Caleb

Shadow Wranglers, Book 1

By: Sarah McCarty

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The loss of control. The fear of desire. Allie always thought that mysteriously sexy rancher Caleb Johnson wanted her as much as she wanted him. But since he never acted on it, she was ready to admit defeat. Until the night she was attacked by a vicious wolf, only to be rescued by another. In the triumphant, bloodied male, there was something Allie recognized - the baritone growl, the mesmerizing eyes, the inexplicable animal attraction. Her savior was Caleb.

A rogue vampire living with his three equally rogue brothers and the McClaren werewolf pack, Caleb never wanted to bring the woman he secretly desired into his dark and dangerous world. But when she's targeted by his enemies, his only choice is to protect her. But how can someone as alive, as vulnerable, as human as Allie survive in the shadows with him?

©2009 Sarah McCarty (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A fast-paced story with multifaceted characters, scorching sex, deadpan humor and a spunky heroine who's a perfect match for her alpha hero." ( Romantic Times)

WOW AWESOME STORY

Where does Caleb rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK I HAVE LISTENED TO IT TWICE. THE AUTHOR DRAWS YOU END UNTIL YOU WANT MORE.

Who was your favorite character and why?

CALEB AND ALLIE ARE MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS. CALEB HAS A SEXY CARING SENSITVE SIDE AND ALLIE HAS A 2012 INDEPENDANT WOMEN ATTITUDE (WHATEVER IT TAKES, I CAN DO IT AND YOU BETTER NOT TELL ME I CAN'T)

Great combination of Paranormal and "Romance" !!!!

This book was just a fun read or more like listen. I loved the story, the characters, and the Narrator. I think the story had everything; Action pack fights, good vs evil, love, sexy men (which I think is the most important part), a strong will female lead, cheek warming sex scenes, and a different view of vampires and werewolves.

The author also cleverly made it feel more like a western in modern day. Which I really enjoyed. The plot keep me entertained from begining to end. I love how the story unfolded. Not like other books I have read and listen to, they did not give all the information in the first few chapters. With this book you get a new piece of the plot in almost each chapter. It gave you an idea on how the not only the book will go but the series. Yes they is part of a series....so if you dont want another series this is not the book for you. Because once you finish this one you will want to know what will happen to the other brothers.

So if you like a female who can hold her own against macho man, prrrrring loves scenes, mind involving story....you should get this book. I hope you agree ;)

Finally the Wrangler Series

I have been waiting for the Wrangler Series and Audible came through!! Love the story and narrator fantastic. Can't wait for the other stories in the series

I didn't hate it.

Wow, I just read the other reviews and have to say "Harsh!' This series( I've read all 4 books and this is the first I've listened to) isn't as hot and kinky as Hell's Eight- not much is(unfortunately)- but this is the book that lays a foundation for the others so you know why who is doing what. It is an odd read if you consider that this is a cowboy/vampire book. The brothers were transformed when they were cowboys and because they have had to segregate themselves from society for everyone's protection they didn't change their attitude much. So you get your Vampire with a Texas drawl, old time honor and manners their momma slapped into them. Do they raise cattle? Who knows? It's not written like they are all hat and no cattle so don't care. Along the way, they have made alliances with a werewolf pack and have picked up the ability to were. Yes, that may be pushing the envelope :) The book I like best of this series is Slade- you get your cowboy yumminess, vampire super powers and super smart sexiness with a great heroine.

Tavia Gilbert is a wonderful narrator and always brings her A game whatever she reads. Thanks Tavia!

Would I spend a credit on this book? Perhaps I'd think about it- but definitely would buy it if it was on sale at the $9.69 price that occasionally comes up. There are worse reads out there, I've got a couple.

