Book Review: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Flashback Friday is a meme I started last year here on the blog for the sole purpose of spotlighting books that have been sitting on my shelf to read for awhile. This will include titles released the previous year and ones that have been out for a few years. Today's feature is for a book that's been on list to read for awhile: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong.

By: Kelley Armstrong

Published by: Harper Teen

Released on: April 12th, 2011

Source: Bought

4 stars: I Enjoyed It

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Series: Darkness Rising, Book #1

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. -quoted from Goodreads

The Gathering is one of those books that hooked me with it's mystery and strung me along by sheer curiosity. It's not a story that's full of action scenes, but a story that's rich in many subtle scenes, and a lot of mystery all of which fed into the over all arc of the story. In the beginning I kept waiting for something big to happen, but quickly realized this was a story that would offer up plenty of little scenes to satisfy my craving for excitement. This story has a different pace than what I normally enjoy, and I liked that about this book. It gave me plenty of things to keep me craving more, but it didn't reveal all the secrets that lie within it's pages. Kelley created a story with a beautifully mesmerizing setting, characters whom all harbor secrets, and created an enticing mix of her own paranormal element with a richly detailed lore.

My favorite aspects of this book are Kelley's descriptive setting, and her Native American lore. The setting itself is beautiful and has an eerie feeling about what's really going on in Salmon Creek. This small village houses families who work for a pharmaceutical company there, and though we see that's something fishy is definitely going on, we still don't know what. I like that Kelley kept this open ended and didn't overly reveal too much in this book. This just adds to fuel of wanting to know what exactly is going on. I seriously loved the role the lush outdoors of the pacific Northwest played in this book. Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful places I've visited, and I loved visiting it again in this book. It's the perfect place for the outdoor active and the native lore that's tied to the story.

I have always been fascinated by Native American lore, and I loved the role this plays both in the setting and the story. Kelley's unique spin on shape-shifters is one I want to know more about. I like that she created a character who's part Native American, but doesn't know much about her birth parents until towards the end of the book. Maya's quest into finding out more about herself, her heritage and what the birthmark on her hip mean allowed me to learn more about what's going on with Maya and some of the people around her. I like it when I discover certain aspects of the story right along side the main character. It allows me to feel like I'm taking a journey with them.

The characters in this book were fun to read about, but they're not characters I felt like I connected with. I felt more drawn to the book with the lore and the setting vs them. That's not to say I didn't find some of them fascinating, because I did. I like the relationship that Maya and Daniel have. I like what develops between Maya and Rafe, though I'm curious to find out what happens between them in The Calling. There's still secrets I think Rafe is holding out on that deal with Maya. I also liked the role that Maya's adoptive parent's play in her life. It was refreshing to see a main character's parents be apart of their story.

Over all I really enjoyed reading The Gathering. I've not read the original series this book spins off from, so I'm not sure how the two are connected or if one series is better than the other. I can say I didn't once feel lost about what's going on in this book. Don't let not reading Kelley's other YA series stop you from picking this book up. Now that I've read this I want to go back and read the Darkest Powers series. I'm looking forward to uncovering more of this story's mystery when The Calling is out. I think YA fans will enjoy the paranormal elements and the mystery that this book has.