Wow. That was so bad I can’t even believe it. Maybe there’s hope for me as a writer yet if crap like this can get published.
There are so many interesting and incredible people I have met in the horse world, it’s a shame that the same old “rich bitch horse girl” stereotype once again gets perpetuated.
The product placement is so cheesy and tacky. How could anyone ever want their name on that? Yikes.
Barbara Moss’s book In and Out :lol::lol::lol:
Actually, I do wish she would write a sequel 
The product placement is pretty typical of the genre she is going for (Gossip Girl, A-list type dealio.) I think they’re meant mainly to be escapism books. And like those books they’re at least fairly evocative of their setting!! That course sounded beautiful (I mean, I was picturing it in my local hunter ring but still. Beautiful.)
If she has based the heiress off of herself I do feel a twinge of sadness for her, because it’s obvious that whether or not the taunting was justified or seems trivial to us, it obviously hurt her. Sure, she was born super-fortunate and wealthy and with generous parents, but I don’t see why that gives other people the right to be open caustic to her.
Those first few pages sound very similar to a satire I wrote for an assignment in high school. I think it is written very immaturely, is that because it is aimed at young teens? It sounds like it was written by a judgemental 14 year old with a chip on her shoulder, not a woman in her late 20s who one would think would be well-educated and well-traveled considering her background.
[QUOTE=Kwill;5589501]
OK, I went and looked it up: “Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods. The prerequisite is that they must be primarily set in a city.”[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately it’s sorta becoming rather specifically “Hot female protagonist deals with the supernatural, has hot supernatural males panting after her. Covers will involve the backside of said protagonist, ideally with a tramp stamp visible.”
(Personally, I use the label but sort of resent it. Yes, I have magic and vampires and it’s nominally set in a city. However, the vampire is a supporting character, the magic has nothing to do with fairies or Wicca or any of that nonsense–not that people other than goofing-off high school girls can’t take Wicca seriously, but in books it’s generally absurd and the authors obviously just got the ‘woman power and nakedness’ parts–and certainly no werewolves or demons or any of that. That’s right out. But it DOES involve magic, it’s in a city, ergo…but then what happens when there are books where they’re not in a city? Does it change genre? Since I can’t write anything that doesn’t ultimately involve horses some way, of course there will be horses. And quite possibly a kinda-sorta-pooka. Because we already knew ponies were evil, that’s just proof.)
I didn’t think it was so bad, I have read much, much worse about horses. usually “horse” books are so badly written that they have nothing to do with reality at all. The jumps, course, riding and horse show were pretty accurately described, which is more than I can say for pretty much any other young adult horse book I’ve ever read.
Usually they consist of a girl finding a horse at an auction half-starved, then being the only one to tame the horse she takes it out on a trail and escapes a brush fire while discovering it can jump by rescuing someone from the flames, then takes it to the big horse show and wins the grand prix. The horse is always either palomino or a color not found in nature.
I mean, at least this is somewhat tied to something that could actually happen. And I bet Georgina has worked very hard to get where she is, we all know it isn’t easy to ride well no matter how much money you have. To the extent the book shows a bit of the “hard-working heiress,” I can’t begrudge her that, I’m sure she’s overheard many a nasty comment just like that and had to shrug it off.
God, those pages were agonizing and so incredibly annoying to get through. Is this really what it’s like to be on the a circuit, because it seems SO perfect from what I see on the outside just coming as an audience. Snotty girls with Mexican grooms (boo hoo, its hard dealing with a dumb blood, I get it, you have to work SO hard to look good despite daddy spending tons of money on the best of the best for you) who are offended when someone talks behind their back.
Did we need to go into deep accounts of what brands of apparel they were wearing - I’ll have to get the book now just to see if it is as bad as I think it will be. The bit about the implants was just too much.
Aside - what are GOOD books and authors I can actually be reading because the content/writing is good, not because it’s a trainwreck guilty pleasure book?
Insert sounds of crickets here…
No such thing! :lol:
My eyes started to bleed after the first page. I would think that such drivel, and that is exactly what this is, would only appeal to readers with a diminished cerebral capacity on the left side of the brain.
[QUOTE=horsegal301;5590209]
boo hoo, its hard dealing with a dumb blood, I get it, you have to work SO hard to look good despite daddy spending tons of money on the best of the best for you. [QUOTE]
Wow, you kinda sound like the two girls in the (not very well written) book. Guess the point she’s trying to make does hold true. Even after all the thousands of discussion on this board about how riding a top top horse isn’t as easy as the riders make it look.
[QUOTE=horsegal301;5590209]
boo hoo, its hard dealing with a dumb blood, I get it, you have to work SO hard to look good despite daddy spending tons of money on the best of the best for you [/QUOTE]
Wow, you kinda sound like the two girls in the (not very well written) book. Guess the point she’s trying to make does hold true. Even after all the thousands of discussions on this board about how riding a top top horse isn’t as easy as the riders make it look.
Anyplace Farm, I love your post “insert sounds of crickets here…” as I’m sitting next to my tarantula and his crickets are right now chirping:lol::lol: But, I couldn’t get past page 2 myself, it seems I’ve read/heard all these stereotypes before…many times before :no:
I finally read the first 5 pages… and there’s 5 minutes of my life I’d like back. :lol:
I’m pretty sure I would have loved this at age 13. But, that was also before I had actually been to rated shows. Maybe I spend too much time riding and not enough time noting the brand of everyone’s clothes or checking out the hot guys who I might be able to steal from their girlfriends or plotting how to show off my “assets.”
[QUOTE=BLBGP;5590327]
Wow, you kinda sound like the two girls in the (not very well written) book. Guess the point she’s trying to make does hold true. Even after all the thousands of discussions on this board about how riding a top top horse isn’t as easy as the riders make it look.[/QUOTE]
The point is less the horse might or might not be a tricky ride than we should all have that be just the hardest thing in our lives. If people jealous of her staggering wealthy daddy buying her expensive horses and they just don’t appreciate how a horse might require more than a push-button ride are the toughest thing in her life? Hard to feel any sympathy there.
Wow - that sample was painful and the last thing the sport needs are more books that make hunter/jumper riders look like spoiled, self-absorbed brats. My god-daughter is 9 years old, and I dread the day she starts wanting to read this drivel.
I didn’t read through all the posts. the book looks incredibly tacky.
but
does anyone know who makes the bridle that is shown on the cover? I want one.
Aside - what are GOOD books and authors I can actually be reading because the content/writing is good, not because it’s a trainwreck guilty pleasure book?
Anything by Jean Slaughter Doty; they tend to be more teen lit, but her Dark Horse is still my very favorite.
Last Junior Year by Barbara Morgenroth if you can lay hands on it
The Perfect Distance by Kim Ablon Whitney is pretty good
[QUOTE=Kryswyn;5589301]
Oh lord, I looked at the cover again and it seems the horse’s forelock is ROACHED.[/QUOTE]
That would be an additional snippet of evidence in favor of cover horse being either a half-Arab or National Show Horse, since forelocks are often roached.
Where is everybody seeing the sample pages?
[QUOTE=War Admiral;5590981]
That would be an additional snippet of evidence in favor of cover horse being either a half-Arab or National Show Horse, since forelocks are often roached.
Where is everybody seeing the sample pages?[/QUOTE]
I posted a link on page 2 or 3…
Thanks!
I guess they must have heard us about the cover, since it’s not there. Sample pages gone now too!
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