I'll be honest - when I grabbed this for my car time sessions, I was expecting pretty standard YA supernatural stuff. You know, the kind where you can zone out during a toddler meltdown and still follow along when you come back. But The Calling actually surprised me. This is book two in Kelley Armstrong's Darkness Rising trilogy, and it picks up right where The Gathering left off - which means if you haven't read the first one, you're going to be very confused very fast. Don't be me with the first Percy Jackson book. Just... start at the beginning.
Maya Delaney is a skin-walker, which is basically someone who can eventually transform into an animal. She's not there yet - still in the "running really fast and connecting with cougars" phase - but she's getting closer. The book opens with Maya and her friends fleeing a forest fire (deliberately set, because of course it was), getting kidnapped, surviving a helicopter crash, and then having to navigate the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their weird supernatural abilities. It's a lot. In a good way.
Survived 47 Pauses And Still Made Sense
This is my highest compliment for any audiobook, and The Calling earned it. Sophie had three separate meltdowns during one listening session - the yogurt incident, the shoe crisis, and whatever that thing with the blanket was - and I never once had to rewind. The pacing is tight enough that when you jump back in, you're immediately back in the action. Armstrong doesn't waste time on lengthy internal monologues or endless world-building recaps. Things just keep happening.
At around 7.5 hours, this is perfect mom-length. I finished it in about a week of drop-offs and nap times, which felt like an actual accomplishment. The chapters are short enough that you can find natural stopping points, and Jennifer Ikeda's narration keeps the energy up without being exhausting.
Jennifer Ikeda Is The Real MVP Here
I've listened to a lot of YA audiobooks at this point - occupational hazard of having a seven-year-old who wants to "share" books - and narrator quality varies wildly. Ikeda is genuinely good. She gives each character a distinct voice without doing that thing where male characters sound like cartoon villains. The boys actually sound like teenage boys, which shouldn't be impressive but absolutely is.
Her pacing matches the book perfectly. During the tense wilderness survival scenes, she picks up speed just enough to make your heart rate increase. During the quieter moments - and there are a few romantic beats in here, nothing too spicy for YA but enough to make you smile - she slows down appropriately. I listened at my usual 1.25x and it still felt natural.
The Romance Thing (It's There, Don't Worry)
The publisher promises "sizzling" romance and... okay, it's YA sizzling, which means longing looks and almost-kisses and that delicious tension where you're yelling "JUST KISS ALREADY" in your car like a crazy person. There's a love triangle situation that I normally hate, but Armstrong handles it without making Maya seem wishy-washy. She has actual reasons for her confusion, and both guys are genuinely different options rather than just "hot boy A" and "hot boy B."
I won't spoil which direction things go, but there are some satisfying moments in here. Perfect for when you need a little escapism between loading the dishwasher and folding tiny socks.
What Might Bug You
This is very much a middle book. It ends on a cliffhanger - not a devastating one, but you'll definitely want to have book three ready to go. If you're the type who gets frustrated by unresolved plot threads, maybe download The Rising before you start this one.
The content warnings mention violence, language, and sexual content, but honestly? It's pretty tame by adult standards. The violence is action-movie level, the language is what you'd hear in any PG-13 film, and the sexual content is basically just kissing and attraction. Emma could probably listen to this in a few years. (Lucas would be bored. He's still in his dinosaur phase.)
Who's This For (And Who Should Skip)
Perfect for busy parents who want something engaging but interruptible, or anyone with a tween/young teen who's into supernatural stuff - great one to share, or to "preview" for yourself and then conveniently finish before they ask for it back. Skip it if you haven't read The Gathering first, or if middle-book cliffhangers make you twitchy.
The Mom Seal of Approval
Armstrong knows how to write a page-turner, and Ikeda knows how to perform one. That same combination of solid writing and strong narration made Who the Hell is That? work for me too.
Not groundbreaking literature, but sometimes you don't need groundbreaking. Sometimes you need a fast-paced supernatural adventure with a capable heroine and some romantic tension, delivered by a narrator who makes your commute feel like entertainment instead of obligation. This delivered exactly that.
My book club would probably call it "light reading" - if I ever had time for book club again. But you know what? Light reading is still reading, and this was genuinely fun.
