Review of The Taker by Alma Katsu

 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF 2011 BY ALA BOOKLIST MAGAZINE 
                  
 Overview
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.

                                            PRAISE FOR THE TAKER
"Alma Katsu's debut takes the reader on a spellbinding journey through time. This sensual tale of starcrossed love, betrayal, and redemption is a rare and addictive treat. Pleasurable from page one" - DANIELLE TRUSSONI, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of Angeleology


" 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 late at night."- KEITH DONOGHUE, bestselling author of The Stolen Child


" Alma Katsu takes reader by surprise in the first chapter of her mesmerizing debut a never stops delivering. What a wonderful book! A dark, gothic epic worth savoring. A sweeping story that transends time as it moves effortlessly from the tempestous past to the frightening present. Enchanting and enthralling! No question--I was taken!- M.J. ROSE, international bestselling author of The Hypnotist 


" A centuries 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


" Alma'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, sensoous, shattering love story that I can't  recommend enough. You have experience it for yourself!"- KRESLEY COLE, #1 New York Times bestselling author


" 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 dephts 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 tale of immortal love is brutal, wrenching, and ultimately moving. Gothic and richly detailed, The Taker is an astonishing good read."- MEG WHITE CLAYTON, bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters.


" The Taker is a sexy dark romance. Alma Katsu's tale of immortality. and unrequited love covers hundreds of years but never strays from the question: What price are we willing to pay to completely possess another?- ALEXI ZENTER, author of Touch

    

                                       About The Taker  

Available as: E-book, $11.99 (Amazon.com's Kindle Edition), Hardcover, $13.13 from Amazon.com, Paperback, $10.94 from Amazon.com

Recommended Ages: 17 and Up                                                                   

Hardcover: 438 pgs.

Published:  September 6th 2011 by Simon & Schuster / Gallery Press

 For This Review:  *Book Copy Provided Through Goodreads First-reads Giveaway Program*

My Star Review                                                                          

Buy The Taker

The story of unrequited love takes a new meaning in "The Taker". For Lanore ("Lanny") life close to childhood friend Jonathan St. Andrew is enchanting. Jonathan has an incredible charasmatic pull which Lanore can't help herself fall in love with. As Lanore matures into a woman she realizes that same love will allow her to to go to great extremes. Sadly,  she also realizes that Jonathan isn't able to return her love. When tragedy strikes she's forced to leave the town of St. Andrew, Maine to Boston. Scared and alone she comes to meet Adair, a mysteriously seductive man, who gifts her with immortality. Going from the present through the past's many centuries with beautiful description makes it a very pleasant experience. It is in this way, we hear Lanore's story of an intense love, painful memories, and human nature that is left to the reader: to either forgive or forsake.

The characters within The Taker contain remarkable beauty and immortality yet are never content. The most admirable of all the characters is Lanore with her fierce undying love for one man.

The Taker not only has a beautiful amazingly rich storyline but its characters are by far the most complex. I've seen in a while. There is this evocative feel as well as sadness within the story that we can sympathize or at times even despise. A very, very emotional read that will leave you uplifted with its many lessons or shattered. For if your read "The Taker" you'll understand. It's just so richly detailed and beautiful. And, I'm happy to say I'm in love with The Taker!
                                                 Overall: Amazing read!
  Genre: Fiction, Immortals, Alchemy, Historical Fiction, Romance

                                                                       

                                   QUOTES OF THE TAKER BY ALMA KATSU
" You might ask if I love Jonathan for his beauty, and I would answer: that is a pointless question, for his great, uncommon beauty was an irreducible part of the whole. It gave him his quiet confidence--which some might called aloof arrogance--and his easy, disarming way with the fairere sex.
And if his beauty drew my eye from the first, I'll not apologize for it, nor will I apologize for my desire to claim Jonathan for my own. To behold such beauty is to wish to possess it; it's desire that drives every collector. And I was hardly alone. Nearly every person who came  to know Jonathan tried to possess him. This was his curse, and the curse of every person who loved him. But 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 not to.
And so I was afflicted by Jonathan's curse, caught up in his terrible attraction, and both of us were doomed to suffer for it."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 24)


" But now with hard-earned wisdom, I understand how foolish we were to say such dangerous words to each other! We were arrogant and naive, thinking we knew what we felt was love. Love can be a cheap emotion, lightly given, though it didn't seem so to me at the time. Looking back, I know we were only filling in the holes in our souls, the way the tide rushes sand to fill in the crevices of a rocky shore"
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 97)


" You shouldn't take his inconstancy to heart. He's not capable of such love, not for any woman. He's not capable on putting anyone else's needs before his own wants and desires. For instance, he told me it troubles him that he makes you so unhappy---'
~ Adair, The Taker (Pg. 97)


" That was when it hit me, what I had lost. Jonathan had always been there, even during  the years when we were apart, and the resonant hum had always been in the back of my mind, a comfort. Now all, I had was a great, sucking void."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 430)


" I don't remember ending up at the highway, limping along the logging road to be found by the sheriff and his deputy. It wasn't until I'd been locked in the car with my hands cuffed that it  all came back to me, that I realized all I wanted was to be back in the woods with him, to die with him so we could stay together forever."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 430)
                                                                                                                                           






                                                                    About the Author
Alma Katsu is an author who used to love to spend her childhood in books before her love for writing really came out. The Golden Book of Fairytales is her prized possession. 

