Murder on Mustang Beach (Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery, Book 2)

 ALICIA BESSETTE

How acquired: Borrowed from my local library.

First line: Running the Mustang Beach footpath was the sweetest kind of torture.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: I think I liked this second book in the series a little better than the first book. Partly because I really liked the friendship that developed between Callie and Geri-Lynn, the caretaker of the Mustang Beach sanctuary. Geri-Lynn was a great addition to the cast of characters, and her love for and dedication to the mustangs made me appreciate her. Callie really needed a good friend, and while I had hoped during the first book that Officer Fusco would become one, it didn’t happen.

The story opens eleven months after the events of the first book, and Callie and Toby have spent a lot of time together, learning everything there is to know about each other. Toby’s one year self-imposed moratorium on romantic relationships is about to come to an end, and Callie is very much looking forward to having a first date and a first kiss. So of course a dead body is found in Toby’s martial arts studio and the heat – a different kind of heat – is on. And of course Callie can’t sit idly by and let the police solve the murder, so her investigative journalist skills are called upon once again as she begins her own investigation. And of course she puts herself in danger again.

I’m really hoping there will be a third book.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When a killer stirs up trouble in the Outer Banks, amateur sleuth and bookseller Callie Padget is on the case, in a new beachside mystery from author Alicia Bessette.

Cattail Island in the Outer Banks is a popular destination for honeymooners and nature lovers alike. So it is a huge blow when the murder of a newlywed grinds the pre-summer season to a screeching halt. Bookseller Callie Padget launches her own investigation, after mysterious customer Geri-Lynn Humfeld, caretaker of the island’s protected wild horses, brings in an irresistible piece of information.

Determined to restore order and safety to her beloved hometown, Callie searches for answers—even as those answers cast suspicion on her soon-to-be boyfriend, Toby Dodge, whose martial arts studio was the scene of the crime. As she digs deeper, Toby becomes the police’s prime suspect. The truth raises troubling questions and sends her scouring the bookshop’s shelves for guidance.

Meanwhile, a well-loved member of the mustang herd—a pregnant mare whose anticipated foal is a symbol of summery hope for locals and visitors alike—may be facing dire circumstances. With help from Geri-Lynn, Callie unearths startling secrets surrounding not only the compromised mare, but the murdered newlywed, too. And when another body shows up, this time on isolated Mustang Beach, she must race against time to stop a killer from claiming any more innocent lives.

The Secrets of Emberwild

 

STEPHENIA H. MCGEE

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2022.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program

First line: Freedom rushed through Nora Fenton’s veins, erupting with each breath.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: My first time reading this author and I very much enjoyed her writing. When I was young – a teenager – I was very into thoroughbred horse racing, but never learned as much about harness racing, which is partly why I was interested in reading this book. The details the author provided about the training process – or at least, Nora’s training process, were fascinating. In her Author Note at the back of the book, Ms. McGee mentions she has always loved horses and has an equine science degree, and it definitely shows.

The characterization was also wonderfully done. I loved both Nora and Silas, and hated Nora’s uncle Amos. Nora is strong willed, and chafes at the restrictions placed on women (the story is set in 1905). She has no desire to marry without love, and is more at home in the barn with the horses than in the house cooking and cleaning. Her father had been ill for some time, and after he passed away Nora and her mother learn from their uncle that the solicitor has shown him the will, and Nora’s father left the farm to Amos. And he is making plans to find a suitor for Nora and marry her off. And I have to tell you, as much as I loved the book, it also made me so angry at how little control women had over their own lives in those days. Maybe because of everything going on in our world now, with women’s rights being trampled on so severely, I’m more sensitive to the issue than I used to be. I’ve read other historical books, and I’ve read about women being ruled by men, but it’s never elicited this anger in me before. Although maybe that is because the author chronicles Nora’s life and her feelings so well, and with such detail.

And then there’s Silas. He finds Nora a bit fascinating, and unlike the other hired hands, has no animosity towards Nora for wanting to participate in her beloved horse’s training and acting like she’s the boss. He admires her, her abilities, her bond with the horse, Arrow, and how much progress she makes with Arrow, who won’t perform for anyone else. Although Arrow does accept Silas fairly quickly, because, like Nora, he has an innate ability to understand horses.

