Review: The Replaced (The Taking #2) by Kimberly Derting

Book Title: The Replaced

Author: Kimberly Derting

Published Date: April 28th, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Series: Book Two in The Taking trilogy

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Romantic and action-packed, The Replaced is the gripping second installment in the Taking trilogy.

Kyra hasn’t been the same since she returned from her mysterious five-year disappearance. Now, on the run from the NSA, Kyra is forced to hide out with others who, like her, have been Returned. Yet she is determined to find Tyler, the boy she loves who was also abducted—all because of her. When her group intercepts a message that Tyler might still be alive but is in the hands of a shadowy government organization that experiments on the Returned, Kyra knows it’s a risk to go after him. What if it’s a trap? And worse, what if the returned Tyler isn’t the same boy she lost? 

Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and the Body Finder series, The Replaced is both chilling and explosive, with creepy, otherworldly elements and twisty, psychological thrills that will have you questioning what exactly it means to be human.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

Can I just leave this review at “holy crap, it was awesome. Read it!”

No, probably not. Holy moly this book was so freaking awesome. I initially couldn’t remember some of these people and events from The Taking and was kicking myself for not doing a reread of book one, but The Replaced does a good job of reminding us all what happened in The Taking. 

Kyra has now lost her father and the boy she loves. They were both taken right at the end of the Taking and The Replaced picks up not too long afterwords. We end up meeting several new people throughout the course of this book. Some of these people end up being very important and some end up simply being extras.

There were secrets galore in this entire book. Every 20% or so I’d be freaking out and having to put the book down & calm down before I continued reading. There is one character that you start feeling one way about and then later on your feelings on this character change completely. I was never sure how I felt about this character.

There starts to be a love triangle in this one, and honestly, I kinda liked it. I liked the 2nd guy who was involved in this triangle and I kept hoping it would go the way I wanted it to. They seemed like a great match.

I hate being so secretive and vague about this book, but so much of this book was a big giant spoiler that I really can’t talk about, and it’s driving me batty. It was going to take a lot for me to enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed The Taking and actually I think I enjoyed this one MORE than I enjoyed The Taking. I never expected to say that.

Honestly it was the ending that sealed it for me. So shocking, so mind boggling and it left me wondering how I am going to wait for the third and final book in the series. I am giving this book 5 stars, and if you haven’t read these books yet, you need to rectify that immediately.

Friday Musings #5

Okay so I was booked on Tuesday so I couldn’t do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book like so many others in the blogging community. I needed a topic for today SO I decided to do my Top Ten Things That Make Me Shun A Book today. Hope you enjoy!

~God/Religion~

This is my number one thing. I am an atheist so it would make no sense for me to read a book about a God that I don’t believe in. I am also not religious at all so anything that so much as HINTS at being religious in any capacity does not get a home on my bookshelf.

~Politics~

This one’s easy. I find politics to be boring and I will not read a book that so much as HINTS at it.

~Insta-love/lust~

First of all I am not into that cheesy & corny crap. There is no such thing as insta love. There is such a thing as insta-lust and I wish people would call it that rather than calling it love. You cannot love someone you don’t know and may have never met.

~Bad Author Behavior~

If I hear a story about an author behaving badly to either another author or a blogger like myself,I will NOT pick up their book.To me it would be like rewarding them for behaving badly. No just no.

~Using Sex As The Only Plot Point~

If I have to hear someone say “Well Sex Sells” one more time, I may put my fist through a wall. Yes sex does amp up the book sales but for me if there is nothing else to the story I am going to throw it as far away from my body as possible.Even erotica has to have SOME sort of plot in order for me to read it. If it doesn’t,then I don’t read it. Simple as that.

~Steampunk~

If someone could just explain to me WHAT it is,I’d be greatful. As it is,I don’t get it and don’t understand the appeal.

~Aliens/Zombies/Werewolves & Vampires~

I threw all four of these together because I just don’t get the appeal of any of them. I like a good SciFi book as much as the next person but Aliens? No thank you. I think I’ve seen enough Vampire crap to last me a lifetime. Zombies,um no thank you. There was only one series that I loved a werewolf character and if you are as much of a geek as I am,then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

~Abuse~

Sometimes these stories are done beautifully and they tell the tale of a battered woman escaping from a violent man. But I rarely read them and that’s because usually we are forced to read about the abuse in graphic detail. I will not be okay with that. It’s like abuse is being glorified which makes me sick.

~Cheating~

This is something I don’t accept in my real life.Why should my reading choices be any different.It’s rude,disrespectful and like abuse,it glorifies the act.

~Historical Books~

I hated history in high school,hated it in college so why would I want to read anything with a historical theme? Answer is,I wouldn’t. Historical books of any kind bore the heck outta me and you won’t catch me reading them.Ever.

So what was on your TT list this week? Share your TT link with me so I can stop by if I haven’t already.