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jennrobyn's review against another edition
2.0
So anticlimactic compared to the first two. I was disappointed for sure. I wanted an epic battle between demons and love, between psycho queen and two doomed lovers...the ending was sweet, to be expected but the journey there was nothing short of the most "epic-less" thing I have ever read.
Overall I would give the series 4 out of 5 stars had this last installment even had a hint of amazing it would've got the full 5
Overall I would give the series 4 out of 5 stars had this last installment even had a hint of amazing it would've got the full 5
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
In this third and final book of The Taker trilogy, Lanny and Adair have brokered a fragile truce and lived apart for some time, but Lanny finds herself seeking him out anyway. She has been haunted by terrible dreams of Jonathan being tortured in the underworld, where she herself sent him when he begged to be released from eternal life. She knows Adair is the only one who can send her there to rescue Jonathan. What follows is a frightening journey through hell, during which Adair's full history is finally revealed.
Katsu isn't a lazy writer. All three books are richly imagined. This third book especially is a departure, with its eerie underworld setting unveiled for the first time. The way Katsu chooses to piece together the final picture of Adair and Lanore is surprising but satisfying. This is one time when it really is worth reading all three books of a trilogy.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Katsu isn't a lazy writer. All three books are richly imagined. This third book especially is a departure, with its eerie underworld setting unveiled for the first time. The way Katsu chooses to piece together the final picture of Adair and Lanore is surprising but satisfying. This is one time when it really is worth reading all three books of a trilogy.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
I started this one immediately after finishing The Reckoning and I am glad I did. Katsu does a great job of summarizing the previous books and bringing the reader back into Lanore’s life but I am always super impatient with series books and because there are so many characters and so much going on, reading both books in a row helped me keep it all straight. This is very much a character driven story and although Lanore and Adair and the main characters, we still get introduced to a number of new characters as well as revisit some old ones.
After leaving Adair in book two, Lanore made the decision to go back to Luke. Unfortunately it is only 4 years later and Luke, being the mortal he is, has died after suffering from a brain tumor. Lanore honored her promise to him and stayed with him to the end but she always had thoughts of Adair and Jonathan in the back of her mind. She also started to have nightmares about the fate Jonathan was facing in the Underworld which prompts Lanore to find Adair and ask him to help her go help him.
When Lanore finds Adair on a remote island, she notices immediately he has changed. He clearly has taken her letter as well as what Jonathan told him to heart and is trying to be better than he was so that he can make Lanore see he is worthy of her love. Little does he know that Lanore has slowly come to the conclusion that she has loved him all along. With their past, she is just afraid to admit it to him yet.
Ultimately Adair makes the decision to help Lanore go to the Underworld despite the danger he feels she will be in and the potential danger it would mean to him if the Queen of the Underworld finds him. On top of this potential concern, Adair thinks the two women living in his house may be connected to some witches he wronged in his past. While this is only something he has just recently determined, he worries that he will have to figure them out before something bad happens.
Once Lanore goes, Katsu revisits some key parts of their separate histories through flashbacks. I thought it was done well and answered some remaining questions I had. I thought the section between Lanore and Sophia provided some closure for Lanore that she wasn’t able to get due to the way she and Jonathan had to leave town. Additionally, the section with Luke was a good way to wrap up their relationship. Luke clearly knew he wasn’t the most important person in her life ever but I thought having had their conversation, he ended up realizing he was one of the important people.
In addition to Lanore’s flashbacks, Adair has some as well. I enjoyed getting a peek at his early life and how he came to have the books/recipes in his hands. As if we didn’t already know it, those flashbacks just showed to what extent Adair was willing to go to in order to have control and power. He thought the magic was the way to get it. While waiting for Lanore to give him a signal that she is ready to come back to Earth, Adair sits and watches over her body. He struggles with doing what he wants to do and what he knows he should do and it is clear he is trying to be a better man so that he can be worthy of her love.
Eventually Lanore finds Jonathan in the Underworld but finds out things are what she and Adair worried about – she was truly bait and is being used to get Adair there. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting Adair to be who he was…that’s right, I’m not telling. It was an interesting twist and explained some of his personality. Knowing what I know now, the changes in him were even more impactful and I was glad to see them.
