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Caleb (Shadow Wranglers #1)

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 1,070 ratings · 121 reviews

Meet three sexy ranchers?who also happen to be vampires?in the first of a new series by the national bestselling author of Wild Instinct.

Allie always desired mysterious, sexy rancher Caleb Johnson, but he never seemed to notice her. Until the night she?s attacked by a vicious animal, and rescued by a shapeshifting vampire that she almost seems to recognize: the baritone...more

Paperback, 392 pages

Published October 6th 2009 by Berkley Trade (first published August 29th 2009)

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Oct 11, 2009 Auntee rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of the author

Shelves: erotic-romance, paranormal-romance, 2009_reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh, how I wanted to love this one. I had recently read and enjoyed the author's Tucker's Claim from her Hell's Eight series, and I'm a big fan of her Promises series, so I was hoping that this would be another winner. But after a very promising and exciting start, it just fell...flat. Too many unanswered questions, too much background detail left out, a lot of conversations going nowhere, a lot of terribly unexciting dialogue, and I swear if the hero 'brushes the heroine's bangs off her face' on...more Oh, how I wanted to love this one. I had recently read and enjoyed the author's Tucker's Claim from her Hell's Eight series, and I'm a big fan of her Promises series, so I was hoping that this would be another winner. But after a very promising and exciting start, it just fell...flat. Too many unanswered questions, too much background detail left out, a lot of conversations going nowhere, a lot of terribly unexciting dialogue, and I swear if the hero 'brushes the heroine's bangs off her face' one more time (I should have kept count how many times that phrase was used)--I wanted to leap into the story with a pair of scissors and cut the darn bangs off!

The story had a promising start. Allie runs a bakery and has the hots for a sexy cowboy who comes in early every day for some bear claws and coffee. She's dying for him to notice her or make a move. While walking home one evening, she's descended on by a bloodthirsty wolf. Another wolf comes to her rescue, fighting the nasty wolf off while she runs home. She feels a strange connection to the hero wolf and doesn't want to leave him, so she heads back to the scene in her car to rescue him. He's lying on the ground near death, and she drags him to her car with the intentions of taking him to a vet. Suddenly she hears voices in her head--the wolf is communicating with her--and it's Caleb (her sexy cowboy) who's talking to her! Caleb's a wolf? He directs her to his ranch while a pack of hungry wolves chase them. It's a harrowing trip and they barely make it.

While at the ranch, Allie discovers that Caleb is a shapeshifting vampire, and has lived on the ranch with his vampire brothers for 250 years. He was turned into a vampire in 1860 (here's where I could have used a lot more details), so it now must be the year 2110? Turns out Caleb also has the hots for Allie, but has been trying to resist her. He doesn't want to 'turn' her, but neither can deny the attraction to each other. So 'turn' her he does. And then they have some awesome sex (or was it that they had some awesome sex and then he turns her?). Anyway, Allie's now a vamp with her own set of problems and worries that comes with it: the excruciating pain that comes with her need to feed, the mental telepathy tricks, the fact that Caleb's brothers get turned on when she needs to feed, and the fact that she needs to know more about this whole vampire lifestyle (I did too). And even though Caleb refers to his 'Allie girl' as his 'wife', is it just lust that he feels for her or is it love? Way too many details were left out--I wanted to know what the brothers were doing for the past 250 years, I wanted to know what they did before they were vamps, I wanted to know why they had no dealings with others vampires, I wanted to know about what special abilities they had as vamps--other than a few little facts about Caleb and the brothers we don't get anything. How do they live? Do they eat or do they just need blood? Who do they feed from? What do they do all day? They have a running feud with the pack of weres who were after Allie and Caleb (the D'Nallys) that apparently the author is going to get into later in the series--it has something to do with Caleb's brother Jared, but that's all we're told.

