Customer Reviews

Stealing Kathryn (The Gatherers)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think J Frank was going for a beauty and the beast theme. Adrian is a horrible, large misshapen beast that controls nightmares in order to gather energy and send to his people. If you read Hunting Julian you will understand this, if not, you will probably be a bit lost in the beginning as Frank does not do as well a job describing what the deal is with the peopple Beneath.Kathryn is the woman whose nightmares that Adrian has become obsessed with. Poor Kathryn is basically a slave in her home taking care of her family home in Australia, caring for her sister and her recently ill father. She is so worn that her dreams are susceptible to Adrian giving her nightmares. Horrible, deformed Adrian has been consumed by the nightmares he is constantly absorbing and thus his physical and mental deteriation. One day he gets the bright idea to kidnap Kathryn and add her to his museum of beautiful things that he collects.

possible spoilers

Sooo, maybe I didnt fully enjoy this because of the fairy tale aspect. Frank relied heavily on this as part of the plot line for most of the book leaving me wandering whats up with the Beneath, the energy starved villagers and the blind Amplii/council people. We are in Adrian's castle so none of that is shown and I was thrown since I expected a story with more detail and interest featuring a Gatherer. This story also has some weak spots such as every time Kathryn touches Adrian, her innate goodness causes him pain. The pain we later realize is Adrian being healed from the nightmares. Every day he returns more and more to his own handsome appeal and normal physique. Of course, Adrians very own Igor sidekick does not like this and tries several times to harm her. At this point, I want to throw the book. I really like Jaquelyn Frank and her writing. I was able to swallow Hunting Julian but Stealing Kathryn was like being thrown into another series. It wasnt until halfway through the book that the Amplii members who are trying to kill Adrian (because he's so evil??)that the two go to Beneath. There love feeds the villagers though we dont see that nor meet anyone other than two of Adrian's Gatherer friends.(gotta set up the next books) Julian makes a cameo and I realize its 3 years after he has found his kindra. (how time flies)

Anyway, we never know what sickness Kathryn's sister has, we dont know why her dad has money but uses her as a slave and the reason that the Amplii people want to get rid of Adrian is weak at best. What a dissapointment on what could have at least been a decent spin on futuristic-like romance

I will gripe on Stealing Kathryn and state that if you have not read Hunting Julian, you really need to before reading the second book in the series. There are a lot of concepts that are just plain out there/weird to deal with and are not explained very well at all in the second book.

Also, this is a series about not just a completely different culture, but a completely different reality from Earth even thought its world and Earth are connected dimensions. Completely different Ethics and Morality from an Earth standpoint. This society essentially survives by "harvesting" emotions from other cultures -- Earth's in particular. They are Psychic Vampires. They even "feed" from mated pairs in their own society -- their legendary Kindra/soul mate relationship -- which I take it by book two of the series is going to be the theme for each book, that of each character finding his/her soul mate. I am seeing that the potential HEA for the series could be positive in that if enough harvester/gatherer characters -- which Julian and Adrian are -- find their soul mates, the resultant energy surplus would make their current predatory gatherer roles obsolete. A "win-win" from the point of view of us hapless Earthlings having our emotions siphoned off and transferred to this other dimension!

I loved Jacquelyn Frank's first series and the related Shadowdweller series. This new Gatherers series is a completely different direction. I enjoyed reading the two books, I get where Adrian had more than a personality change but also a complete physical change because of his particular Gatherer task to harvest nightmares. I found the heroine not so enjoyable as the heroine in the first book in this series, let alone her heroines in her first two series. Also, it seems like the heroine gives in too easily to the whole concept of: "Totally different reality and you're stuck here you can't go back but Hey! Your life essentially sucked back on Earth and your dad was lying to you/using you!" Perhaps part of the problem other readers have with this book is down to their dislike of the heroine.

I've enjoyed all of Jacquelyn Frank's books so far, but I just can't get into this book. The writing in this book seems forced and overly complicated. Sometimes it's simply not enjoyable to read because it seemed like the author was watching a period piece and trying to inject that language in random parts of the book. The story seems somewhat forced as well. I really enjoyed the author's previous books and I hope that the next book flows more naturally.

I cannot pick my favorite part of the book because I loved it all. There was not a moment throughout the whole book that I wanted to put it down. I loved this book better than some of the other ones. Asia in Hunting Julian was getting on my nerves halfway through the book. I read this book in two days. And that is amazing because I was moving. I had a hard time reading the prolo but then after the first chapter I was hooked. I had a feeling what was going to happen so I had to keep reading until it happened. I love the new spin on the old beauty and the beast story. I have read other books were the protagonist is mean and cranky and then he meets a woman who changes his outlook and therefore his personality. This stuff does not happen in real life but neither do vampires and werewolves exist in real life so we shouldn't be looking for real life in a fantasy book. I cannot wait for the next book in the series so I can check up on those two. I also want to know what happens to some of the secondary charaters.