A beautifully written story that kept me completely captivated from start to finish. I definitely need to read more from this author.

*I received a free copy of this book via the publisher and have voluntarily reviewed it*

Goodreads Synopsis: A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They're easier to handle, they're more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father's passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers.

Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father's death--even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he's come to admire.

Meeting of the Mustangs

CATHY KENNEDY

Synopsis from Goodreads: A black colt is born into a band of wild mustangs and soon learns that life can often be difficult. Follow his story as he goes from a free spirit to being captured for profit, and find out how one man gains the trust and extreme loyalty of a very special horse.

Stats: Self-published, 2015.

How acquired: Received from the author for review.

My thoughts:  The story opens with a young coal black colt chasing a butterfly's shadow. I was captivated from the first sentence as our little hero frolics with his friends, raced away from mountain lions with the rest of his herd, and discovered the joys of playing in the snow. But life isn't all sunshine and flowers for the band of wild horses, and eventually the young colt is captured and thrown into a world of humans, both kind and cruel. At times the story was almost downright depressing, and I would have absolutely loved this book when I was a young, typically horse crazy girl. The narrative flows easily and is beautifully written. The author doesn't dumb down the perils the wild mustangs faced, but uses fairly simple language appropriate for young readers. I quite enjoyed this book.

Dust

BEAUX COOPER

Synopsis from Goodreads: Some people seek marriage counseling; others find wisdom in horse manure. Austen St. Johns has taken up a shovel.

When her marriage transitions from blushing newlyweds to people who merely co-exist, Austen realizes perhaps she's responsible for her misery.

Desiring change, she leaves Oregon for the open plains of a Wyoming ranch where she discovers through love of self how she can save her marriage.

Stats for my copy: Digital download, Tirgearr Publishing, 2016.

How acquired: Instafreebie.

My thoughts:  I struggled to stay interested in this book. The writing is pretty wonderful, almost lyrical and poetical at times. I think my main issue was that I just could not relate to Austen at all.

After just a few short years of marriage, Austen feels like she needs to find herself, so she leaves her husband behind and takes a job on a ranch in Wyoming. It's hard work, cleaning stables and the dining hall, mucking manure, pitching hay, among a bunch of cowboys who look down on her, snicker behind her back, and sometimes play practical jokes on her. But her vast knowledge of herbs and flowers and their medicinal properties soon earns her the respect of her coworkers, who begin calling her “Doc”. Although she's not close to being a doctor.

In the meantime, she does a lot of soul searching about herself, her goals in life, her wants and desires, and her relationship with her husband. They're not separated, in the legal sense, just apart for awhile. She comes to the realization that she must love herself, and eventually she does find herself.

My favorite part of the book was towards the end when her husband comes to the ranch. But most of the time I was just...bored. 

A Rogue's Proposal (Cynster, Book 4)

STEPHANIE LAURENS

Synopsis from back cover: Demon Cynster has seen love bring his brethren to their knees, and he's vowed that he will not share their fate...until he spies Felicity Parteger sneaking around his country estate. Demon remembers Felicity as a mere chit of a girl, but now she stands before him – begging for his help – all lush curves, sparkling eyes...and so temptingly worthy of the love he's vowed never to surrender to any woman.

Felicity knew Demon was one of the ton's most eligible bachelors and a rogue of the worst sort, but he was the only one capable of getting her friend out of trouble. Her fascination with him had nothing to do with the power lurking just beneath his devil-may-care facade – or with the desire that flares when he takes her in his arms. She knows he'll never yield her the love she desperately seeks, but could a marriage with passion alone – even with a man like Demon – be enough?

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Avon Books, 1999.

