Hunting Julian

Gatherers, Book 1

By: Jacquelyn Frank

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

As a guardian for his colony, Julian Sawyer travels to Earth to bring back the Chosen: women who possess energy potent enough to help revitalize his people. The stunning, silver-clad beauty who strides into his club one night radiates a sensual magnetism unlike any he's encountered, and Julian realizes that Asia Callahan is not just Chosen, she is his kindra: his one true mate.

For months, Asia has tracked the beautiful and mysterious Julian across the country, convinced that he's behind the disappearance of her sister and a dozen other women. She's prepared to believe he's a ruthless killer, but when she presents herself as bait, she discovers that the truth is far more shocking. Taken to a strange, hazardous realm she never knew existed, Asia will face the ultimate choice-between abandoning the life she's always known and forsaking a passion as dangerous as it is powerful.

©2010 Jacquelyn Frank (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Frank's world-building is exceptional, and the fast-paced plot never lets up." ( Publishers Weekly)

I just wanted to shrug

Is there anything you would change about this book?

If I can change anything I would have made the heroine substantially less - um - combative?

Would you be willing to try another book from Jacquelyn Frank? Why or why not?

Yes, I think I would try another one but I would be hesitant. I absolutely loved the premise just not the execution.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Xe Sands?

narrator was fine.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I actually think this would make a better movie than audiobook so I might.

A really good sci-fi romance....

I wasn't sure I would like this, but took a chance on it. I was continually surprised by the twists and turns in the story, and I enjoyed the character internation. Pretty good narration. Definitely worth a credit for a first in the series.

GREAT READ

Great new story! I am ready for book 2. I love how the author made a whole new world with such a different culture. This is no ordinary romance and I had a hard time going to sleep since I wanted to listen to the whole thing. This book is not the 5 hour length it says it is. The book is about 8-9 hours long so well worth a credit. Not a hot steamy romance but I believe if it were, it would have taken away from the story. There are moments of passion but it is just the right amount. This is one I will listen to again.

Are you kidding me? This is stockholm syndrome 101

Oh the spoilers

Xe Sands did a great job of narrating this BS, but I still feel gross for having listened to it.

I didn't listen to this book until months after I'd purchased it, so I no longer remember why I got it. The description of this book makes the events that take place sound very different than the way they actually unfold. Asia is not a willing visitor to Julian's planet. He takes pride in saying that he never lies to her, but he withholds information and generally takes advantage of his ignorance of his planet.
Asia is Julian's kindra, some sort of mystical soulmate who, when joined with Julian, has an ability to generate a huge amount of the energy that the people of Julian's world need to survive. This isn't bad. What sucks is that Asia is mistreated by just about everybody she encounters on the world that she never chose to go to. Julian and her own sister call her selfish for not immediately giving up everything she has ever known or wanted in order to nourish the people of the dimension TO WHICH SHE WAS KIDNAPPED. What the everloving hell is wrong with these people?
Why are do so many of the characters, including Asia, buy into the idea that she's selfish for not immediately falling into line with what her kidnapper, his people, and his kool-aid drinking people want from her? There are suffering people everywhere, but if somebody kidnapped me and used this as an excuse, I'd still be pretty pissed off about the whole thing.
He didn't even give her a real apology until 75% of the way into the book. AND it was only because she hurt his feelings. HIS FEELINGS. Also, the author somehow fanwanks her own book and makes the kidnapping Asia's fault? Oh my god I can't even

I was sorry I wasted money on this one...

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better story.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something by an author I LOVE.

What about Xe Sands’s performance did you like?

Her voice was amazing. Her delivery was exceptional.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment about covers it.

Anti-Heroine

Difficult to finish. Jacquelyn Frank has created a great premise which is spoiled by a cold, selfish female lead whose only redeeming qualities remain physical strength and prowess, even at the conclusion. It is hard for this reader to accept Asia as the heroine in a romantic novel when every action, including the defense of her sister, is motivated by self-interest. And Chloe is the villainess? It's impossible to tell which character I disliked more.

Sadly, more promising characters, including Julian and Kenya with their strength of character and compassion, were not the focus of this first installment of a new series.

Hard to rate a novel where one element destroys all the positive aspects - great story, great narrator, great hero and interesting cast of minor characters. Jacquelyn Frank remains one of my favorite authors, but she missed the boat with this anti-heroine.

Alpha Male, overly spirited idiotic female, *yawn*

It's a shame we have the same tired romance trope, this time disguised as a supernatural fantasy. Because really, the last thing the world needs is a yet another boring alpha male with a heart of gold and comely female desired by all and so getting into trouble all the time and needing to be rescued.

There's nothing more of a turn off than a woman stupid enough to get herself into trouble all the time. Then just happening to have that big strapping guy around to save her all the time because he's so madly in love with an idiot.

Ok, so I didn't enjoy this book. At all.

The 'story': woman goes after guy she thinks kidnapped her sister. He turns out to be from another dimension that needs her orgasms to give them energy to live. You can guess what's going to happen for the rest of the book. He'll try to convince her to be with him to 'save his people' and she'll quite happy decide to kill a lot of people just so she doesn't have to have sex with him. er, yeah.

The narrator did an ok job with the story but her 'foreign guy' accent sounded too much like a bad transylvanian vampire. And wasn't consistent with other characters from his dimension.

I hated Asia! What a B****

What disappointed you about Hunting Julian?

Asia...I swear there was nothing likable about her. She kept saying "she's not the one" and I believed her. We were giving absolutely nothing by which to like her. At one point, I wondered why Julian didn't just run off with her sister: she's beautiful, big hearted, kind, and compassionate. And maybe Julian would have been likable if the narrator didn't make him sound like he was on the verge of tears all the time, even when he was suppose to be yelling and angry. Overall, I got through 3/4 of the book and just couldn't finish it. Very disappointing.

Would you be willing to try another one of Xe Sands’s performances?

No. This isn't my first audible by her. She's monotone and misses conveying the emotion in the text. I used the audible to fall asleep one night when I was staying in a hotel and couldn't get to sleep. That's when I knew that I wouldn't be able to finish the book. Her voice put me into a state of narcalepsy.