This series was wrapped up well. The only thing I thought that was left unanswered was what happened to the rest of the immortals left on Earth at the end of the story. Clearly things have changed for Lanore and Adair and I would assume they would for the others but wasn’t entirely sure what would happen to them. Keep in mind, all of these characters aren’t redeemable and I thought Katsu did a wonderful job of showing that. Overall I thought this was a great series. There is love, deceit, danger, and of course a bunch of immortals. Katsu did a wonderful job of building out these character’s lives and showing that immortality isn’t always the best thing. If you like stories that weave a bit of history along with magic into their books you might enjoy this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
After leaving Adair in book two, Lanore made the decision to go back to Luke. Unfortunately it is only 4 years later and Luke, being the mortal he is, has died after suffering from a brain tumor. Lanore honored her promise to him and stayed with him to the end but she always had thoughts of Adair and Jonathan in the back of her mind. She also started to have nightmares about the fate Jonathan was facing in the Underworld which prompts Lanore to find Adair and ask him to help her go help him.
When Lanore finds Adair on a remote island, she notices immediately he has changed. He clearly has taken her letter as well as what Jonathan told him to heart and is trying to be better than he was so that he can make Lanore see he is worthy of her love. Little does he know that Lanore has slowly come to the conclusion that she has loved him all along. With their past, she is just afraid to admit it to him yet.
Ultimately Adair makes the decision to help Lanore go to the Underworld despite the danger he feels she will be in and the potential danger it would mean to him if the Queen of the Underworld finds him. On top of this potential concern, Adair thinks the two women living in his house may be connected to some witches he wronged in his past. While this is only something he has just recently determined, he worries that he will have to figure them out before something bad happens.
Once Lanore goes, Katsu revisits some key parts of their separate histories through flashbacks. I thought it was done well and answered some remaining questions I had. I thought the section between Lanore and Sophia provided some closure for Lanore that she wasn’t able to get due to the way she and Jonathan had to leave town. Additionally, the section with Luke was a good way to wrap up their relationship. Luke clearly knew he wasn’t the most important person in her life ever but I thought having had their conversation, he ended up realizing he was one of the important people.
In addition to Lanore’s flashbacks, Adair has some as well. I enjoyed getting a peek at his early life and how he came to have the books/recipes in his hands. As if we didn’t already know it, those flashbacks just showed to what extent Adair was willing to go to in order to have control and power. He thought the magic was the way to get it. While waiting for Lanore to give him a signal that she is ready to come back to Earth, Adair sits and watches over her body. He struggles with doing what he wants to do and what he knows he should do and it is clear he is trying to be a better man so that he can be worthy of her love.
Eventually Lanore finds Jonathan in the Underworld but finds out things are what she and Adair worried about – she was truly bait and is being used to get Adair there. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting Adair to be who he was…that’s right, I’m not telling. It was an interesting twist and explained some of his personality. Knowing what I know now, the changes in him were even more impactful and I was glad to see them.
This series was wrapped up well. The only thing I thought that was left unanswered was what happened to the rest of the immortals left on Earth at the end of the story. Clearly things have changed for Lanore and Adair and I would assume they would for the others but wasn’t entirely sure what would happen to them. Keep in mind, all of these characters aren’t redeemable and I thought Katsu did a wonderful job of showing that. Overall I thought this was a great series. There is love, deceit, danger, and of course a bunch of immortals. Katsu did a wonderful job of building out these character’s lives and showing that immortality isn’t always the best thing. If you like stories that weave a bit of history along with magic into their books you might enjoy this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
rosekk's review against another edition
3.0
I have really loved this series, and confess myself a little disappointed at the ending. The last fifty or so pages of the story come out of nowhere, and feel very distant from the rest of the tale as the previous books held it. Things go unresolved, and resolutions to other things spring out of nowhere with no real sense, rhyme or reason. I still love the series, as it's pretty unique, and the characters are interesting, but I can't help but feel that this final instalment was somewhat rushed, and unplanned. It feels as if there was no ending properly planned when the story began, and was just tacked on to tie the tale up. The end changes the whole feel of the story, and warps the focus from the characters. The story started of focusing on these flawed, selfish characters and the mysterious alchemical magic, and it somehow winds up as an ill-explained god story.
meganmreads's review against another edition
5.0
The Descent was spectacular! I’ve been waiting for the conclusion to the trilogy for what seems like ages. I took the past few days to reread The Taker and The Reckoning and fell in love with the story all over again. It really is an epic tale. I thought I might have known where it would go in the end, but I’m happy that the author surprised me so much and the story took a turn I didn’t expect. The Descent was completely unpredictable.
