Riding Lessons

So it was hard for me to like the main character, Annemarie Zimmer. Even a little bit. She’s self-centered, socially inept, and she flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. She’s a walking nightmare, and yet she’s not a complete lost cause. She does try, however miserably, and she always e......more

I could not stand Annemarie. She was snobby, selfish, unsympathetic, narcissistic and completely useless. Everything she said or did pissed me off. I have no idea whatsoever what Dan saw in her. On the plus side, the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job.......more

I DEVOURED this book - from start to finish it took me about 3 days, and I'm almost through with its sequel. It's a new take on an old theme - horses, illegal activities, danger, mystery, romance, and riding, riding, riding! I couldn't tear my eyes away from the descriptions of the horses and the ta......more

I loved Water for Elephants, and so decided to read another book by Sara Gruen. I'm certainly not giving up on her, but this book was nowhere near the quality. A lot of it I ended up just skimming because it was just so obvious and contrived. For example, the scene where the main character decides t......more

While it is obvious that Ms. Gruen has done some research on horses and equestrian activities, unfortunately the book reads somewhat like a checklist of her research findings. Because of this, I probably would have enjoyed the book much more if I were not an equestrian myself, since for me, the hole......more