How acquired: Book Mooch

My thoughts:  This is definitely my favorite Cynsters book so far. I loved both Felicity and Demon from the start. Demon, like his brother and his cousins before him, has no need of a wife and no intention of losing his heart to a woman. Felicity, like her own predecessors, is a strong and independent woman who won't meekly bow down to any man and can hold her own with the best of them. Demon owns a stable of racehorses, and is quite impressed with Felicity's riding skills and knowledge of horses. I think that was part of the charm of the book for me in the beginning, all the horse talk. Yes, I was one of those teenage girls who loved horses above all else, especially racehorses. I even dreamed of being a jockey for a couple of years.

The mystery this time around involves a race fixing syndicate that Felicity and Demon begin investigating after Dillon, Felicity's guardian's son, gets involved with them and then goes into hiding. (It seems that orphaned heroines with either a guardian or a brother is a theme with Laurens' heroines). To Dillon's continual frustration, not to mention that of his right hand man, Gillies, Felicity is constantly bolting off on her own and putting herself either in danger or in socially inappropriate situations. The syndicate plot kept my interest non-stop, and watching Demon and Felicity fall for each other along the way was almost like a bonus. Especially watching Demon. Once he realized he wanted to marry Felicity, he was relentless. But like all the Cynster men, he was also arrogant and overbearing and incapable of admitting his feelings, other than the lusty ones, and Felicity was determined that she would only marry him if and when he truly loved her.

Part of the book is set in the relaxed country, where Demon and Felicity are able to spend time riding together or driving into town without her needing to be chaperoned, and part of it is set in the city, where social proprieties must be observed, and I loved seeing the contrast between those two worlds.

This entry in the series was more fun than the previous books, so much so that I didn't even notice – most of the time – the flowery superfluous writing and the author's habit of never using five words when ten are available. 

A Distant Tomorrow (World of Hetar, Book 2)

BERTRICE SMALL

Synopsis from Goodreads: Five years have now passed since the Winter War between the Outlands and Hetar. But Gaius Prospero has not given up his scheme to become emperor, and unexpected tragedy causes Lara to once again heed the pull of her destiny. Finding herself across the sea in a secret new world known as Terah, she discovers that her magical abilities grow greater with each passing day. Using her newfound powers, Lara lifts an ancient curse from the men of Terah, earning its ruler's gratitude and his deep and passionate love.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Harlequin Books, 2006.

How acquired: From a BookCrossing member.

First line: Vartan, Lord of the Fiacre and head of the Outlands High Council was dead.

My thoughts:  I think I liked this a bit more than the first book in the series, LARA. In this entry, Lara's destiny calls to her again, telling her it's time to get a move on. Her husband has just been murdered by his brother, and Lara leaves her young children with his cousin and his wife, and begins her travels once more. She winds up in the Coastal Kingdoms, where she learns about another land across the sea, called Terah, whose goods the Coastal Kingdoms trade for and then sell in Hetar. Next thing you know she's been drugged and handed over as a slave to the Dominus, who rules Terah. Of course she's not about to be any man's slave, and soon has the Dominus wrapped around her little finger. That exquisite fairy beauty, you know.

I really enjoyed this part of the story, where she's arrived in Terah and gets to know the inhabitants there. She's told that women in Terah do not speak. Not because they don't want to or are down-trodden by their men, but because of an ancient curse placed on them. They are physically incapable of speech. Once she's alone with the women, however, she discovers that they can indeed speak – the curse was actually placed on the men, rendering them incapable of hearing their women. So now she sets out to remove the curse. That's not her destiny though. Her beloved Outlands people are in danger from Hetar, and she must also find a way to save them.

The conversations between the characters often felt stilted or wooden, slightly monotonous with short bursts of emotion thrown in here and there. Lara's son is six or seven, and her younger brother a year older, but both spoke and held conversations with her like adults. I was quite happy to not read as many references to “man roots” in this book as in the first one, though there were several mentions of “seed sacs” and way too many mentions of “love juices”. I don't think there was quite as much sex on the page this time around, but as with the first book, those scenes weren't particularly sexy.

I don't have the third or fourth books in the series, and while I won't knock myself out looking for them, should I come across them I probably will read them. Like Lara, I'm very curious as to who or what may reside in another distant land that she spots while riding her flying horse one day. The world building is what kept me interested in the first book, and that interest still continues. 

