? Feels like it's just a little too easy and goes a little too smoothly. Though, to be honest, both of the series have had a lot of running around and big show-downs like forest fires, helicopter crashes and roofs caving in. And then some general running around. So maybe anything after that just seems a little too smooth and easy. That’s probably my biggest “problem” with the ending: even with the way it is actually ambiguous, it is a happy ending and it comes a little too fast on us. 

And that brings me back to a previous point, about Maya’s narrative style, where she recaps things. The last few parts and epilogue are pretty much just her recapping and explaining things. That got a little heavy after a moment and also really pushed it home that the ending came a little too fast. I would have wanted to see so much more about the characters. Though, that’s always the case with books that we love, isn’t it? We can never have as much of the characters as we’d like. 

But I do have to admit I just adore how these two trilogies work together - they sort of reflect off of each other. In Darkest Powers, the dangers are so much different, because the kids are far less experienced and are completely out of their league. But in Darkness Rising, the kids have almost been trained for this, they actually manage to do stuff that DP's kids never could. And just seeing all of the characters on the same page is pretty wicked. 

The way there is this big, evil puzzle that the books form and how while the puzzle is done even with the other series, without the other series the puzzle is still somehow incomplete. Okay that just sounds complicated. But these trilogies are pretty much each other's opposites. And that's what I like about them. 

I’m afraid that the things I’ve said have made it sound like I didn’t like this book. But that’s not the case. But I liked the other books so much more, that comparing this to - for example - the previous one makes all those things just stand out. I really love the way Armstrong writes, with small details that are important and don’t make things heavy. So really, some parts did feel like something was missing, that something had been dropped out. But I still love this book and especially how the series tied these two series together. 

Final thoughts: No matter what it might sound like I liked this series. The Darkest Powers just might be more of a favorite of mine right now, but this series is definitely worth several re-reads. It didn’t tug on my heartstrings as badly as the other one did, but re-reads might change that. 

Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong: An Overview

Overview of 

Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

Darkest Powers trilogy contains three books, the Summoning, the Awakening and the Reckoning. The names get me confused when I’m trying to remember the order in which to re-read them but it actually makes pretty damn good sense. 

The trilogy tells the story of Chloe Saunders, who’s fifteen and who basically starts seeing ghosts. She wants just a normal life, but her supernatural problem gets her admitted to a group home for disturbed kids. The Lyle House, as it’s called, seems okay, until things start happening that can’t be just explained away. 

Now, I adore Armstrong’s writing. I haven’t quite collected all of her Otherworld series yet - I’ve been reading them out of order, too - but if you like that series, you might want to give this a try. But don’t worry, this is also a good place to start because even if the reality she works in is the same, earlier knowledge only adds to things but you’ll get the hang of it. 

Three things that at first made me hesitant about the series: first, Chloe is fifteen. Sometimes really young characters are a little odd to read about, because even if I love YA, really young characters can be written, well, really young. No problems here - I’ll explain soon. 

Second, the group home. I was really curious about how Armstrong would write that, but she handles it beautifully: it really reminded me of the ways some adults would treat me when I was a kid. The group home becomes a really interesting feature and place to “be in”. It doesn’t feel like ugh, crazy people, but there is this feeling of strangeness, but Armstrong gives us the notice that it could be something else, too. 

Third, it’s written in first person narrative and you know I’m not really a fan. Well, apparently I’m a fan if Armstrong writes it. No, seriously, I adore the narration; it’s quick, flows well and gives us such a good description that it’s like watching a movie. Adore!

Now, Chloe. She’s spectacular. I absolutely adore her point of view. There just are some characters that you just click with and Chloe’s one of them for me. She’s a big reason why I love the series so much. She has her own quirks and especially her ghost-problem is delicious from the way it’s written. It’s painful and heartbreaking and it comes so close to you. And her relationship with it and everyone else’s is a fascinating thing to read because it’s a roller coaster; it has its ups and downs.

Chloe’s young and maybe a little inexperienced thanks to a rather sheltered life and yet, she still has these bad memories and traumas that just come up and get to her. She’s basically moved around a lot and hasn’t had anyone be there for her, so she knows how to take care of herself. So that small innocence and yet her toughness makes it a nice balance that we see several times in action. 

She is kind to others, but she isn’t really socially active, probably because of the moving, so she isn’t a loner, just a little quiet. And I just love the way she sees the world: sort of through a lens, which could be because of her love of filmmaking, which we do see nicely at times. 

Armstrong really writes excellent characters and this series is full of good characters. All of the good guys have big or small flaws and very few of the bad guys are absolutely evil. Armstrong writes her characters in a real way: they walk the line or their motives are lined with grey. You can feel how they really become real on the pages. All of the characters have their motivations and even if we see things from Chloe’s perspective, we still get such a good view of them: partly because of her. 

There is such a wide range of characters that it is hard to describe them all. But they don’t really fit the usual tropes. The sort of main male characters good be the elusive and mysterious brothers Simon and Derek. The brothers both could fit the obvious love interest trope: a charming and a funny boy and a brooding, strong guy. But as the story goes, we see that Simon is far from perfect and Derek isn’t quite what you’d think either. If I said more I could spoil something, but I love how we get to know them in the same way you’d get to know them in real life. First you have only your first impressions and then, through these small things and conversations you realize that hey,  there’s a complicated person underneath. I actually didn’t really think much about them when we first met them but hey, things change. 

The other cast of characters at the group home is just as multifaceted. Some are selfish and spoiled and then, we see the reason behind that and you can’t really say no to that. And then you befriend someone who turns out to be something else completely. (That could refer to two things so it’s a sneaky hint!) And the adult characters are absolutely delicious, because even adults on your side aren’t necessarily on your side. After all, Chloe is a fifteen year old girl with a ghost-problem. Not many of adults are going to be on her side. 

Now, Armstrong’s writing is perfect throughout. It moves pretty fast, but not so fast it would be hard to follow. But the writing describes things in detail but using very little words. It’s like down to the basics-kind of a thing and it works so well. I don’t mean that it’s dumbed down for kids, but that there’s no unnecessary prose and yet, it feels like when you’re reading that there is this huge list of adjectives given to you. Armstrong does with simple words what some might do with a dozen complicated ones. And that’s what makes it so good. And it works with the plot. 

The writing makes it feel like you’re really close to the things happening and the characters. So everything that happens to them, feels really close to you as well. Armstrong keeps it simple and grounded, but this just makes it so much bigger when something heartbreaking happens. And the really exciting, adrenaline-filled parts are just gut-wrenching. 

Some books are very character-driven. Here, it’s all about the mystery that slowly unwraps. The trilogy is a puzzle and you’re given most of the pieces at the beginning and then you add to them and then you can almost guess what the mystery is. The plot moves constantly and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Because while it never stops, it is sneaky. It lets you think you’ve stopped or slowed down, but instead something else entirely is going on. 

And even if things are very plot-driven, the characters move in it freely. It doesn’t become heavy or too action packed. The characters are valid players, but as they try to solve mystery, the plot doesn’t stop. You’re constantly on the edge of your seat and you just want to know what the hell is going on! 

Final thoughts: Writing the review was hard because I adore this trilogy so much that I just wanted to gush about it. I love the characters, the mystery is absolutely delicious, I love how you get small pieces of it revealed. Armstrong delivers a good thriller, that keeps you at the edge of your seat. It’s definitely an excellent re-read and if you don’t like first person narrative, I’d still say give this a try. 

There’s action, romance, mystery, villains and fights for the good of all  - what else could you need?