Customer Reviews

To Tame A Wolf (Historical Werewolf Series, Book 5)

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

 

 

In 1881 Cochise County, Arizona Territory widow Tally "Tal" Bernard enters Tombstone dressed like a boy in search of her missing brother, Andre; He left their ranch to purchase livestock, but should have returned a few days ago. She learns that her sibling gambled away their money and fled into the wilderness. Simeon "Sim" Kavanaugh offers to help the lad find her brother for a small fee; reluctantly Tal accepts.

Sim knows from the start that his employer is a female in disguise, but says nothing to her. Instead he struggles with restraining his attraction to Tal as he believes a mortal could never accept his half-breed heritage. Still when danger confronts Tal who he knows is his soulmate, Sim must free the beast to save her, but expects to pay the price once she learns his secret and rejects his werewolf side.

TO TAME A WOLF is a superb action-packed paranormal historical romance that never slows down once the "male" Tal enters Tombstone until the finale when Sim risks his life and his love by getting with his werewolf side to attempt to keep her safe. The lead couple comes across as genuine, which enables the audience to believe in the supernatural in a western setting. Susan Krinard's fans will howl (full moon or not) with her latest wolf romance.

Harriet Klausner

While I like Susan Krinard, I'm not one of her most devoted fans. I always find her stories lacking something. However, I think this entry in the series is one of her better ones. While the question of how Tomas never realized that Sim was a werewolf is never answered, Sim is a strong hero, having evolved in Tomas' book from a little more than a bitter bully. Tally is just as flawed in the world's eyes, and their romance is a clarion call for all imperfect people. The secondary romance and all the twists and turns add to the story's interest and complexity. Some things are too clear-cut -- even society's dismissal of Tally -- and some are smoothed over -- like Tally's response to the truth of her brother's betrayal. Such things drop the book under a five-star rating. Nevertheless, the story and the characters keep the reader's attention. This is a good one to read.

Krinard does a good job of writing a formulaic western. It runs a bit too long, has way too much fluff in it's 376 page plot arc and the romance is underdeveloped, but it's not the worst I've read.

The hero's lycan nature doesn't come out until well into the book, and causes all sorts of plot weakness. It's almost as if Krinard wrote the above mentioned formulaic western, and then was told it would sell better as a paranormal and went back to add in the hero being a werewolf.

This is the first Krinard I've read, so it could just be her style, but as I said before, it creates problems for her plot. One, right off the bat. If his father's family were truly werewolves, they would have been able to smell that he was one of them. And yet they beat him close to death and turn him out. At the very least they would have told him to come back when he could prove it. I just wasn't buying that bit.

Also, as other reviewers have mentioned, everyone in the story, takes it in complete stride when the hero reveals himself as a wolf. They shrug it off as no big deal. I doubt that 1800s Americans would behave that way.

She also takes liberties with werewolf cannon, having her hero be adept at cattle ranching. Prey animals aren't usually calm around predators.

Aside from the werewolf problems, I didn't appreciate the heroine's past. I don't mind a heroine who isn't a virgin, but in this novel Krinard takes it a bit far.

This story was hard for me to push through and I probably won't try another Krinard story.

I expect nothing but greatness from Susan Krinard and her werewolf series and that is what I always receive. Her main characters are alive, believable, sensitive, strong and made for each other. Their trials and tribulations, secrets and revelations are drawn out through the story adding excitement tension and anticipation. I never once questioned any part of the plot and always felt compassion for the Sim and Tally. I was also never disappointed in the twists and turns, because these two had to forgive themselves before they could accept love. I couldn't wait for the ending and hated to finish the story and that's what makes Ms. Krinard's novels so great and as usual I was not disappointed.