How I Wonder What You Are

JANE LOVERING

Synopsis from Goodreads: “Maybe he wasn’t here because of the lights – maybe they were here because of him …”

It’s been over eighteen months since Molly Gilchrist has had a man (as her best friend, Caro, is so fond of reminding her) so when she as good as stumbles upon one, lying comatose, on the moors one bitterly cold morning, it seems like the Universe is having a laugh at her expense.

But Phinn Baxter (that’s Doctor Phinneas Baxter) is no drunken layabout, as Molly is soon to discover; with a PhD in astrophysics and a tortured past that is a match for Molly’s own disastrous love life.

Finding mysterious men on the moors isn’t the weirdest thing Molly has to contend with, however. There’s also those strange lights she keeps seeing in the sky. The ones she’s only started seeing since meeting Phinn …

Stats for my copy: Kindle, Choc Lit Limited, 2014

How acquired: Netgalley

First line (skipping the prologue): The man lay naked, unconscious and , inevitably I suppose given the temperature, slightly blue.

My thoughts: Molly and Phinn are two lost souls, closed up inside themselves and holding the world at bay. Molly writes for a magazine and came to this remote little village after a bad breakup. She doesn't talk about her ex, nor will she talk about her mother and why she's so angry with her that she avoids her calls or hangs up as soon as she answers the phone. Her life consists of her little cottage, her friend (and landlady) across the street, Caro, and a horse named Stan who is a character in his own right. When she sees mysterious colorful lights flitting across the sky, she's entranced and curious about them, although nobody else in the village appears to have seen them.

One day while out riding Stan, Molly comes across a naked unconscious man lying on the ground. And that's how she meets Phinn. He's a physicist, quite well known in the science community. A lanky, awkward, bespectacled man who's taken up residence in an abandoned, neglected, moldy/mildewey house across the village. (Actually I don't remember if the author described him as “lanky” but in my head he is.) When Phinn sees mysterious colorful lights flitting across the sky, he's entranced and curious about them, although his friend Link never sees them, even when he's walking just a few yards behind Phinn.

While Molly is recovering from her bad breakup, Phinn wears the remnants of his marriage like a cloak. It covers him all around, keeping his memories close and allowing his anxiety and low self-esteem to leak out through the worn fabric. His wife convinced him that he's a wimp, that he's not a real man, that no real woman would want him.

Right from the beginning I was captivated by the narration, by the author's voice and her turn of phrase. It was flowing, almost lyrical at times. An example:

“Phinn was about twenty yards behind with the tent bag slung across his shoulders and the last rays of the sun tinting his face and hair before it sank behind the hump of moorland to the west. It caught his glasses and blocked out his eyes, replacing them with reflections of the scenery, making him look as though he'd been possessed by the spirit of the moors.”

And another:

“The anger weighted his words, made them drop and bend the atmosphere around them.”

For the most part I enjoyed the story, enjoyed getting to know Phinn and Molly, as well as Stan the horse. I expected those mysterious lights to play into the plot more than they did, but the plot moved forward steadily (albeit a little slowly) despite the lights not being more involved. However, as much I hate to say it, I did at times agree with Phinn that he was being a wimp, and kept wanting him to “man up” and grow a pair. And when he finally did, I was initially disappointed at the way he went about it. But everything was resolved nicely in the end and overall it was a sweet little story.

Note: It's my understanding this is the fourth book in a series, The Yorkshire Romances, but each book can be read as a stand alone. 

Lara (The World of Hetar, Book 1)

BERTRICE SMALL

Synopsis from back cover: Welcome, dear reader, to the world of Hetar, a realm of Forest Lords, of Shadow Princes and Coastal Kings. A land of passions, both civilized and savage. Where the social classes know their place, but where anyone can, under the right conditions, advance to the highest pinnacle. This is a place where pleasure is never censured, but encouraged, and where deception and desire may be intertwined. The orderly, elegant veneer of refined Hetar can no longer ignore the rebellion brewing in the Outlands, a dangerous place of both magic and mystery.

