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julies_madness's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! I read in another review that the characters were kind of flat, and I do agree with that, but the main character was anything but. Normally, I don't really like horse books or really anything to do with horses, but this book kind of changed my mind about it. I love animals, but horses have always kind of freaked me out a bit, and seemed rather dull. This book gave me some insight about horses that I just didn't have previously, and I really enjoyed Jess's perspective as a horse-turned-woman. A fun read, and it's rare for me to give 5 stars!
itabar's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. Interesting characters, decent-paced plotting.
It's been a couple of days but some things are niggling at the back of my brain. Why does Jess get changed into a horse when the spell to move into another world takes hold? Why isn't Cary changed into a horse if she's changed into a human? If the spell is that inaccurate/wonky, then I would expect other side-effects. Yes, nit-picky, I know.
The biggest problem I have with this book is the stupid attitude towards killing people. A person who deliberately kills my friend is an evil person and should be put to death. Just letting him go is WRONG!! I kept waiting for this evil character to pop up again, and when he didn't, I was surprised. Now I guess I need to see if he pops up in the sequels.
spoilers.
The same holds true for the evil power-hungry magician. Why are they trying to HEAL HER?? She was responsible for the deaths of many people as well as the torture and near-death of the hero. A society that does not rid itself of genuinely evil people is just asking for it. But then, having read the summary of the sequel, I see why that happened. The sequel required a Bad Guy, sigh.
It's been a couple of days but some things are niggling at the back of my brain. Why does Jess get changed into a horse when the spell to move into another world takes hold? Why isn't Cary changed into a horse if she's changed into a human? If the spell is that inaccurate/wonky, then I would expect other side-effects. Yes, nit-picky, I know.
The biggest problem I have with this book is the stupid attitude towards killing people. A person who deliberately kills my friend is an evil person and should be put to death. Just letting him go is WRONG!! I kept waiting for this evil character to pop up again, and when he didn't, I was surprised. Now I guess I need to see if he pops up in the sequels.
spoilers.
The same holds true for the evil power-hungry magician. Why are they trying to HEAL HER?? She was responsible for the deaths of many people as well as the torture and near-death of the hero. A society that does not rid itself of genuinely evil people is just asking for it. But then, having read the summary of the sequel, I see why that happened. The sequel required a Bad Guy, sigh.
thistlechaser's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book back in the 90s, when it was first published. I completely loved it, and it was high on my Favorite Books Ever list. When I spotted it in ebook format, I grabbed it.
Unfortunately, while there were some good parts of it, overall it didn't hold up. The story was about a horse that magically turned human. It opened set in a fantasy world, where a wizard found a portal to another world (ours). He hired his most trusted messenger to carry the details about how to cast the portal spell. Since some evil wizard was after the spell, he gave the messenger a necklace that would do Something if he was trapped and needed to escape. No details on what, just that it would do Something.
Of course the messenger got trapped and needed to use it. The Something turned out to be he and the horse he was riding got sent to Earth. For some reason, his horse got turned into a person (but he didn't get turned into a horse). For some reason, they both appeared on Earth in different places.
Even that far, my willingness to believe was being badly stretched. But then it got worse: Dun Lady's Jess, the horse-now-woman, was knocked out in the park. She was in a horse's tack, saddle on her back, bit in her mouth, all that. Naked. Knocked out. Two people find her. Do they call the cops? Do they call 911? Do they take her to a hospital?
No. They take her to their home.
I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. A naked woman. Unconscious. In a horse's gear. And you don't call the cops? Seriously?
The story got even less believable from there. The author wrote one part well, I believed how the woman acted, as if she had really been a horse. But the rest of the story around that? Too many people acting way too unbelievable. I gave up at the 17% point.
Unfortunately, while there were some good parts of it, overall it didn't hold up. The story was about a horse that magically turned human. It opened set in a fantasy world, where a wizard found a portal to another world (ours). He hired his most trusted messenger to carry the details about how to cast the portal spell. Since some evil wizard was after the spell, he gave the messenger a necklace that would do Something if he was trapped and needed to escape. No details on what, just that it would do Something.
Of course the messenger got trapped and needed to use it. The Something turned out to be he and the horse he was riding got sent to Earth. For some reason, his horse got turned into a person (but he didn't get turned into a horse). For some reason, they both appeared on Earth in different places.
Even that far, my willingness to believe was being badly stretched. But then it got worse: Dun Lady's Jess, the horse-now-woman, was knocked out in the park. She was in a horse's tack, saddle on her back, bit in her mouth, all that. Naked. Knocked out. Two people find her. Do they call the cops? Do they call 911? Do they take her to a hospital?
No. They take her to their home.
I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. A naked woman. Unconscious. In a horse's gear. And you don't call the cops? Seriously?
The story got even less believable from there. The author wrote one part well, I believed how the woman acted, as if she had really been a horse. But the rest of the story around that? Too many people acting way too unbelievable. I gave up at the 17% point.
turae's review
4.0
very well written. One of the few horse stories I read where it is clear the writer actually rides. And does dressage. I will be looking for the other books in the series.
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