"The Replaced" Is Sure To Please With Out Of This World Action

Title:  The Replaced
(The Taking # 2)
Author Kimberly Derting
Format:  ERC
Length:  368 pages
Publisher:  HarperTEEN
Rating:  4 Stars

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.  -Goodreads

My Thoughts
The second book in The Taking series is quite the departure from the first. Where the first book centered around Kyra's return, and her romance with Tyler, with the NSA and abduction plot-line inching ever nearer as the end of the book neared.

With book 2 things both speed up considerably, and go from romantic to action packed the whole way through.
That is not to say that there is not finally some surprising pairing up of sorts, between the hunky Simon and lady K. While she is still on the hunt for Tyler no less.

But said hunt is quickly and mercifully put on the back burner, as revelations about Kyra, and exactly why it is that she is so important to NSA officials, and the like, comes to light.

And there is more running.

Then there is the addition of cast members Willow, Natty, Thom, and Jett.
This is where things start to get more than a little confusing. As secrets, plots, and hidden agendas start to come to light.

And more running.

There is another stop and the addition of cast member Griffin. (A girl.) And still the uncovering of still more secrets. These concerning past relationships within the group, and secrets involving Agent Truman.

And yet, more running!

There is so much changing of scene and action, that this is a book that one really must pay attention to when reading it. The fact that so much of it has to do with plans, schematics, and the more technical side of the predicament that those involved share, can seem like a bit of an info dump at times. This is however, tech with a purpose, and as the story progresses it fits very well into place.

With all the action, you would think that things would be left for resolution until book 3.

Not so.

There is both a very violent, and a very sweet end for two persistent plot lines within this read.
That is not to say that ALL of the loose ends meet with their respective bows just yet.
There is a very surprising cliff here. With a very surprising hanger.

 About Kimberly
Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins), THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster), and THE TAKING trilogy (HarperTeen). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal place to write anything dark or creepy...a gloomy day can set the perfect mood. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children who provide an endless source of inspiration. 

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