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.
