Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Horses were his passion, until he laid eyes on his boss.

Eighteen months ago, tragedy struck Bywater Farm when a riding accident killed Clay Hunter’s lover and traumatized his prize horse, King of Hearts. Clay and King lingered in limbo, surviving but not really living, until a breath of fresh air in the form of Luke Davis, a new groom in the stud barn, revives them both. 

When a fall from King’s back sends Luke to the emergency room, Clay watches the shaky foundation of their budding relationship tumble down. Can Clay really love a jockey again, or will his fear of losing another man he loves keep them apart for good?

Book Review

There is nothing simple about this book and, for me, it is written proof that things are not always what they seem. At first glance, it all seems obvious. There is Luke, the narrator of the story who is a financially struggling stable hand in the employment of absurdly rich horse owner and breeder Clay. Then you have King, a thoroughbred horse traumatized by a riding accident two years ago when his rider was trampled during a steeplechase. But then there is a second layer that complicates things more than a little. Luke is not struggling due to incompetence or addiction, but because he has to pay his deceased mother’s medical bills. Clay is grieving because the rider who got trampled was his business partner and lover of twenty years. But that is not all. Ariel Tachna throws in another few elements, like Luke’s talent to deal with horses that is close to horse whisperer level, and the result is a spellbinding story with heartbreaking emotional moments and a very hard-earned resolution that had me sighing in relief. What a story!

Luke has no idea what he walks in to when he starts mucking stalls at Bywater Farm. It is all he is “officially” qualified for, but as the story develops and his deeper layers show, it becomes apparent that he is a real “diamond in the rough”. He has a few hidden talents and abilities regarding horses that would make a professional horse specialist jealous. Luke also possesses kindness and compassion in abundance, and his protectiveness where anything affecting King is concerned is touching. Oh yes, and he has a deeply embarrassing (to him) crush on Clay, but believes himself unworthy of his gorgeous boss’s attention.

Clay has suffered what no man should have to go through: he has seen the love of his life die during a steeplechase race. Two years later he is still grieving, hasn’t been back on horseback in all that time, but still loves King enough to not have given up hope that the horse will race again. He just has not found the right person to be King’s jockey. So when he discovers that Luke seems to have a special bond with the champion horse, Clay doesn’t hesitate. He sets in motion events that will change Luke’s life, Clay’s perspective on everything, and King’s career in racing.

Luke and Clay start out as employee and boss, but it becomes obvious pretty quickly that they are attracted to each other romantically. Actually, Luke realizes how he feels about Clay and suppresses his feelings because he believes Clay deserves better. There is more than one sign that Clay wants more, but Luke ignores them all – until he no longer has a choice. King is the link that brings them closer on a different level, and it was interesting to watch how that connection made the development of a romantic relationship possible in the first place.

If you like stories about men and their horses, if you want to see happiness and love emerge after mind-boggling tragedy, and if you’re looking for a read that has drama, several crises of various kinds, and lots of emotion, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. It is as heartbreaking in the beginning as it is heartwarming at the end. Loved it!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook, print and audio
Length	Novel, 204 pages/51813 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	15-April-2016
Price	$4.99 ebook, $9.99 paperback, $9.99 bundle, $14.95 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/unstable-stud-by-ariel-tachna-2755-b