I also needed to know more about Allie. Aside from knowing that she's feisty, stubborn, impulsive, stubborn, owns a bakery and has six older brothers (I think?), stubborn, and has bangs that are constantly in her face...give me something more. Where did she come from, does she have any friends who are going to miss her when she disappears...what about her bakery? And how did she get all those clothes (jeans) that Caleb constantly rips open with his six inch talons--where did they come from? Did she go back to her house and pack a bag? Does she need to eat anymore or does she just survive on blood? If these little details that help flesh out a character and make me connect with them were in the book, I must have missed them while my mind was wandering. I really had a hard time focusing on the middle of this book when it seemed like everything ground to a halt and nothing was happening except Allie getting excruciating cramps when she needed to feed.

Finally, things picked up a bit when Allie (in all her curiousity) wanted to know if there were other vamps, and she proceeded to head out and find this 'Sanctuary' of vamps that Caleb reluctantly told her about. Caleb goes with her, all kind of evil happens there when they meet up with an old acquaintence of Allie's who has some grand plans for her and a future master race of vampires that he hopes to create. Big bloody fights ensue, with Caleb's former enemies providing some surprising help, but it looks like this fight between Caleb and his brothers and the bad vamps who want Allie and her special 'abilities' for their own will continue on throughout the series. They may have won one battle but they haven't won the war--yet.

I'm hoping that the sluggishness of this book is due to the fact that it's the first book of a new series, and has the burden of establishing the premise and introducing all the characters. I felt the same way about the first books of the Hell's Eight series and the Promises series--neither of those books were my favorites of the series. I'm hoping with the next book, about brother Jared, McCarty delivers a faster-paced, more detailed account and gives me a reason to connect and fall in love with the characters. This one, despite having a few outstanding moments, just didn't live up to its potential for me. I'll give the series another try--I'm not ready to give up on it just yet. 3 stars.(less)

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Oct 16, 2011 Kelli rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, dnf

I’ve read another book by this writer
Filled with cowboys and prose that seemed tighter
“Pretty good” was my thought
“With a decent enough plot”
“I’ll try again if I want something lighter”

Since audio is surely my bent
And I had credits that languished unspent
I thought "try something new!"
I should have checked a review
I’m disgruntled and now need to vent

The cowboys in this one are all vampire
And the heroine is set to expire
Killed by the hero
When his willpower hit zero
And his brothers to save him did...more

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Sep 16, 2010 Mollie *scoutrmom* rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of paranormal erotic romance

Shelves: erotic-romance, read-in-2010, read-in-2011

This is one of those romances where there is a lot of unneeded angst because the hero and heroine don't communicate well enough. I liked the protagonists, the villain, the secondary characters, the plot, and the worldbuilding. I'm just sad the parts didn't add up to a better whole.

The hero is overprotective and has an outdated attitude towards women. Even though his love proves to be able to defeat an enemy, he is later grievously wounded defending her rather than allowing her to fight for herse...more

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Dec 31, 2011 G rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnl-erotic, vampire

I wanted to LOVE this book. Turns out out I did like it but I felt a mild disappointment with it, like it's not up to the same standard of McCarty's other books. I did get caught up in the world-building, I did want to know what happens next, and I do look forward to reading Jared's story next---all qualities that make for a good book and that's why I gave it 4 stars. In trying to pin down what it is that left me wanting more, I believe it was all the unanswered questions in this story. There we...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Larena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Allie is attracted to sexy rancher Caleb Johnson. She thought that attraction was mutual but isn’t sure she is right when he does nothing about that attraction. Just as she is about to give up in defeat she is attacked by a wolf only to be saved by another one. There is something about the wolf that saves her that makes her think of Caleb.

