The Taking

By: Kimberly Derting

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer meets The Fifth Wave in this chilling and explosive new series from author Kimberly Derting.

The last thing Kyra Agnew remembers is a flash of bright light. She awakes to discover that five whole years have passed. Everyone in her life has moved on—her parents are divorced, her boyfriend is in college and dating her best friend—but Kyra's still the sixteen-year-old she was when she vanished. She finds herself drawn to Tyler, her boyfriend's kid brother, despite her best efforts to ignore this growing attraction. In order to find out the truth, the two of them decide to retrace her steps from that fateful night. They discover that there are others who have been ""taken,"" just like Kyra. But Kyra is the first person to have been returned past the forty-eight-hour taken mark. With a determined secret government agency after her, Kyra desperately tries to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had . . . but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

Sci Fi Romance Novel

The premise for the story is quite interesting. The narrator is exceptional. The over-the-top gush of teenage romance ....not so much...it was like listening to a Harlequin romance. Do teen girls really think like Kiera? But I persevered. It is not predictable. There are twists & surprises. It's well worth a listen. And since I'm looking forward to the sequel that comes out at the end of April... I guess I liked it!

Few issues with this story... otherwise okay.

If the main character did not feel the passage of time (5 years) in her disappearance, why does she act like she has to "remember" Tyler? Her "memories" are less than 24 hours old! And how does she fall in love with him so quickly? Basically she falls for another boy in 1 day, after mentioning SEVERAL times she and Austin "had their whole lives planned out". And really, who suffers a trauma like hers and then has a new romance immediately on their mind? Her first encounter with Austin post-disappearance conveniently wraps up their relationship neatly, paving the way for Tyler in a way too contrived way. It really irritated me.

An Uneven story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It wasn't a complete waste of time. It was a compelling concept. 16 year old Kyra disappears on day. and then reappears 5 years later. While the rest of the world has moved on, Kyra remains 16 years old. Her parents have divorced, her mother's remarried. Her boyfriend is now dating her best friend. His little brother is now 17, and has become quite the stud. The only person who seems SUPER concerned with her disappearance is her father, and he's been labeled as a nut-case. This part of the story seems pretty good. Where, What, How and Why did this happen to Kyra?
Then it gets all convoluted. G-Men, underground space aliens, fellow abductees. The second half of the book just gets too bogged down. .

Would you ever listen to anything by Kimberly Derting again?

Yes

What about Tavia Gilbert’s performance did you like?

Good performance,

Was The Taking worth the listening time?

Yes, good potential, I would even follow the story, just to get some closure.

Any additional comments?

Hope the second book is more focused

Good but unfinished

This is apparently (at least I hope so) going to be a series. The author did a good job of more or less wrapping up the main story of this book while keeping questions open for the sequel. I wish she had tied up a few more loose ends though. I'm not a big fan of having so many open questions at the end of a book regardless of whether it will be a series or not. I was quite impressed by the narration of Tavia Gilbert. I'd not listened to her performances before. She's most definately going on my "good narrator" list. Is this credit worthy? Sure. But I'd wait until at least the next book comes out.

Intriguing, if a little meandering and sappy

I liked this story to a point that I could just stop listening. I'm planning on reading the sequels. The plot itself is a good one: girl is taken in a flash of light and returned 5 years later with no memory of any time passing. It was the romance that irked me. Kyra goes from being in love with her boyfriend to falling for his brother very quickly. All while hating her ex for falling for her best friend over the 5 years she had been gone. Flimsy. Even though I ended up liking Tyler's character in the end. I think the narrator saved the book. She is extremely talented.