Drawn Into Darkness: A Soul Gatherer Novel (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lachlan MacGregor looks like a rather hunky priest, but the 400-year-old undead hero of McCleave's entertaining paranormal romance debut is actually serving penance by gathering souls destined for Heaven, saving them from demons. He also keeps an eye on Emily, the superpowered 14-year-old daughter of his downstairs neighbor, artist Rachel Lewis. Rachel is shocked by her instantaneous attraction to a man of the cloth, but Lachlan's happy to act on their chemistry in between supernatural battles. Swords flash, spells are cast, and twist and turns come head-spinningly quickly, but Rachel is game for anything as long as she can save her daughter and find true love. Readers will hope for sequels in which Emily grows up to be as feisty as Rachel and as powerful as Lachlan. (Sept.)
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Product Description

Serving a five-hundred-year sentence as a Soul Gatherer-one who battles demons for the souls of the dead-Lachlan MacGregor keeps his distance from humans. That is, until the lovely Rachel Lewis knocks on his door, begging for help.

As they struggle to rescue her daughter from the clutches of a powerful demon, Lachlan finds himself increasingly drawn to the artistic single mother. But when Death assigns him an unbearable task, he's left wondering who will provide more for his soul.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Signet (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451227808
• ISBN-13: 978-0451227805
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #756,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overall plot was interesting, but the romance and characters were lacking. I had trouble with methods of conflict., September 20, 2009

By	Jane Stewart (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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STORY BRIEF:
In 1603 Lachlan died after enemies killed his wife and children. Since then he has worked for Death as a soul gatherer. When someone dies, Lachlan touches him/her to collect their soul and holds it until an angel arrives to take it to heaven (or Satan's messenger arrives to take it to hell). At times Lachlan must fight demons with swords and other weapons as they try to steal souls destined for heaven. Death is a female demigod. In addition to his soul gathering duties, Death assigns Lachlan to watch over and protect Emily, a teenager. Drusus is a powerful demon who has become Emily's boyfriend. He is using the name Drew. He is handsome, in his 20's and rides a motorcycle. Emily is a surly and rebellious teenager with a goth look who sneaks out at night to be with Drew. Her mother Rachel is divorced, works a demanding job, loves Emily, but is having trouble being a parent and interacting with Emily. Lachlan is their neighbor and helps Rachel with Emily issues, for example following Emily when she sneaks out. The main mystery is why Death and Drusus both are interested in Emily. A second mystery concerns the Linen, a religious item in Lachlan's possession that Drusus wants.

REVIEWER'S OPINION (WITH MILD SPOILERS):
The main romance is between Rachel and Lachlan. She doesn't know about his world or his abilities. Several conflicts occur when Rachel sees or learns something and is angry at Lachlan or thinks he lied to her. For example, he was in a sword fight with deep cuts which she saw. The next day they are healed with no scars. When she asked him where the cuts went, he said "I heal very fast." He started to explain, but she was angry and didn't believe him. She said "no matter what it is you need to say, I'm not ready to hear it," and she walked away. In the beginning, Lachlan is attracted to her but refuses to have a relationship with her because "he knew he would end up hurting her" (which was not true). Later Drusus tells lies to Rachel which she believes and which cause more conflict with Lachlan. These conflicts were not interesting for me. I'd rather see conflicts based on circumstances, personality differences, plot development, etc. I also would have liked more interesting character development. For some reason, the romantic relationship didn't appeal to me, party because of items mentioned above. It might have been better if the personalities were more interesting.

Regarding the main mystery of why Death and Drusus wanted Emily, it was interesting. But I did not like one major plot point. Drusus is more powerful than Lachlan and could have killed him but let him live. Lachlan asks Death for help. Death tells Lachlan that he has a weapon that he can use to defeat Drusus, but she won't tell him what it is. This bothered me. Death assigned Lachlan to protect Emily, but she won't help him?

My favorite parts of the book were about Carlos. In fact I loved the ending concerning him.

Minor problem with the publisher (not the author's fault): Page 75 says Lachlan has "a sprinkle of crisp, dark hair" on his chest. The cover model has none.

DATA:
Story length:332 pages. Swearing language; strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 21. Setting: current day and 1603 California, Antarctica and Scotland. Copyright: 2009. Genre: fantasy mystery romance.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars- fantastic and compelling storyline but one of the main characters bothered me, September 1, 2009

By	Bookaholics Reviewer (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

Drawn Into Darkness: A Soul Gatherer Novel by Annette McCleave
Paranormal Romance - Sept. 1st, 2009
3 1/2 stars

Annette McCleave has brought to life a unique and fascinating world in her debuting book Drawn Into Darkness. I was quickly absorbed by her imaginative novel where angels and demons fight for control and power over the dead.

Lachlan MacGregor is caught in the middle. He is a soul gatherer responsible for battling demons and preventing them from stealing the souls of the dead. Atoning for his past for 4 centuries, his newest assignment has him mystified. He has been ordered to travel across the world to America, where he is given little aid in his mission to protect a special girl named Emily. The only problem is he has been instructed to stay close to her family. And that means befriending Emily's single and gorgeous mother Rachel. Posing as a priest Lachlan tries to keep his intense attraction to Rachel on a tight leash because he knows any relationship is futile. Rachel deserves happiness and any life with him would be doomed from the start. But attempts on Emily's life bring the couple closer and desire that should remain hidden ignites...

Annette McCleave has definitely created a world worth exploring. The group of Soul Gatherers who seek atonement for their past reminded me of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. I found nearly all of the characters intriguing and enjoyed the sections between the 2 main characters. The only part of the story which I had difficulty enjoying were the areas that involved Emily. Emily was not endearing. Although she is a teenager and expected to be rebellious and bratty, I found her reckless and spiteful behavior kept me from liking her. Unfortunately, she did not show any remorse at the difficulties she gave her mother or Lachlan. Even though keeping Emily safe was the focus of the story, I just didn't think she was worth the trouble. Because of Emily's unsympathetic character, I could not rate this story higher although I found all the rest of characters extremely fascinating.

This being said, if you love paranormal romance and are looking for new characters and a fresh world that will intrigue you, Drawn Into Darkness will attract you. This new series is definitely one to watch out for!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast-paced urban romantic fantasy, September 6, 2009

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Centuries old and counting, Father Lachlan MacGregor gathers souls to deliver to heaven before the demons can suck them dry, for Lachlan this means penance as he is the Soul Gatherer. At the same time he insures his downstairs neighbors, artist Rachel and her fourteen years old daughter Emily are safe; he is especially keeping a wary eye on the teen.

Rachel is taken aback by her attraction to the handsome hunk upstairs as he is forbidden fruit being a priest. Lachlan reciprocates her desire, but he has some supernatural wars to contend with. As they fall in love, they team up to keep Emily safe from an especially evil essence who wants the teen to fulfill an ancient prophecy while also using the child as a pawn to get at Lachlan. What the Soul Gatherer hides from his beloved mortal is her child is his next transfer to the beyond.

This fast-paced urban romantic fantasy will grip readers with the first sword duel and never slows down until the final confrontation as everyone from beyond want to know the way to San Jose. The story line is fast-paced but driven by the relationships as the hero falls in love with the mother of his next delivery and the rebellious daughter is enticed by a charming demon. Annette McCleave provides a terrific thriller.

Harriet Klausner