Wow, I am surprised by the low rating. I thought the charactor development was very good and the idea that the energy gathered by the Guardians shapes each of them to refect teh type of energy that they harvest. Also, if you had questions about Beneath, read the first book. I was pleased that the same background facts were not gone over again and ruin the flow of the story. I thought it was a great book, and I would recommend it to any paranormal romance reader, especially those who enjoy Frank's other books.

Adrian serves as a middle man who steals dark energy from the nightmares people suffer and delivers if to his masters. However he has paid a high price for his servitude as the once handsome hunk has been converted into a beast due to the dark forces he absorbs.

Known through history as Sandman, Morpheus and other aliases, Adrian visits Kathryn intent on doing his job, but finds he needs much more from her. Obsessed with owning her, he abducts her to add to his bounty inside his castle. Shocking him, Kathryn is repulsed by the creature that kidnapped her. Shocking her, she is actually attracted to the fiend although she abhors being his prisoner. Still with his sister explaining who he is, she begins to see the diminishing flicker of light that still glimmers inside his heart and plans to make it shine with love.

Stealing Kathryn is a terrific dark romantic fantasy starring a fascinating villain and the female who redeems his soul. Although Adrian is an intriguing energy collector, Kathryn's seeming flightiness makes the tale as she falls in love, but her doubts about her beloved's redemption lead her bouncing back and forth between flight (from him) and fight (for him). Jacquelyn Frank's second Gatherers' novel (see Hunting Julian) is a wonderful character driven tale.

Harriet Klausner

I would have given this book five stars but for the fact that I had a hard time getting into the character of Adrian for sometime. He was literally a monster who lost most of his feelings and kindness due to his sacrificing himself for his people in gathering energy. They feed on all sorts of different energies. Unfortunately, Adrian deals in the dark world of nightmares and other such dark dreams which eventually changed him to one who would easily lash out at the drop of a dime as well as changed his features. He was very strong and dangerous. He was this grotesque sort of monster who steals a woman from Earth to keep with his other treasures. So in the beginning he is this wild, dangerous being. It seems to take some time for Ms. Frank to build the story of Adrian and I must admit that I could not get into him and that was due mostly because he was a disgusting looking, etc. However, after he steals Kat, he is in great pain and that is because everytime she touches him, she touches him with kindness which is a slow process in reverting him back to the alpha of a male he once was, i,e., light over powers darkness. However, midway through the book, something starts to happen and Ms. Frank pulls one back into her book and one starts to feel for Adrian. This book is NOT trash and I was very glad that I hung in there. It is a very tender book as well as being sexual. Frank does not hold back in the sexual department, and that is what I like. I think it is a lot better than Hunting Julian because the heroine in that book was a real "bit#h." Kat has spirit but is a very gentle person. This book is a lot better than a lot of other books out there including Kresley Cole's lastest book "Demon from the Dark," which basically has the same type of Hero but the Heroine is nowhere near as kind and gentle as Ms. Frank's Kathryn. Ms. Cole's heroine sometimes seem to be a little too "bi#chy" for me. There is a difference between a strong woman and a 'bi#ch.' Kathryn is strong and hungers for adventure but is gentle. Like the "Strength" card in the Tarot, the woman tames the lion by gentleness.

'Stealing Kathryn' was a very good read and a surprising one. Surprising because when we meet the evil and twisted character at the beginning, one who is about to kidnap a woman after giving her terrifying nightmares, we have no idea that he will eventually be the hero. Which he is. And a surprisingly heroic one. Mind you, the heroine, Kathryn, is fairly unusual too in that she seems able to cope with pretty much everything that's thrown at her - and her life does change rather significantly during the course of the book.

The setting is in a world between the human realm and 'The Beneath', and our hero Adrian's job is to gather energy from nightmares to feed his people. Unfortunately this is corrupting work and he's turned into a monster. It's only when he kidnaps Kathryn, to add her to his 'treasures', that he begins to change back into the person he was before.

I very much liked the characterisation and descriptiveness of Jacquelyn Frank's writing in this book. There was lots of interaction between the main characters and they were both believable. I also enjoyed the worlds that she has made for this series. There's a previous book to this which I hadn't read but that didn't matter at all in understanding this book. I look forward to the next one!

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2010

I really love the premise of this "Beauty and the Beast" style story and found it very hard to put the book down. I was a little disappointed that this book seemed to veer off the story setting from "Hunting Julian" so much and it seemed like the tone of the book was completely different. Still, I really enjoy Jacquelyn Frank's books and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. So if you are looking to continue on with the series and you like the fairy tale stories than you may really like this book too.

Frank seems to deliver enough only if you know the previous books. Unlike other authors they really cannot stand alone and you cannot pick up a random book in her series then jump back because you enjoyed it. I have read her previous books but she really does fall short with the turn in her series especially in this book and several other following.

I have to say I am thoroughly disappointed