Review: Caleb by Sarah McCarty



Caleb (goodreads.com)

By: Sarah McCarty (homepage)

Paperback, 392 pages

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

ISBN13: 9780425230572

Source: Purchased for self

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series : Shadow Wranglers #1

Stars: 2

Flames: 2

                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.