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)

COWBOY VAMPIRES OR VAMPIRE COWBOYS?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If that friend liked books about vampires and/or books about domineering cowboys, then yes.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I think I would make the vampires, who have been around for at least 100 years, a little more accepting of a 21st century woman. They've welcomed the internet, why not allow a woman to make her own decisions?

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think Tavia brought the emotions to the fore with her narration.

Do you think Caleb needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I'm sure there are or will be books for each of the Anderson brothers.

Fab beginning to a series

True love and romance, with a bit of humor added. Caleb the novel was all that but, just a little bit more. The story runs smoothly and the depth of the characters delighted me.I have stayed away from most vampire books, because the S and M. aspects of the stories. This book also has the sex in it, but it seems to "me" it is more within the realms of a relationship development then how many you can do. For me it was easier to get through and was not as degrading.

This vampire story is a different angle then most vampire tales. This story is about the human aspects of a vampire, the continuation of family and friend relationship, desires of the heart, fears, insecurities, etc, it totally pulled me in and left me wanting the next story, not many books are like that. Although there are battles and weir wolfs with blood and gore. This book is well developed and a fun listen.

Tavia Gilbert almost ruined this book for me. Her character reading for Allie sounded more like a spoiled brat trying to be a winey, tough girl, rather than a adult woman knowing her own mind, and trying to go get it.

Caleb is a story that can stand alone, but has a cliffhanger ended letting the listener know that there is more to come. It was a great listen and I for one recommend the book and look forward to the series.

cowboy vampires?

Allie and Caleb are dancing around their attraction until she is attacked on her way home. Then they keep coming back to protect each other; and Allie does everything she can to get Caleb home. Caleb’s brothers force her to help him recover - by feeding him her blood - OMG! He’s a vampire!? And Caleb needs to save her back by feeding her his blood.
This is where McCarty starts to lose me when there’s a lot of talking and an unusual complication for a female vampire. Then walking into the enemy compound...?
Gilbert does a good job of narration.

I loved it!!

..didnt know what to expect after reading some of the poor reviews ..but loving the Hell's Eight series so much I had to start this series ..so Happy ...I enjoyed it beginning to end!!! ..cant wait to start book 2. ..cant believe there was bad reviews? loved it!!!

Slow beginning but narration is great

The story didn't hold my attention very well until about the halfway point. I loved the narration though. The voices were distinct and clear.
I didn't much care for Ally's character of always being obstinate. It took away from the story a little bit with her always fighting what she is told.
I will listen to the next one since I now know what is going on and wonder what will happen between the vamps and werewolves. I am also curious about Jared.

A Waist Of Time!

I didn't even get halfway through this, just past her waking up after being bitten. However, I already can't stand any more.

Well in a way she still wins

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

Well in this way she wins, because I now want to know what goes on with the other brothers. I am not fond of the narrator's male character voice. I can only hope she worked on it and will sound better in the other books in the series. I do enjoy the story, that is why I will keep listening,possibly or I might save myself from it and read the book.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the main character, no not the female the male ha. Caleb is an awesome character. The female on the other hand boy oh boy, she come off as scatterbrained, and wishy washy. She cannot seem to make up her mind about him, or about her life. She acts like she would die without him in one sentence, and then pushes him away the next. She literally goes from loving him one moment to hating him the very next second...I mean come on an eternity of that? Yuck.

Did Tavia Gilbert do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I do not believe that she did. Well there were clear differences at some point and then the next I did not know which character was speaking. Her male voice is just shy of atrocious, only saved by the story line which I tried to keep my focus on.

Do you think Caleb needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I do! He is a fantastic character.

Any additional comments?

Once again, now I want to know what is going to happen however, I will have to painstakingly try to ignore her attempts of narration on certain characters.

Sarah McCarty always make me want more...

I have read all the the other books from Sarah McCarty, but I don't know why I passed this series by...
Well, I begun to read it now and I don't want to stop it...
I love the Hell's Eight series and the Promises series (she stopped this one and never was released in audio).
You can feel that she gets stuck sometimes in nonsense, but overall is great paranormal/erotica/historical/romance.
It is fun!

Strong, Sexy,HOT,HOT,HOT!!

I've been reading vampire genre for quite a while, but this was such a joy. The entire point of view of this story was different and spellbinding. I truly enjoyed it from beginning to end. The characters were constant and well written. Can't wait to hear the entire series. I think the narrator did an excellent job and made it easy to keep up with who was speaking and what was going on. Well worth the time.

I’m not sure about this series yet!

This series almost seems like a copy of the Huntress series. It has the same pace and intermittent humor and cadence. Perhaps it is because both series share the same narrator, but I think it’s more than that.
Even though it has the same flavor of the Huntress series, it doesn’t have the same impact. I plan to try book two before I make my final decision.
-V from Kansas