Caleb Johnson is a vampire that lives with his three brothers and the McClaren werewolf pack. While Caleb and his brothers are okay with be rogue he never wan...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Debbi Nelson rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was so eager to read this story combining my two favorite men into one: a vampire cowboy. I should have done my research into the author's writing. Unfortunately, she should stick with historical romances. Other authors have successfully created vampires born of other times without leaving them one-dimensional lost to that time. The whole feel of the story was that it belonged in her other books. Sadly, not even the modern female saved the story. I found myself hoping the entire time that Alli...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Laura (Kyahgirl) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-books, did-not-finish, not-much-substance, paranormal-romance, shapeshifters, vampires

1/5; 1 star; DNF

Where to begin? Well, the beginning was good. The first little bit where the Allie and Caleb are introduced, the attack by the 'wolf', the 'rescue'. I should have stopped there. I am disappointed because I read other books by this author and really enjoyed them, particularly the Promises series. This book was a lot like a car stuck in a mud hole, lots of noise and muck flying but not much progress. I didn't like the characters and they were poorly developed and seriously, there...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Kara Griffin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, vampires, weres-and-shifters

I was excited when I came across this book. I haven't seen too many books with cowboy vampires. About half way through I lost interest and started skipping chunks to finish the book faster. I don't think I missed much by doing this.

One of the biggest problems I had with the book was its tendency to skip ahead in the time line a few days, with no explanation as to what happened. Not a crime usually. But in this story we get a passing comment as to a major event that happened in the missing space...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Kasey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, paranormal-romance, shifters-weres, vampires

I really wanted to like this book. As soon as I came across it I had high hopes for this one changing my opinion since the only other McCarty book I've tried I didn't really like. I've heard the first books in her series are usually the worst and they get better and maybe that is my mistake, but I really have a hard time really liking the characters a lot of the time.

This one started off good. I liked the set up I already liked the subject so I expected things to just get better. But for me tha...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Fiendishly Bookish rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormalromance

The lure of Sarah McCarty’s novels is that they are deliciously sensual, descriptive, and heavy on relationship. By comparison to other urban fantasy/paranormal novels, Caleb might a bit light on plot, but the overwhelming feeling is that McCarty is taking her time to get the story right, unwinding it slowly and making sure that the connection between her two main characters is solid, grounded. In fact it is McCarty’s cornerstone. Caleb presents well: feisty, sensual, and feral in some action sc...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Vanessa theJeepDiva rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, book-club, paranormal-romance, shifter

This book left far too many questions unanswered and me wondering in the end what was the book about. There is a conflict that the hero and heroine must fight. The Sanctuary (vampires with a God complex) wants Allie (heroine) in their possession. That was the largest unanswered (one of many) question for me. I get that she is different and special and every man in this book wants her, but why. As a character Allie is not impressive. She’s whiney, clueless, and constantly contradicting herself. T...more This book left far too many questions unanswered and me wondering in the end what was the book about. There is a conflict that the hero and heroine must fight. The Sanctuary (vampires with a God complex) wants Allie (heroine) in their possession. That was the largest unanswered (one of many) question for me. I get that she is different and special and every man in this book wants her, but why. As a character Allie is not impressive. She’s whiney, clueless, and constantly contradicting herself. There is also a feud between the Johnson brother’s and the D’Nally werewolf pack. The hate and animosity is brought up many times but the whys, not so much. The Johnson brothers are also considered vastly different from all other vampires. This is one of the many things that is mentioned and never elaborated on. I know that some questions need to remain unanswered so that the reader is left with a desire to move on to the next book, I was not left with the curiosity to move me to the next in the series.
There are numerous sex scenes in this book. They are even explicitly graphic, but at the same time they seem to lack the heat factor. I think this is partly due to the fact that Allie is portrayed as clueless in the bedroom department. Caleb is all 1860’s cowboy. He wants to provide all for his little woman. I actually found that very sweet about him. So he is more than willing to teach and instruct her. Also liked how the vampires in this world are able to shift to other forms. I thought that was an interesting idea. Caleb is the oldest of the four Johnson brothers. He was also the first to become a vampire and he converted his brothers. There seems to be some disgruntled feeling about the turning even after 250 years. They’re a tight knit group that sticks together. They also have the McClaren werewolf pack on their side. This is another one of the many things the readers are never given the hows and whys of.
Over all I did not care for the book. I’ve read numerous other reviews on goodreads, many enjoyed this book. I think this book just wasn’t for me.
(less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Missie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

Excuse me while I take a moment to cry my eyes out. Why the tears you ask? Well, if someone had told me that combining my two favorite things ever--cowboys and vampires--would prove to be disastrous, I'd have laughed in their face then rode off into the sunset. I mean, there's no way the combo couldn't be anything but pure win, right?

