Industry Reviews
"Readers won't be able to tear their eyes away from Katsu's mesmerizing tale." --Starred "Booklist" ""The Taker" is a sexy, dark romance. Alma Katsu's tale of immortality and unrequited love covers hundreds of years but never strays from this question: What price are we willing to pay to completely possess another?" --Alexi Zentner, author of "Touch" "Alma Katsu's searing tale of otherworldly lovers and eternal obsession will seduce you from page one. With its elegant prose and riveting plot, "The Taker" is as irresistible as the hauntingly beautiful, pleasure-seeking immortals who scorch its pages. A wicked, sensuous, shattering love story that I can't recommend enough. You have to experience it for yourself!" --Kresley Cole, #1 "New York Times" bestselling author "Alma Katsu's debut takes the reader on a spell-binding journey through time. This sensual tale of star-crossed love, betrayal and redemption is a rare and addictive treat. Pleasurable from page one." --Danielle Trussoni, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Angelology" "This is a great book. And by great, I mean, devastatingly so, like reading "The Scarlet Letter", while riding a roller coaster, on acid. Seductive, daring, soaring, and ultimately gut-wrenching, "The Taker" is a lush, historical rendering of transcendent love, paranormal beings, and the depths of pain that can be felt by immortal hearts." --Jamie Ford, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" "Alma Katsu's addictive tale of immortal love is brutal, wrenching, and ultimately moving. Gothic and richly detailed, "The Taker" it is an astonishing good read." --Meg Waite Clayton, bestselling author of "The Wednesday Sisters" "Alchemy and love prove a volatile mix in Katsu's vividly imagined first novel, which toggles between the present and the past. While working the graveyard shift at a rural Maine hospital, Dr. Luke Findley discovers that patient Lanny McIlvrae has miraculous self-healing powers. Lanny then relates the incredible tale of her life: sent packing to Boston by her family in 1817 to give birth to her illegitimate child, she fell in with the entourage of Count Adair, a centuries-old alchemist who saved her life with an elixir of immortality. Decadent and domineering, Adair took Lanny as his mistress--a role she accepted until Adair's scheme to use her true love, Jonathan, to perpetuate his unnatural existence forced her to a desperate ruse to thwart his formidable magic powers. Katsu shows considerable skill in rendering a world where Adair's unspeakable evilness and Lanny's wild passion make the supernatural seem possible. The result is a novel full of surprises and a powerful evocation of the dark side of romantic love." --"Publishers Weekly" "Alma Katsu's "The Taker" is a frighteningly compelling story about those most human monsters--desire and obsession. It will curl your hair and keep you up late at night." --Keith Donohue, bestselling author of "The Stolen Child" "A centuries-spanning epic that will keep you turning pages all night. This marvelous debut is a thinking person's guilty pleasure." --Scott Westerfeld, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Leviathan" "Ahauntingtale of passion, obsession, and immortal longing. "The Taker" is unlike any other novel I have read: a gothic historicalwith a searingmodern twist that will captivate your imagination and keep you reading long into the night." C.W. Gortner, author of THE TUDOR SECRET Looking for a good read? Get ready to hear about a time-transcending page turner. Two years ago, having just finished The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer, I was still hungry for more of the supernatural. My only hesitation was that I wanted something a little more plausible than blood-sucking vampires. As fate would have it, I stumbled upon The Taker by Alma Katsu. Dutifully, I checked reviews before purchasing the book. How I hadn't heard of it prior to then is beyond me, as the book was insanely well-received and only growing in popularity. I took the novel home and was blown away by the captivating story of an impressionable young woman, the "Adonis" who she falls in love with and the "monster" who falls in love with her. Lanore, Jonathan and Adair had me spellbound like no other characters have. The Taker satiated my need for the supernatural, but was unique in it's portrayal of everlasting love and unrelenting obsession, both of which know no boundaries for these characters. The second installment, The Reckoning, was equally fascinating--the never-ending love chase propelling the jump between several different time periods and beautiful locations all over the world. Finally, the end of this twisted tale will come to an end with Katsu's final installment, The Descent.--Jennifer Castro, Cliche Magazine "The Taker by Alma Katsu has literally left me speechless! [Katsu] mix[es] just the right amount of history, magic, and suspense...The only way to fully understand the magic of The Taker is to go and pick up a copy for yourself!" --Browsing Bookshelves "Absolutely one of the best books [I] read in 2011." --Just Another Story "A haunting tale of passion, obsession, and immortal longing. The Taker is unlike any other novel I have read: a gothic historical with a searing modern twist that will captivate your imagination and keep you reading long into the night." --C.W. Gortner, author of THE TUDOR SECRET The Taker by Alma Katsu has literally left me speechless! [Katsu] mix[es] just the right amount of history, magic, and suspense The only way to fully understand the magic of The Taker is to go and pick up a copy for yourself! Browsing Bookshelves" Absolutely one of the best books [I] read in 2011. Just Another Story" "It renews a genre...and makes it intimate again." --"Locus Magazine "
