The Rising

What a great way to end the series! Usually I'm so disappointed by most series' endings, but this one was great. It tied everything together and it just made sense, in a good way. I think I actually like this book better then the second one and I am pretty happy with how things ended. Hopefully there will be a continuation from these series, I want to know what happens to all the characters after their adventures in this book.

Let me begin by praising the plot. Outstanding- throughout the whole book really. But in this one, it once again moved at the perfect pace. I did not get bored whatsoever and the only reason I took a break was because life got hectic and then I was trying to get into a roleplay on Tumblr that didn't work out.

Further on, I have never been a fan of the “friends-to-lovers” scenario but here I was glad for it. I liked Maya with Rafe but it just felt right, when she started seeing Daniel in a whole new light and started distancing herself from Rafe. Honestly, I was cheering them on the whole time and I couldn't get enough of their interactions with each other. This book showed me that some relationships burn out, even in books and I'm glad she didn't keep forcing Rafe and Maya's relationship. And the characterization? Top notch, as always. Although I did like the focus on Maya and Daniel. What a great pair.

Usually, I would say that such a basic writing style takes away from the whole book but not in this case. I like how it was precise and to the point, without adding anything extra. It was easy to get into the action and to picture the scenes in my head as they unfolded in the book. I loved Armstrong's writing style and will definitely pick up all the rest of her books sometime in the future.

Now, let's get to the reason why I loved this book immensely more than the previous one in the series. First of, I can now see how The Calling was dragging a little, especially with them being stranded and trying to find their way home. The plane crash was definitely necessary to the plot, but the plot seemed to drag without any significant characterization happening or anything else for that matter. With that said, it was still a great book and for that reason I am not changing my rating on it. However, this book was much better and more diverse and exciting.

I was mostly satisfied with the ending, although I would have liked to see Armstrong take a little more time in letting us know what happened after their adventure ended. I mean, I was looking forward so much to the epilogue and was a little disappointed with how short it was. Maybe this means there will be a continuation of Maya's story in the future? I certainly hope so. But still, it could have been a little longer and I would have felt much more satisfied. Also, why couldn't we get a little more of Daniel and Maya at the end too? I wanted to see their blossoming romance more than what was offered to us at the end of the book.

All in all, the third book in the Darkness Rising trilogy blew me away. The previous books were good as well, although the second one was worse for me than the other two. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick read and also wants an adventure-packed story with a bit of a supernatural twist. Oh, and the romance doesn't lack there either.