Wrong.

I really don't know where to start in explaining all the ways I was supremely disappointed with this story.

I guess I'll begin with the vampires themselves. I'...more

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May 23, 2011 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this new series from Sarah McCarty!

Allie Sanders is spirited, sassy and passionate. Her quick wit and defensiveness is very comical. It's obvious she has a bunch of brothers, it seems the Johnson boys will just fill into place nicely. I think she will be a great mother and wife to Caleb. I am interested to find out why her abilities are so limited. If its because she is pregnant or because she is something else. Her psychic ability is very interesting, I can't wait to see what e...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: keepers

Good read, good enough that I plan to keep both books in the series and hope for more...

I read Jared first and although it is a direct sequel to this one order doesn't seem wildly important. Because I'd already read Jared some 'secrets' and 'questions' were already revealed but not enough to impact the reader's enjoyment.

Characters are a bit sketchy, especially the support ones. The heroine has more issues than a magazine rack, complains that our hero keeps trying to run her life and then does s...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what exactly I want to say other than this book to me felt like twilight for adults. Caleb can walk in the sun and his brother all have certain powers too like super smarts (Slade), reading minds (Jared), and super strength (Jace). I'm pretty sure I got them right though I might be off on Jace and Jared. There is Allie who works a the bakery and is special to Caleb in fact by the middle of the book it seems every man wants her. Though why is apparently only know to the author. Allie...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Brittney Musick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-adult, audiobook, ebook, read-2011

My first experience with Sarah McCarty's work was her Hell's Eight series. My feelings about those books were somewhat mixed, but because I liked to them on audiobook, I'm still not quite sure it my reaction was the writing or the narrator or a mixture of both. I decided to give the Shadow Wranglers series a chance. I also listened to this on audiobook, and I was actually pleased with the narrator because I enjoy her work on another series that's a personal favorite.

The story itself, however, le...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Shan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was very erotic, so if you are not into that sort of thing then you may not, but the sex didn't feel forced. It fit right it with the plot.

What I liked most was how human the story felt even though it is about the paranormal. Mainly vamp and weres. I loved that there is a group of paranormal beings who don't have all of the answers to the things that are going on around them. That is what made it feel like it was about regular humans instead of paranormal beings.

M...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, read-in-2011

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I want to know how the other brothers end up with their happily ever after and how Allie fits into the new world order that the bad guys are trying to create. And yet, there were times while I was reading this book that I had no idea why things were happening. It was like the author decided to skip over a few scenes and let us fill in the blanks. I don't need every little thing spelled out for me while I'm reading but I do expect that e...more

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Jun 22, 2010 Melindeeloo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Caleb (Shadow Wranglers) - liked the beginning and the idea of vampire cowboys, but the back and forth dialog between the leads (she asserting her stubborness and independence and he attempting to assert his control to keep her safe) was tiring - I put this down half way through not intending to finish but I did end up picking it back up and the rest of the book is action packed - they run afoul of an evil vamp - but I don't even know how to sum up my reaction to the rest of the story, it wasn't...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Nicole-Pattypattz1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I give this 3.5 Stars.

I've read other books by this author and thought this would be a cool concept to read about. Whoever heard of Vampire Cowboys? I certainly hadn't, so being I like PNR, vampires, and Cowboys I jumped right in here.

