Review: The Calling by Louise G. White

Title: The Calling

Author: Louise G. White

Release Date: March 2014

Book one of the Gateway series

Rating:

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The Calling focuses on teenager Carolyn whose mother and brother were captured and taken through a gateway to another realm. After this strange occurrence, Carolyn's life is never the same and she soon discovers that she is a "Destroyer": someone who receives a calling to gateways in order to deal with wayward demons who inhabit the world inside them.

The story starts off a little confusing as some things just happen, or just are, without a lot of explanation but things do begin to unfold as the story progresses which makes it easier to follow.

The plot becomes really interesting when Carolyn makes a rash decision to take a demon through the gateway and into the human world. The demon, Note, transforms in order to resemble a human and just so happens to be extremely attractive which Carolyn can't help but notice. They become "anchored" to one another which creates a complicated situation that I really enjoyed reading about.

Note is likened to Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings

Carolyn is pursued by a government agency who want to experiment on her but is quickly rescued by a group of people with similar supernatural powers. They return to a secret compound where Carolyn learns to improve and control her skills so that she is not a danger to herself or others. The main plot, and the most interesting in my opinion, however is in the form of Carolyn and Note's anchoring. It's complicated and needs a fast solution and I enjoyed the progression of their relationship. Note is by far my favourite character in the book as he is just so sweet and likeable. I would have loved more from his perspective. There are hints of a love triangle but it doesn't develop very far. The other characters were interesting but didn't leave as lasting an effect as Note did. Carolyn as a heroine is okay but I didn't find her to be particularly remarkable. I didn't dislike her but felt like there was something missing.

I think the fantasy world that has been created is really impressive and I appreciated the creative detail that has been put into creating such a world. The glossary at the back is a nice touch. I also liked the setting of Scotland as being Scottish it's so nice to see my own country incorporated into a fantasy world. (Loved the Argos references!)

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Louise!