The Replaced involves so many twists and turns;it can be distracting at just how much information the readers get in a very short period. In spite of all that information overload though, readers will have the uncomfortable feeling that there is a big piece of the puzzle missing between the abductors and the abducted. One spends the entire novel waiting for the final piece to drop into place, which it never does. One can only hope the final novel will fix this omission.

As for the information readers do get, it is intense and insane. Aliens, romance, mysterious government agencies, secret hideouts, super powers, good versus bad, right versus wrong – The Replaced has it all. It definitely is not a series for everyone; there is something about the idea of alien abductions which makes the story more of a stretch of the imagination than sparkly vampires or angsty werewolves. For those who are looking for something different in the YA science fiction/fantasy world though, the Taken series continues to be a breath of fresh air.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I did the previous one. I couldn’t connect with the main character and resented the extra love interest who was added in.

Opening Sentence: Dead.

The Review:

Spoilers for the first book! In The Taking, Kira realized that aliens abducted her and took five years from her. She’s not the only one who’s been stolen away, but she is the only one who has been gone longer than a couple days. When Tyler was infected by the fatal disease in her blood, she took the last chance she had to save him, and tried to give him to the aliens in the hopes they could heal him. It worked, and he, too, was taken. But it’s been weeks without sign of him and Kira is crazy with worry. Not only that, but she’s beginning to realize what makes her different from the rest of the returned. She has a mysterious power that she finds hard to control and her old nemesis seems resistant to all her attempts to assuage him. To find Tyler, Kira will do whatever it takes. But when she finds him, will he be the same?

I read The Taking last year. I had been intrigued by the original plotline and awesome main character, Kira, and loved the romance with Tyler. When I got the opportunity to review The Replaced, I scooped it up, excited to continue the story. In the first, it was a nice entry into the series, but there was a lot of information left out. Why are the aliens taking humans? What do they plan to do with the returned? I was excited to answer a couple of those questions in the sequel. Although there was a couple questions answered, there were more that developed, and I’m not sure how everything could be answered in a third book. In the end, it was an okay read, but I think I enjoyed The Taking more: I’m not sure what it was, but I didn’t find The Replaced as gripping as The Taking was, or engaging.

Kira is still a badass heroine, but I didn’t care for her as much this book. In book one, I felt connected to her plight. The book moved at a steady pace and her emotions were easy to sink into. This novel, I found that the pace was less stable and more action packed, and that Kira was harder for me to connect with for whatever reason. One thing I did like about her in the story was her powers. She was watching them develop and doing her best to control them but was having difficulties. Through all of that she remained determined to figure them out in order to be safe around her friends and loved ones. I think my lack of connection to Kira was a major reason that this book fell a little flat for me, especially when I expected so much after the killer first novel.

In The Taking, I loved her love interest, Tyler. He was sweet, friendly, and he was a good listener. He would do anything for Kira. Their relationship developed adorably and I totally approved. Unfortunately, in this novel, something of a love triangle springs up which annoyed to me no end. I didn’t even like the guy who was the second option, Simon. It was basically “since Tyler isn’t around I guess you’re a good second choice!” I mean, come on. Tyler never would have given up on Kira were it him in her shoes and he deserved that kind of loyalty from her. At least wait a year or two before moving on, not months. This really messed up how I looked at Kira, and I lost respect for her the instant she began to feel something for him.

For all my complaining, there were things I enjoyed about this book. You finally realize what happened to Kira up there and the difference between her and the other returned. There are a couple other questions answered, and a nifty cliffhanger sets up a next book nicely. There were some good action scenes and a couple big revelations, though they were somewhat predictable. Nevertheless, I felt let down by this novel. The writing felt simpler in a way and the whole book was more rushed. I get that the story has to speed up book two, but I wish that I could have followed along better. One thing that I will say is that the cover to The Replaced is as gorgeous as The Taking‘s was and you should try it out if you liked the first book, if only for the cover. Maybe your feelings will be different!

Notable Scene:

Where were the fireflies when you needed them?

“Get off at the next exit!” Jeff announced franticly from the front seat. He snapped the laptop shut and was waving wildly toward the right side of the jam-packed highway. “Get over! Start signaling now. We need to get off as soon as possible!”

This couldn’t be good. “Why? What is it?”

“It’s us,” Jett answered, twisting in his seat so her could face us all. “They’ve got roadblocks up ahead and they’re looking for us.”

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Replaced. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

2.5 good (enough)
I wanted to read the replaced because I remember really enjoying the first one. even though I really don't have a whole lot of memory about it besides I liked the romance all the complication of her disappearing and then coming back as well as the whole alien angle.

It got right back into the mix of the story with her at a camp for the returned people who have been taken by aliens and then brought back to Earth. she's with some guys I guess you met last time and she really believe that they had gotten into the aliens security system somehow and she got a message from her dad but the guys with her didn't believe her and it really frustrated her that what she saw from them was pity. Their mission brought the action level up a notch, and it was slowly integrated into the story the details from the first, and I remembered things or just was able to follow along as the story progresses.

There were a few twists in the story, and I was reeling from a few of the things revealed. Some of the people from Kyra's past and how they work into the story. I wasn't sure how I felt about that as well as the semi forming other attraction.

But honestly, I think that The Replaced had a few "big" reveals that just didn't shock me and couldn't figure out why it did Kyra and company. And it fell into a bit of the formulaic second book syndrome-- oh look, we have a main character who has to go into hiding with some of the people that she met at end of first book, not sure who we can trust, go on several road trips following half leads, face off with the nemesis, escape, rescue mission, oh look, here we are in the car again. Then a reveal and the ending.

While I didn't hate this and did want to get through to the ending hoping for Tyler's appearance, I just wasn't enamored. Not sure if I will continue with the series because of one of the twists.

Bottom Line: Some surprises but mostly the paranormal second book syndrome in play. ( )