Caleb is the oldest brother of the Johnson clan and the first to become a vampire, he turns his brothers as well, and the Johnson clan of vampires are wholly unique. I still wanted more information on the Sanctuary and the D'Nalley pack. I have alot of unanswered q...more I give this 3.5 Stars.

I've read other books by this author and thought this would be a cool concept to read about. Whoever heard of Vampire Cowboys? I certainly hadn't, so being I like PNR, vampires, and Cowboys I jumped right in here.

Caleb is the oldest brother of the Johnson clan and the first to become a vampire, he turns his brothers as well, and the Johnson clan of vampires are wholly unique. I still wanted more information on the Sanctuary and the D'Nalley pack. I have alot of unanswered questions about the Johnson clan, but realize the author is laying the ground work for other books in the series. Lots of foreshadowing of things to come, but I confess to wanted more.

Things start off good. There is alot of action-drama, and Caleb and his brothers all have very unusual powers. These aren't your typical vamps at all. Caleb can walk in the sun, Jared is a mind reader, Slade is the Einstein of the brothers, and lets not forget Jace...I like all their unique qualities, (I loved how the vampires in this story could shapeshift into other forms)...but then Caleb became so predictable, and some of his lines in the story became very repetitive. He is extremely possessive of Allie, and she gets annoyed with him at times over this character trait. I really liked his feral side when it came to romance and sexing with Allie.

Allie Sanders is very independent, witty, klutzy at times, an outspoken woman who is the object of Caleb's affections. She is highly in demand from the Sanctuary and most men want to possess her as well. I admire her strength, but she started getting whiney at times, and or contradictory, which got on my nerves. She and Caleb have a very passionate relationship and I love how the author bought out the raw sexiness between these two. (explict sexing to say the least.) They went through alot of angst to get there, and Sarah McCarty made you feel the burn and every mountain these two had to climb to get to the top.

Caleb is a bit old fashioned, and wanted to provide everything for Allie, and for that, I thought he was very sweet, but I tended to like his agressive or possessive side better. It just suited him more so. I think this is part of the problem for me. I tend to view vampires as being more aggressive, and Cowboys as being rough and tumble, but who can be more tender at the times so my mind was playing a bit of tug-of-war.

In any case I'm looking forward to reading Jared's story next and want to see the plot develope further. I have alot of questions, but I'm hoping the answers will be revealed with each new book.

(less)

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Oct 12, 2009 Felicia (Ferishia) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pr-vampire, series, cowboys, pr-shifter, pr-werewolf, 2009-non-amz-purchase, erotica, fav-author, loc-closet-xxl-tote, paperback

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 27, 2011 Becky Mrs Condit Reads Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

The first time I read Sarah McCarty’s Caleb, Book 1 of The Shadow Wranglers, I finished it not entirely clear what this book was about. It’s a very long book with really long conversations, lots of thrilling action, heroes who are big, sexy and very Alpha, and a complex plot about shape-shifting vampires and werewolves.
Caleb was published in 2009 and that’s when I first read it. After I finished I read a number of reviews trying to get some insight to the story that I may have missed and they w...more

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Sep 01, 2010 July rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: home-library

Caleb (Shadow Wranglers) book 1, Well lets see a book about cowboys who turned vampires who hang out with werewolves. That about is the back drop. Then comes along the Allie who is always trying to get Caleb to notice her. She runs a bakery and he even bring himself into the shop to eat her pastries at 5am. Um vampires don't eat. So he must really want to be around her. Then late one night she is attacked by a wolf and another wolf comes to her rescue but he is almost killed. But then she knows...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Christi Snow rated it 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
I did not dislike this book and with the things that I heard about it before reading it, I was worried that was going to be the case. There were things in this book that did really bother me though, but we will get to those in a while.

This is an interesting world that Sarah McCarty has come up with. The Johnson's are four brothers that are all vampires. Caleb was the first to turn and, in his thirst when he first changed, he converted all three of his brothers...something that they hav...more My Review:
I did not dislike this book and with the things that I heard about it before reading it, I was worried that was going to be the case. There were things in this book that did really bother me though, but we will get to those in a while.

