Not too long ago I was contacted by author Linda Ballou about reading Embrace of the Wild for review. Now I’m always up for reading another horse book! And this is especially so when I’ve enjoyed previous works by the requesting author.

You can check out my review of The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon, also by Linda Ballou.

I just loved the look of the cover of Embrace of the Wild as soon as I saw it! And it depicts well, the focus of this story: travelling and seeing the sights of nature on horseback. But it goes so much deeper than that.

Isabella Bird is a woman that some may argue is past her prime. At an age when she should be married and raising children – as was expected in society – she is instead travelling away from the United Kingdom to a drier climate. Isabella has suffered from a spinal issue from a young age and spent most of her life in pain.

Embrace of the Wild by Linda Ballou

It isn’t until she is out exploring the island of Hawaii and forced to ride astride – instead of side saddle – that Isabella discovers a new sense of freedom. Free from pain and free to ride away from prejudices set upon her.

Embrace of the Wild beautifully explores the travels in the middle of Isabella’s life. Hawaii, horse riding, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains all feature heavily. It was a delight to read the descriptions that Linda provided of Isabella’s travels, the people she met and interacted with, the various horses that she rode and the sights she got to see.

Lots of rain, rivers and waterfalls, visiting a volcano. These are beautifully described alongside Isabella’s consistent travel on horseback to visit her various destinations. I really enjoyed her Hawaii trip, but just as much loved learning about Jim Nugent, who she was to meet later in the Rocky Mountains.

Embrace of the Wild is wonderfully descriptive, from outlining the weather that Isabella encountered, to the ease – or difficulty – of the mounts she rode, to the flowers and animals that were seen along the way and finally to the perilous climbs up a volcano and to the top of a mountain to see God’s glorious creation.

Embrace of the Wild features horses heavily and beautifully provides a story of a woman well known for her adventures back in the 1800s.

Author: Linda Ballou
Historical Fiction – based on the life of Isabella Bird
In My Library? As an ebook it is!

Cowgirl and the Ghost Horse continues on in the cowgirl series by Rae Rankin. You can read my review of Cowgirl Lessons from earlier this year. In this book for early grade readers, young horse fans learn about a ghost horse legend.

With rhyming paragraphs and beautiful illustrations on each page, the young cowgirl talks of her adventures.

Through a deep cave, down a forest trail and even across a river on a log. For each place where the cowgirl seeks out the ghost horse, the reader is able to read about it in rhyming sentences.

Eventually the young cowgirl finds an old barn and searches out the elusive ghost horse.

Cowgirl and the Ghost Horse by Rae Rankin

I read a copy of this short story at Halloween time. It was a very fitting horse-related read, with a ghost focus. For young readers who enjoy horses, this book should take their fancy!

Added bonuses are the lovely illustrations that accompany the words, and the rhyming phrases throughout the story.

Author: Rae Rankin
Fiction – children’s
In My Library? Yes, on my Kindle library it is.

We’re on the tail end of November and that means that Christmas may appear for many, as just around the corner! As a horse book author myself, I am pleased to be able to share with you a horse book Christmas gift guide!

If you have a middle grade horse lover in your life, then I encourage you to check out the Horse Books Holiday Gift Giving Guide for 2023.

Horse book author Rae Rankin has kindly put this together and I’m pleased to have two books featured in it! Other authors include:

• Rae Rankin
• Kathy Simmers
• K.J. Clark
• Laurie Salisbury
• Ellen F. Feld
• Maria Langella Sorgie and many more.

In this 28 page gift guide, you can review many books across varying authors. They are mainly aimed at middle grade readers, but you will find some for the younger reader and some for the older reader!

Whether Kindle or paperback, there are a number of options to choose from. You can also learn a little about some of the featured authors. You can check it out online here: https://raerankin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023GiftGuide4-1.pdf

Enjoy! And why not get all your (horse) Christmas shopping sorted over the next week or two with this guide? 🙂