From the city that is the very center of Hetar, Lara, the beautiful half-faerie daughter of John Swiftsword, ventures forth on a journey that will awaken her, both body and soul, as she learns the true meaning of love that will last an eternity – and a searing passion that will change the destiny of Hetar forever.

Creating Hetar and it's many characters has been a great challenge for me, but a wonderful ad creative endeavor. I hope you will enjoy Lara's tale.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 2005.

How acquired: Received from a Book Mooch member.

First line: She was naked.

My thoughts: While this book was published by Harlequin, I would not classify it as a romance, but rather as fantasy, with a little romance thrown in.

At the age of fourteen, Lara, who is half human, half faerie, is sold into slavery by her father, a mercenary, so that he can afford to outfit himself properly to apply to become a member of the Crusader Knights. Lara is meant to be auctioned off to the Pleasure Houses, but her beauty is so great that the owners of the Pleasure Houses begin to fight amongst themselves and so much dissension is caused, that avenue is forbidden. She winds up being sold to the Head Forester and his brother, who believe that if they can impregnate her and she gives them a child, a curse put on their race by the Queen of the faeries will be lifted. And that's just the beginning of Lara's journey, for she has a destiny to fulfill. She doesn't know what it is or where it will eventually lead her, but follow it she must.

The story unfortunately became a little tiresome after awhile. I didn't find many of the characters very engaging, other than the young slave girl Noss, who Lara takes beneath her wing, and the giant Og, who helps Lara escape the Forest Lands. There wasn't a lot of depth to any of the characters. Lara is just so perfect. Her beauty is apparently due to her faerie heritage, and while traveling she has to hide it, as all the men she meets are mesmerized. That got old also, and I would have liked a little more explanation of why being half faerie made her so enticing. Are the faeries just really so much more beautiful than humans? Does faerie magic make them appear so to humans?

The books spans two years, during which time Lara also becomes a very skilled lover. Which when I thought about her being just sixteen, seemed a little over the top, and even at times a little yucky. Sex between the characters flows pretty freely and without inhibitions, but the sex scenes aren’t very…sexy. They’re more just a non-graphic recitation of what happened between the people involved. There are many mentions of the male characters' “manroots”, an almost quaint term that didn’t particularly bother me - until Lara and the Shadow Prince are watching his horses mate, and reference is made to seeing the stallion’s penis. After that it began to irritate me that on a horse it’s called by what it is, but on a man it’s called a manroot. And then when Lara and the Shadow Prince fall to it themselves, Lara faints from the pleasure. Ugh, please. I had to set the book down and take a break at that point.

What I loved was the world building. Learning about the different races, the different peoples, and the mythologies behind their cultures, particularly the giants and the forest people. And that is why I will eventually read the next book in the series, and hope the plot improves.

Painted Horses

MALCOLM BROOKS

Synopsis from Goodreads: In the mid-1950s, America was flush with prosperity and saw an unbroken line of progress clear to the horizon, while the West was still very much wild. In this ambitious, incandescent debut, Malcolm Brooks animates that time and untamed landscape, in a tale of the modern and the ancient, of love and fate, and of heritage threatened by progress.

Catherine Lemay is a young archaeologist on her way to Montana, with a huge task before her—a canyon “as deep as the devil’s own appetites.” Working ahead of a major dam project, she has one summer to prove nothing of historical value will be lost in the flood. From the moment she arrives, nothing is familiar—the vastness of the canyon itself mocks the contained, artifact-rich digs in post-Blitz London where she cut her teeth. And then there’s John H, a former mustanger and veteran of the U.S. Army’s last mounted cavalry campaign, living a fugitive life in the canyon. John H inspires Catherine to see beauty in the stark landscape, and her heart opens to more than just the vanished past. Painted Horses sends a dauntless young woman on a heroic quest, sings a love song to the horseman’s vanishing way of life, and reminds us that love and ambition, tradition and the future, often make strange bedfellows. It establishes Malcolm Brooks as an extraordinary new talent.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Grove Press, 214.

How acquired: Won in a Goodreads giveaway.