This is an interesting world that Sarah McCarty has come up with. The Johnson's are four brothers that are all vampires. Caleb was the first to turn and, in his thirst when he first changed, he converted all three of his brothers...something that they have truly never forgiven him for. In the vampire world, the Johnson's are an entity unto themselves. They don't really mix with other vampires. They do interact with the were clans...they have a uneasy truce and cooperation with the McClaren's, but because of a mysterious issue between Jace and the other neighboring were clan, the D'Nally's are NOT friendly with the Johnson's.

I liked the way that this book jumped right into the action and the romance. There usually is a build-up between the characters, but Caleb & Allie only had a single interaction within the book before things hit the fan, although they had been dancing around each other for a month before the book started. The book reads really well. I didn't have any issues with it keeping my attention. There is quite a bit of action between the Johnson's, other vampires, and the were packs. Add to that, Allie is having some really interesting issues with her conversion, there is a lot of high-stress issues throughout this book, which makes for some interesting reading.

I did have a couple of real issues with this book though. I understand that Allie is stubborn and willful, but there were moments in this book, that she was simply ridiculous in fighting things purely for the sake of fighting anyone else's edicts. That whole visit to Sanctuary...seriously, WHY?!!? The other thing that really got to me...I truly hope that the Johnson's are wealthy because I don't think that there was a single instance where Caleb & Allie interacted where they didn't claw through each other's clothes. How do these two have ANYthing left to wear??

But there were other things about this book that I really liked and make me look forward to reading the rest of the series. I LOVE the four brothers. They are all so different with different abilities, but they are one unit in their solidarity against their enemies. I love the way that they absolutely stand together no matter what when someone comes against one of them. They are a great family unit. I really liked Derek too, the alpha of the McClaren pack. I loved what a smartass he was and how he is so upfront with the Johnson's. They are friends, but his loyalty is obviously to his pack. I loved it that he didn't think twice about harassing Caleb & Allie about his attraction to her. I cannot wait to read Jace's book. There is obviously something going on there with a female were and I am excited to hear what that story is.

Overall, I certainly don't regret my time spent reading this book and look forward to the next three in the series. I am just hoping that it only gets better from here because there is a good foundation here for an interesting series. It's been said before, but it bears repeating. Sexy vampire cowboys = a good thing!(less)

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Oct 28, 2009 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

The beginning was interesting and everything started off ok - then it just got sucky. I was expecting this to be really good because I really liked Running Wild. I really had to push myself to finish this one; it was like a chore.

The story was all over the place and suddenly things would be happening and there was no lead up or the lead up was totally different. And honestly - vampires can only do SOOOO many things, they can't do everything (shapeshift, be psychic, be fertile, go into the sun,...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Darcy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

I was excited to read this book as this author is one of my favorites, but I was disappointed it. Allie wasn't all that likable for me and I got very tired of her insecurity, which went on until the very end. I also didn't think the "cult" vampires got explained very well. So many times the brother's past was alluded to, but wasn't fully explained either. I did like the weres in the story, I want to know more about why Derek's clan is so friendly with them and I want to know more about the clan...more

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May 14, 2013 Morchella rated it 2 of 5 stars

The basic plot of the book was interesting, but the base upon which the story line flowed was pitted with too many minor inconsistencies. We never find out how Allie caught Caleb's interest, and Allie's behaviour throughout the book was frequently unexpected and at odds to what one would expect. I didn't like her contrary personality, even though that tension was what often carried the story.

Perhaps I read it too fast, perhaps I shouldn't have read the other poor reviews, but topographically, i...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Magen McMinimy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh thank goodness I’m done, this book dragged on. It felt like it took until ¾ of the way before this book actually picked up and once it did, it fizzled out quickly.

