Recent free downloads on Amazon included three different books by L.B. Shively.  Two of these were from the Sweet Pony Dreams: Adventures of Lulu and Bug series for children.  The third book in the series focuses on Lulu and her beloved pony, Bug.

Bug is a stuffed toy that Lulu sleeps with at night.  Together they travel to the land of dreams and go on many adventures.  In this particular story, Lulu travels with Bug to do some camping.  She is rapt to find that around the campfire are two of her favourite people – her grandmother and grandfather.

Lulu awakens from her wonderful dream and tells her mother all about her adventures.  After breakfast she heads off to school.  The students have been promised a reward of going to the local pool once they’ve finished their tests.  Lulu takes Bug along with her and finds a kindred spirit on the bus.  Another young girl named Misty loves ponies, too.  The two girls quickly decide to be friends.

Whilst at the pool, Lulu spies local bully Willie and decides to ignore him.  That is easy until he gets a hold of Bug and holds her out over the water.  Lulu is livid.  A silly prank soon turns into a dangerous afternoon at the pool.

Sweet Pony Dreams: Adventures of Lulu and Bug #3

This is a lovely short read for the younger horse lover.  It focuses on the bond people can have with horses whilst also teaching about doing the right thing.  When Lulu could have gotten angry at Willie for being mean to her, she instead chose to act quickly to save him.  The story is a lovely one.  One issue I had was inconsistent tenses within the story.  It switched between past and present tense regularly.

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

Save

Recently I downloaded a copy of the Vetted Cowboy for free on Kindle.  It focuses on the lives of newly qualified veterinarian Riley Shaw and Jeremy Quinn, a reining champion establishing his training career.  The attraction is instant for Riley, in spite of Jeremy being difficult about such a young female treating his prize horse.  Still, she is quick to confide in her best friend Vanessa how much of jerk he was – both as a client and as a male in general when she was called out to his farm for a case of colic.

Jeremy is impressed by the vet’s spunk and makes it known he finds her attractive.  As a good looking, successful male in the horse industry, he has no qualms about his own appeal.  With a chance meeting outside of work, Jeremy finds the vet to be even more appealing – and concludes there may be a spark for her too.

With Congress looming on the horizon, both know they need to focus on their careers.  Jeremy has a prize gelding that he anticipates doing well, not to mention students he is training and other horses under his care.  Riley is a vet on call for the large horse event and knows she needs to stay focused and build her clientele.

Still, the two find themselves drawn together and can’t keep away.  It’s noticeable to everyone, including Jeremy’s overtly jealous ex-girlfriend.  When Nina finds a way to undermine the newly established couple, she takes it.  As someone who has no family, Riley is hesitant to let herself get attached to the attractive horse rider and trainer.  So when something occurs that has her questioning his intentions toward her, she concludes it is easier to shut down.

Jeremy is hurt that the young woman would take an ex-girlfriend’s word over his own.  When he confronts the vet about her actions, her acknowledgement that she was wrong isn’t enough.  Running on pride he shuts the door on their potential relationship.

It isn’t until Riley has a work related accident that Jeremy questions if he can manage without the vet he’s come to love.  The Vetted Cowboy is an entertaining romance.  It’s definitely a book for adults, with some overt descriptions when it comes to the physical side of their relationship.  The quarter horse world is touched on briefly although I would love a more in depth exploration of it!  The story ends well.

Author – C.L. Ullman
Fiction – adult
In my library – as an eBook it is.
Want it? Get it now on Amazon.

Save

Save