The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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.
 

In The Gathering, New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong brings all the supernatural thrills from her wildly successful Darkest Powers series to Darkness Rising, her scorching hot new trilogy.

Jillian’s Review:

AWESOME! I loved this one! Armstrong creates strong, realistic characters with genuine voices and a great paranormal twist. Great chemistry between the guy(s) with just the right amount of detail (no sex, thank goodness).

This new series takes place in a tiny town in Canada where a pharmaceutical lab is based. There are a lot of secrets the company and even the parents are telling their kids. This is a sister-series to Armstrong's Darkest Power series, which you know I LOVED and I think the Darkness Rising series is going to be even better!

The only drawback is the language. Armstrong has her characters cussing even more than in her Darkest Powers series, though, it may have just seemed like it was more because I listened to the audiobook. BTW, that's a GREAT way to experience this story! The narrator, Jennifer Ikeda (who has narrated about 100 books!) has the perfect voice for Maya and doesn't try to do the strange accent of Rafe, like in an annoying audiobook I'll be reviewing soon. I was swept up from "page" one and got tons of laundry done at the same time! I can't wait to listen to book two.

4 1/2 stars. Half a star deducted because of the excessive cussing.

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, Book 3) by Kelley Armstrong

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

The explosive final part of the Darkest Powers trilogy, Kelley Armstrong's internationally bestselling YA series. [Wow, wasn’t that informative. That has to be the worst synopsis on goodreads and I just don’t have it in me to write one myself!]

Jillian’s Review:

(I just reviewed the second in this series, The Awakening, and wanted to post my review of the third.)

This is a great third book that picks up right where the last one left off. From almost the beginning of the series, I’ve been rooting for one guy to win Chloe‘s heart. I was not disappointed in this one. I love how protective, strong, and smart this said guy is (I’m not going to give it away). He’s such a likable character, even when he’s kind of a jerk. But even with him so strong, I love that he needs Chloe to help him through his most painful trials.

I was happy to see the kids finally get some grownup help, but then it turned out not to be so helpful. At least in the end they pick up some adults they could rely on.

This one is really action-packed. Even when the kids are stuck in the same house for a few chapters, things are constantly happening and their lives are always in danger.

And this had a really great ending! I finally I get the romance I wanted all along from the guy I wanted to end up with Chloe. I love it when I get my way. :) A perfect finale in a great trilogy.

Turn-offs: still too much swearing and gory stuff for me to give it a full five stars. I wasn’t too thrilled with the witch-girl who ended up tagging along. She was annoying, but she added to the story and gave another angle of opposition that would have been lacking without her.

Looking forward to reading the first, The Gathering, in Armstrong's newest series, Darkness Rising.

The Awakening (Darkest Powers, Book 2) by Kelley Armstrong

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

Jillian’s Review:

I love this series. It's spooky, has ghosts and genetically altered kids, plenty of action, and some romance. It begins about the next day from where the last book ends, so I expected to be kind of lost since I've read about 90 books between the first book and this one, but Armstrong does a great job of reminding the reader of the important events of book one and jumping us right into this next phase of the adventure.

Each of the characters are realistic, the main character is likeable which is sometimes hard to come by in YA fiction (too often they are selfish brats and unrealistic). I kept have to remind myself that she's only 15 because she seems more like a 17 year old and the cover picture doesn't help. Her two boy allies are great. I'm rooting for Derek and I'm really hopeful that something will finally happen in book three, The Reckoning.

Two negatives were the swearing—there’s not a ton of it, but enough to annoy—and the gory scenes are pretty graphic, but that’s why they’re so chilling. All in all, a great read. I couldn’t put it down.

Wolfsbane (Nightshade, Book 2) by Andrea Cremer

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):

When Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemies, she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer—one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack—and the man—she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

Jillian’s Review:

I was sadly disappointed in this second book of the Nightshade series. Most of it was wood shaving-filler for a story who wants to be a real book. About ¾ of it was background story for a whole new set of characters that could have been cut down to one chapter and left room for a plot and action. I can’t count how many pages there were of people just standing (or sitting) around talking. There was some good action but it was few and far between and that’s pretty sad coming from a book about human/wolf shape-shifters trying to form an alliance with their former enemies.

And then the romance… so, I’m a huge romance fan. I think there should be some in every novel; it keeps me turning the page. But for YA, this one went too far on detail. Seventeen year old Calla was smart enough to know she was too young to get married (you’ll have to read the first one for the scoop on that), then why didn’t she know she wasn’t ready for the reproductions of having sex with a guy who she earlier insisted wasn’t her boyfriend? I hate it when these teenage characters - whether in books, movies, or TV shows – sleep around! I can’t believe how everyone seems to think it’s OK to have teenagers having sex in their materials. I remember being a teen and thinking, “I know I’m not the only one who’s not doing it. Why do they have to make everyone have sex with everyone else?”

ANYway, enough of that rant. Had Cremer cut out most of the filler she would have had room to write an ending instead of leaving it completely unfinished. I do want to know what will happen to these characters, they’re real enough for that, but I don’t want to wait a year just to read another “to be continued” disappointment.

(Because the characters were real-ish and I want to know what will happen to them, and because of the the action bits, which were pretty good.)