Customer Reviews

Jared (The Shadow Wranglers)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

ok, It was between 4 and 5 stars, so lets say its 4.5.
When I read the first book Caleb it didnt leave me with much of an impression. It almost seemed that the guys were abusing the girl, but then again, Sarah Mccarty is in my must buy list so tho I didnt like Caleb I bought the second book Jared.

Jared is saving a female vampire from beeng raped and discoveres this enigma of a woman who is incredibly weak. She can't do any of the things that are normal for a vampire and Jared thinks she must be new to this. But she happens to be older then Jared is. She just has such a hard time feeding - its almost as if she is allergic to blood.
Seeng this weak woman Jared decides to take her under his wing and his protection against her wishes. Not only is Raisa dangerous to Jared and his family, but she is also on a mission and dont want to mix Jared into this. And, after getting to know Johnson brothers (Jared and his bros) she realizes she is sharing a deep dark moment with them and if they find out about it they may all turn against her.

I always love it when in a series not only the book itself develops, but also the background story gets more and more interesting. And I always get a kick out of getting a glimpse of the future story line. (I mean seeng who ends up together.) It makes me want the next book that much more.
I liked the characters that were introduced. Not only do I want to read stories about other brothers but I also want to read stories about werevolves. I do hope this series is longer then 4 books about 4 brothers.

Oh and you dont have to read Caleb first to understand what takes place in Jared. Thats a plus.

Although this book is set today, it has the feel of a western. Jared is a rancher (and a vampire) who is battling a group of scientists who experiment on vampires and werewolves, etc. We never see them directly, although we are told briefly and (thankfully) vaguely what they do. "Jared" begins with his sensing a woman in danger of rape by two or three men and, of course, he comes to her rescue. If you've read McCarty's other books, you know that she focuses a lot on the sexuality between the couple. Usually, almost the entire book is about the couple going through various sexual acts, with the hero as extremely dominant. "Jared" is smoother than that and although the romance is the focus of most of the book, there are only about three "sex" scenes in the book. If you want a romance with a very protective man who cannot figure out whether to trust the woman who has one of the softest hearts of any heroine I've read, this is the excellent book for you. I loved it. The only criticism I have is McCarty's penchant for throwing in the need, once again, as she did in her "Promise" books, of another woman who needs rescuing. I wish she wouldn't do this; she doesn't need to string her readers along, and because I think she loses interest in the series, often, the situation doesn't get resolved. Frankly, I didn't have much invested with this other woman, so although the attempt to rescue her is suspenseful, my focus was on the relationship between Jared and Raisa.

In book two of Sarah McCarty's SHADOW WRANGLERS series, readers will once again meet Jared Johnson, a cowboy and vampire rolled up into one hot package, and the woman he finds and can't seem to stop wanting, Raisa.

Raisa enjoys her solitude and tries to keep to herself so as not to draw the attention of others but she finds herself in a bit of a bind. Surrounded on all sides by rogue vampires intent on harming her, she knows that she is more than likely going to become a meal for these foul men. Before the vamps can attack, salvation comes in the form of Jared Johnson. He is tall, hard, and every inch a vampire willing to kill. Raisa can resist the way he makes her feel. Or so she thinks. The longer she is with him the more she wants to stay, which is not good because the more she is around Jared, the more she wants to continue to accept his protection. This puts Raisa in a difficult situation. Of course, she is the one with the secret...

Jared can't help but feel protective towards Raisa. After all, female vampires are rare and need to be kept safe at all costs. Of course, this is what Jared keeps telling himself over and over. Now, if only he could figure out what she isn't telling him but it is too late to stop his feelings - this smart and stubborn female vampire is under Jared's skin and in his blood.

Raisa's character was smart and beautiful with a touch of toughness. Her weakness is something that she has lived with and the secrets she carries had me frantically reading trying to find out what was going to go down. Jared made me shiver in anticipation of his plans for Raisa. He wanted her with every single molecule of his body and the loves scenes were heady and sensuous and written in true Sarah McCarty style. JARED is a worthy second installment to this fabulous new series - quite luckily, readers do not need to read CALEB to begin and enjoy this enticing tale. Paranormal lovers and vampire lovers alike will rush to find and read Jared. Ms. McCarty's writing ability shines with this powerful romance.

Natalie S.