First line: London, even the smell of it.

My thoughts: So right off the bat I was confused and disoriented. London? Oh, so Catherine is English, but will be traveling to Montana. Wait, what's going on here?

After the first few pages, I began to get my bearings and settle into the story. Sort of. We meet Catherine, age 23, who went to London to study the piano because it was expected of her, but got caught up in the excitement of a local excavation that fueled her love of architecture, and drove her to change her field of study. She's later offered a job in Montana, where a dam is being planned, surveying the canyon for signs of anything of historical significance. Her path crosses a couple of times with that of John H., who is a like a horse whisperer.

The plot bounces around quite a bit, back and forth from Catherine's time in London to the present day exploring the canyon with her requisite but uncooperative guide, Jack Allen, with here and there the various points in John's life that made him the man he is today. At times it was slow going, but at times it was a bit mesmerizing. I wasn't sure at first if Jack was a bad guy or an OK guy. Catherine also hires a local Native American girl, Miriam, who is even younger than Catherine, to assist her, and Miriam was an interesting character, though I was a little disappointed with her in the end. And it took way too long before Catherine's and John's stories finally merged and they actually began interacting with each other.

And then, around the last fifty pages, the action amped up and I became absolutely riveted and couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because the blurb I read described it as being “reminiscent of Larry McMurtry”. I wouldn't quite go that far, but the passages about John and horses do come a bit close. 

One Fine Cowboy

JOANNE KENNEDY

Synopsis from Goodreads: HIS HEART IS AS WILD AS THE HORSES HE TRAINED...

Nate Shawcross is perfectly content to spend his days training wild horses. So when a beautiful greenhorn unexpectedly shows up for a seminar from the famous "Horse Whisperer" of Wyoming, all Nate wants to do is send her packing...

THE LAST THING SHE EXPECTS IS A LESSON IN ROMANCE...

Graduate student Charlie Banks came to the ranch to learn about horse communication, but when she meets the ruggedly handsome cowboy, she starts to fantasize about another connection entirely...

Nate needs to stay focused if he's going to save his ranch from foreclosure, but he can't help being distracted by the brainy and breathtakingly sexy Charlie. Could it be that after all this time Nate has finally found the one woman who can tame his wild heart?

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2010.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: The cowboy boot was the most pathetic piece of footwear Charlie had ever seen.

My thoughts: I wasn't sure I would like Charlie at first. She's a Jersey girl who refers to cowboys as “stupid cowboys”. She's a vegetarian animal rights activist, who doesn't believe in riding horses - “It's morally wrong, forcing animals to serve us.” She's a grad student, and has been sent to this ranch in the wilds of Wyoming to attend a clinic for the purpose of “assessing the parallels between the training techniques of Western livestock managers and the nonverbal cues with which humans communicate their wants and needs.” Or as Charlie sums it up, “harassing innocent animals with a bunch of cowboys”. I love animals, and I'm all for animal rights, but I don't support PETA and their over the top, at times bullying methods of grabbing headlines. And Charlie sounded like a card carrying member. She's even participated in PETA protests.

Nate doesn't quite know what to make of her either. Especially when she tells him she's here to attend one of his clinics. Because he has no idea what she's talking about. Seems his ex-girlfriend flew the coop recently, cleaning out his bank account, but not before printing up a bunch of brochures and collecting four deposits for his non-existent clinic services. But Charlie's car has broken down, and she has no way to leave. Plus her boss would expect her to bring that deposit back with her, which neither she nor Nate have. So the shy, quiet cowboy is forced to come up with a lesson plan and carry on with the promises made in the brochure.

Once Nate introduces Charlie to a couple of horses, and she sees his training techniques in action, she chills out with the abuse accusations and becomes quite enamored with one stallion in particular, and of course, despite her disdain for cowboys, with Nate himself. And I did like her quite well after all. The other three students trickle in one by one, and each individual was quite a character in their own right, though not necessarily who or what they seemed to be upon first meeting them.

