23 January 2013

The Reckoning (Taker #2)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Alma Katsu
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (via Goodreads): Lanore McIlvrae is the kind of woman who will do anything for love. Including imprisoning the man who loves her behind a wall of brick and stone.

She had no choice but to entomb Adair, her nemesis, to save Jonathan, the boy she grew up with in a remote Maine town in the early 1800s and the man she thought she would be with forever. But Adair had other plans for her. He used his mysterious, otherworldly powers to give her eternal life, but Lanore learned too late that there was a price for this gift: to spend eternity with him. And though he is handsome and charming, behind Adair’s seductive faÇade is the stuff of nightmares. He is a monster in the flesh, and he wants Lanore to love him for all of time.

Now, two hundred years after imprisoning Adair, Lanore is trying to atone for her sins. She has given away the treasures she’s collected over her many lifetimes in order to purge her past and clear the way for a future with her new lover, Luke Findley. But, while viewing these items at an exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Lanore suddenly is aware that the thing she’s been dreading for two hundred years has caught up to her: Adair has escaped from his prison. He’s free— and he will come looking for her. And she has no idea how she will save herself.


My Thoughts: If you took Beauty and the Beast, Romeo and Juliette, and a slightly watered-down version of 50 Shades of Grey and put them together you would get this book. Looking at those titles, you can see where the problem might come in. I feel the need to say that this book was bizarre, just as the first novel in this series was. I can't say that it was my favourite though. Alma Katsu is an incredible writer and has a brilliant mind but Lanore's mind is a bit of a scary place to be. I didn't appreciate that she cut herself down to think that she might actually care for Adair. That's just plain not good for women everywhere. I personally do not like thinking about how screwed up some people might be.

This said, I am glad that she saw the characters through. I can't say that their decisions surprised me. They were true to how they were. Each one fought for what was right, or at least what they thought was right. Every character had a growing moment too. I don't agree with readers that hate when characters change; people change and grow so why wouldn't characters in stories?

I'm not pleased with the ending. It was too sudden. I was expecting some grand ending or some huge event that would lead into the next novel but I was left disappointed. There was no lead up. There was no subtle change over time that led to the conclusion of this story. The reader doesn't even get a glimpse into the mind of Adair. There is absolutely no explanation to what he chose to do in the end. It just bothers me. I hold onto the hope that the next novel will explain his decisions. Two books in, I hope I won't be disappointed. 

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed the writing itself but the end really upset me. For such a long story, I expected more. I pray that the final book will be better and leave me content. If you read the first in the series, it won't hurt to read this one but I liked the first one about a thousand times more than this one. Take from that what you wish...

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