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

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Release: April 28, 2015
Pages: 368 [Goodreads]

The Replaced is the second book in the Taking series. Derting wastes no time; The Replaced begins exactly where The Taking ended.

Jett, the camp’s super tech wiz, has been trying to hack into the NSA database for the last 17 days in hopes of finding a clue into Kyra’s father and Tyler’s disappearance. When a message pops up addressing “supernova,” the nickname Kyra’s father has for her, along with a hint that a John Doe is being held at a close-by NSA facility, Simon, Kyra’s somewhat-leader, hatches a plan to break in. The break-in yields more bad than good, when Simon, Kyra, and the rest of their crew nearly get captured and then end up on the run. Afraid that they might lead the NSA back to the other Taken campers, Kyra and the rest journey to another, more intense camp a few states away.

The mysteries surrounding Kyra’s unique abilities start to unravel more in The Replaced. We get a better idea of how and why Kyra is basically a freak among freaks. There’s also a great learning curve in which Kyra starts harnessing her unique abilities.

We meet some new characters, including Griffin, whom I both hated and loved. She’s another Taken who is both devious and malicious. Like I said, I didn’t like her, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy her. Griffin was one of those villains that you loathe, yet at the same time, you’re driven toward sympathy for the hand they were dealt.

I was sad that we didn’t get much of the original crew, especially Jett, but his plot-line in this book required him to stay pretty off the radar. Luckily we had new distinctive additions like Griffin.

I liked The Replaced, but I didn’t love it. We got some new information, but I was still hoping for more. With Tyler’s continual absence, Derting pushed another romance on Kyra that I just wasn’t feeling. It bothered me because it felt too forced.

Regardless of what I found to be shortcomings in this sequel, I still thoroughly enjoy this series as a whole.

If you like sci-fi mysteries with plenty of action I highly recommend checking out this series. It’s original and fun.

This book was okay. Depending on the themes, you may or may not like this book. Give it a try…but only after reading Potter again.
This book was okay. Depending on the themes, you may or may not like this book. Give it a try…but only after reading Potter again.

Thanks to HarperCollins for providing us with a copy in return for an honest review.