Review & Giveaway: The Taker by Alma Katsu

   “True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . .

On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption.”

 We all have them. The titles may be different but the existence of the books are all the same for each of us. There are those books that you mean to read. Often times they are books that have received a large amount of attention or even praise and as a reader you truly mean to read them, you make the mental note again and again but somehow never seem to get around to it. It’s almost as if you are saving those titles for a reader’s rainy day perhaps? Confession time..The Taker has long been one of mine. Saved for who knows what reason and then eventually devoured in almost one single sitting. I honestly did not put it down for two solid days. Leaving me wondering: why on earth did I wait to read this?

What can I say? This book really hit all the right notes for so many reasons. There is almost nothing about it that I didn’t truly, deeply enjoy. Dipping between modern day and a time long ago, the telling is pitch perfect for both which I think is a tricky thing within itself for a writer to accomplish but Alma Katsu proves it can be done and done well.

The core of the novel is the love that Lanny feels for Luke. It’s that kind of love that is so powerful that you know it will either redeem or destroy. Love is the driving force in this novel and I think the author did a great job of making it feel both believable and real. It was essential that the reader understand and in some ways be able to relate to how a person that deeply in love would actually feel. The author did a splendid job of building and establishing that intoxication. As she describes it at one point…

“It was like being in love with the sun: brilliant and intoxicating to be near, but impossible to keep to oneself. It was hopeless to love him and yet it was hopeless to not to.” 

In the end the only positive thing I can glean from waiting so long to indulge in this book is that now I have a shorter wait time than everyone else for the next book to continue this addictive series. The Reckoning releases June 19, 2012 and I can promise I will not be waiting one day to dive deep within it’s pages.

 Gallery Books Book Giveaway

 I so love being able to give away books that I honestly thoroughly enjoyed reading.  Thanks to the generous folks at Gallery Books I am very pleased to be able to provide a brand new paperback copy of The Taker  to one lucky reader at Stiletto Storytime. This giveaway will end midnight EST May 18, 2012 and is available to a US address only. The lucky winner will be chosen by random number generator and contacted by e-mail. Want a sneak peek at a scene? You can check out The Taker for yourself here.

To enter just comment below and share what books you have saved in the past or are “saving” for your reader’s guilty pleasure? What is that book you keep meaning to read but just never seem to get around to?

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