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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
fast-paced
Adored this book , as a crazy horse girl myself I devoured it in one day. A dose of hedonistic horse politics, not sure I would call it a thriller, maybe with a lowercase t, but 5 stars regardless!
I really enjoyed the high stakes, competitive setting of this novel. It had lots of girl group drama and drama between the moms, which I found to be entertaining and added to the high pressure atmosphere. The characters were all unlikeable in different ways, but I still cared about them and enjoyed how they changed throughout the story. Neither the murderer or victim were revealed until the end of the story which kept me guessing and turning the pages. I'd compare this to a mash up of Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson and The Clique series by Lisi Harrison.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brazier knocks it out of the park with her third novel! She’s made the niche of “eat the rich” her speciality, and Girls and Their Horses is no exception. A brutal take down of the class politics in the sport of competitive horse racing and jumping, this novel sparks with secrets and betrayal. One spoiler ahead…
….I struggle with the ways Douglas is portrayed, as a fuck boy who was sleeping with the horse moms for money. Everything about the storyline would make sense if it weren’t for the fact that the character is only 19, making his exploits beyond creepy, and the women using him deplorable. Even the fact that Heather is tempted is upsetting, given his young age. The boy isn’t old enough to drink in public, yet she takes him to a bar with the goal of getting him drunk and sleeping with him. It’s the one thread that feels abusive, yet isn’t resolved, especially with the eventual ending.
….I struggle with the ways Douglas is portrayed, as a fuck boy who was sleeping with the horse moms for money. Everything about the storyline would make sense if it weren’t for the fact that the character is only 19, making his exploits beyond creepy, and the women using him deplorable. Even the fact that Heather is tempted is upsetting, given his young age. The boy isn’t old enough to drink in public, yet she takes him to a bar with the goal of getting him drunk and sleeping with him. It’s the one thread that feels abusive, yet isn’t resolved, especially with the eventual ending.
This book was a fun, easy read. I used to ride horses, so that is part of the attraction. But it was a relaxing read (murder aside lol) and a great destressor. Highly enjoyable. 3.5 stars.
I've been having a hard time knowing how to rate this one. I personally had a hard time getting through it, not because of the way it was written, but more because of the content and characters. In full disclosure, I read it as part of this year's Lariat List, so it's probably a genre I normally wouldn't pick up on my own. For that reason, I don't want to take off too many stars, as I don't think it's badly written. While I had a hard time rooting for any of the characters, the two big ick moments for me were the ungodly amount of money that ultimately did end up buying success in the sport, and the 'you can ride me bareback' moment (if you know, you know). However, if you love thriller-esque novels and stories about people behaving badly, this one might be for you.
Eliza Jane Brazier is sort of known for writing uncanny valley weirdo thrillers where something is just sort of...off. Deeply buried mental illness, strange obsessions, dark secrets, and lots of unhinged rich people. She exists in a genre with a lot of sameness and just constantly is going off and choosing to be as weird as possible while still writing conventional thrillers.
This year's subject? Horse girls.
Girls and Their Horses focuses on a 10K per month barn, a rich family that moves in, and the barnes current caretakers that fully intend on exploiting this family for every cent they have. While the book is nowhere close to as odd as Brazier's last book "Good Rich People', it does share some of its themes; People who have clawed their way from the bottom, envy, obsession, powerful manipulative women, and bubbling tension that finally explodes in a geyser of an ending.
I absolutely recommend this book, and anything this author has written for gothic/bizzaro fiction enjoyers bored with the thriller genre.
This year's subject? Horse girls.
Girls and Their Horses focuses on a 10K per month barn, a rich family that moves in, and the barnes current caretakers that fully intend on exploiting this family for every cent they have. While the book is nowhere close to as odd as Brazier's last book "Good Rich People', it does share some of its themes; People who have clawed their way from the bottom, envy, obsession, powerful manipulative women, and bubbling tension that finally explodes in a geyser of an ending.
I absolutely recommend this book, and anything this author has written for gothic/bizzaro fiction enjoyers bored with the thriller genre.