The Taker is her debut novel. The Reckoning is her second novel in The Taker series which is to come out in June 2012. While, The Descent is Book Three in The Taker series.


Alma Katsu's Website for Information on her and her books:  http://almakatsu.com/

Upcoming Book Review! Book Quotes: The Taker by Alma Katsu

,

 The Taker by Alma Katsu

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF 2011 BY ALA BOOKLIST MAGAZINE 

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.

Quotes of The Taker by Alma Katsu


"You might ask if I love Jonathan for his beauty, and I would answer: that is a pointless question, for his great, uncommon beauty was an irreducible part of the whole. It gave him his quiet confidence--which some might called aloof arrogance--and his easy, disarming way with the fairere sex.
And if his beauty drew my eye from the first, I'll not apologize for it, nor will I apologize for my desire to claim Jonathan for my own. To behold such beauty is to wish to possess it; it's desire that drives every collector. And I was hardly alone. Nearly every person who came  to know Jonathan tried to possess him. This was his curse, and the curse of every person who loved him. But 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 not to.
And so I was afflicted by Jonathan's curse, caught up in his terrible attraction, and both of us were doomed to suffer for it."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 24)


"But now with hard-earned wisdom, I understand how foolish we were to say such dangerous words to each other! We were arrogant and naive, thinking we knewwhat we felt was love. Love can be a cheap emotion, lightly given, though it didn't seem so to me at the time. Looking back, I know we were only filling in the holes in our souls, the way the tide rushes sand to fill in the crevices of a rocky shore"
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 97)


"You shouldn't take his inconstancy to heart. He's not capable of such love, not for any woman. He's not capable on putting anyone else's needs before his own wants and desires. For instance, he told me it troubles him that he makes you so unhappy---'
~ Adair, The Taker (Pg. 97)


"That was when it hit me, what I had lost. Jonathan had always been there, even during  the years when we were apart, and the resonant hum had always been in the back of my mind, a comfort. Now all, I had was a great, sucking void."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 430)


"I don't remember ending up at the highway, limping along the logging road to be found by the sheriff and his deputy. It wasn't until I'd been locked in the car with my hands cuffed that it  all came back to me, that I realized all I wanted was to be back in the woods with him, to die with him so we could stay together forever."
~ Lanore McIlvrae, The Taker (Pg. 430)

Book Tour: Review of White Witch Pond by Jody Kihara

Welcome to the tour stop at Book & Movie Dimension a Blog. Enjoy reading the review!

               Overview
Shaya Solen’s walk home from school takes her past an eerie pond, where one day she finds an old bracelet made of raven feathers. Soon, strange events begin to unfold: a shadowy figure glimpsed across the water, ominous nightmares haunting Shaya, and rumors of a witch who once drowned in the pond. With the discovery of a strange family connection to the witch, Shaya is drawn into a mystery that must be solved before the approaching Halloween, which is the thirteenth anniversary of the witch’s death – and Shaya’s birthday.
         
      About White Witch Pond
White Witch Pond is the story of Shaya a girl that recently moves to a new neighborhood. While there, her friends reveal a past clouded in a death of a witch who drowned in the local pond. Shaya must uncover why the witch has chosen her to stalk. Found there was a very wooden style to the writing which made the plot stand out stronger over character complexity. While the character of Shaya wasn't my most favorite because of her personality the flow of the story flowed really well that you don't have to worry too much about the characters. For the most part, White Witch Pond, will have a good ending to look forward to. White Witch Pond is for the reader that cares much more for a suspenseful plot rather than the characters. 

                                                                     Overall: Good read
    Genre: Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense, Young Adult





                                                                                     About the Author
Jody Kihara discovered her love of reading very early that so much so she asked others
 to read for her. 
It soon became apparent later she loved to read. She wrote her first
book at age six! It was bound in tape and written in crayon. She's an author of mid-grade and young adult novels. She also has a couple of chapter books that she'd love to find an illustrator for right now.  
Jody Kihara's Website for Information on her and her books:  http://www.jodykihara.com/

Follow The Book Tour for White Witch Pond & Giveaway!

