Review for October’s Readers Choice The Taker by Alma Katsu

The Taker by Alma Katsu
Publisher: Century
Release Date: 14th April 2011
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"TRUE LOVE CAN LAST AN ETERNITY...


Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything for them?


When Dr Luke Findley turns up to his hospital shift in the small town of St Andrews, Maine, he's expecting just another evening of minor injuries and domestic disputes. But instead, Lanore McIlvrae walks into his life - and changes it forever. For Lanny is a woman with a past...


Lanny McIlvrae is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. Hers is a story of love and betrayal that defies time and transcends mortality - and cannot end until Lanny's demons are finally put to rest. Her two hundred years on this earth have seen her seduced by both decadence and brutality - but through it all she has stayed true to the one true love of her life. Until now.


An unforgettable novel about the power of unrequited love to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, The Taker is an immortal love story on an epic scale..."

Review
The Taker is an extraordinary and original immortal love story. What makes it stand out from others in its genre is that this is a story of unrequited love, which I thought was brilliant as I’m sure everyone knows from experience that unfortunately romantic feelings are not always returned and there isn’t always a happily ever after as a lot of paranormal romance suggests.

What first attracted me to The Taker was the books beautiful design. The gothic cover and black edged pages gives this book a compelling and dark feel that matched what’s inside perfectly. The book starts with Dr Luke Findley turning up for the night shift at the hospital where he works which brings him to meet Lanny a young and unusual woman brought in for examination after confessing to a murder. During Luke’s examination of Lanny he discovers that her injuries heal at rapid speed, that she’s been alive for 200 years and she needs Luke’s help. And so Lanny’s story begins and it’s one of danger, love, violence and dark magic that explain how she came to be standing before Luke today. Her story begins in 1809 and the book alternates between present and past making it part Supernatural Romance and part Historical Fiction.

The Taker is such a well written book that it’s impossible not to become totally immersed in it after only a few short pages. There are so many mysteries and the writing’s so dark and compelling making it a highly addictive read. Lanny’s is a story like no other and her journey and love for one man that transcends time is so fascinating to read.

This book has a recurring theme of unrequited love throughout but it’s also a story about the darker side of love and those darkest of human emotions that come along with it like jealousy and obsession and the drastic actions such feelings can lead someone to take. Lanny’s story is not a happy one. She goes through some terrible and horrific things and is by no means a perfect heroine. But there is something vulnerable and good about her despite everything and for that reason I really felt for her and wanted her to find some happiness and relief.

The only thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book is that some parts are quite brutal. The book features scenes of sexual violence, rape and paedophilia. I don’t think of myself as faint hearted but reading some parts of this book made me feel very uncomfortable so much so that at times I had to skim ahead just to get the jist of what had happened and move on. I understand completely why Katsu had to include these things into her story so we could understand exactly what these characters had been through and how the past had made them who they are today but I personally found some scenes a bit much.

Overall The Taker is a remarkable gothic romance like no other and I can hardly believe that this is Katsu’s debut. Terrifying and absorbing The Taker is a thrilling gothic romp that’s not for the faint of heart and not to be missed by those who can handle it!

November’s Readers Choice

Readers Choice is my brand new feature where readers of the blog can vote for which book off my To-Be-Read pile they would like to see me read and review the following month. For more details check out my introduction post here.

November’s Readers Choice is Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

"How do you defy destiny?


Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.


As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart."

This month’s Readers Choice is coming to you a bit late as last week I was unexpectedly busy and didn’t have time to blog at all. My review for The Taker will be up soon though and I am finally bringing to you this month’s winner! I can’t believe how close November’s vote was, Starcrossed literally won with only one extra vote with Divergent hot on its tail! Then The Sky is Everywhere came in at a very close third! It looks like all of you are huge fans of November’s nominees so I really will have to get to some of them soon!

As mentioned in last month’s post this is my last Readers Choice of the year. With it being Christmas next month and my birthday in January I’m taking a little break from this feature but rest assured that it definitely will be returning in February because I really enjoy doing it! I’m basically going to be getting the blog ready for the year ahead so I’m taking a break from some of my regular features to be able to fit in some Christmas and end of year things! So there is no vote this time round that will return in Feb but as usual I will read and review Starcrossed this month and who knows hopefully you may see some reviews of some of the other nominees before the new vote comes along! From some of the comments you guys left you’ve definitely made me want to check out a few of these ASAP!

So that’s all from me, keep your eyes peeled for reviews for both The Taker and Starcrossed coming soon and I will be back with some new exciting titles for you to choose from in the New Year :).

Review for Frost by Marianna Baer

Frost by Marianna Baer
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: September 13th 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:
"Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological...well, which answer would let you sleep at night?"

Review
What appealed to me most about Frost is how it’s quoted on the back of the book as being a “twenty-first-century spin on the usual gothic ghost story.” It’s true that a lot of ghost stories are told from a historical time period and so I was looking forward to reading something new and unique with Frost.

Frost begins with a group of friends retuning to boarding school for senior year all psyched to have bagged Frost House as their dorm, a cosy Victorian house secluded from the rest of the school. Leena falls in love with the big old house straight away and has high hopes for senior year and turning the house into a home. But things immediately start to take a turn for the worst when the friends are assigned an unexpected roommate- intense and eccentric Celeste Lazar. Soon enough strange and disturbing things start happening in Frost House. A series of malicious and sick events reveal that something or someone wants Celeste out and Leena to stay forever. But what’s behind these strange events? Is it a haunting? An increasingly disturbed mind? Or something else entirely? Those are the questions that race through the readers mind whilst reading this book.

