The heroine, Amanda Vogel, is almost guaranteed a berth on the equestrian Olympic team, however a friend's fatal accident seems to have crippled her even more than her own injury. To earn money, after having to sell even her own horse to pay medical bills, she takes a summer job in Colorado to instruct two young girls in riding.
Sounds easy right? Well the two girls are the very pampered daughters of a Hollywood A-lister, Grady. I laughed in commiseration with Amanda's character when she first encounters the Hollywood star and manages to drop (and break) his Oscar. He endeared himself to me by is non-reaction. Soon I began to root, not only for Amanda to recover her dream of Olympic stardom, but also for the two of them to, perhaps, find love with one another.
It doesn't seem on the cards though, as Amanda begins dating someone else - then a woman from Grady's past pays a visit. Along the way, the two girls (absolute monsters when first encountered), begin to flourish under the love and attention Amanda pays them. I was quite jealous of them actually as they live every child's dream in having their own horse, private lessons, and fun. (This book should be read just for the over-the-top description of the barn Grady built for his girls.)
I found this a true heart-warming novel with enough plot twists and turns to hold my interest through the end and which prevented the story from ever becoming predictable. I'd highly recommend that you add this book to your must-read list and I'm looking forward to reading more by Colette Auclair in the future.
Rating
Five stars for Colette Auclair's Thrown
From the Publisher
Thrown by Colette Auclair
Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books
Pocket Star
ISBN 9781476745800
Price $1.99
In this lighthearted and sexy romance, a young woman must choose between winning a competition—and the man who has won her heart.
Professional horse trainer Amanda Vogel dreams of riding jumpers in the Olympics, but after seeing her best friend die in a riding accident, she’s so traumatized she can’t compete. Broke and desperate, she takes a summer job in Aspen teaching some big-shot widowed movie star’s spoiled daughters to ride—and braces herself for three miserable months. But the movie star is funny, down-to-earth, and gorgeous—and his spoiled daughters are just desperate for a mother figure. By Labor Day, she has to choose between capturing a gold medal…and the man who has captured her heart.