A review by kleedc73
Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

3.0

I read Water for Elephants by this author and loved it. In both books, the author totally immerses you in the unique world of the characters, in this case horses and professional riding. The book's setting and "voice" are very authentic. That said, the tone and subject matter of this book had less general appeal than Water for Elephants -- this is much more for a female audience. It is reminiscent of The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. I think the book was a little too chock full of hard moments for Annemarie, the main character. I'm not sure that most humans could possibly deal with all of the things that she had to address at the same time. With everything thrown at her, I felt like the ending was a little abrupt and there wasn't sufficient room to address all of them. If she had focused the plot a little more sharply, I think the book would have flowed better. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book but I didn't love it the way I did Water for Elephants.