Saturday, September 26, 2009

Caleb-Sarah McCarty

Caleb
Sarah McCarty
Berkley, Oct 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425230572

In Dunnesville, Montana Allie the bakery owner has the hots for rancher Caleb Johnson. Every morning, very early, he is her first customer, but though he is nice and friendly to her he seems to ignore her efforts to even get his eyebrow raised let alone a more interesting lower body part. She has tried all sorts of seductive ruses from her body to her food to her coffee, but he seems immune to her desire and charm.

After a long day on her feet wearing a special bra that hurt physically and mentally failed to arouse her unrequited lover, Allie heads home when she hears a growl. Believing flight would not work she growls back to stay away or else as she holds her keys ready to poke out the potential assailant’s eyes. When instead of your garden variety mugger, a wolf attacks her she kicks at its anatomy. However, as a voice in her head shouts run, she recognizes the “sounds” as that of Caleb, but her rescuer is a shapeshifting vampire. Caleb saves her from a rival werewolf pack, but knows his life mate whom he hid his deep regard for will forever live in the shadowy world he and his siblings reside in.

The first Shadow Wranglers romantic rustic ranch fantasy is a terrific thriller that grips the audience even before the assault as Allie’s desire adds a human element to the mix. The story line is fast-paced and the Big Sky Country seems an ideal locale for howling in heat vampiric werewolves (must be one hell of a bite). Allie makes the tale work as she learns seducing a man may be easy, but loving a vampire-werewolf takes an extraordinary female.

Harriet Klausner

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