Second in her Shadow Wranglers series, Jared shows that Sarah McCarty is an author you want to read. Even though Jared continues the storyline we first read about in Caleb, Jared is a completely different story so the reader is treated to a unique new book with fresh ideas. I loved how she foreshadows the third book without detracting from this one. At times I found myself not liking Jared too much and then he would turn around and be the alpha hero I wanted him to be. His love and devotion to his brothers has always been at the forefront of his thinking and while I liked that about him, I was amused at how he had to change his attitude to account for Raisa. Raisa was a conflicting personality to me. She was a very strong character with integrity, determination and a sweet disposition but physically weak -- definitely not your typical vampire heroine. McCarty definitely pushes the imagination with the deviousness of the vampires from Sanctuary.

I couldn't stop reading for wanting to find out how Raisa could be saved. Jared had some humor in how the siblings and heir friends interacted but underneath was still that strong bond between all of them. I love how all the heroes have this strong core of right and wrong. They devote themselves to protecting the females and the females try to figure out how to circumvent their overbearing protectiveness. Chauvinistic but it works with this series and I look forward to more books from this author. Jared will suck you in with its captivating characters, dramatic plot, and tempting love scenes! - Lisa Freeman

Okay, how do you classify a vampire cowboy western with a contemporary setting [that you see very little of] and includes werewolves and evil supernatural scientists set to take over the world and not caring how many people they destroy on the way? If you figure it out, let me know.

Enjoyable read with strong similarities to her Hell's Eight books and containing many of the same themes: protection of women, family, honor... and stubbornness raised to the level of art.

Warning - there is a cliff hanger ending. Jared and Raisa's story is resolved but you do not know how the climactic rescue scene turns out. This is bad enough but I don't think the sequel is even written...

I haven't read Caleb [but certainly plan to] but order didn't seem wildly important.

Shadow Wranglers
1. Caleb (2009)
2. Jared (2010)

Jared Johnson smells a weak vampire female trapped by two Sanctuary male vampires on Renegade land. He thinks of the vampire civil war six months old as Sanctuary tries to find female breeders. Jared ignores the woman and kills both males. She is upset with him for not showing them mercy. As Jared and Raisa Slovenski argue, they flee enemy vampires. He finds her blood that she needs, but she says no as the human couple are a good pair ; he wonders how she survived alone.

They reach the D'Nally werewolf ranch where the weres are attracted to Raisa. The alpha Ian asks why she is so weak and offers her blood; she says it is wrong and rejects his offer. She faints and is dying from a lack of blood. Jared offers his blood and she says this is right and takes some. For the first in her three centuries as a vampire she does not have an allergic reaction to blood. Jared tells her she is his "Sunbeam". She says she liked being turned while he hated it. Her cousin brought her to America to work as a whore; but she refused so was beaten to near death before the conversion. He says some bitch converted his brother who changed him. As they fall in love with the enemy in pursuit, their respective nineteenth century pasts interfere with their current lives.

The lead couple is a super pairing and the support cast is extremely well drawn. The story line is fun to follow as the lead couple fall in love while dodging the enemy and each other with a great twist re their relationship. Although a bit more back story on the Shadow Wranglers vampire schism would help newcomers in understanding, rural romantic fantasy fans will fully relish Jared's tale and seek out his brother, Caleb's entry.

Harriet Klausner

This author is on my "buy list" but her last book, Caleb, just did not cut it for me. I was disappointed and really did not know if I would buy "Jared", the second in the series. So I read all the prior reviews and then made the decision to buy. I am so glad I did. This was vintage McCarty that I love to read. This book was a great read and fans of McCarty will like this book. Thanks everyone for your reviews.

I didn't think I'd ever get done with this book. No, it wasn't long and boring - I just couldn't keep my eyes off the front cover. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice body there, Jared! As for the story, I thought it was fantastic. I enjoyed the first book in the series (Caleb), but this one was much better. I think it was the difference in the heroines. I totally loved Raisa. Though she was physically weak (great story behind that), she was such a strong individual. And Jared was one alpha hunk of vamp cowboy. He wasn't likable in the first book, but apparently we just needed to get to know him. There were some great revelations in this story, plus very interesting secondary characters. I hope McCarty's got lots more stories for us.

I really like these characters....the story was fun and the although Sarah McCarty's males are a little more dominant than Monica McCarty's males...I always look forward to her next book. She was one of the first romance writers that I ever read....what an author to start with.

I loved it. I really like Sarah McCarty's Shadow wranglers. I would recommend it. I cant wait for the next one.