Containing Reviews and Author Interviews
October 9th – Reflections of a Bookaholic
October 10th – The Novel Student
October 10th – Book Sake
October 11th – Cleverly Inked
October 12th – My Life With Books
October 13th – A Book Lover’s Diary
October 14th – Everything To Do With Books
October 14th – vvb32 Reads
October 16th – Write-To-Read
October 17th – Once Upon A Twilight
October 18th – Can’t Put It Down
October 19th – Book & Movie Dimension
October 20th – Kristin Can Read
October 20th – Rachel’s Book Reviews
October 21st – Bittersweet Enchantment
October 22nd – Purple Jelly Bean Chair Reviews

Thanks to Lightning Book Promotions for organizing the tour

Review of Imprint and The Quiet Road by Annie Frame

   

                                    Overview
 This spine chilling book takes the reader into the realms of horror all the more believable because it seems reality not fantasy. The Imprints enter the soul of the narrator with determined power and describe each of their emotions in vivid detail. It is impossible not to be deeply involved, revolted and yet entranced at the same time as the linking of the personalities becomes apparent. Desperation, self destruction and fear are superimposed on the beauty of the rose with its blood red petals. Each bloom shows the astral image of the various characters as their lives have been lived, giving some hope for the future and the lessons offered to the soul as it evolves to enlightenment and bewitching knowledge.

Add this to Your Goodreads.com Shelf


                                                                                    Recommended: Yes.

                              About Imprint 
This spine chilling book takes the reader into the realms of horror all the more believable because it seems reality not fantasy.

Having only recently read "The Quiet Road" by Annie Frame and thought it was a perfect piece of entertainment, I was very thrilled to begin Imprint. Imprint is the story of the occult where one soul has a journey through many incarnations that will present it with truth of her original earthly shell. To the exact beginning of its of its creation and original form. Very heavily emotional in a paranormal atmosphere that is a good read.
The soul mentioned in Imprint is that of one that has seen a lot of awful things but must see the beauty of the good in the world's existence. The style of writing welcomes the reader to escape to another world where you can believe this and not another thing has always been reality. Imprint , for readers, who have read "The Quiet Road" will also see that Imprint delves into the same world so if your to-read it will add to your experience as a reader but isn't required since as a reader anyone could still enjoy as a standalone novel.
My favorite of Annie Frame's books will have to be "The Quiet Road" and Imprint comes second. Imprint is still a recommended occult-fiction read. In many ways, out of all the paranormal books I've read this is honestly an entertaining, different read.

                                                                   Overall: Touching read
 Genre: Occult, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense           
                                                                            

                                                                                  My Star Review 

                                                                                   Buy Options 

                                                          For This Review: *Provided For Review by Author*


Available as: Paperback, $12.00

Recommended Ages: 16 and Up                                                                   

Paperback: 74 pgs.

Published:  May 27th 2008 by Vanguard Press

                                      Overview
Frankford Lucas is the chief superintendent in the police force. He is well respected and well thought of... however, he has a secret. Ever since childhood he has visited The Quiet Road in his dreams. He thought it was a good place, this Quiet Road, but events unfold to prove otherwise. Gruesome murders are being carried out on his patch and trophies turning up in his flat with no rational explanation. Who is slaughtering the innocent victims and why? Profiler Lenny Docker introduces a clairvoyant into the investigation and The Sarsaparilla Duchess, seems to know more about Frankford Lucas than she should - even more than he does himself! In time Frankford Lucas learns the true secret of The Quiet Road and realises he is dealing with a force beyond his control. Can he save his soul from darkness, and can he save the souls of others who cannot help themselves? The Road is long as is the investigation leading the reader on an intense journey they will not forget in a hurry! 


                          About The Quiet Road
The Devil's Labyrinth... He lies and waits in the whirpool of reflection to steal you from your ownership and if you think he doesn't exist his hold on you has begun. 
The Quiet Road is such an an amazing, occult-horror book. The story of Frankford Lucas ,a highly respected Chief police detective officer, who soon discovers he has murdered numerous people cruelly. He just happens not to remember. Frankford must try to solve the mystery of the slaughtering of innocents. The key may be a road that happens to appear within his dreams. Along the way, Frankford meets mediums that can communicate with the paranormal. These mediums assure him "The Quiet Road" he travels through is a place of great evil. Soon, he starts to believe they might just be right when he meets a chilling darkly cloaked stranger on "The Quiet Road". 

While reading enjoyed the pace of how the occult was introduced. All the characters mainly, Frankford Lucas, where so well-developed in their train of thought. As for, the storyline it was just so perfectly-well written. Really a perfect piece of entertainment. 
Can be described as a mystery/suspense read steeeped in the occult. Would recommend to all readers.

                             Overall: Amazing read!
Genre: Occult, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense                                                                
    
                                                                                                                      

                                                                                 My Star Review  

                                                                                    Buy Options 

                                                          For This Review: *Provided For Review by Author*


Available as: Paperback, $15.00

Recommended Ages: 16 and Up                                                                   

Paperback: 313 pgs.

Published:  May 27th 2008 by Vanguard Press


                                                                                               About the Author 
 Annie Frame is a clairvoyant medium who works with the other side of life. Writing is a wonderful way for her to express herself and sets her free. She likes to use fiction knowing  it offers the reader the oppurtunity to enjoy the story without any duty to believe in ghosts. Although, she does.
During her life the ability to see spirits has been a blessing, so much so she worked at not seeing them for quite a long time. Fortunately her stories provide a pathway to share her world with others.....Imprint is her first book and there are others to follow, each tale she writes is about life after death, because Annie works with those who have gone ahead, of course!