Appaloosa Summer (Island Series)

I loved this beautiful romance between Meg and Jared. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy clean romance and horses. Meg is a show horse jumper when tragedy happens to her and her horse. You will have to read the book to find out what happened. It changes the course of Meg's life. It does have a HEA ending and is a standalone even though it is Book One of the Island Series.

This review was first published on my blog Courtney's ReadsThe title of this novel caught my attention almost right away. My mind was flooded with memories from all those summers (and every other season of the year, too) that I spent with my beautiful Appaloosa Smokin' Joe. Still, I was hesitant. Picking up horse books can be hard for me (but I'm getting better!), because it's so easy to get wrong. I'm happy to say that this book did a very nice job with the equestrian side of things.Meg, our main character, is devastated when her horse Major dies in the middle of a competition. After recovering from her own injuries, Meg ventures to her parent's island cottage for a summer job, not yet ready to let another horse take Major's place.This book was filled with likable, easy to relate with characters. They aren't always as believable as I would like, as there were not many flaws shown by the characters. Aside from that, they were nicely done. There isn't too much drama, which was a nice break from a lot of the YA I've read recently. The drama that was there stayed mostly in the periphery of the story and was handled gently, never thrown at you. In some respects this was almost more middle grade than YA, in terms of how situations were handled and characters portrayed.The horse side of the novel was cute and showed some of the emotional baggage that goes with loving horses. I could feel Meg's pain over her loss, though I think it would take me much longer to emotionally recover from something like that. It was nice to see her growing bond with Salem, the Appaloosa she acquires during her stay in the cottage. My only complaints with the horsey side of things is that there could have been more. Salem was already well trained and Meg didn't seem to have to work enough to get her where she wanted her to be. Their relationship as horse and rider could have been explored more. Aside from that, the horse stuff was well done. The explanations and terms were used very nicely and explained well enough that a non equestrian reader can appreciate the art and story.Meg and Jared's romance was cute and innocent. Just the kind of first love story that makes you happy. There was not a lot of drama surrounding their interactions and they helped each other grow, rather than holding each other back. Very cute.This was overall a very enjoyable and quick read. A little more depth to the characters and situations, a little more bonding time between people and horses, would have improved it, but as is it's a really good read. Highly recommended for those who like horses and innocent first love. I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series.

FULL REVIEW HERE: [...]Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy, in exchange for an honest review!This was an amazing book. I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. Ms. Robins knows her horses, creates fantastic characters, a unique and enthralling plot that made it nearly impossible to put down, a sweet romance, and a happy ending. This book was engaging. I would just sit down and read page after page after page, and it would take all my willpower to close the book and be productive. Definitely not your typical horse book, either. Growing up as a horse-crazy girl who was determined to read every book her local library had to offer, a girl who also frequented Half-Price Books... I ended up reading (and owning) a LOT horse books. My reaction to horse literature by now? YAWN. It's always the exact same plot, same shallow not-well-developed characters, same never-ending series, same Suspense and Mystery (SARCASM). Don't get me wrong, I loved those books! But after a while, they all bled together...So, when I saw this book on NetGalley... Well, first off, the cover was gorgeous. Seriously, I would buy this book JUST for the cover. But I had low expectations. Very low. This book blew them away! I LOVED it! I've been a bit (okay, a lot) down lately, and this book was perfect. It was a wonderful world and story to escape into for brief snatches of time, and it leaves you feeling satisfied. This may well be my new Happy Book. The only real complaint I have about this book is that it wasn't longer. Every once in a while, I would just get lost for a few sentences. Unsure about what day it is, how much time has elapsed, who's talking to whom, etc. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was disconcerting. A brief trip back to the real world as I tried to discover what had just happened. I wish that the book could've been longer, that we could've spent more time following Meg around at her job, and just... being in her head during the slow, boring, moments of her life.Long story short, though? I LOVED this book! Do you love horses? YA? Sweet Romance? Horse shows? Do you just want a short Escape from Reality? This is the book for you! Plus, she's an Indie Author! Can't get much better than that!

I actually loved this book. It opens very strongly - and shockingly - but I felt that it's real strength came when Meg arrived on the island. The island is almost a character in itself, engaging and well described.What really appealed to me about this book is that it is very cleverly written. It has plenty of horse in it, which appeals to younger readers, but emotionally intelligent enough with its characterisation, and with a wee bit of romance, for the older reader. The story had enough oomph to keep it ticking along nicely without the need to have major drama that might not be quite believable. The characters are likeable and have just enough issues to make you want to root for them without being frustrated with their choices. Supporting characters are also believable and well rounded.I'd wanted to read this book for a while - I was drawn in by the lovely cover - and it didn't disappoint. In fact, as soon as I finished it, I immediately bought the second instalment in the series.It doesn't harm that I have a soft spot for Appaloosas either...and I really would like to live on that island!

This is my first book from Tudor, and I had to write a review as she is clearly a new author and I found the book so wonderful that I had to say so!It is beautiful, touching, the love story sizzles as she unravels this with anticipation-inducing pace. The story was sweet, believable, and I really like Meg and want to read much more of her. The descriptions were so vivid I felt like I have had a holiday not Meg! Stunning edition too, it arrived within a day on a sunday and the print, the font size, the cover, the pages, were of amazing quality. I love the riding descriptions too. Please bring out an adult book of meg after school....xxFive star read. A believable feel-good summer read of a girl getting over her grief and back to living her life and smiling x

I only got this book because it was a freebie and because I've always had a soft spot for appaloosas having owned a lovely chap for 23 years. I wasn't too sure at first but soon got into it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a well-paced novel with likeable characters and written by someone who obviously knows about horses. My only gripe is a personal bugbear of mine, when characters in books bung the same saddle on any old horse and it automatically fits! Pretty sure Major's saddle (ex racehorse) would not have fitted the appaloosa who was described as a very different stamp of a horse but as I say, I'm aware that's very nit-picky!Well worth a read for horse lovers of any age.

This book flowed along at a lovely pace, the storyline between meg and Jared was lovely but wasn't centred around everything that happened. I read this first before I allowed my daughter to (just checking how raunchy it Got!!!) but rest assured there was nothing that wasn't applicable for my 12 year old to read. Lovely read, believable characters and great to read a book based around horses where the author actually sounds like they actually know what they're talking about.

i really enjoyed reading this both for the love interest i also liked the horse element. i have visited Kingston on holiday so also liked the reference to this.i also visited Ottawa what a beautiful city. well done & thank you.