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.
Have you ever just wanted to kidnap an author and keep them with you forever? Make them write constantly for your enjoyment? That’s my relationship with Kelley Armstrong. Creepy? Hell, yes. But that’s my love for her writing. I have a select few books that I can actually call my favorites, and Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series is at the top. Ever since I read that series, it has become my mission to read every single thing that Armstrong writes. I haven’t completely finished that goal (the lady writes a lot!), but I’m getting closer!
I read the Darkest Powers series a few years ago, and I fell head over heels in love with it. Seriously, if you’re looking for a series full of a mix match of supernatural powers and an awesome story that will hook your eyes to the page, then go read the Darkest Powers series. You won’t regret it. The Darkness Rising series is a spin off of The Darkest Powers series. I’ll admit….this series is my least favorite series by Kelley Armstrong. I don’t know what it is. The writing is as great as usual, but there’s something lacking for me. It might be the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of Maya or any of the supporting characters. Regardless, I was really impressed with this third and final book. It was, by far, my favorite in the Darkness Rising series. I still didn’t fall in love with it, but I did have a really hard time putting it down, which I think says a lot.
For those of you who haven’t read the Darkness Rising series, let me give you a brief description. Bear with me, I haven’t read the first two books in over a year, so I’m more up to date with the third and final book in the series. The Darkest Powers series is about a girl named Maya who discovers that not only is she a shape shifter living in a world full of supernatural creatures, but she and her friends are also part of a supernatural experiment. The St. Clouds, one of the four supernatural Cabals, created the town that Maya and her friends live in and have supplied them with everything they have needed since they were born. The series continues with Maya and her friends going on the run and multiple Cabals chasing them. The final book in the series, The Rising, continues with Maya and her friends trying to find out more about their history and trying to get out of the mess they found themselves in. There’s a lot more information about the supernatural experiment, family ties, and Maya’s shape shifting abilities. Later on in the story, we also see appearances from the main characters of the Darkest Powers series.
When I was reading The Rising, I felt a mixture of emotions. There were parts of the book that upset me and other parts that made me happy. Let’s start out with the annoying aspects of this book and then we’ll move on to a more happy note. My first complaint, and one that has stuck with me throughout the whole Darkness Rising series, is that I think it’s too confusing for readers who have not read the Women of the Otherworld series. During the first two books that complaint was minor, but this book pushed it over the edge. I’ve read the whole Women of the Otherworld series. I know every single character and plot and twist. It’s my favorite series in the world, so I knew exactly what was going on in the Darkness Rising series. However, the book doesn’t really explain much about the cabals, which could be very confusing and distracting to readers. The Rising also brings in characters from the Women of the Otherworld series. Not only are the St. Cloud’s chasing the kids, but now the Nast’s are, too. Sean Nast, Savannah, Lucas, among other characters are mentioned in this book. And not only was that confusing, but readers only here about Savannah and Lucas once. Readers who have not read the Women of the Otherworld series are going to be very confused about who those characters are. They’re mentioned…not introduced. I don’t think that characters should be brought into a story unless their character is going to be explained. And since this is the final book, readers will have to read the Women of the Otherworld series to completely understand who those characters are and what they become in that world.
My final complaint with The Rising was that I didn’t like the characters from the Darkest Powers series being brought in. I thought that I would enjoy it, and I got really annoyed when they weren’t brought into the second book, but I HATED what was done with them in the final book. The Darkest Powers series is absolutely spectacular, and I had a vision of what happened to those kids after the final book. Everyone who has read the final book in the Darkest Powers series remembers how horribly it ended. Nothing bad happened, but the ending wasn’t finished. In my mind, I created what happened, and Kelley Armstrong went and erased all of that for me. I didn’t like what happened at the ending of this book. Not only did the ending suck, but it was confusing. The Darkest Powers and the Darkness Rising series have very similar endings in the fact that they don’t really end. It’s just a major cliffhanger for the ending of a series. There’s not another book coming out. That’s it. That’s the end. And I’m going to have to decide for myself…again…what’s going to happen. Honestly, the only thing that makes sense is if Armstrong decides to write an adult book based on these kids. That’s the ONLY THING that makes sense! And right now, I don’t think she has plans to do so.
On a more positive note, I will say that The Rising was the absolute best in the Darkness Rising series. I still didn’t fall in love with it, but I never wanted to put the book down. I had a really hard time reading the other two. They weren’t bad….they just didn’t have the spark that the rest of her books had. I really liked this one, though. I didn’t like what happened between Daniel/ Maya and Rafe/Maya, but whatever. My guy won…I just didn’t like how he won. And I didn’t like how the relationship with Maya and the loser ended. It didn’t make any sense. I was not a fan of that. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book.
I’m sitting here talking about how much I enjoyed this book, but I’m sitting here destroying it. The only reason I’m doing that is because I’m SO in love with the Women of the Otherworld series. It makes me have to dish out everything that annoyed me. But I want you all to know that Kelley Armstrong is one of the best authors out there. I can’t even begin to tell you guys how much I love her. Is my gushing not reason enough to go read her work? Screw the young adult books…go read the Women of the Otherworld series! Then come back to her YA series. You’ll appreciate it a lot more [;
If you like this series, then try out:
The Otherkin series by Nina Berry
The Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance
The Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill
Pages: 406
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: : 
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