A futuristic western mixed in with shifters makes for an exciting story.

Carter Bly just buried his father, and now he’s on the verge of losing everything he owns due to his sister’s bad choice of a husband. He needs to get his cattle to town and get top dollar before his brother-in-law beats him to it. If he’s not successful, he won’t make enough money to keep his home. He’ll need help to do it, and he gets it from the shifter community. Rani is the son of the new chief of the local shifter tribe. He’s trying to prove that he can eventually lead his tribe by helping Carter in return for some cattle. The two form a tentative friendship until trouble strikes.

The story takes place in the future when the world is filled with shifter communities, and a very unstable relationship exists between most shifters and full humans. Although it wasn’t heavy in the romance department, it was an interesting and unique tale. I really enjoyed the well-written action scenes. At one point, I felt like I was in the canyon with Carter and Rani fighting off snakes and floods. I liked both of the characters, although I wish I would have gotten to know Rani better. Based on how well he took care of Carter when he needed help, we knew he was a caring person. Carter was strong and passionate, and I was rooting for him to be successful.

The conversations between Carter and Rani were pretty adorable. I liked Keena and Gertrude, who worked on the ranch before Carter was born and acted as a second set of parents to Carter. They added a nice element to the story and gave Carter a stronger reason to go through the danger of traveling with his cattle.

A fun adventure with cowboys, shifters, love, and friendship.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

BLURB

With his father barely in the ground and his sister married to a scheming bastard, Carter is on the verge of losing the family ranch. His only chance at holding onto his inheritance is to get his cattle to market before his brother-in-law. That means braving Mason Canyon, which on top of being snake-infested and easily flooded, is also shifter territory. Most clans would just as soon shoot humans as look at them.

His only hope of making it is to trust the shifter who’s agreed to help him, and pray that Rani won’t double-cross him. If Carter doesn’t go he loses everything, and if he doesn’t make it there his family is as good as dead.