Review: The Replaced by Kimberly Derting

The Replaced

Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Taking #2
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: ebook
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 3 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

So basically I remembered only slivers of The Taking and I couldn’t find a recap. I was pretty hesitant to start this since I find that when I remember nothing, I don’t enjoy the second book as much, but I was all what the hell, and just went for it. Kimberly Derting does a fantastic job of reminding her reader what went down in the first book. It’s not a huge repeat of information. It’s just little reminders here and there that worked perfectly to spark my memory. Fantastic job. I wish more second books could offer these hints/reminders.

After the devastating cliffhanger of book one, I was eager to learn what was going to happen next. This book is packed full of action. Kyra and her new friends are always on the move, never slowing down. I loved that nothing was easy for them and just when I thought something was too simple, they would be thrown for another loop. These kids had to work hard for what they wanted.

I still very much enjoyed all the sci-fi alien stuff. The idea of DNA being altered, and just the whole alien abduction thing plus government conspiracy just completely sucked me in and had me riveted.

I also really enjoyed our new characters like Simon, Natty and Willow. Natty felt like a little sister to Kyra even though I feel like they’re the same age and Natty may even be older? But I loved her carefree, young, curious personality. Willow is tough as nails and I really liked that about her, but after a certain event happens, she changes and the change didn’t feel consistent with her character.

Simon. Let’s just get this out of the way and let you know about the love triangle that develops here. I felt like it came out of nowhere and was completely unnecessary to the plot. Tyler, Kyra’s boyfriend from the first book, isn’t really in the picture for this book because reasons that I can’t share. So I feel like the love triangle was just thrown in for the sake of this book having some romance. Not cool. However, I really liked Simon. I thought he was a good leader, he was protective and loyal of his people. I didn’t like all the secrets he kept, but I did like him. And honestly, I kind of forgot all about Tyler and what made him so awesome. But then I went back and read my review of the first book where I talked about how awesome Tyler was. So now I’m all confused and it’s probably all due to this unnecessary love triangle.

My other complaint is that some things just didn’t make sense. There are certain revelations that happen or plot twists and I just wasn’t sure how it all happened. How certain people knew about certain things. Where are they getting their information from? I sincerely hope that a bunch of stuff is explained in the last book because I still feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions. And of course, this book ends on another horrible cliffhanger. I thought it wasn’t going to, but then I read the epilogue and was like WTF. So yeah, if you want to avoid the cliffhanger, maybe stay away from the epilogue? Overall, a really exciting, action-packed sci-fi. I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to end!

Have you read this one yet? What did you think? Were you a fan of the love triangle?