The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Summary:
A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own? (from GoodReads)

Review:
I'm huge fan of Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder Series. I think I'm about one book behind but they're so good and creepy! That's why I was so excited to read something new from her. But I didn't enjoy The Taking as much as I thought I would.

I really love the concept of The Taking. Waking up five years in the future with no knowledge of what happened to you would be awful. But that's what happens to Kyra. Even though she's supposed to be 21, she still looks 16 and it's like she never left because she's still wearing her softball uniform. I wanted to know what happened to her while she was gone!

However, it takes almost 200 pages for anything exciting to happen. Beforehand, it's Kyra adjusting to her new life with a stepfather and half-brother. She becomes really friendly with Tyler from across the street, who is her old boyfriend's younger brother. Kimberly Derting writes the romance of The Body Finder series so well and that's what I was expecting out of The Taking. However, Tyler and Kyra fall in love almost immediately and I was a little creeped out by Tyler's obsession with her. I would have liked to see the romance develop more before the "I love you's" are exchanged.

The end of the book gets exciting as Kyra is on the run for her life. I was glad to finally get some answers about Kyra's disappearance too. I still haven't decided if I'm going to continue on because it's obvious this is the first of another series. I enjoyed my read but I guess I'm spoiled by the wonderful Body Finder series because that's the quality I was expecting.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: won in GoodReads contest
Release Date: April 29, 2014

2014/HarperTeen/368 pages.

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Summary:
In the end, all that’s left is an echo.

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet’s talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it’s Violet’s job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice.

When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by “the girlfriend collector” she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new “relationship” and Violet may have caught his eye... (from GoodReads)

Review:
I am really enjoying this series and was excited to see that it's going to be longer than just a trilogy - the fourth book, Dead Silence, will be released this year.

The concept of The Body Finder series is so chilling; even after three books that fact that Violet can sense dead bodies and murderers is still super creepy. But I must say, it makes for great reading. In The Last Echo, Violet has started working with a team of psychics in order to help the police solve baffling crimes. It was nice to see Violet actively use her ability for good; in the previous novels she would accidentally stumble upon cases and then try to help the police. Also it was good for Violet to be around people like her and in The Last Echo you could see her open up more to the other members of the team.

The villain in The Last Echo is so creepy and I loved his chapters the best! Getting inside his mind and seeing how he thinks was extremely interesting, especially for me as a psychology major. Kimberly Derting is so good at writing scenes that make your skin crawl.

I wish we could have seen more of Violet's school friends and her boyfriend Jay - they were lacking in this book. Potential love interest Rafe definitely had a bigger role and I can't tell if I enjoy the love triangle or not. I like Rafe but Jay and Violet work so well together that I hope the author doesn't mess that up.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Last Echo and the rest of the series as well. If you like thrillers definitely pick this up. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library.

2012/HarperCollins/360 pages.

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Summary:
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime. (from GoodReads)

Review:
The Pledge was very interesting. It had a great premise that wasn't executed as well as it could have been. I was also disappointed the in the romance aspect of The Pledge.

Like I just stated The Pledge was really original. Classes are separated by language (which I think is a great concept) but Charlie has the ability to understand all languages. I think that is awesome (though I was confused as to why other people haven't learned the other languages; especially since there is a universal one that everyone understands which would make learning super easy). Besides Charlie's gift, there isn't really anything else special about her. She was kind of bland and her only other redeeming quality was her love for her little sister.

The world-building was pretty cool and I liked that it was both dystopian and fantasy, because there was magic involved. That being said, I never felt like it was the goverment was that controlling; besides not being able to look in the eyes of someone of an upper class, Charlie is able to roam pretty freely around her city. I also thought it was interesting how Ludania was ruled by female monarchs and the few sections where we got to see into the aging queen's head were pretty cool. She's a vicious queen, and those were the only parts where I actually felt afraid.

Unfortunately, the romance did not live up to my expectations. This book could actually have been written without it and it probably would have been better. Charlie meets mysterious Max who somehow knows her secret. They are attracted to each other, but I honestly have no idea why. Their relationship was built on nothing and we don't even see them together that much.

The Pledge is a little confusing in the beginning and for the first half I was wondering what was going on since there wasn't much of a plot. But then a lot of things start happening in quick succession and the ending was pretty anti-climatic. It also ends with an epilogue, though I don't know why since there are two other books in this trilogy.

So I thought there was a lot of potential in The Pledge but didn't quite meet my expectations. Some parts were good, like Charlie's ability, but others needed work. Hopefully the next two novels will be better.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
FTC: Simon & Schuster GalleyGrab
Release Date: November 15, 2011

2011/Margaret K. McElderry/320 pages.

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Summary:
Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger. (from book jacket)

Review:

I really liked The Body Finder, so when I heard that there was going to be a sequel, I was super excited. I thought Desires of the Dead was a great continuation of series, and added a whole new element to Violet's world.

Desires of the Dead follows The Body Finder in that Violet is still finding dead things, animals and humans, alike. However, in this case, she is discovered by the FBI after leaving an anonymous tip about a body. The FBI calls and are interested in her talent, but it's obvious that even they might not know what exactly Violet can do. I liked the addition of this special subdivision of the FBI into Violet's world; I think it sets up nicely for future books and allows Violet to use her ability for good.

Violet and Jay are still dating in Desires of the Dead, and I loved their relationship. Jay is a great guy, and it was nice to see him care for Violet. There were points in this book that their relationship bordered on melodramatic, a specific time occurs after they have a fight. Both Jay and Violet are depressed and Violet misses school, which I thought was slightly ridiculous. Regardless, I still liked reading about them, even if I wished Violet would open up to and talk to Jay more. She's very secretive at times, though I can't blame her because I might be the same way.

In addition to Violet being pulled towards dead things, she also seems to have a stalker, which seems ominous but ends up not being the central conflict. I liked the the parts of the book that dealt with newcomer Mike and his family; there was a nice twist in regards to his mother's disappearance.

Overall, I enjoyed Desires of the Dead and think there's a great set-up for future novels. GoodReads states that there are plans for two more books, which I will definitely be reading.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library.

2011/HarperTeen/355 pages.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet has always been different. She was born with a special skill that has enabled her to find dead bodies. It sounds gruesome and macabre, but for Violet it's her life. However, when Violet starts discovering dead human bodies, in an almost serial manner, things change. As her small town begins to panic because more and more young girls are turning up missing and/or dead, it's up to Violet to use her power to find the killer before it's too late.

The Body Finder was extremely creepy, but that's what I liked about it. I love horror/thriller movies, so the fact that this book fit into that genre was awesome. There was a love interest (as usual) and even though it turned out to be the cliched best friend, I still loved the romance. Things actually started getting hot and steamy between Violet and Jay, which I shall attribute to pent-up sexual tension.

Surprisingly, I really liked the supporting characters, who came in the form of Violet's girl friends. They were funny and added something to the plot. I wish we could have seen more of them because most of the time it was The Violet and Jay Show, so I actually kind of forgot about them half-way through the book.

Also, a lot of reviews mention a "twist" that takes place in The Body Finder. There was one, but it wasn't as big of a reveal as I was hoping. It didn't help that I kind of guessed the ending before, but I usually do that anyway so that doesn't mean everyone else won't be surprised. So besides a few things that I didn't like, I thought that The Body Finder was a pretty solid book. It had good description, fun characters, a hot romance and just the right element of suspense.

8.5 out of 10.

FTC: I received this book for the One ARC Blog Tour and mailed it back to the author.