And the next author you should read is . . .

[katayla]

I just finished Kelley Armstrong's The Gathering and felt compelled to come on here and tell you all how you should read her books! She writes supernatural YA (this is what I plan on selling to you tonight!) and urban fantasy. And I know a lot of people are probably sick of those genres, so I get if you don't want to read them, but if you still like the genre or want to give it one last chance, check them out!

Anyway, The Gathering is the start of a companion to trilogy to The Darkest Rising trilogy (which consists of, in order, The Summoning, The Awakening and The Reckoning), but you don't need to read the first trilogy to understand what's going on. You'll just know more if you do. (You'll also know more if you've read her adult books, since they're set in the same world.)

I've already been stealing from my GoodReads review, but now I'm going to flat out copy:

And this book was just a great reminder of what draws me to Armstrong's work. She's very good at tapping into the tropes of the genre, while avoiding the pitfalls. With both the romance in the first trilogy and the one in this book, she uses what makes the cliche supernatural YA couple appealing, while avoiding the more negative aspects. The girls might be attracted to the guys, but that doesn't get in the way of their standing up for themselves and demanding to be treated as they should.

I'm also impressed with how Armstrong handles the (for lack of a better word) bitchy characters. They start off seeming like unrealistic stereotypes, but end up getting such fascinating depth.

It's like . . . I've said to a couple of people that I want to like dystopia and this isn't dystopia (none of Armstrong is), but this illustrates why. There's something appealing about some of these crazy-popular genres. Not always the stories written in them, but the genres themselves do have value. And when I can find a book that makes the story good and not just the genre? That's awesome.

Comments

[thebigdisaster.livejournal.com]

It's ordered and coming in the mail. After I read Eona: The Last Dragoneye I will be zooming through it!! Kelley is amazing at adding depth. But I HAVE to know....Does the old crew show up in this series?

[katayla.livejournal.com]

They weren't in this one, but my understanding is they'll make an appearance eventually. :)

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy her! :)

[katje0711.livejournal.com]

What is YA? Young Adult?

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yes. :)

[stargazr324.livejournal.com]

Okay, so which of her books should I start with?

[katayla.livejournal.com]

If you want to start with the YA, read The Summoning first. If you want to read her adult work, start with Bitten.

I read the YA first and I think I did prefer it that way because then you're sort of in the same place as the characters, knowing nothing about the world. But if you're more in the mood for adult, you can definitely read Bitten first without trouble! (So far the stories don't explicitly overlap, so you won't really be spoiled for anything whichever way you read them.)

[otempora42.livejournal.com]

I'm downloading The Summoning onto my Kindle right now! I'll let you know how I find it.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yay! I hope you like it. (I haven't had perfect success rate with this rec, alas. ;))

[otempora42.livejournal.com]

I'm about halfway through now. I thought the beginning (up until about the point she got to Lyle House) was pretty rushed and not so well written, but it really picked up, and I'm totally into it now.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think Armstrong's books in general don't have the greatest beginnings, but she pulls it all together pretty quickly! Glad you're enjoying it!

[otempora42.livejournal.com]

I spent all yesterday afternoon and today reading, and I just finished the Reckoning! I really liked it, but is that really where it leaves off? NOT FAIR, KELLEY ARMSTRONG. NOT FAIR.

I might have to take a break before checking out her other books, though, because I do have work to do, and only so much money to spend on ebooks. :P

[katayla.livejournal.com]

YAY! And, lol, sorry! I really should've warned about the ending! I think she's planning it to be a trilogy of trilogies, so I don't think we'll get the "real" ending for a while yet!

I love her adult books, but they have a pretty different writing style than the YA ones. A lot of more complex and there's--*gasp!*--sex and swearing. But they're awesome and you get a much more complete view of the world.

[nordmaedchen.livejournal.com]

I just finished Kelley Armstrong's The Gathering and felt compelled to come on here and tell you all how you should read her books!

I somehow had a feeling that I have to check her out. LOL

[katayla.livejournal.com]

LOL. Do it! :D

[nordmaedchen.livejournal.com]

Will do. You already succeeded to make me read Miss Perkins. ;)

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I just commented on your GoodReads review! I'm so excited everyone seems to be loving that book. :)

[katayla.livejournal.com]

It almost doesn't matter though because, while there is sort of a background ongoing plot, each is also pretty stand alone? Or just read the YA because they're sooooo fast and there are only four of them. (Though her YA and adult books have a vastly different writing style. It's interesting.)

Yay! I do think I really will read them . . . eventually.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Haha, it's a neutral thing? I don't think it either adds or detracts, just makes switching between them a little interesting (especially since, again, they're set in the same world!). I kind of feel like she might be a stronger YA writer though maybe that's just because that's what i've mostly recently read.