Adair is so complex, my emotions about him were everywhere. I loathed him in The Taker, but I adored him in The Reckoning. In The Descent, I absolutely loved him. I think knowing of his horrifying past and knowing what he was capable of made it even more wonderful when I finally realized I loved his character. I also felt the same way about Lanny. While I never truly disliked her, she was petty, immature, and naïve and her immortal life granted her a lot of perspective. She was no saint herself and I thought the terrible things she did eventually shaped her into a better person. I’d rather her be terrible than the innocent and naïve Puritan she was at the beginning of her tale.
I love how the series makes me think about what it means to be good person, if terrible acts can be redeemed later, and it also touches on the price of immortality. I’m a huge fan of immortality, what with vampires being my favorite supernatural creatures and all. I would love to be immortal, able to travel through the ages and learn so much about everything, but this trilogy did a wonderful job of showing someone like me what the cost of living forever is. A lot of stories touch on the whole losing mortals you care about thing, but I like how The Taker Trilogy deals with living with yourself and your past. Keeping all of your memories, committing terrible acts along the way, and having to continue on knowing all of the things you’ve done and all of the souls you’ve wronged. And even better, The Taker Trilogy takes the whole vampire thing out of the equation and makes it more human. You can be immortal and be terrible without having to have your hand forced by only surviving on human blood. You would be terrible regardless of your diet. I love it.
The twist in The Descent really took me by surprise. I totally didn’t see it coming, but I appreciated it. I like the way the novel allowed room for questions of creation and death and origins, as I didn’t expect it to go there. I loved it and everything it meant. I’d love to reread the trilogy again at a later point knowing what I know now. It was definitely eye opening.
The only negative thing I can say about The Descent is that it was far too short for such a large plot twist. I wanted so much more. It could have, and should have, been about 2-3 times longer. I wished for more detail and more history. Perhaps the plot twist would have not been such a surprise if that was the case, but each time period was so thoroughly experienced in the novel and I wished that was the case for the events in The Descent. I also wished it ended later. I can’t really explain what that means without spoiling anything, but I wanted more of the ending events to continue on.
Overall, The Taker Trilogy is fantastic and The Descent did not disappoint. I highly recommend the trilogy if you are a fan of paranormal themes, gothic fiction, and dark romance. It is a bit graphic, kind of horrifying, but awesome and somehow swoon worthy at the same time. It is an unforgettable trilogy and I’m sad it’s over!
review originally published at Love, Literature, Art, and Reason book review blog
Adair is so complex, my emotions about him were everywhere. I loathed him in The Taker, but I adored him in The Reckoning. In The Descent, I absolutely loved him. I think knowing of his horrifying past and knowing what he was capable of made it even more wonderful when I finally realized I loved his character. I also felt the same way about Lanny. While I never truly disliked her, she was petty, immature, and naïve and her immortal life granted her a lot of perspective. She was no saint herself and I thought the terrible things she did eventually shaped her into a better person. I’d rather her be terrible than the innocent and naïve Puritan she was at the beginning of her tale.
I love how the series makes me think about what it means to be good person, if terrible acts can be redeemed later, and it also touches on the price of immortality. I’m a huge fan of immortality, what with vampires being my favorite supernatural creatures and all. I would love to be immortal, able to travel through the ages and learn so much about everything, but this trilogy did a wonderful job of showing someone like me what the cost of living forever is. A lot of stories touch on the whole losing mortals you care about thing, but I like how The Taker Trilogy deals with living with yourself and your past. Keeping all of your memories, committing terrible acts along the way, and having to continue on knowing all of the things you’ve done and all of the souls you’ve wronged. And even better, The Taker Trilogy takes the whole vampire thing out of the equation and makes it more human. You can be immortal and be terrible without having to have your hand forced by only surviving on human blood. You would be terrible regardless of your diet. I love it.
