19 October 2015

Review: The Descent (The Taker #3)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Alma Katsu
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Rating: 5 out of 10

**Spoiler Alert: This is the third in a series. Check out The Taker or The Reckoning (The Taker #2) before reading this or its review**

Summary (From Goodreads): Lanore McIlvrae has been on the run from Adair for hundreds of years, dismayed by his mysterious powers and afraid of his temper. She betrayed Adair’s trust and imprisoned him behind a stone wall to save Jonathan, the love of her life. When Adair was freed 200 years later, she was sure that he would find her and make her existence a living hell. But things turned out far different than she’d imagined.

Four years later, Lanore has tracked Adair to his mystical island home, where he has been living in self-imposed exile, to ask for a favor. She wants Adair to send her to the hereafter so she may beg the Queen of the Underworld to release Jonathan, whom she has been keeping as her consort. Will Lanore honor her promise to Adair to return? Or is her intention to reunite with Jonathan at any cost?

Of all the forces of the universe, the most mysterious, confounding, and humbling is the power of love. The epic story of love and loss, magic and destiny that began with The Taker and sparked a chase around the world in The Reckoning comes to a surprising conclusion with The Descent.


My thoughts on this book: First off, I'm mad that this book started where it did because I felt like I was just thrown into this book. Sure, I got it right when it came out but I didn't read it for a long time and I felt terribly disconnected from what I remembered happening at the end of the last novel. There was a huge time jump but, even now, I'm not a 100% certain how long it was or why it happened. It just felt kind of off.

I understand the character development that led her to return to Adair but that doesn't mean it isn't creepy and it sure doesn't make me think this was healthy. Actually, I'm very certain that this whole relationship is the least healthy thing in the world. (I still ship it, sadly.)

But this novel was too short. Everything happened all at once and then there was nothing and then suddenly something was happening and it was over. It wasn't balanced at all. It really bothered me because it made some parts of it drag. On top of that, there were plot pieces that didn't seem to fit and the ending was rushed. I think there could have been another hundred or so pages to better tie up parts of the plot and finish developing the characters. The ending needed more for it to get a better rating. There could have been SO MUCH MORE but the audience was left with only small bits of it. Then the book was over. After all the build up in the last novels (which I loved, especially the first) it was a really big disappointment. 

Don't let this review stop you from reading the series. I thought that The Taker was a great novel (horrible inappropriate for a younger audience, full of triggers, and with unhealthy relationships galore but that might just be the Tumblr side of me talking, if you know what I mean). I even recall enjoying The Reckoning, not that I didn't enjoy this one at all. I wish this novel had been more like the rest of the series. I wish that it had been more. I wish that it ended better. 

HOWEVER, the plot twist was a surprise. I mean, I knew something was going on with Adair but I didn't really see what was happening. 

I would read more from this author in a heartbeat. Check out The Taker, if you are reading this and still haven't read the book.


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