The Marriage Price [Kindle Edition]

Alma Katsu (Author)

Book Description

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE—BUT THE PRICE IS STEEP in this short story from THE TAKER saga

Evangeline McDougal is the luckiest girl in St. Andrew, Maine. She’s to wed Jonathan St. Andrew, eldest son of the town’s founder and heir to the timber business that has made the St. Andrews one of the wealthiest families in the state.

Nor does it hurt that her bridegroom is so very handsome. Irresistible, in fact. And when rumors fly about her husband-to-be and several of the other girls in town. . . . What is Evangeline to think? There is a price to pay for her marriage to Jonathan, but surely it is worth the cost.

Isn’t it?

(Note: This story is intended for mature readers)

PRAISE FOR THE TAKER, a BOOKLIST Top Ten Debut Novel of 2011:

"Readers won't be able to tear their eyes away from Katsu's mesmerizing tale." 
 —Booklist starred review

“Twilight for grown-ups” – Cosmo UK

“I loved the multi-tapestried feel of these novels – it’s an utterly readable blend of supernatural-powered fantasy, historical fiction, and existential horror… Highly recommended for readers who enjoy novels like A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.” – Paul Goat Allen, science fiction/fantasy critic

“Enticing, sensual beyond any other novel read in years within this genre, and thrilling...The Taker is recommended for any reader who wishes to lose him/herself in a strong historical horror tale that transcends the genre with ease.” – Horror World

Product Details

• File Size: 146 KB
• Print Length: 11 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Melancholy Press (July 18, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008N1YHPM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,914 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #31 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction
  • #58 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Characters from The Taker July 24, 2012

By Jen

Format:Kindle Edition

I always find it interesting to hear stories of otherwise little known characters. When reading The Taker, I wondered very little about Evangeline McDougal. Other than that we share the same last name, and that she was a child bride! How strange it must have been for her. Growing up in the 1800's, in a rural community. Then to be married to the most eligible bachelor in town!

I was intrigued to read of her innocence and his lack there of. Alma Katsu nailed it on the head I think! I wondered, did she know of his transgressions with every woman in town? Was she as innocent as we were led to believe? All my questions were indeed answered. I also loved how she painted her just as she should be. A pre-teen girl! Innocent and sullen. Excited, and nervous, and a bit spoiled.

I enjoyed this story and look forward to many more about the characters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another GREAT short! July 24, 2012

By Rene' Gilliland

Format:Kindle Edition

I was so excited to read this short story by Alma Katsu. The Taker is one of my favorite books from 2011. So, I loved this delve into Jonathan's past. You already get the gist of his philandering in the town of St. Andrew. But in this you get to see it from Evangeline's point of view. You can tell how she tries to hold her own but just gets snowplowed by his charm, personality, bullying ways. And how she realizes what is in store for her future as Johnathan's wife. Loved it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Shorter than I thought December 12, 2012

By janice301

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Although well written, this was too short for the price. For some reason I thought it was a full book. I loved all of the Katsura novels I have read in the past.

More About the Author

Ms. Katsu's writing has been compared to that of early Anne Rice and Shirley Jackson. A former intelligence analyst, she is a graduate of the writing program at Johns Hopkins University, lives in the Washington, DC area, and counts Edgar Allan Poe and fairy tales among her influences. Visit her at www.almakatsu.com

TRUE LOVE CAN LAST FOREVER . . . BUT IMMORTALITY COMES AT A PRICE. When a young woman, a self-professed murderer, is found covered in blood and wandering around in the Maine wilderness, she is brought to a doctor in a nearby town to be evaluated before she is incarcerated. But once Luke Findley - a recently divorced physician - meets the strangely alluring Lanore McIlvrae and begins to hear her fantastical tale, one that stretches impossibly over two hundred years, he is drawn into her world of magic and danger.

So starts THE TAKER, the first book in a trilogy of novels about devotion and betrayal, beauty and cruelty, and the need for each to find her own path to redemption. The story continues with THE RECKONING and will conclude with THE DESCENT (coming May 2013).

The TAKER was an American Library Association-Booklist Top Ten Debut Novel of 2011.

"A wicked, sensuous, shattering love story that I can't recommend enough. You have to experience it for yourself!"--Kresley Cole

"Reminiscent of Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire . . . an utterly readable blend of supernatural-powered fantasy, historical fiction, and existential horror." -- BN Book Club

"Enticing, sensual beyond any novel read in this genre in years" -- Horror World