Book Review: The Rising

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Timesbestselling Darkness Rising trilogy. Quoted from Goodreads

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Okay, so if you've stuck around this far in the series, you're obviously a fan.  To be honest, this is probably my favorite of the three, and I love the way it wrapped everything up.  The beginning was a little slow for me, partly because I had to remember the characters all over again, but the last half was excellent.  Plus, we got to see Chloe and Derek again! even if it wasn't quite as much as I'd hoped.

I'll try and not give any spoilers away, but I really like the way this book ended. The Cabals are such big, ever-present threats, it's like David and Goliath without the sling. Or the stone. The way it began, everyone was backed into a corner, forced to live life on the run, separated from their parents.  The ending wasn't perfect, but it was an excellent, real-life solution full of hope--including help for the characters from The Darkest Powers trilogy, as well (obviously) as this one.

I probably shouldn't have started with the ending, but that's where my mind always goes on the last book in the series.  Don't worry, though.  There's still all the action and suspense that kept the first two books going.  Plus, we get to meet Maya's brother!  Okay, maybe that was a little bit of a spoiler, but it happens right at the beginning, and I'm pretty sure everyone expected him to turn up at one point from the moment his character was introduced.  I love his and Maya's relationship.  They're siblings who never met each other, who don't have all that history of growing up together, but they both want a part of that at least.  It's fun watching them try and figure out how to interact.

Then there's the romance.  The best thing about Kelly Armstrong's romantic relationships are that they sneak up on you.  I never pegged Derek as Chloe's one true love when I first saw him.  I thought he was an ugly, smelly jerk.  But as we get to know him, he totally won me over, so now Chloe and Derek are one of my favorite couples.  It's just the same for Maya and . . . yeah, not telling.  Maybe it's Rafe.  Maybe it's Daniel.  Who knows, maybe it's someone you never saw coming (but probably not). The whole point is, it's never obvious from the beginning, and it always develops slowly and realistically based on character and not flat out hotness. 

As I said before, this really was the perfect ending to a fun trilogy.  My only regret is that I didn't wait and read them all back to back. There's something about her books that lend themselves to one reading instead of waiting a year.  Still, now they're all out, so you can devour all of them back to back. This was a fun 3.5 (rounded up to 4 on Goodreads) book for me. It has great action, realistic characters, and great world building, so pick it up.  And if you haven't started the trilogy, well, it's done now, so you're out of excuses.