Collide (Taking Trilogy, #3)

by Melissa West

[Angie]

Collide is the action packed conclusion to this series! Ari is back on Earth, but she’s not safe from Zeus. Or safe at all really. She’s in an underground facility, where a portion of Earth’s inhabitants and some Logeans have been moved for protection from the imminent war. At least that’s what the new leader, Kelvin says, but we already know he can’t be trusted. But he feels the same way about Ari and demands to know everything she knows about Zeus, so they can fight him. Then she and Jackson are sent on tour in order to train more soldiers, but something really weird is going on at these bases.

I did quite enjoy Collide! There’s never a dull moment, but like the previous two books, something was missing for me that I can’t quite pinpoint. I was happy to get more romance! Ari and Jackson are finally reunited and there’s plenty of kissing (and more!). They certainly do not waste what precious time they have together, especially knowing that one or both of them could die very soon. I also loved seeing them work together! There’s none of this “stay behind and do nothing, because I’ll be distracted and die if you’re out there!” nonsense. Ari and Jackson are equals and fight side by side! Team work! In fact, togetherness has been a huge theme in this trilogy, which I liked.

Of course there’s some twists in Collide. Kelvin has some things up his sleeve, which I didn’t see coming, although it is obvious he’s up to something, just not what exactly. While Ari is devastated by things that happen, she knows this is not the time to grieve or for her to blame herself. She uses it as motivation to kick some alien butt! But she is struggling with what is real and what’s not, since she believes Zeus is messing with her head rather than her just having bad dreams. Zeus is such a messed up villain and I love it! He can terrorize everyone from afar, so they never know when the real attack is coming! Or even what kind of tactic he’ll use. They’re very surprised by what he winds up pulling out of the air…

In the end, I do think Collide was a solid conclusion. It’s really nonstop action, since there’s a war going on. Humans and Ancients alike need to band together and prepare to fight this threat. There’s no more us against them, since a good portion of humans now have xylem in their veins. I did really like that ending. It is a bit too neat and tidy, but it made me smile and that’s all that really matters.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.