When the ex-girlfriend puts in an appearance, things get tense and skewered. Nate is the strong sensitive type. He gets tongue tied very easily and struggles to form a coherent sentence, though the smoldering looks he aims Charlie's way speak loud and clear. With the horses he's much more confident of himself, hence his reputation as a “horse whisperer”. I got a little frustrated with him when the ex came back and began taking over his life again, and he let her bully him without standing up to her. But he's a good guy, coming to realize what a crappy relationship they've had, and seeing through Charlie what a real relationship could be like.

My only real beef were some inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story. In one scene, Nate is having trouble sleeping, tossing and turning as he tries to get comfortable on the sofa. “All he could think about was that morning he'd woken up on this same sofa with Charlie in his arms, tucked against him.” Yet on the next page: “He swung his feet to the floor and levered himself out of bed...He shuffled quietly across the bedroom...” When did he get from the sofa to the bedroom? And then later, he and Charlie are riding together on a horse, him sitting in front of her: “Nate leaned back against her, his broad back warm against her chest.” But a few paragraphs later, while they are still riding: “He kissed the back of her neck.” How the hell did he kiss the back of her neck from in front of her?

There's a bit of humor, some nice descriptions of the Wyoming countryside, a locked attic hiding secrets, some twists and turns in the storyline, and a lot of heart as Nate and Charlie dance around each other, fighting, then being friends, getting closer, then blowing up at each other. Not quite as good as COWBOY TROUBLE, the only other Kennedy book I've read so far, but very enjoyable. 

The Black Sheep and the Hidden Beauty (Unholy Trinity, Book 2)

DONNA KAUFFMAN

Synopsis from Goodreads: They're back - the boys you go out looking for precisely because your mother warned you not to - the bad boys every good girl needs at least once, if not twice...

Raphael "Rafe" Santiago may have left the streets years ago, but the street has never left him. A rough childhood in the Bronx taught him never to let his guard down, to keep everything in order, and always to trust that little voice in his gut that tells him when someone's got something to hide. horse trainer Elena Caulfield, is definitely hiding something, and Rafe intends to find out what it is and take care of it - his way.

But his way wasn't supposed to include feeling an intense attraction to the tomboyish Elena. With her mud-caked boots, quiet strength, and gentle manner, she's nothing like the flashy, seductive, overtly feminine women Rafe usually beds. The closer he gets to her, the harder it is to control that fiery passion he's worked hard to keep cooled, the kind that can catch a man off guard and leave him open to danger - because whatever secret Elena's protecting, it's big...and worth killing for. Because when you're from the Bronx, you take care of what you love - or die trying...

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, published by Kensington Publishing Corp.,2008; received from the author - I won autographed copies of all three Unholy Trinity books in a giveaway on her Facebook page!

First line: He found himself watching her.

My thoughts: We met Rafe briefly in THE BLACK SHEEP AND THE PRINCESS, so I already knew his style and personality would be quite different than Mac's. I'll admit right now that I like Mac's cover better than Rafe's – there's just something about a man in jeans and a black t-shirt. Mac also appealed to me because he was a former cop, and I like stories with cop/former cop heroes. Rafe is more the white collar type, always impeccably dressed and groomed. Which of course provides an immediate contrast between him and our heroine, Elena, who is always dressed in overalls and boots, often with a thermal underwear top, and usually dirty/muddy/horse poopy. Most definitely not Rafe's type, yet he can't seem to keep himself from watching her as she trains the horses for Kate's camp kids.

I followed with the plot this time around much easier than in Mac and Kate's book, finding it less convoluted and confusing. The fact that it revolved around horses, and Elena's previous job as a trainer at a racing stable, may have helped, as the world of thoroughbred horse racing used to be my life's dream, back when I was a teenager.

Rafe of course is one-third of the Unholy Trinity, the three friends who grew up terrorizing summer camp, and are now partners in a company called Trinity. They help people, the underdogs, righting wrongs, championing those who don't have the means to champion themselves. Elena is a horse trainer, hired by Kate to work with the horses at her camp for disabled kids. She previously worked for a large racing stable, and supposedly left that job in search of a calmer, quieter environment for her own horse, who is pregnant, and who had difficulties with her first pregnancy. Elena keeps to herself, is friendly but does not go out of her way to befriend other employees at Dalton Downs. After covertly witnessing a conversation between Elena and her vet, who showed up unexpectedly to talk to her one day, Rafe is convinced that Elena is hiding something, and determinedly and doggedly sets out to uncover her secret.

