The Invitation

Darkness Rising #1.6

by Kelley Armstrong

The second "..of two shorts that went with the enhanced ebook edition of The Gathering."
"Huge spoilers for The Gathering in this one, so please only read if you’re done the book!"
K. Armstrong

Can be found and read here. http://www.darkestpowers.com/the-invi...

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Short Stories, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Novella

9 pages, ebook

First published March 30, 2012

About the author

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Reviews

[CS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

In what universe was this ever necessary? Even though it's free, it STILL feels like a cheap marketing gimmick to milk the cash cow that is this franchise.

Rafe goes to Maya's birthday party. That's it! That's all that this is! It's more "I need to find McGuffin to heal my poor, weakened sister" that we got plenty of in "The Gathering". Only this time, instead of being in Maya's head (which isn't that bad of a place to be when she's not mooning over Lover Boy), we get to be inside this jerk's head.

I could SORT OF understand the point of the previous short story. But this? WHY???

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this, it was interesting to get inside Rafe's head for a change and see what he was thinking during this scene and how it felt about Maya at the time.

[Veronika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this scene in the first book so it was great to read it from Rafe's pov!

[Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Eeeeeeep* Loved it! Loved it! Loved it as hell! Rafe!!!!! tell her you truly have feeling for her. OKay! TELL HER!!! then I will kick your butt! Seriously! I love U. I love U. OKay! XD

I want Rafe and Maya together!!! OKay!!!! They should be together! I'M SERIOUS!!! I gotta read Book 1 again, but I have no time to read Book 2. Damn it! Damn it to HELL!!! *Sqeeeezzz*

I know you are NOT Jerk!!! RAFEEEEE!!!!! I know you was misunderstood!! You're very good boy!! I know you did it for helping Annie!! I love that you so much care your sister!! I felt it!! You gotta deserve Maya!!! She is the one for you!! OKay!!! I don't want Maya with Anyone, except RAFE!! OKay! I'M SERIOUS!!! SERIOUS!!!!

XD XD XD....

[Anna 'Bookbuyer' · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really sweet novella. It's basically a chapter of the Gathering though, just told from Rafe's POV so it wasn't very exciting.

It was interesting to hear the story from Rafe's POV. It was also nice the novella was set just before one of the key moments of The Gathering.

[Scarlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story written from Rafe's point of view, and I love Rafe, so...5 stars!

[Bronwyn Lok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review at https://bronzelock619.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-invitation-darkness-rising-16.html.

This story is from Rafe's point-of-view, starting right before he went to the party until before he and Maya had their climbing competition. It was mostly Rafe contemplating whether Maya was "the girl", and if he should go to her party. I personally felt this story is mostly unnecessary, and there is not much new to learn other than showcase how annoying it was the way Rafe looks at girls like they, including Maya, were conquests to satisfy his ego. But if you are interested, you can read this story at http://www.darkestpowers.com/the-invitation.pdf.

[keikii Eats Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

54 points/100 (2.75 stars/5).

It is Maya's birthday party, and Rafael gets invited.

This is a short story that is a scene within the first book, the Gathering, told by another character's perspective. There really, really isn't anything in this short story that is new. I'm honestly not even certain why this was written. If you like seeing a relatively innocuous scene told from another character's perspective, have at it.

[Jessica (Read book. Repeat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Kelley Armstrong's writing, I have since I first read her Otherworld series. This was super short, and I did enjoy it, revisiting this world as I read this series a long while ago. It was nice to see the situation from Rafe's point of view and it was obviously a fun little thing for Kelley to explore how Rafe was feeling about it all.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rough Draft?, Early Version? Doesn't solve the Cliff=Hanger of the Gathering so still ugg

[Alison Beechner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was much better. It was a Rafe POV, so it actually added to the story and explained where he was coming from.

[Amee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Story about Rafe's side of the invite to the party

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short, but nice. Interesting to see Rafe's point of view.

[Zoha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that its his point of view of that rock wall climb.

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this back in 2017.. Amazing

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***


Rafe’s been invited to the birthday part of the one girl who truly interests him in the little town he now calls home – Maya Delaney. But did she invite him because she wanted him there or just to be nice? And does it really matter since no matter what he wants, he needs to find the other skinwalker and save Annie. Is Maya the skinwalker and if so does he really want her to be?

So the story is like eight pages long on my nook hence what can I really say about it? My first thought is I reread the Gathering before reading this and The Calling because I like to remember what was going on before I move to the next book in a series and when you’ve got a year between series releases you don’t remember details. Because I did this, this story just doesn’t match up with The Gathering. In this version of events Rafe doesn’t know before Maya’s party whether or not she’s the skinwalker and neither does Annie. But in the scene in the gallery Annie already seemed certain Maya was like her before the party and Rafe tells her that he knew when she started seeing all the cougars so how could he not know before the party? What I can say for the story is that the short, close third person narrative offers a whole new insight into his character. While his actions in other series novels make him appear less than appropriate for Maya, this look into his mind, what he’s thinking and feeling somehow makes him more honorable I guess. Rafe doesn’t have too many sweet moments so far in the series but his thoughts, the way he thinks of Maya in this story actually has him coming across as a sweet boy with a harsh life. It makes Rafe more appealing as a character and that’s what makes this story worth reading. There isn’t a lot of plot or action in this story, it’s more the retelling of a scene from another character’s eyes than it is a story. I’d like to have seen a little more action and length to this story because I feel Armstrong had a really good idea here but didn’t expand upon it enough.

