The Descent

November 25, 2013
After a volatile and sometimes violent love-hate relationship spanning centuries, hot-blooded Lanore “Lanny” McIlvrae and hotheaded Adair, the alchemist who made her immortal, appear headed for a final showdown in the conclusion of Katsu’s supernatural thriller trilogy (after 2012’s The Reckoning). But first Lanny has to figure out how to rescue true love Jonathan, eternal womanizer though he is, from hellish torture in the Underworld—a mission that only Adair’s wizardry can make possible. As Lanny pursues her quest, starting from the enchanted Mediterranean isle where a mellower Adair has been living in exile, the author frequently displays a gift for making fantastical landscapes appear real. On the down side, readers new to the series may find Lanny “nothing special,” as one of her rivals tells her, certainly not the kind of bewitching goddess to spur suitors to the ends of the earth—and beyond. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Steinberg Agency.

December 1, 2013
Katsu concludes her engrossing Taker trilogy (The Reckoning, 2012; The Taker, 2011) with this yarn, which finds immortal heroine Lanny haunted by dreams of the object of her obsession, Jonathan, in torment in the underworld. Distraught at the thought of Jonathan being tortured by the Queen of the Underworld for the rest of time, Lanny resolves to seek out dangerous, unpredictable Adair, who gave her the gift of eternal life. Lanny finds Adair is much changed from the brutal man who kept his followers virtually enslaved. He now lives on a remote Mediterranean island in a gigantic mansion with two young but decidedly mortal women. Lanny cautiously inserts herself into Adair's life, and once she works up the courage to ask him to help her reach the underworld, she finds her feelings for him have blossomed into love. With a surprising twist that explains much of the mythology of the series, this thrilling conclusion is a can't-miss entry for fans who have followed Lanny's journey from 1800s New England to contemporary times. And it's utterly impossible to put down.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)