Review--The Countdown by Kimberly Derting

She may no longer be human…but she’s their only hope.

In the concluding book in the otherworldly Taking trilogy, Kyra struggles to understand who she is as she races to save the world from complete destruction.

Ever since Kyra was abducted by aliens and then returned to earth, she has known there was something different about her. Now she knows the truth: she is an alien too. Her alien captors replaced all her human DNA with their own—gifting her with supernatural powers like incredible healing, enhanced eyesight, and telekinesis. But when she’s captured by an unexpected enemy, Kyra begins to wonder if her abilities are also a curse. And is she, as her enemies believe, meant to play some key role in helping an impending alien invasion? Is it programmed into her, something inescapable? Or can she fight that destiny?

No matter what the truth is, Kyra is sure of one thing: She just rescued the love of her life, Tyler, and she is not going to stand by and let anyone hurt him or her friends. Whatever it takes, Kyra will do everything in her power to save the world…even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.

The Countdown was Kimberly Derting’s thrilling conclusion to The Taking trilogy and I have to say it was pretty awesome! Just when you think Kimberly couldn’t throw you anymore curve balls or take you completely by surprise in this final book, she surprises you again and again! This was definitely a most exciting read and I am sad that it’s over.

The beginning of the book opens up with Kyra and Tyler on the run with Kyra’s dad trying to stay under the radar from the NSA. We get a brief recap of what went down the last time, which was super nice, even if I did just read that book beforehand. Though I thought it odd that Kyra didn’t mention anything about Natty being MIA, Thom being a potential traitor, or the fact that the nefarious Agent Truman was really a Returned and Griffin’s dad, but I digress. At least I knew these things! Lol!

Tyler still doesn’t have his full memory back and after his strange hypnosis at the end of The Returned where he’s drawing out maps and saying “The Returned must die,” Kyra hasn’t been sure what to tell him in that regards. Trying to keep back their full relationship was hard enough. Trying to solve the mystery behind his message will be even tougher and then the unthinkable happens…Kyra gets kidnapped.

Kyra is taken by a new set of enemies, ones she didn’t even know about who have plans for her. She’ll have to find a way to escape on her own if she ever hopes to see her friends and father again. Meanwhile Simon, Tyler, and the rest of the gang are trying to figure out where she could be. Tyler has been having odd moments of being able to sense her or get an idea of what might be going on and he decides to follow his gut rather than letting Simon take the lead.

This time around we get chapters that are from Simon and Tyler’s point of view which made for interesting feedback. True, we needed to know what was happening when Kyra was separated from her friends, but it was also fun to get inside the heads of the boys who are trying to win Kyra’s heart. Though of course, we have Tyler struggling to remember his connection with Kyra.

Things were pretty intense from the moment Kyra gets kidnapped and the tension and action hardly ever let up after that point. We learn a great deal of new information about the aliens that have taken the Returned. It made for some startling revelations.

The ending was intense and actiony as ever! So much was happening, so many surprises and reveals were being tossed about! It was insane! And then bam! Things just kind of end. It was a truly gut-wrenching experience, that aftermath. Though, sadly, while the BIG questions are all answered in a roundabout way, I felt like there was a great deal left unsaid. Mainly what happened with Kyra’s friends, Simon and Co. It was just kind of brushed over what happened to them. Like a legit mentioning of them and that was it. Nothing more and that kind of bugged me. I mean, I would’ve liked to know what happened to them after all was said and done, but there’s pretty much no mentioning of them.

Since this is the final book, Kyra does make her choice romantic wise of who she will be with. There was indeed a love triangle in play and it was honestly one of those hard ones to actually choose a side. I felt for both boys, as Tyler was the one who cared for Kyra in the days of her Returning and then there’s Simon who was pretty much a constant in her life after that. I felt like I knew what she would end up doing but I wasn’t sure how we’d get there to be honest. There’s a teeny part there I didn’t like being brushed over either, but I won’t say more for fear of spoilers.

All in all, The Countdown was a pretty fantastic read! Yes, I still had burning questions about the fates of the others but sometimes you just have to accept the things that are not explained! For the most part, I write off happy endings in my head for all who are unaccounted for in their futures!

The pacing to this one was rather ideal. It may have had a slower start, but still exciting since Kyra is on the run and things get really intense after she’s kidnapped and the story continues to take off from that moment on. There’s not a dull moment to be had in this one! The ending itself was heartfelt and just what one could hope for with a series finale, even if it left out what happened to a few characters. Again, I plea the HEA effect for them all! This is truly a must read for fans of sci-fi and alien encounters! It’s one that will keep you turning the pages until you hit the end!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars