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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the book. Not romance heavy, just a sub plot. No sexy times, but great story even if you were never a “horse girl”. My one complaint is why is it called my queendom for a horse? And the tagline says something about a crown. There are no crowns, she is not a queen. He’s not a king. Do I have to read another book to find out who is a queen?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
<strong>Horse girl book from someone who clearly understands horses</strong>
4.5/5
This was actually pretty good. And my favorite thing about this is how much plot there was. It wasn't a complicated plot. Well, not a super complicated plot, at least. But the ratio of plot to romance is heavily in plot's favor and this is exactly what I am here for. Solid plot of "Girl tries to save the family farm with horses", solid subplot of "One of the horses she has is actually a Russian man under a curse" with ANOTHER solid plot of "Blue-blooded ex-boyfriend and said hot Russian man vie for her attention and try to help her out."
Honestly, it reminds me of like a grown up version of Phantom Stallion. Kind of. The vibe is there.
Horse girl books.
And the best part is that the horse stuff is accurate.
I enjoyed this book. I'm intrigued by everything that is going on. I also really like the main characters. And I'm going to be honest. I thought I was going to hate Sean. I really did. But I don't. I actually like the noble butthead. He's alright, even if he is the ex-boyfriend.
I'm impressed with this. And I want to read the next one because I suspect it will be more curse than save the farm, and I am here for this.
4.5/5
This was actually pretty good. And my favorite thing about this is how much plot there was. It wasn't a complicated plot. Well, not a super complicated plot, at least. But the ratio of plot to romance is heavily in plot's favor and this is exactly what I am here for. Solid plot of "Girl tries to save the family farm with horses", solid subplot of "One of the horses she has is actually a Russian man under a curse" with ANOTHER solid plot of "Blue-blooded ex-boyfriend and said hot Russian man vie for her attention and try to help her out."
Honestly, it reminds me of like a grown up version of Phantom Stallion. Kind of. The vibe is there.
Horse girl books.
And the best part is that the horse stuff is accurate.
I enjoyed this book. I'm intrigued by everything that is going on. I also really like the main characters. And I'm going to be honest. I thought I was going to hate Sean. I really did. But I don't. I actually like the noble butthead. He's alright, even if he is the ex-boyfriend.
I'm impressed with this. And I want to read the next one because I suspect it will be more curse than save the farm, and I am here for this.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Note: I won a copy of this book in a giveaway
This was a solid, fun read with a slow-burn romance. I've never read anything by this author before though she has several series already out. The characters were fun and rational, and while there wasn't a ton of character development in terms of personal growth, it befit the age and life stage. Kris became more certain of herself and what she wanted, and ultimately gained the confidence to act on that certainty.
Equestrian fiction of any genre is difficult to write--if you write too specifically for equestrians, it becomes to difficult for a more general audience to understand. If you don't write specifically enough, the equestrian audience gets annoyed at the lack of "real horse stuff"--and that's a complaint I've had before reading equestrian fiction. I thought this was a great middle ground. Casual equestrians won't have a problem with anything, while non-horsie general readers might only have to look up a few terms. As a former serious equestrian, I wanted just a little bit more detail, but I was happy there weren't explanations for every little horse thing mentioned.
The plot was well-rounded and kept the book moving. Not all of it is completely wrapped up, though there isn't any cliff hangers, and I'm assuming it's to allow setup for the sequel. (And hopefully more!)
Overall, this was a really fun, unique read and I basically devoured it in a day and a half.
Possible spoilers ahead. I do wish there was a bit more of everything. Granted, the romance I typically read is 4-5 peppers of spice, so I'm no longer used to unspecified fade-to-blacks. Romance aside, there was a lot of potential for silly horse-who-isn't-really-a-horse moments that would have been amazing. I kind of wish she hadn't first turned him so soon after getting him home to the barn, allowing for typical "girl and her horse" bonding, which could have yielded more emotional turmoil when she does first turn him and discovers he's a human-horse shifter. Maybe that's because I read Black Beauty approximately 80,000 times as a child. Maybe it's because I lost my heart horse too soon and I miss those seemingly small but profound moments so much. And that's why, in the end, I rated this 4 stars instead of 5. I was greedy and wanted more.
My biggest critique is the sort of thing I don't hold against independent authors. Kris read very American to me. There were several American-isms in the text: a 911 reference, her expecting an old, fancy English estate to look "plantation-style" for some reason, a few turns of phrase. She also wasn't very veterinary for a horse vet. I'm not a vet or a tech myself, but I was in and out of a horspital enough to be mistaken for one of my horse's veterinary students. It wouldn't be super difficult to edit so she comes across more veterinarian, but I do suspect it would take away from the heart of the book. As it stands now, she's just not super believable as a vet, but that aspect of her character is almost negligible as far as its importance to the story.
This was a solid, fun read with a slow-burn romance. I've never read anything by this author before though she has several series already out. The characters were fun and rational, and while there wasn't a ton of character development in terms of personal growth, it befit the age and life stage. Kris became more certain of herself and what she wanted, and ultimately gained the confidence to act on that certainty.
Equestrian fiction of any genre is difficult to write--if you write too specifically for equestrians, it becomes to difficult for a more general audience to understand. If you don't write specifically enough, the equestrian audience gets annoyed at the lack of "real horse stuff"--and that's a complaint I've had before reading equestrian fiction. I thought this was a great middle ground. Casual equestrians won't have a problem with anything, while non-horsie general readers might only have to look up a few terms. As a former serious equestrian, I wanted just a little bit more detail, but I was happy there weren't explanations for every little horse thing mentioned.
The plot was well-rounded and kept the book moving. Not all of it is completely wrapped up, though there isn't any cliff hangers, and I'm assuming it's to allow setup for the sequel. (And hopefully more!)
Overall, this was a really fun, unique read and I basically devoured it in a day and a half.
Possible spoilers ahead.
My biggest critique is the sort of thing I don't hold against independent authors. Kris read very American to me. There were several American-isms in the text: a 911 reference, her expecting an old, fancy English estate to look "plantation-style" for some reason, a few turns of phrase. She also wasn't very veterinary for a horse vet. I'm not a vet or a tech myself, but I was in and out of a horspital enough to be mistaken for one of my horse's veterinary students. It wouldn't be super difficult to edit so she comes across more veterinarian, but I do suspect it would take away from the heart of the book. As it stands now, she's just not super believable as a vet, but that aspect of her character is almost negligible as far as its importance to the story.