The twist in The Descent really took me by surprise. I totally didn’t see it coming, but I appreciated it. I like the way the novel allowed room for questions of creation and death and origins, as I didn’t expect it to go there. I loved it and everything it meant. I’d love to reread the trilogy again at a later point knowing what I know now. It was definitely eye opening.
The only negative thing I can say about The Descent is that it was far too short for such a large plot twist. I wanted so much more. It could have, and should have, been about 2-3 times longer. I wished for more detail and more history. Perhaps the plot twist would have not been such a surprise if that was the case, but each time period was so thoroughly experienced in the novel and I wished that was the case for the events in The Descent. I also wished it ended later. I can’t really explain what that means without spoiling anything, but I wanted more of the ending events to continue on.
Overall, The Taker Trilogy is fantastic and The Descent did not disappoint. I highly recommend the trilogy if you are a fan of paranormal themes, gothic fiction, and dark romance. It is a bit graphic, kind of horrifying, but awesome and somehow swoon worthy at the same time. It is an unforgettable trilogy and I’m sad it’s over!
review originally published at Love, Literature, Art, and Reason book review blog
pixiedust1979's review against another edition
2.0
I’m so disappointed in how this trilogy ended, it felt like this was written without the character or plot development from the first two books.
ac223's review against another edition
3.0
The Descent wrapped up The Taker trilogy nicely. It wasn't as thrilling as the previous two books, and that was probably because it was written as an end. I can't say that the ending was all that shocking, though very unlikely.
vcb182's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid ending, but the first installment was definitely my favorite of the trilogy. I actually called the “twist” behind Adair’s identity pretty early on, so it was a little disappointing how predictable it was. Still a great story, and the writing style flowed easily. I do think, though, without co-reading to the audiobook I would’ve gotten a little bored.
My series to completely annotate and tab. It was fun first choice but there were quite a few characters to try and keep track of. All in all, I give the series a 3.5 but I probably won’t be rereading them.
My series to completely annotate and tab. It was fun first choice but there were quite a few characters to try and keep track of. All in all, I give the series a 3.5 but I probably won’t be rereading them.
hooksbookswanderlust's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked this story. It's got a lot of mythology and religion and science and somehow combines them all into a story of redemption and love.
sheltzer's review against another edition
1.0
Arrr.... I think Ms. Katsu must have run out of ideas before she wrote this book.
Lanore finds herself alone after Luke's death and decides that Adair is her One True Love. But she is plagued by dreams of Jonathan, who is being held hostage and tortured by the queen of the underworld. She seeks out Adair to request that he help her rescue Jonathan.
So she travels to the underworld and we are treated to a Ghost of Christmas Past trek through her life and damage she left in her path.
In the meantime Adair, is held in thrall by two witch sisters who... well... they don't really seem to do much of anything.
But then, we wind up with the most fantastic literary device ever employed: The deus ex machina ending. But we couldn't stop there... the main character wound up being a deus. Literally. He was the King of the Underworld, but left to escape his shrew of a wife who was also his sister. But then dad (Capital-G God) shows up and turns him mortal again so he can live a normal life with his one true love.
Except the problem is that I never really understood Lanore and Adair's Grand Love Affair. How can two extremely self-centered people have a Grand Love Affair? I never really bought it and the plot of this book was just tiresome. Ugh.
Lanore finds herself alone after Luke's death and decides that Adair is her One True Love. But she is plagued by dreams of Jonathan, who is being held hostage and tortured by the queen of the underworld. She seeks out Adair to request that he help her rescue Jonathan.
So she travels to the underworld and we are treated to a Ghost of Christmas Past trek through her life and damage she left in her path.
In the meantime Adair, is held in thrall by two witch sisters who... well... they don't really seem to do much of anything.
But then, we wind up with the most fantastic literary device ever employed: The deus ex machina ending. But we couldn't stop there... the main character wound up being a deus. Literally. He was the King of the Underworld, but left to escape his shrew of a wife who was also his sister. But then dad (Capital-G God) shows up and turns him mortal again so he can live a normal life with his one true love.
Except the problem is that I never really understood Lanore and Adair's Grand Love Affair. How can two extremely self-centered people have a Grand Love Affair? I never really bought it and the plot of this book was just tiresome. Ugh.