The writing felt a little crisper, and like the first book, there is a lot of characterization and dialogue, both internal and external, along with plenty of amusing banter, not only between Rafe and Elena, but between Rafe and Mac. Mac is a little more involved in Rafe's story than Rafe was in Mac's, and that was a good thing, giving us a look at the friendship and brotherhood bond between them. I figured out Elena's secret quite awhile before the guys did, or part of it anyway, but it didn't bother me or take away from my enjoyment of watching the plot unfold. And things got pretty tense towards the end, leading to a very satisfactory resolution.

Overall, I enjoyed the actual mystery/plot more here than in the first book, but I think if I had to choose between Rafe and Mac I would go for Mac. Sorry Rafe! 

Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs: The Life of Velma Johnston

DAVID CRUISE & ALLISON GRIFFITHS

Synopsis from Goodreads: In 1950, Velma Johnston was a thirty-eight-year-old secretary en route to work near Reno, Nevada, when she came upon a truck of battered wild horses that had been rounded up and were to be slaughtered for pet food. Shocked and angered by this gruesome discovery, she vowed to find a way to stop the cruel round-ups, a resolution that led to a life-long battle that would pit her against ranchers and powerful politicians—but eventually win her support and admiration around the world. This is the first biography to tell her courageous true story. Like Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, or Temple Grandin, Velma Johnston dedicated her life to public awareness and protection of animals. Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs follows Velma from her childhood, in which she was disfigured by polio, to her dangerous vigilante-style missions to free captured horses and document round-ups, through the innovative and exhaustive grassroots campaign which earned her the nickname “Wild Horse Annie” and led to Congress passing the “Wild Horse Annie Bill,” to her friendship with renowned children’s author and horse-lover Marguerite Henry.

A powerful combination of adventure, history, and biography,Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs beautifully captures the romance and magic of wild horses and the character of the strong-willed woman who made their survival her legacy.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Scribner, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010; borrowed from the public library.

First line: Bundles of dried sagebrush clung to the fencing of the corral behind Joe and Trudy Bronn's small clapboard house.

My thoughts: At the library with my daughter recently, I was browsing up and down the shelves when the title of this book caught my eye. I didn't think I'd ever heard of Wild Horse Annie, but when I read the chapters about Velma's friendship with Marguerite Henry, who wrote a book about her, I realized I probably read said book many many years ago. That whole section of this book actually made me want to go back and reread all of Henry's books.

One day in 1950, Velma Johnston, a secretary, was driving on the roads of Reno, Nevada, when she came up behind a livestock trailer, and noticed there seemed to be blood dripping out of it. That drip of blood turned into a small stream, and dismayed, Velma followed the trailer until it stopped, intent on warning the driver that he needed to check his cargo. I can only imagine the horror she felt when she looked inside that trailer, because just reading the description of the damaged and mangled live horses it contained made my stomach feel queasy.

The book traces Velma's early childhood to her death in 1977. Along the way she contracts polio as a child, which permanently disfigures her, and meets and marries Charlie Johnston, who would be her staunch supporter and helper in her campaign to save the horses. In the early days of the fight she and Charlie snuck around at night, freeing wild horses from corrals or pens where they were being held while awaiting transport to a slaughterhouse. But she soon became involved in politics and pushing through new legislation to protect the horses. Besides trying to keep wild horses from being slaughtered for pet food, she particularly wanted it to be illegal for the horses to be rounded up by airplane or helicopter, which was a terrifying experience for the horses that resulted in physical injuries as they were forced to run at panicked speeds over rough terrain. It was a long battle with many ups and downs, and Velma was fighting for protection and humane treatment to the very end of her life.

Detailed and articulate without being dry, the authors' respect for their subject shines through in this well written account of the life of a truly incredible woman.