L.B. Shively has put together an imaginative short story for younger readers in Sea Ponies.  Young Olivia visits with her Grandmother Harriet who lives close to the seas.  When the two are alone, her grandmother says she has a surprise for her.  Olivia is curious and follows her to the ocean.

They spend such a long time out in the cold that Olivia questions just what they’re waiting for.  And then she sees them: ponies coming up out of the sea.  A mixture of greys, bays, browns, speckled ponies and roans.  There are even colours Olivia cannot name.

Olivia is so taken with the secret that her grandmother has shared with her, that she is eager to spend all of her time with the ponies.  She sneaks down to the beach alone and is delighted to find them again.  As soon as they are aware of her presence, the ponies run away.  Olivia is greatly disappointed.

A talk with her grandmother later informs Olivia that they aren’t always about.  It’s a question of patience – and also luck.  Olivia meets with them one last time in the story and is delighted when she finds herself amongst a circle of ponies.  One grey in particular nuzzles her hand and encourages her to climb astride.  Needing no further encouragement, the young girl hops on its back and has the ride of her life.

The secret of the Sea Ponies is one she will no doubt remember and carry with her through her life.  This story is delightfully imaginative and sure to capture the attention of young readers who love horses.

Author – L.B. Shively
Fiction – children’s
In my library – as an eBook it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

“Horses make a landscape look beautiful.” ― Alice Walker

In the second book in the Happy Hollow Stables Cozy Mystery Series titled Kill them with Kindness, Holly Bridges is struggling with a Houdini gelding named Ricochet and a vomiting cat called Rufus.  Having not yet lined up a vet for her riding stables, Holly heads into town with a very disgruntled cat, determined to find him a vet – and fix the vomiting problem.

Dr. Teal doesn’t come with high recommendations.  Apparently her people skills are a little lacking.  Holly doesn’t feel this is an issue, as long as she is an animal person.  Unfortunately it seems she isn’t much of an animal lover, either.  With some persistence from Holly the crotchety old woman agrees to put the cat on antibiotics.  And so ends Holly’s first visit with the local vet.

A few days later Holly and her assistant McKenzie are on a search for the escape artist gelding Ric.  Not in his stall, the two women branch out to search the farm for the cheeky gelding.  Holly is dismayed to find that the older riding horse is trotting down the road and out of sight over the hill.  Knowing that she won’t catch him on foot, she opts to follow him in the car.

Holly is relieved to find that when she gets to Ric, he has been securely apprehended by a man who was travelling in his car the other way.  As a surprising coincidence, Holly learns that he’s returned to town and is setting up a veterinary practice.  The good looking, friendly vet who obviously knows horses has much appeal to Holly.  She questions if she should hire him instead of Dr. Teal.  In spite of this potential new vet, Holly returns to Dr. Teal for a follow up appointment for Rufus.  After waiting a long time without service, she goes searching for the non apparent vet.  This results in Holly finding the older woman dead in one of the rooms at the practice.

Kill them with Kindness is another short follow on mystery from Dying to Win.  Holly finds herself questioning if the first suspect that comes to her mind could really be the murderer of Dr. Teal.  As she continues her work at the stables, she also works to solve the mystery of Dr. Teal’s murder.  The story ends well and is wrapped up quickly.

Author – Eve Craig
Fiction – adult
In my library – as an eBook it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.