Wicked Cowboy Wolf

A melodramatic choice between love and revenge is the crux of the predictable third paranormal western in Ballenger’s Seven Range Shifters series (after Cowboy in Wolf’s Clothing). At 15, wolf shifter Jared Black was falsely accused of murder and exiled from the Grey Wolf Pack. Twenty years later, Jared is now known among shifters as the mysterious vigilante Rogue. Everyone in the Grey Wolf Pack believes Jared is dead, including his first love, Maeve, the sister of Grey Wolf’s pack leader. When Maeve is targeted by vampires, Rogue saves her and convinces her to join him at his hideout. Maeve doesn’t recognize Jared and agrees to work with him to fight the vampires. Jared, meanwhile, is still in love with Maeve, yet knows his secret plan to get revenge against the Grey Wolf Pack will break her heart, so he tries to keep her at arm’s length. A slow start gives way to a gratifying, action-packed second half, but abounding clichés will have some readers rolling their eyes. It’s hard to get invested in this tortured romance. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, the Seymour Agency. (Feb.)