This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com. 
 My reaction, upon reaching the last page of this book, was to shout "Noooooooooo!" and immediately wish that it wasn't a hideously long ten months until 2012. So, um, I guess you could say that I loved it. The Gathering was my one of my mostly highly anticipated releases for this year. I read and glommed the entire Darkest Powers books in under a week. I wish the rest of the Darkness Rising books were already out so I could do the same to them. I need to find a hobby, fast, before I start stalking Kelley Armstrong in the vain hope of getting some details on book two. 
 Because I anticipated it so highly, I was also very nervous about The Gathering. I was afraid it would not live up to my expectations. Fortunately, I was so very, very wrong. I'd already read the first chapter online and that back cover blurb got me very excited about bad boy Rafe. Color me surprised to discover that, as I read the book, Daniel would be the one I fell in love with. I don't know if Kelley's creating a love triangle--though I highly suspect it--but I'm already TeamDaniel. I was TeamDerek from book one of the Darkest Powers trilogy, too. So I'm really, really hoping that Kelley's thrown us a red herring (not only with Rafe, but with some obvious ohmygod moments). I love slow burn romances, which is probably why the Chloe and Derek worked for me. In that series, Simon was the obvious choice. He and Chloe had obvious chemistry. Derek and Chloe's barely simmered at all in the first book, but that's why I liked them, and rooted for them. I'm hope-hope-hoping for the same with Maya and Daniel. 
 Of course, though the romantic angle of any book I read is important, it can't replace plot, setting and characterization. The Gathering has all of these in full supply. I was delighted by the self-deprecating humor about being Canadian. Maya and her friends are well aware of the fact that, to most people in the U.S., being Canadian is a joke but they don't let it bother them. I also liked the way that Kelley painted Salmon Falls (I'm pretty sure that's right. I had to send the book on, so I can't double-check. Please let me know if you remember differently.). If you've read the Darkest Powers books, you know that the set up in Salmon Falls is hinky. But you're still able to grasp why it seems so normal to Maya, her friends and her family. The sinister undertone flavors the entire novel and it's delicious. 
 If I had one complaint about this novel, it would be the cliffhanger ending. Honestly, I shouted when I reached the last word on the last page. Everything is left up in the air. Er, no pun intended. The wait for the next book in the series is going to be grueling. My mind is churning its way through the revelations, hints and possibilities brought forward by The Gathering. That, to me, is an indication of its very awesomeness.