Review: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (Darkness Rising #3)

Title: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Published: April 2^nd, 2013 by HarperCollins

Source: Purchased for Audible

Format: Audio book narrated by Jennifer Ikeda

Age group: Young adult

Genre: Paranormal

Challenge:  Finish the Series

Grade rate: B

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 Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

My Review

Being a big fan of Armstrong’s Darkest Powers series, I have been invested in this companion series since the beginning.  Even if Maya is not Chloe, they are both great heroines.  The conclusion did not disappoint.

The Rising picks up right where The Calling ended and finds our heroes (at least some of them) still on the run.  One thing that I’m not too happy about is the instances of getting captured-escaping-getting captured again.  It was actually confusing, but I understand the logic behind it, especially since the story is told from Maya’s point of view and we wouldn’t know what was going on with the rest of the crew otherwise.  

The story is really fast paced; I think the whole trilogy happened in about two weeks.  It reads like a paranormal thriller with teens that have been experimented upon and have all sort of strange powers.  The best part of The Rising is that we get to see the crew from the Darkest Powers series!  I was so glad to know how Chloe and Derek are doing, although it seemed like not much time has passed between both series.  Maya and her crew realized (with the help of Maya’s biological father) that it was pointless to keep running from the cabals and it was better to come to some type of agreement.  This is basically what the story is about and how they get to that point. 

I was happy with the ending, everything got nicely tied up, BUT there is always room for more as our heroes are all still teens and will grow into their powers.  I’m very happy for Maya and her chosen love interest (pardon the theatrics but I don’t want to spoil it for you).

About the cover: The covers are all similar and pretty, nothing special though.