Author: Alma Katsu
Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Fantasy/Erotica/Romance/Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Tea: Earl Grey Creme, a sophisticated and unique take on a familiar premise.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
*Warning! Here be spoilers!*
I stumbled upon The Taker while on Goodreads about a year ago. I was instantly fascinated by the premise. I've read many paranormal romance/fantasy novels and this one was entirely unique. I just knew I had to read this book and I was not disappointed.
Lanore McIlvrae, better known as Lanny, is on the run from authorities as she is accused of a murder. Which she actually did commit. And thus starts this fascinating adventure.
At first I thought it would be all contemporary and the story would mainly revolved around Lanny and Luke (the ER doctor she gets to help her in her plight), but I was, happily, mistaken. I loved the flashbacks we get in this novel to learn of not only Lanny's life, but Johnathan and Adair's as well.
There are so many fascinating characters in this novel and the back stories so well written that you aren't left feeling confused at all. This novel is a dark take on romance and shows how destructive love can be.
Lanny is in love with the beautiful Johnathan, but he can't love her back like she wants him to. Due to her obsession with having him she winds up pregnant and sent to a convent to have the baby. But instead of going where her parents sent her to, she winds up in Boston. And in the clutches of Adair, a handsome and mysterious stranger.
Lanny is fascinated by the glamorous life that Adair and his friends live, but she soon learns the truth and faces the consequences. Adair curses her with immortality. He chooses his companions based off of their past misdeeds.
As time goes on we learn more about Adair and his past, which is very violent and horrible. Adair is jealous of Lanny's love for Johnathan and wants her to bring Johnathan to him. Lanny sees this as an opportunity to make Johnathan her's forever, thus turning him immortal as well.
Safe to say the shit hits the fan after all of this. Adair's companions are jealous of Lanny and Johnathan. Lanny is in fear for Johnathan's safety, as well as her own, with Adair. She also finds out Adair's deepest secret. His tale of being tortured by a physic and turned immortal turns out to be a lie. Adair is in fact the physic that tortured the boy and switched their bodies. In their fear Johnathan and Lanny decide to finally free themselves of this beast.
They trick him and wall him up in the basement of his house. But this is hardly the end of their hardship. Their relationship isn't what Lanny expected and they are separated for years. Their relationship ends in Lanny killing Johnathan, as the only way for him to die is for whoever gave him immortality to kill him themselves.
Lanny tells Luke her story and he assists her in escaping. While doing this they fall in love, but it is clear their relationship will never be normal either.
Throughout this novel Lanny looks like a 20 year old girl, as that's how old she was when she was granted immortality. But her character has matured so much throughout the years it's hard to envision her as a 20 year old.
Ms. Katsu takes an exciting new look at the paranormal romance genre. Seeing these people evolve through time and seeing how their relationships effected them was fascinating. I absolutely couldn't wait to read the next one.
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