DNF/5 stars!

This book should of been called ‘The Tangent’ instead of ‘The Taker’. I actually picked up the second book in a charity shop for 50p and then when I got home realised it was the sequel but, the premise really intrigued me. I bought the first book and I honestly wish I hadn’t. The premise sounds a lot more promising than the result.

I feel like the lines are blurred sometimes with ‘beautiful writing’ and ‘confusing writing’. What was going on for the majority of the book? No idea. It was words and characters more words and more predictable words. Very cliché. I wanted to get with this but it was very gothic and dark (which I love) but I really want a good romance. I might be just the mood I’m in but this isn’t coming across romantic. I would stick with it if the writing wasn’t making my eyes roll and it wasn’t cringy and trying so hard to be emo.

I can see how people think this book should come with a trigger-warning. This is a very dark book - we are not only talking violence and torture - we are talking horrible sexual crimes against children-dark. Add a frightening Stockholm Syndrome-theme to it too and you can understand you have one uncomfortable read ahead of you. Which is sad because there is a decent story behind it all that deserved a better setting and less of that nasty content.

Wow. Just W-O-W.

I really would have given this book 2.5 stars if I could give half stars. There is a kernel of a good book inside. The story is original - a supernatural element that does not involve vampires or werewolves, for a change, plus a reasonably compelling main character. It's a historical romance meets unusual supernatural element, with a touch of eroticism. The story at the heart of the book is okay.

But the book desperately needed editing and restructuring, in my mind. I kept mentally reorganizing it, picking out flaws, removing entire characters who seemed to hold the story back rather than furthering it. When a book has my attention, I don't do that; I look past any flaws and am just eager to read the story. The result, to me, is a book that feels like a draft that still needs revising. For that to be the end result...well, it's mediocre.

A strange, yet very compelling and satisfying book. Beautifully written, it had me captivated from the start. The story was so solid and intricate, I didn't know how it was going to end. Normally, I'd be sad about the death of one of the main characters, but it seemed a fitting end. I felt Lanny's heartbreak throughout the book, the way Jonathan would never love her the way she did. Would totally recommend it to anyone :)

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely had its ups and downs. There were some parts where I couldn't put it down and other parts where I wanted to skip ahead a few pages. The ending was a bit anti-climatic. I would read another book by the author because I think some of the pacing issues can be chalked up to this being her first book.

This book definitely took many unexpected turns throughout the story. What I was expecting going into it was definitely not what I got myself into.

I think I had added it to my reading list after reading The Gargoyle, which was a beautiful and dark love story that spanned many lifetimes, and I thought this might be in the same vein. It was not.

The "love story" part of this was hardly a love story -- it felt more like Scarlett O'Hara pining for her Ashley most of the time. I didn't even get a sense of love or affection between Lanny and Adair. Plain and simple, she was his prisoner. And the relationship between Luke and Lanny felt forced and unnecessary. Luke was just a device the author used to get the tale told.

All that being said, I devoured the story. I'm somewhat glad that it turned out to be completely different than what I was expecting. I'm hoping the next two books in the trilogy will hold up.

drey’s thoughts:

Alma Katsu’s The Taker is a surprisingly mesmerizing tale of childhood fancies and grown-up realities. We start with a childhood infatuation that grows into so much more. Love? Well, Lanore is certain it is. Who knows what Jonathan thinks… Especially when he’s got all the girls vying for his attention already.

But Lanore is convinced that she’s the one for him, that they’re meant to be together, and it’s all going to work out. Until the day she’s sent to Boston in shame, heartbroken because he’s betrothed to another.

Lanore meets up with Adair and his group in Boston, and winds up staying with them. Smart? Maybe not. But it’s not like she had much choice. Destitute women rarely do. As she tries to make the most of her opportunities though, she finds that her new friends have a darker side. And is drawn irrevocably into their web when she tries to run away… Now they want Jonathan too. Can she give him up, even after he broke her heart?

The Taker is a dark story, set in a time when women don’t have options other than do as you’re told, or take to the streets. And Alma Katsu makes it even darker with Jonathan’s callousness, and Adair’s motives and inclinations. Luke is a refreshing change from the other characters, but he seems to pale in comparison to the rest–maybe because he isn’t just like them? In any case, there’s something for everybody here, whether you like mysteries or the paranormal or just plain fiction.

drey’s rating: Excellent!

I enjoyed the plot and was surprised by some of the events. However, the book was a bit too raunchy for me. I'd like to read the rest of the books in the trilogy, but the raunch factor may stop me.