What I loved most about Frost was how original the haunting itself was. Instead of the usual threats and scares Leena is made to feel strangely safe in Frost House whilst everything else in her life falls apart. The house reminded me of a possessive boyfriend alienating everyone and everything Leena loves until it’s just her and the house left. In some ways I found that even scarier than your typical haunting with Leena lulled into a false sense of security whilst what’s happening in the house destroys her friendships and her sanity. That being said Celeste- Leena’s damaged roommate- witnesses a very different kind of haunting with pictures thrown off walls and mysterious burns and bruises appearing on her body. The two opposite hauntings made for some very scary reading and added to the overall mystery of what was really going on in that house.

The only thing that I didn’t enjoy about the book was the romance. David- Leena’s love interest- is very much a suspect during this book, that along with his strange relationship with his sister Celeste, meant that I just couldn’t trust or like him. However I didn’t pick this book up for an epic romance I picked it up to be scared so that didn’t bother me too much. I also give props to Marianna Baer for indulging us in some sexy times! Marianna doesn’t shy away from some hot and heavy moments something I always respect when it comes to Young Adult books.

Frost is the kind of book that does exactly what it says on the tin. You go into this expecting an intense and creepy thriller and that’s exactly what you get. Frost kept me up late at night racing through its pages trying to get some answers. And it finished in a way that tied everything up but also leaves you to interpret what you think happened in that house too. Overall Marianna Baer has created a fantastic contemporary debut thriller and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

The Return of In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

Those of you who follow the blog will know that I’ve taken an IMM hiatus over the past few months whilst I was having computer problems. But now that I have a new laptop and it’s a new month I’m so excited to be bringing back to you In My Mailbox which you can now expect again regularly. I was going to do a huge catch up post with all of the book I received when I was away ( I got some really awesome ones) but it would literally be a monster post, pages and pages. And so instead I thought I’d just start a fresh with the books I got this week. You can also expect some possible IMM Vlogs in the future I just need to sort out the technicalities! But for now I bring to you this week’s books!

Tempest by Julie Cross (ARC copy out 5th January 2012 in UK)
This one sounds so good! It sounds a bit like a Time Traveller’s Wife for teens and the finished cover is gorgeous if you haven’t seen it yet click on the title and the link will take you to the books goodreads page where you’ll be able to see for yourself!
Crossed by Ally Condie
This one’s out in a couple of weeks and I feel so lucky to have a finished copy already! I loved Matched so I’m looking forward to seeing the story continue in Crossed.
Wonder by R.J Palacio (ARC copy out March 2012 in UK)
I think this proofs cover is really funky and to be honest I like it better than the finished copy! I actually finished this one last night and WOW. There are no words. This one is about a brave and wonderful boy named August who has a deformed face. Review for this amazing book will be coming soon!
Last Christmas by Julia Williams
Yay for Christmas books! I love chick-lit Christmas stories and this one sounds fab. The lovely Amanda at One More Page actually sent me this one for review as I will be taking part in her exciting Count Down to Christmas.

I didn’t buy any books this week so all books featured where sent to me for reviewing purposes. For more information on any of the books featured just click on the title and the link will take you to the books goodreads page. Big thank you’s to all the lovely people who sent me books this week. If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another week of fantastic reading ahead :-)

Book of the Month! Featuring Scares, God and Autumn…

Welcome to October's book of the month and monthly round up! This is a feature to sum up for you my reading and recommendations for the past month and to share with you the exciting things that have been going on on the blog and books I’m looking forward to in the following month.

October's BotM is...Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly!

This month’s favourite read was so easy to choose. Angel Fire was a stunning sequel that I absolutely loved. I’m not usually a big fan of huge books I can find them a bit intimidating as I can get bored pretty quickly of the same story but despite Angel Fire coming in at over 700 pages I couldn’t get enough! This book has fab characters and a swoonworthy male lead definitely a series to check out if you haven’t already. You can find my review for the first book Angel here and Angel Fire its sequel here.

Best Plot: Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly
Best Writing: The Taker by Alma Katsu
Best Cover: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
Best Characters: Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly
Best Ending: Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly
Best Romance: Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly
Most un-put-down-able: Frost by Marianna Baer
Most Memorable: The Taker by Alma Katsu
Best Moral: An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson

Books read this month
63.) Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly (5*)
64.) An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson (4*)
65.) There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff (2.5*)
66.) Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (4.5*)
67.) Frost by Marianna Baer (4*)
68.) The Taker by Alma Katsu (4*)

Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Angel Fire, Sweetly, An Autumn Crush

Bookish Highlights of the month
I got my winning streak back on this month and won 3 fab giveaways for 3 signed books including Angel Fire, Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick and Who's Afraid of Mr Wolfe? by Hazel Osmond. I also hosted a fab giveaway myself for my favourite book of the year so far Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I also had L.A Weatherly herself stop by the blog for the Angel Fire blog tour which was amazing and I done a really fun Halloween reading recommendations post which I really enjoyed putting together.

Bookish Lows of the month
None :) Oh except I would have liked to of read a few more books I could have read more than just 6!

Book’s I’m looking forward to in November
November is the month for dystopian and Christmas releases and there are so many that I’m excited for. Dystopian wise- Crossed by Ally Condie, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and The Pledge by Kimberly Derting. Christmas book wise- Any Dream Will Do by Maria Duffy, The Secret of Happy Ever After by Lucy Dillon and It Started With A Kiss by Miranda Dickinson. I’m also really looking forward to The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler as I’m sure is everybody! ( All links lead to the books goodreads page)

So there you have it my October reading summed up for you guys. Have you read any of the books I’ve read this month? What were your thoughts on them? Leave me a comment and let me know and don’t forget to treat yourselves to Angel Fire – You won’t regret it! Here’s to another month of fab reading ahead and finally making a start on my Christmas To-Be-Read pile!