Review: The Reckoning by Alma Katsu

Book description:

 

Lanore McIlvrae is the kind of woman who will to 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 facade is the stuff of nightmares. He is a monster in the flesh, and he wants Lanore to love him for all 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.

Jenny's Review:

In this second book in the Taken Trilogy we find Lanny (Lanore) feeling at ease as she has found a nice man and is living in London. She has given many of her collectables anonymously to a museum and is excited to see them on display. But she is not happy for long as she can feel the one thing she had been dreading her whole life, Adair has escaped his prison. She knows that he will find her and is afraid of what he is going to do to her for putting him in a prison for hundreds of years. When Adair wakes up, the first thought on his mind is to find Lanny and make her pay. So they each play their own game, her to run and find a way to get herself free from immortality and off Adair’s radar. And him to find her at all cost and continue using his magic to make her his. But will they each find out that love may be their undoing?

 

This was an interesting book. I would suggest to read The Taker, the first book in the series, because it has all the background knowledge you need to understand what is happening.  I do think that while I liked the action and suspense in this book, it was a great “cat and mouse game” book, I did find that I didn’t particularly follow the book at times. I felt I had to reread parts because I was lost in the language of the book. The characters were interesting and each played the part well, the heroine and the evil one, and they each had all of eternity to become the characters they were. There were some violent parts to me, as Adair really is an evil villain. People who like to read suspenseful books would probably really like this one. And it is a trilogy so the action does not end with this book.

 

Anna's opinion:

 

I haven't had the opportunity to finish The Reckoning yet because I find that I want to immerse myself in these characters while taking an extra moment to savor each and every word. This is a wonderful sequel to what I thought was an excellent debut. If I had to use one word to describe Katsu's writing style I would have to say thoughtful because none of the suspense or storytelling is in your face, everything is subtlety done, an exceptional blend of romance, the paranormal, and horror. Sequels can be terribly difficult, especially when part of a trilogy, but so far, The Reckoning is very well done.

Author and book information can be found here!

Reading order:

The Taker 

The Reckoning

The Descent (coming in 2013)