Friday Book Review - when the best man isn't

I'll readily admit it - I read a lot of fluff. I like to be entertained :) This week's entertainment I picked up at a yard sale for $.75, and I think it was definitely work the expense.

The Best Man by Maggie Osborne

Cattle baron Joe Roark carved his ranch out of the Texas dirt the hard way, and he's not plannig to pass it on to anyone who can't, or won't do the same. But four wives and three useless daughters later, he's pretty sure he's doomed to die without a male heir to take over where he left off, and he writes his will accordingly. The conditions are simple: if his three daughters, with nine hands to help them, can't trail 2000 head of cattle to Abilene, Kansas then his latest wife, Lola, gets it all.

For three pampered, polished, petted women who've never so much as picked up a dirty dish, the trail has one or two challenges in store.

With only two weeks to learn ride, shoot, rope, and in one case, cook, the situation looks pretty grim. Add in the fact that the only trail boss who'll sign on is an ex-drunk, and that one of the sisters is in a wheelchair and "hopeless" covers it well. But all isn't lost, and as Lester, Frederick and Alexander (dad really wanted a boy) learn to work together, the odds may not be quite as long as they seem.

I was actually expecting something fairly shallow - but Osborne did her research. Her heroines aren't in for an easy time of it. There's plenty of dirt, determination, and a lot of challenges to overcome. And romance, of course.

Not technically a horse story, but I like a well-done western - a steady diet of Louis L'amour, Zane Grey and Luke Short will do that to you - and this one's not bad at all.

The Friday Book Review (returns) - a psychic connection

No, not with the horses. Sorry, if that's what you were hoping for! Maybe another time. :)

Morning Light by Catherine Anderson

Clairvoyant Loni MacEwen is looking for a bit of peace and quiet when she buys an old house in Crystal Falls, Oregon to be closer to her sister. A bad experience has left her shaken and questioning her talent. But the small town seems like just what the doctor ordered. Since childhood Loni has had visions of a handsome cowboy, but although her gift has otherwise been fairly accurate, the man has never materialized - until Crystal Falls, when she bumps into him (literally) in the supermarket.

Quarter horse breeder Clint Harrigan is a no-nonsense, straight shooting kind of guy. So when the pretty brunette from the supermarket appears on his doorstep to inform him that his young son has been lost in the wilderness and only he will be able to save the boy, he's nothing if not skeptical.

A fairly brief lead-in has the pair heading off to participate in search and rescue operations for an orphaned boy lost in the Oregon wilderness. Expecting nothing horse-related when I picked the book up, I was pleasantly surprise to find myself reading what appears to be a fairly well-researched amount of information on horse-packing.

The horses have eminintly impractical names (at least I wouldn't want to be hollering them in!), but the actual details of practical care and handling are well-written and realistic.

Neatnik, environmentally conscious Loni's interactions with practical-minded, bachelor Clint are entertaining, and the story has enough suspense to it to keep the pages turning. All in all, this was a pleasant surprise.

I wasn't expecting this to be my book of the week - in fact, I haven't been reading much at all lately as busy as everything has been. But since there were horses and I actually managed to finish it....

Hopefully life will dial back a bit soon and I'll have more time to get some pages turned without feeling like I'm neglecting something or someone!

Friday Book Review: a second from Ireland

It's late, but it's still Friday :)

I was chatting with my sister last night, and she reminded me of this one - one of the first books by this particular author that I read. She's come a long way, and so have her characters....

Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts

If you like your heroes strong and dominating, and your heroines spunky but feminine, Travis and Adelia may be right up your barn aisle. Adelia, orphaned at a young age, comes to America to live with her uncle after her elderly aunt dies. A natural with animals, but especially horses, she's thrilled to find herself assisting Paddy with his duties on a Maryland Thoroughbred farm. Until that is, she runs smack into the farm's owner Travis Grant.

When hard-headed object meets imovable rock... sparks fly, of course. Add in some Kentucky Derby excitement and a cast that includes plenty of interesting two-legged and four-legged characters, and you have a good, if a bit dated, romance - #81 from Silhouette, if you can believe it.

Something less fluffy's on tap for next week, but this has been a good fluff week.

Now I have to go water the cat - at least she's informing me from the general direction of the bathtub that she's ready for her bedtime drink. And there's thunder, so I suppose I should unplug the computer....

Friday Book Review: romantic suspense, anyone?

I'm right in the middle of reading next week's book review title (sneak preview - it involves a lengthy trip and a foreign country), and since I didn't read anything else specifically horse-y this week, I'm going to do what I used to do in high school English class when we had to stand up and give oral book reports - I'm going to rely on my memory.

I first discovered this author's books sometime in my teens, but I still enjoy sitting down with one on a snowy day. They're fairly short, and usually don't take much more than an hour or so to breeze through, so they're a perfect weekend/evening indulgence - like chocolate!

Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

Chance results in Vanessa March spotting her husband where he patently isn't supposed to be. Sick at heart that he's lied to her, she sets out to locate her errant spouse in the Austrian Alps.

Accompanied at the last moment by an engaging teenage companion, the pair are the only witnesses to an aging circus horse performing airs above the ground, or specialized actions only one of the famed Spanish Lipizzaners would be trained for. As with any good circus act, there's a lot more going on than what's showing on the surface.

Missing jewels, missing persons, espionage, and a truly hair-raising conclusion make this one of my absolute favorite of Stewart's novels.

Stewart has a deft hand with a plot, and her heroines aren't milksops. Most of her books have a sort of modern Gothic feel to them - if you like Barbara Michaels (a.k.a Elizabeth Peters), chances are you'll find Stewart to your liking.

This is, as far as I know, one of only two novels Stewart wrote that has horses central to the plot, but her level of detail is quite good. (The other title is The Ivy Tree, which revolves around a family squabble, a case of mistaken identity, an inheritance, a nefarious plot to claim said inheritance, and of course a bit of romance. In that case, the heroine's talent with horses is... no, but that's telling! :) But I will say there's a mad horseback dash across country to prevent murder. Wonderfully suspenseful!)

So there you have it. Not quite a true British "cozy" for your February viewing pleasure, but a nice treat to curl up with nonetheless.