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A review by otakuish
Taken by Erin Bowman
5.0
Oh. My. Goodness. After my long streak of reading mediocre dystopian novels, I was ready to throw in the towel and just give up. I was about five seconds away from ripping my hair out, if I had to read about another annoying female MC in a post-apocalyptic world....And then I finally read this book. And the heavens cleared up, and the sun shone through and angels started singing.
I. Loved. This. I LOVED IT. I loved the fast pace, the characters, the just right amount of plot building. I have no idea why some reviewers didn't enjoy it.
Let me just say, it's been a lonnnnggg time since I've read a dystopian novel with a male MC. And Gray was spectacular. I've seen a few reviews about how people think Gray is an asshole (especially for hitting a girl...are you guys fucking kidding me? That girl was being a bitch, and totally deserved a punch. I'm a girl, and I still think she deserved to get socked. I'm all about equalism. I'm 99% sure that if the MC had been a female who had punched a male, everyone would be applauding it.)
There's one thing I didn't enjoy about Gray and that really comes up in the end, and I don't want to ruin much for people so I'll keep it simple. I really hate love triangles. I could have done without this one. There was honestly no reason to have certain things happen, but it will probably be a theme in the second book, so I suppose it's a necessary evil. Ugh.
As for the plot. Well done to Erin Bowman. Over the years, I've discovered that one of the things I hate most about dystopian novels is the pacing. I'm ready for the book to be over about midway through. That was not the case for Taken. I loved the pace. It was brisk, and to the point. Things happened, characters reacted to those things and the story just kept push push pushing forward, and it was brilliant. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything, and I also didn't feel like I would fall asleep while things were dragged out.
The story's 4 parts all held their own, but I have to say I loved the beginning more than the ending. It starts out very strong, and I loved all the parts up until Of Divisions. Didn't enjoy it as much as the rest of the book. (Probably because I hate people dying. And revenge. And relationships based on revenge.)
I'm a suck-y reviewer though, and I've probably just written down a whole bunch of random spaztic things which will make no sense, but I'm begging to anyone who reads this: READ TAKEN.
I mean it, really. Give Taken a chance. I'm so glad I found this, and am already planning on reading the next book (even though I dread the awkwardness of the love triangle that will follow...seriously, can't I read one post apocalyptic or dystopian book without the MC's having to worry about which person to chose? Don't the have bigger fish to fry, like I dunno...staying alive?!!?!? *I'm looking at you Hunger Games*).
My wild tangent aside, please do read Taken. Enjoy the thrill of this novel journey. Do try to read it in one sitting. I would have, but alas life got in the way and it took me several days.
I. Loved. This. I LOVED IT. I loved the fast pace, the characters, the just right amount of plot building. I have no idea why some reviewers didn't enjoy it.
Let me just say, it's been a lonnnnggg time since I've read a dystopian novel with a male MC. And Gray was spectacular. I've seen a few reviews about how people think Gray is an asshole (especially for hitting a girl...are you guys fucking kidding me? That girl was being a bitch, and totally deserved a punch. I'm a girl, and I still think she deserved to get socked. I'm all about equalism. I'm 99% sure that if the MC had been a female who had punched a male, everyone would be applauding it.)
There's one thing I didn't enjoy about Gray and that really comes up in the end, and I don't want to ruin much for people so I'll keep it simple. I really hate love triangles. I could have done without this one. There was honestly no reason to have certain things happen, but it will probably be a theme in the second book, so I suppose it's a necessary evil. Ugh.
As for the plot. Well done to Erin Bowman. Over the years, I've discovered that one of the things I hate most about dystopian novels is the pacing. I'm ready for the book to be over about midway through. That was not the case for Taken. I loved the pace. It was brisk, and to the point. Things happened, characters reacted to those things and the story just kept push push pushing forward, and it was brilliant. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything, and I also didn't feel like I would fall asleep while things were dragged out.
The story's 4 parts all held their own, but I have to say I loved the beginning more than the ending. It starts out very strong, and I loved all the parts up until Of Divisions. Didn't enjoy it as much as the rest of the book. (Probably because I hate people dying. And revenge. And relationships based on revenge.)
I'm a suck-y reviewer though, and I've probably just written down a whole bunch of random spaztic things which will make no sense, but I'm begging to anyone who reads this: READ TAKEN.
I mean it, really. Give Taken a chance. I'm so glad I found this, and am already planning on reading the next book (even though I dread the awkwardness of the love triangle that will follow...seriously, can't I read one post apocalyptic or dystopian book without the MC's having to worry about which person to chose? Don't the have bigger fish to fry, like I dunno...staying alive?!!?!? *I'm looking at you Hunger Games*).
My wild tangent aside, please do read Taken. Enjoy the thrill of this novel journey. Do try to read it in one sitting. I would have, but alas life got in the way and it took me several days.