I truly wanted to like this book, the narration was the only reason I even finished it. Tavia Gilbert was amazing, as always, but the plot was lacking and the love was forced. Plus, Caleb constantly referring to Allie as “Allie Girl” made me want to reach out and punch him. She is not a freaking dog.

I also have to say that it felt l...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-romance-paranormal

Every morning like clockwork, rancher Caleb Johnson comes into Allie's bakery and orders coffee and danish. Every morning Allie tries to get Caleb's attention without results. Walking home one night after work, Allie is attacked by an animal and is rescued by a wolf who seems familiar to her. Taking the wolf with her, Allie heads to where the 'voice in her head' tells her - the Johnson Brother's Ranch. What comes after that makes for an exciting story.

Okay so I have no idea where I got Sarah McC...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-books

This was my first foray into the world of books by Sarah McCarty, and I'm sort of in the middle of the road at this point. The story was kind of lukewarm (minus,) the characters were really detailed and well done (plus,) the dialogue was almost painful to read at times, and not in an emotional way (big minus, ) but the happily ever after was genuine and sweet (plus.)

Caleb was a rancher who was turned to a vampire in the 1860s. He ended up turning his brothers as well, and they're still pissed ab...more This was my first foray into the world of books by Sarah McCarty, and I'm sort of in the middle of the road at this point. The story was kind of lukewarm (minus,) the characters were really detailed and well done (plus,) the dialogue was almost painful to read at times, and not in an emotional way (big minus, ) but the happily ever after was genuine and sweet (plus.)

Caleb was a rancher who was turned to a vampire in the 1860s. He ended up turning his brothers as well, and they're still pissed about it all these years later, but they have to understand- if there's going to be a series, there have to be other male leads. Nobody rides for free, after all. Caleb is definitely an alpha and he considers himself responsible for everything and everyone, a trait that came up over and over again throughout the course of the book.

Allie, on the other hand, is a thoroughly modern woman- she owns a bakery, handles her own business, is frankly not convinced that she can trust anyone except herself, and thinks a push up bra may be, to steal the words of Homer Simpson, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. When Caleb turns her in a fit of bloodlust, she has a tough time accepting it, which is understandable, but beyond her being stubborn and free-spirited we don't really get to know anything else about her. She's flighty and frankly kind of a danger to herself and the people around her; Caleb is kind of a Tarzan character who prowls around waiting to rescue Allie at least a thousand times per day.

The real kicker is, Allie's pregnant. This isn't supposed to be possible, but apparently it is.

The supporting cast of this book was interesting, I guess- Caleb has brothers who are going to be the stars of upcoming books in the series, Derek the werewolf is a friend of the brothers and sort of a go-between between them and a clan of werewolves that hate the brothers' guts, for reasons that are never fully explained. There's a really creepy villain, Vincent, who thinks he's going to carry Allie off. I admit to being more interested in what happens to the D'Nally weres than anyone else in the book.

There was a lot of clunky, stilted dialogue (Caleb and Allie love to talk, among other things) and a lot of fighting and actions scenes that were supposed to raise my pulse, I guess, but ended up reminding me of the Great Pie Fight from Blazing Saddles.

I'm so sad- I had heard such great things about this book but can't for the life of me see any of the referenced elements. I do have other books by this author so I'm sincerely hoping that those will be better.

Overall Grade: D

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About Sarah McCarty

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Sarah has traveled extensively throughout her life, living in other cultures, sometimes in areas where electricity was a concept awaiting fruition and a book was an extreme luxury. While she could easily adjust to the lack of electricity, living without the comfort of a good book was intolerable...more

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Quotes from Caleb

“Oh God.”

I told you not to look.”

No, you didn’t. You said ‘in a minute.’ That’s not the same thing at all.”

It is to me.”

She swallowed back her gorge. Her throat was tight in the aftermath. “I’m adding communication issues to the stuff we need to work on.”

I communicate just fine. The way I see it, your listening is off.” — 21 people liked it

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Caleb (Shadow Wranglers #1)

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