Where the Horses Run
Author: Kaki Warner
Reviewer: Ang
Rating: A
What I’m Talking About:
I am so glad to be loving Kaki Warner again. After the crazy disappointment that was her last book I will admit I went into this one a bit nervous but found I had not reason for it. Where the Horses Run was a lovely read complete with her tell-tale wounded cowboy and her beautiful heroine who come together to rescue each other from the cruelties of life.
This novel, however, had a few fun and expected twists beginning with the location. Instead of taking place in our lovely Heartbreak Creek, we were in England as Rafe our hero, helps Ash find and buy horses to take back to Heartbreak Creek. Seeing our cowboy outside of the rough Colorado wild and forced into English manners was a fun and made for an interesting story, blending beautifully the typical historical romance and Ms. Warner’s lovely Colorado Cowboy touches.
Another thing I enjoyed was the lack of hardened villains in the typical cowboy sense. The twist and turns are there, as are the bad guys, but not in the kidnapping, pistol shooting way. This change helped keep things fresh and entertaining, so I didn’t feel like I was rereading the novels from earlier in the series. Ms. Warner continues to do a beautiful job of showing and telling me the story, and as is her style, she fills the story with wonderful settings, emotional descriptions, great chemistry between Rafe and Josephine, and just enough angst for us to understand their struggles without bringing the novel down.
Ms. Warner also held true to form by continuing to share with us fantastically colorful secondary characters, mostly from Heartbreak Creek, that help move the story along and give us insights into Rafe and Josephine without taking away from their telling of the story. For example, Jamie is a wonderful secondary character that adds color, innocence and perfect insight to Josephine, her past and her current struggles.
Overall, I found Where the Horses Run to be a perfect summer read. Just enough heat in just the right spots ,but not so much that you couldn’t take it to a public place like the pool or beach and read it. I also loved that the story was well-written and thought out and that the love scenes were used to add passion and color and not to take the place of the story, something I find vital in good literature. If you have enjoyed Ms. Warner’s other novels or if you are new to Heartbreak Creek I think you will enjoy Where the Horses Run. You can read it as a stand alone or in connection with the others, but regardless I think you’ll enjoy your time with our cowboy Rafe as he find love in the English countryside.
My Rating: A, Loved It
About the Book:
Wounded in body and spirit after a shootout, Rayford Jessup leaves his career as a lawman and uses his gift with damaged horses to bring meaning to his solitary life. Hired by a Scotsman in Heartbreak Creek to purchase thoroughbreds, he travels to England, unaware that a traumatized horse and a beautiful Englishwoman will change his life forever.
Josephine Cathcart loves two things: her illegitimate son and her injured stallion. Faced with her father’s looming bankruptcy, she must choose between a loveless marriage to the man who ruined her, or risk her horse and her future on a handsome, taciturn Texan and a high-stakes horse race. But as vengeful forces conspire against them, will Rafe’s love and healing touch be enough to save her horse and protect her and her son?
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Heroes of Heartbreak Creek #2
ISBN: #978-0425263273
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback (352 pages), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
Purchase Info:
Where the Horses Run (The Heroes of Heartbreak Creek #2)
Reviews in the Series:
Behind His Blue Eyes by Kaki Warner (The Heroes of Heartbreak Creek #1)