Review: The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1) by Kelley Armstrong
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a huge fan of the show Supernatural and I've always loved horror movies, but it seems like supernatural teen books often manage to disappoint. The characters are often shallow, boring and stereotypical, and, most annoying of all, the female characters in particular are usually incredibly lame. With a main character named Chloe, I was a little nervous about The Summoning reverting to type. Also, I was afraid the writing would be really, really bad. I know that's not a deal-breaker for die hard fans of a particular genre, but it is for me.
So, onto my thoughts on this book. Kelley Armstrong's style is clean and simple. She conveys rich and important details about the characters and setting without the writing distracting from the story. Characters are introduced gradually and the pacing is slow enough that you really care about what happens to them throughout this book, and in the other books in the series. Also, Chloe is bright, insightful, and powerful. She's kind of badass in this book, but I have a feeling the best is yet to come on that front.
If you're looking for a good beach read (or Halloween read, if your beach book list is already full) this is a good one. Just be sure to pick up the next book in the series. You'll probably need it.