HUH. Then do I even want to read them? I NEED A GOOD LOVE STORY. :P Though I'm thinking maybe Vaughn's not the greatest romance writer? Or, at least, not great for me. With Discord's Apple, I was like, "Am I supposed to shipping them?" and then, "No, silly, they just happen to be a guy and a girl! That doesn't mean it's a thing!" . . . but it WAS a thing. *shrug* And then in Voices of Dragons, it was a very low key romance, which I liked it, but it definitely didn't make invested in the love story.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that's what makes Bitten such a favorite of mine. Meaning, like, a favorite out of Armstrong's, not just in general. I don't find a lot of urban fantasy very emotionally engaging and even Armstrong doesn't always get to me, but she seems better than most at it. (Did you finish Bitten? I can't remember!)

Eeeek. And hahahaha. My mom kind of knows, I think? I try not to talk about it too much on twitter, but sometimes I just need to ask if the site is down or whatever! (But I will NOT post links to here!!!)

(Nahhhh. Go ahead and post them! It'll probably be a while before I'm ready for more books, lol.)

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Haha, nice! Yeah, my parents are similar, although my mom's gotten pretty good at finding free ebooks.

I know, right? My mom knows I have friends around the world, but I wonder how she thinks I got them. I think she has a vague idea I blog, but doesn't really know how it all works?

I normally keep the set though yeeeeeeah sometimes it does feel WHY? (Or acquire the set, I should say, as I don't really get rid of books, haha.)

[myr-soleil.livejournal.com]

I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT. Except apparently I can because I'm considering waiting for the paperback version in order to match with my first trilogy. I'm still unsure what to do. It's a very important decision. But I'm super happy to hear The Gathering is good! :D

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I want MORE! :D Could you pick it up from the library now and then buy the paperback later on? (I suck at waiting, so generally buy the hardcovers, lol.)

[myr-soleil.livejournal.com]

Hm, my library doesn't have this many English books, but I'll see what I can do! I figure I could buy the new trilogy in hardcover, since it's somewhat like a new series. Is the side of the book similar to the first trilogy, with the jewel and the specific typefont?

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Not that similar. It's pretty plain. Here! Have a picture. :)

[myr-soleil.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! Well, the lack of jewel makes it different enough. I might just buy it! :D

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Yay! I need someone to talk to about it. :)

[torigates.livejournal.com]

Weird timing! I just finished Frostbitten, and was coming to talk to you about it! I was so happy to get back into Kelley Armstrong's world, I guess that is a sign that I should check out her YA stuff. I'm not sure I knew it was set in the same universe.

I love everything you said about her. she's so good at giving all her characters depth and it is really refreshing that even the "villains" of her world are usually given more than just surface "badness". At the very least you can say that they're all given REAL motivations.

I'm excited to read more about the werewolves now (And you know I was more into the other supernatural beings). I hope she writes more about the new guys.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

Aw yay! She's one of those authors that always make me feel like that, just happy to be back in the world. (Which is kind of rare? IDK. Even with other authors I enjoy, I don't always have the same attachment to their world.)

Yeah! And I guess I also appreciate how flawed her heroes are, too? And, I mean, flawed in such relatable ways.

Did you know she's ending the series though????? She's currently writing a trilogy about Savannah (one book out so far) and that'll be the end of the Otherworld series, at least for now? I think she's planning one more YA trilogy after this one though. (And, like, short stories and novellas and stuff, but STILL. There are so many authors that let their series drag on, but she's one I feel like could keep it going indefinitely, since she switches up the narrators so much and adds so many new characters.)

[torigates.livejournal.com]

YEAH. Right after I read it, I wanted to go back and read the whole thing because it just felt nice settling back in. IT IS RARE.

YES. All of her characters are so multi-dimensional. It's so REFRESHING.

THAT IS SO SADDDDD. I want to read a million more books about everyone and all the new characters and all the characters we haven't head from! I totally agree that it could pretty well go on forever because there are so many people and the world is ever expanding. I hope she doesn't give it up forever.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I'm re-reading Bitten!

YEAH. Even like Clay and Elena's twins!!! I want to read about them as adults! I do get the impression that she'd go back eventually. Or at least would be open to it. I mean, I'm definitely excited to see what else she does, but it makes me a little nervous when authors start new series. WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE IT?

[torigates.livejournal.com]

I KNOWW. I don't want to say goodbye to this world! Though I'm sure I will like whatever she does.

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I still have her series (well, her two books) about a hit women to read! I should do that, though probably not right away.

[torigates.livejournal.com]

WOAH. Did not know those existed!

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I don't think they did very well . . .

[stellicidio.livejournal.com]

I saw you reading this book on Goodreads, and liking it. I'm not sure this would be my thing though as it's not really my genre but who knows maybe I will check it out sometime :)

[katayla.livejournal.com]

I think you might like it! :)