I saw the New Year in whilst on a family holiday, in hospital with our 16 month old as he battled a fever and infection.  It allowed opportunity to read and I was pleased to be able to sink into Luck of the Draw.

Josephine is a focused barrel racer.  Not interested in being restricted at home, she denies herself the benefits of family finances due to the fact that she’s pursuing her passion.  Josephine is good and she has what it takes to win and earn the purses that will allow her to keep pursuing her passion.  She could succeed – as long as she doesn’t let herself get distracted.

Silas enjoys life on the rodeo circuit, riding bulls for a living.  He’s been steadily putting away and can’t wait to purchase some land and develop stock for rodeos.  After all, he can’t ride bulls his whole life and it’d be nice to settle down.

Josephine isn’t like the other buckle bunnies on the circuit and Silas is drawn to her.  She doesn’t take the rubbish that the men throw her way and definitely isn’t easy.  As he discovers that he’s not the only interested party, it becomes harder to stay away – even though she insists she isn’t looking for a fling or a long term relationship.

As things start to look up for the pair, rodeo riders start getting hurt.  Josephine is suspicious that someone is doing something purposely to hurt the bull riders.  As she and Silas investigate, things turn ugly and the two have to question what they really want in life.

Throw in a curve ball with a family problem for Josephine and kicking cans doesn’t appear to be a possibility any more.  Has she lost her chance to pursue a dream and Silas lost his heart to a woman who denied she was ever looking to acquire it?  Luck of the Draw is a horse filled, entertaining romance.  It’s a story written for adults and would appeal to the mature aged reader who appreciates a good horse novel.

Author: Vicki Tharp
Fiction – adult
In My Library? Definitely as an eBook!

I was rapt to be asked if I would be interested in reading another Riverdale release from Amanda Wills.  A Riverdale Christmas explores the end of the year for Poppy. Life is busy as she works to balance school, her Duke of Edinburgh project, getting onto the school show jumping team and of course looking after her Connemara pony, Cloud.

Poppy is frustrated that she doesn’t get along with her PE teacher at school.  She is also devastated to find that the same teacher is suddenly overseeing her D of E project. On top of this she’s being discouraged from doing something with horses.

Poppy struggles to find a project that is fitting to what she needs to do.  In desperation she volunteers to help Instagram celebrity Gaz Winters with a Christmas charity project he has planned for many disadvantaged children.  In time, it seems that this may allow her to do something horsey after all.  And this may be just the distraction that Poppy needs. This is especially appealing as she continues to battle with a personality clash with her PE teacher.

A Riverdale Christmas

A Riverdale Christmas shows young Poppy McKeever stepping out of her comfort zone and learning that things aren’t always as they seem.  She does a lot of growing up over a short period of time and the story plays out beautifully.  With horses as the main focus, it also covers adventure, bullying, charity and the importance of family.  Highly recommended.

Author: Amanda Wills
Fiction – teen
In My Library? As an eBook!

I was approached about reading this new release from Katherine Kaye and agreed to read a copy for review.  I anticipated an electronic copy but was pleased when they posted out a paperback for me to read!  Bound in Flame focuses on an interesting time in the history of Hawaii where it is set.  It’s the early 1900s and women are eager for the privilege of voting.  The motor car is building a following and working horses are diminishing.

Leticia (Letty) Lang is this novel’s protagonist.  She is an 18 year old woman – a suffragist – who desires to be the first qualified veterinarian.  She loves all animals but has a particular passion for horses.  Being female puts her at a disadvantage.  Having dark coloured skin adds to this, as well as being someone of working class, rather than in high society.  Add to this the penchant for acting on emotion and Letty finds herself in trouble on many occasions.

What this ambitious young woman doesn’t realise is that a lot of her tenacity actually comes from a gift she has – something she believes is Hawaiian mythology – but appears over time to in fact be real.  And worse yet, she is tied up in the middle of it.

A heat that accompanies her whenever an animal is in pain or threatened could actually be a gift to help animals – and people.  It all comes to a head when she leaps off a ship to save a beautiful stallion that was being mistreated.  And so starts her incredible adventure to learn about these ‘flames’ that always appear to accompany her.

Bound in Flame by Katherine Kayne

Bound in Flame is a most delightful read.  It mixes some true facts of Hawaiian history and throws in some intriguing fantasy, looks at interracial relationships, has heaps of horse scenes as well as a delightful romance.  The book is humourous and moves at a good pace. It was also an absolute joy to read.  Bound in Flame is highly recommended and I am curious to see where Katherine Kayne goes with the delightful characters that feature in this novel.

Author – Katherine Kayne
Fiction – adult
In my library – definitely is.

Before Christmas I was asked if I would like to read a Christmas novella. This was a follow on from Anna Rashbrook’s other horses heal souls stories.  Time permitting, I’m always up for reading another horse story. The novella is titled Christmas (Horses Cheer Souls).

A follow on in the tales of horses healing souls, Mollie finds the young women who boarded with her, keen to do something special for the older woman.  Christmas is right around the corner. The girls eagerly plan a nativity scene and horse performance to help retell the story of Christ’s birth.

In amongst this, the owners of Chaos – the unusual coloured horse – turn up, looking to take him home.  Mollie is saddened to think that the young strawberry coloured horse that she has grown so fond of may be moving away.

CHRISTMAS (HORSES CHEER SOULS) BY ANNA RASHBROOK

However, there is something that doesn’t appear quite right about the people looking to take the roan draft horse away.  As she tries to make sense of it all, things unfold in a way that Mollie doesn’t anticipate and it is the girls that help to pull things together.

This short novella has plenty of focus on horses but it also does a great job of drawing attention to the true meaning of Christmas.  It is wrapped up nicely. It’s also lovely to see Mollie get an unexpected happy ending where unusual coloured horses are concerned.

Author – Anna Rashbrook
Fiction – adult
In my library – as a digital copy.

“It is probably like an artist. They see in their head what they want to draw, and they draw it. It is like I have a feeling inside me that I want to create on a horse, and that is what I do.” – Charlotte Dujardin