First I was to say just a little bit about the book cover. So everyone is always saying "Dont judge a book by its cover". However, honestly it usually the cover that makes you pick up the book to start with. If the cover catches your eye you will pick up the book. Most people deny that they judge a book by its cover but we are all guilty of it at some. And this cover is one that would catch your eyes in book store. Its looks really pretty in the picture. However it is simply WOW in person. It just gorgeous. A beautiful design that is enchanting. The design is all embosed and just perfect. And as a bonus it has black edged paper. As I said its just WOW

Now. The Taker is one of those story that grips you from the first chapter. Alma has created a wonder dark and enchanted tale of love and obsession and mixed it with a memorizing story that it very brutal at times.

The story line is just wonderful. The story follows Lanny, a woman who has had a hard life and when she appears into Dr. Luke's life everything changes for him, as this beautiful woman tells him her story of her life. As we read about Lanny's past we are introduced to so many colourful characters. Lanny herself is actually rather easy for me to connect with it. She is selfish at times and her love for Jonathan (the man she loved in her past) is a borderline dangerous obsession for her. However, she is tough and wise and survives through all her tough times. We don't really here alot of Luke as this is mainly a story of Lanny's past. He was likeable although I sometimes didn't want to come back from the past as it was just so mesmerizing.

The Taker had me shocked at times and smiling at times. And the twist in the plot was a real shock to me. Usually I can figure out a plot really quick. However, I never knew what was coming next for Lanny and the biggest twist had me gasping with shock. I mean proper mouth opened just staring like OMG.

What I truely loved about this was that in most books its all happily ever afters. However, this is a more realistic ending to the story and I loved it. It truely was the most perfect ending.

If you are looking for a fantastic story that will have you hooked straight away and that it bound to be a bestseller then please as soon as this book is out buy you will not be disappointment.

Finally just a quick thank you to the publisher for giving me a copy for review. I have never been more grateful for a book as now this is one of my favourite reads and looking forward to more of Alma Katsu's novels.

As heartbreaking as any gothic novel, Alma Katsu's THE TAKER is a sad story of beauty and love and human failing, spun out over the centuries. Though the story begins in a small town emergency room in Maine, Lanny's origins flash back to colonial America. I was ensorcelled by the long ago tale of the young girl she once was, limited by circumstances and crippled by unrequited love, despite the very real present day drama of Lanny's flight from the hospital, covered in blood and wounded to the soul.

I am surprised as anyone by the quiet alchemy Katsu has wrought with this story. In her hands, over the arc of such a long lifetime, familiar tropes take on nuances I never would have guessed at. The story begins with a young girl hopelessly devoted to Jonathan, her best friend, the gorgeous village philanderer and golden boy, her future seems destined for heartbreak, servitude, or a loveless marriage to someone other than her heart's desire. Jonathan himself is by turns careless and kind, his benign neglect of Lanny and others breaks hearts, ruins marriages, and takes lives. Lanny is set adrift in the world with no power, no protection, and the worst inevitably happens. So many of the characters in this book are trapped by circumstance, powerless against those who would abuse them, yet still able to fight on and function. Despite all of this, even Katsu's villain stirred a grain of sympathy in my heart, if only the tiniest bit.

Over the course of THE TAKER familiar roles are turned on their head. Lanny finds her fangs, and by trial and error comes into her own. She causes injuries of her own along the way, while Jonathan, isolated by his beauty and charisma from women and men alike, has moments of maturity and vulnerability before falling afoul of his best friend's good intentions. While the extended timeline of this story offers new depths to this sad story, Katsu's ultimate truth seems to be one of inevitability. Even with a eternity at your feet, one can't control the human heart.

Full review at All Things Urban Fantasy.

Sexual Content: References to sex, rape, and incest.