Rafe actually manages to gain some character development in this story despite its length. This story adds a lot of depth to the character we’ve already met. The other characters aren't really developed but they do behave in keeping with their previous characterization which I liked.

Overall if you’re a fan of the series I would recommend reading this story even though there isn’t a lot to it.

[Jessi (Novel Heartbeat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I have to say that I enjoyed reading from Rafe's POV. It gave good insight to how he viewed Maya when he first came to Salmon Creek!
It was interesting to get his take on that particular scene, to know what he was thinking. Also, to see how he felt and what he thought when he saw Maya and Daniel together. Especially after reading The Rising and finding out that Rafe knew about Daniel's feelings early on.

We also got a little snippet of what it's like to live with Annie with her condition. I felt sorry for Rafe, who just wants to fit in. When he found the Papayas and was sad because he never had any inside jokes, I was sad for him. (Which is weird, because my feels for the series were fairly nonexistent. I think because Rafe was probably my favorite character?)

We also realize that it really wasn't his intention to use Maya. He knew from the start that she may never forgive him for chasing after her simply because she was a skin-walker. But that wasn't the only reason - he did have genuine interest and wished that he was a "normal" boy so that he could chase after her simply because he liked her. That made it a little better - from Maya's POV, you think that Rafe started out to use her and developed feelings later along the way. When in contrary, the feelings were already there. But still, he didn't do it to further his own agenda - he did it to save his sister.

[Meaghan R. (YA-aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this one a little better than the other, as it gave us a different pov on a scene from the book. a little insight into the mind of rafe....

this one is also not necessary to read, but i liked it and would say that if you were to read only one of the bonus shorts for the Gathering, i'd pick this one....

not sure why she has a disclaimer that it contains a big spoiler, i didn't think so, unless you consider the fact that this confirms Maya is a skinwalker, which i thought was glaringly obvious from the beginning of the book.

but i guess i can understand that some people might not pick up on that fact, so read after you've read the book....

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella can be read online for free at Kelley Armstrong's blog.

In this short story, Rafe Martinez has been invited to Maya's birthday party. It was interesting to read this from Rafe's point of view, and he comes across as much more vulnerable. I especially liked seeing his interaction with his, sister, Annie. It is evident how much he cares about her. He earns some brownie points for sure, and he is much more likeable to me now.

If you enjoyed The Gathering, I would recommend that you read this additional story!

[Alela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story revealing more of Rafe's character. I really liked his perspective on Maya, Daniel and others (I admit his feelings and misgivings about Maya gave me a thrill). His concerns for his sister were obvious from "The Gathering", but still "The Invitation" explained more fully his motives and reasoning, though you can't argue that no matter how good the motives, he still knowingly chose to deceive Maya in the end.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not read unless you've read The Gathering.

I loved The Gathering. It's very interesting to go back (for me a year later) and get this bonus story.

The invitation is about Maya's 16th birthday party. It is from Rafe's point of view. And we get to know what he was really feeling and thinking when Maya invited him to her party. It's a lot of stuff that we were totally unaware of. Great to see his POV.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rafe's point of view - Maya's invitation to her birthday party and his attendance, and why he needed to find Maya in the first place in order to help his sister Annie. The story is part of the Gathering, so, if you haven't read the Gathering, you will probably not understand what is happening and why.

[Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never really warmed to Rafe. Not until the The Calling anyway. So it's nice to read this in his POV. Though it would have been better if the race and roof (I'm not sure if I got the place right cause it's been a while since I read The Gathering but you probably know what I'm talking about) scenes were included. I'd pay to know what's going on his mind when all that and after happened.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Invitation is another short story involving The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong. This particular short story is a scene (plus a bit more) that is in the original book but told in Rafe's POV rather than Maya's. It was enjoyable to see things from Rafe's POV and made me look forward to reading the second in the series all the more.

[Erica Chilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rafe's point of view- Maya's invitation to her birthday party and his attendance.

So very sad seeing how he felt about his sister, Annie. I almost shed a tear during the very short scene. He just wants his sister back. AH!

[Joti · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Rafe hopes it Maya and yet he doesn't - and he's jealous of Maya's friendship with Daniel LOL - can't wait to read The Calling :D

[AK · Rating 5 out of 5]

hehehe, I like seeing things from Rafe's pov xD wish she had finished the chapter in his pov though ;) haha

[Catalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. We get to see Rafe's POV. And Annie! I loooove Annie.

[Chandni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, a really pointless short story in the Darkness Rising series.

[Elevetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stupid Rafe. I really hate him. I feel sorry for Annie, of course, but Rafe? Nope.