Review of "Taken By Surprise" by Jesica Frances

This book starts off really well. It is almost like 4 short stories that are really good. It tells, one by one, about the kidnapping of each of these young adults. What they have in common is right before they are kidnapped, there is an attempt on their life, which is botched. Great stories, very detailed and interesting.

Each story ends with a cloth being placed over their face and them blacking out.

The next part of the book is each of them waking up and what they remember. They all get to meet each other. They are in some kind of facility which is very plain and looks like it was just put up very quickly. These victims do not have any idea where they are or why they are there. And not much information is given to them accept that the people that took them were actually saving them from the attempt on their lives, and they are now going to teach them how to deal with their powers. Each of these young people have in common some sort of power that they do not understand.

But they find out that this facility is not what is seems and does not have their best interest at heart. Even to the point of using their powers for evil.

The book stays interesting as the group finds their way around the facility and take part in heavy physical training with the promise they will be helping out their country. But they are also told they are never allowed to see their families again. So this group shares a lot with each other and keeps getting through each day finding out bits and pieces of information about each other and the facility.

What happens near the last third of this book is it falls apart. It starts moving very slow and it appears that they author is just typing situations to type. Once the book hits a certain point it plateaus and it is hard to stay interested. I understand this is a series, but it should have been cut off earlier. It would have been more effective. There was a lot of information that was not helpful or useful and slowed the story to almost a halt. It made it drawn out and not in a good way.

The goal is for the group to try to escape this facility. They make a plan. And they talk about it way to much. And what happens next also drags on.

Again I would break up the book into three parts of which the first two were great and the last just fizzled. I would like to read the next book in the series I just hope it can be cohesive throughout.