Filled with characters who are driven by their violent and sexual desires, fans of the HBO series True Blood may find this disturbing, dark story to be their cup of tea but it just wasn't for me.

The Good:
I loved the cover and I couldn't wait to dig in because of the promising reviews I had read. I thought that the opening chapter was very intriguing and I loved the concept behind Lannie's "condition."

The Not So Good:
Luke's character really didn't serve much of a purpose and the third person narrative was off-putting. His motivations seem very weak and it was obvious that his unrealistic actions were just to move the plot forward.

Another thing I didn't accept was Jonathan's allure; I found him boring and shallow. Despite his beauty, I just can't see how Lanny (and so many others) could be so smitten with such an unfaithful, cowardly boy - no matter his physical attributes.

The Bad:
I found most of the characters in The Taker very unlikeable and repulsive which made it nearly impossible for me to care about them. (The only character that I felt sorry for in this twisted cast of characters was Urza and her character was a minor one.) I reached a point where I just wished that they would all die so they would stop torturing themselves and others (myself included).

The Ugly:
The novel is riddled with many sexual situations and the sex is not of the romantic variety either. At best, the sex is about lust and desperation and at it's worse it is non-consentual and sadistic. No matter how sex-crazed a girl is, how could she possibly be attracted to the man who had her gang raped while he watched?!!? That was just beyond disgusting. There were also scenes of torture and death which were gruesome and uncomfortable to read as well. To be honest, I only finished this book because I received it free as a First-Reads and I was determined to see it all the way through in the chance that it would improve before the end.