Review: The Taker by Alma Katsu

Title: The Taker
Author: Alma Katsu
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: September 6th 2011
Source: Library

 Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a historical fiction fan.
• You like great writing.
• You're a paranormal fan.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "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."

My Two Cents: 

This book is a mix of paranormal and historical fiction. You all know that I love historical fiction with a passion but paranormal is not someplace that I venture all too often. I was very mixed on this book so it may be better for me to make a list of the pros and cons of this book.

Pros:
- The writing is pretty stand out. Katsu does a really great job of pulling you in with her writing.
- I really liked the historical setting of the book (parts take place in present day, which I was less keen on). I've read very little fiction that takes place in early 1800s in the United States so that was very cool and most definitely a breath of fresh air.

Cons:
- I didn't get a lot of the relationships in the book. It seems like they could have been fleshed out more. The relationship between Jonathan and Lanny seems very one sided. I can understand unrequited love for a little bit but after awhile, I stopped seeing why Lanny was so interested in Jonathan when he didn't seem to care all that much about her.
- Another relationship that I didn't get was that between Luke and Lanny. I didn't understand why Luke gave up so much to run away with Lanny, a strange girl and potential criminal, that he meets when she ends up in his emergency room after she's accused of murdering someone. I would have a lot of questions personally but he just seems to give into her right away. I would have liked to know more about that decision.
- I didn't get the Adair storyline. I understand that he had to be a part of the story in order to introduce the paranormal-ness (if you will) of the story. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Some of the scenes with him were just plain creepy and I didn't see what they added to the story really.

So like I said, very mixed feelings on this one. I'm giving the book 3 stars because the writing is great and Katsu will definitely be on my radar in the future for that reason.