Not Bad

This book was just ok for me. I caught myself wondering off a few times and having to rewind thinking I might have missed something. The story was not bad but nothing special. Narration was great but I really enjoy Tavia Gilbert so maybe bias. It had a unique twist with vampire cowboys/shifters and werewolves. I liked Caleb and Allie together although there were no surprises to their story. (Well maybe a small one) I think there is potential for future books so I will continue with this series and hope there are a few more surprises to come. I liked that Allie was not a pathetic mouse and gave as good as she got. I enjoyed her taunts about Caleb being an “1860 man”. I did not understand how she could so easily give up her entire life and family and her business and not have any remorse. I think if the author did not want to pursue this part of the story, they should have made her an only child. I also struggled with the whole mental manipulation part. I've read books like that before and liked them. This one was just a bit too vague on what was happening for my taste. They would just start talking about bright spots and connections and pathways. You did not really understand what was going on or at least I did not get it. As I said there is potential to get better and reviews show that the other books do get better so I will keep on listening. I got the third book on sale so that is what sparked me to start the series.

Refreshing Vamps and Weres!

Would you listen to Caleb again? Why?

No...but I'm listening to everything in the book series!

What other book might you compare Caleb to and why?

It was not very powerful as a first in the series, but McCarty can really spin a tale. Just as good as the Lora Leigh "Breed" series

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the opening. It was hard to believe Alli was going to be the Female lead...she is so normal and sarcastic. Push-up bra!?! We've all done something stupid like that to impress a guy! But Alli comes out swinging and hard-core...love her!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yup, cuz I wanted to get to the next one

Any additional comments?

I love this narrator. Her male voices sound like men, her female voices sound like different women. She is brilliant. I'll be looking for more books we reads.

This was absolute torcher!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

no one should listen to this book.

What could Sarah McCarty have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

frankly there was so much wrong, i was not salvageable at anytime. i wish she had scrapped it.

Have you listened to any of Tavia Gilbert’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

i have never listened to her before but i did enjoy her voice and performance but the story itself was so awful there was nothing she could do to make it better.

Any additional comments?

This was sadly my first Sarah Mccarty book. I read such great reviews on amazon for some of her other books. I wish i had checked out the reviews for this one. I was shocked anyone on audible gave this a 5 star. Nothing was likable about it to me, exccept maybe the narrator, she was good i liked her voice and she performed it well but the story was so awful there was really nothing she could do for it. My god the last half of this book was like extracting teeth to get through it. I honestly thought if I could just finish it then maybe the next books in the series would be better. I can say the first quarter of the book was ok, i figured i would grow to like the characters at least a little. Alli had potential but in the end they both were just...there just was such a lack of love and personality for caleb, he was not even likable to me. lust yes but to be honest even the love scenes were just a snoose and seemed unfinished, i assume i felt this because i never did get to the point where i liked the 2 main characters. Also, the author used the word talon or talons i swear hundreds of times in this book more often than the word THE or SHE...god it was just torture.

The author never really explained anything, why the vampires turn into wolves, where the loyalty from the pack comes from... and frankly, to me a cowboy is some one who runs cattle, grows crops, or breeds horses...do these men even do any of that? i dont remember that even being explained. it seems to me the only qualifying thing allowing her to call them cowboys is that they wear cowboy hats and live on a

Boring No story no plot

Would you try another book from Sarah McCarty and/or Tavia Gilbert?

NO

What could Sarah McCarty have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Write about something besides vampires haveing sex

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Tavia Gilbert?

Amanda Ronconi

What character would you cut from Caleb?

The characters are OK it is just the story

Any additional comments?

Waste of money and time.

Wasted a credit!

Usually there is a story or plot along with some bedroom activities, just to add a little more exotic interest. But, nearing the end of the first half of the book, I realized there is an abundance of bedroom gymnastics, but a total lack of interesting plot or even an interesting character. I won't be finishing this one.

The narrator tries to do a good job with her part, but it's not her fault that there is nothing but junk to read.

Seen this somewhere before!?

I love Sarah McCarty stories like Caine's reckoning, ( my favorite I recommend this series)Sam's Creed #2 and Tucker's claim. This is the Hell's Eight Series about sexy Texas rangers. Love all 3 books. This story line is about a girl , vampires and a family of wolves. Where have we heard this before. Allie's character was supposed to be quick witted and sexy, but she just came off silly to me. There were some good love scene's, but I kept trying to compare this book with the Twilight series and it does not measure up at all.