Taken

Taken Series, Book 1

Romance - General
568 Pages
Reviewed on 07/09/2023
Buy on Amazon

    Book Review

Reviewed by Stephanie Chapman for Readers' Favorite

E.C. Roderick's Taken is the first book in the Taken series. Sylvina was a pediatrician in Santa Monica who flew to New York to celebrate Christmas with her best friend’s family. Sylvina continued to mourn the loss of her husband three and a half years before. An innocent trip to the store turned into tragedy when she wrecked the vehicle and then passed out. Sylvina woke up but didn’t recognize her surroundings. She walked down a dirt road until she saw soldiers dressed in 18th-century-style clothing. Sylvina assumed they were role-playing. Suddenly, violent fighting erupted and three opposing groups attempted to take her against her will. Sylvina soon discovered that this wasn't roleplaying and that she had awakened in 1756. Somehow, she had traveled from the 21st century and didn’t know how to get home.

E.C. Roderick writes from Sylvina’s point of view. Her depression over her loss is easy to see and it shows in her thoughts. It fills the story with expressive dialogue about Sylvina’s interactions with each new person she meets. Seamus is a prominent figure in her life. It was interesting to watch how people in the 18th century viewed love versus Sylvina's modern approach. Simple conversations between her and other people had different meanings. It was funny to watch Sylvina's expressive statements like "For real?" and "Are you serious?" being taken at face value. The detail given to the surroundings made it easy to envision the frontier setting. It gave each of the supporting characters distinct personalities. The end was perfect for the start of the sequel. I recommend Taken to readers who enjoy historical fiction, time travel, science fiction, and watching characters adapt to unique experiences.

Korinne Tande

There are so many aspects of this book that were quite appealing to me. For example, the author writes with beautifully descriptive language throughout the book. I was not surprised to read that the author is an artist/painter is her "real" life as she paints beautifully with words. An example I reread a couple of times as it painted such a wonderful sense of something experienced by Sylvie, one of the main characters: The entire forest floor was insulated and seemed like an acoustical sound hall, allowing everything to be precisely heard. I had to remind myself several times that Sylvie was, throughout the story, a time traveler who was experiencing the somewhat mundane life with Leif and his family as would an alien in a new world. As far as providing a rating, I admit that I debated between a 4 or a 5. I felt the book was a bit too long, and at times, I got bogged down a bit with all of the wonderful descriptions. (Tough problem to have, right?) Eventually, I decided on 5 stars because I do not want to distract from a beautifully written story about time travel, acceptance, and love. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. --Goodreads review

ELM

I can’t imagine how the author came up with the idea for this book! Time travel (historical detail) and romance (haha, you may need a cold shower after reading some bits!). The historical details in this book seem to be very well researched. I thought the characters were really well developed. In my mind, I had images of what I thought the characters looked and sounded like. I think this book would be great for those who love reading romance and are lovers of history. --Amazon review

Colleen Mark

Taken is the story of Sylvie Arboles in 2017. She travels from California to spend Christmas with her brother and his wife's family in the Berkshires. Still morning the death of her husband Sylvie tries to make the best of it. Offering to go to the store and avoid being set up by sister-in-law's mother, on the way back she gets into an accident. When she wakes up she finds herself in an unfamiliar area, her car is missing and her phone does not have service. She loses consciousness again. She awakens to a strange language and men in uniforms that are not familiar. Later she realizes that she is in 1756 after seeing reading material by Benjamin Franklin that looks new instead of aged.

Leif "Seamus" Stewart has become important to Sylvie since he found her on the road. He has done his best to keep her safe. They have grown closer and now he will need to wed her to keep her safe. When Sylvie becomes aware that she is in danger, she will panic. Sylvie is afraid to commit to Leif for fear of never going back to her life in the future.

I like this story of a very educated woman, a pediatrician, going back in time where woman were not valued and considered property. I really enjoyed how she shared her knowledge with these men who think so little of women's intelligence. What I didn't like was that this book is a cliff hanger. It ends in the middle of an important event. I don't mind stories that continue, but cliff hangers are a pet peeve of mine. This is still a wonderful book but is could have ended differently. --Amazon review

Debra H.

This one took a bit to get into the story and get past the introductory portion to when the time travel event finally happened. The characters were well-developed, believable and interesting. The lad was definitely hot for sure and the dialect helped to capture his character very well. I am hoping there will be more novels as I am curious what happens next to the characters. --Amazon review