Review by Wency

TITLE: By Chance

AUTHOR: Sasha Kay Riley

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 148 Pages

BLURB: Vincent Anderson has everything he thinks he wants: a job he loves, a girlfriend he feels comfortable with, and a horse that never lets him down. He successfully trains off-track Thoroughbreds at his dad’s stable, teaching them to do things other than race. When he’s not working at the stable, he trains with Xander, a rescued former racehorse turned talented show jumper—not that Vince takes him to many shows.

Everything changes when he hires a homeless drifter as a stable hand. Seeing the young man’s passion for working with horses, Vince takes him under his wing. But his passion for horses isn’t the only thing Vince notices about Dustin. This revelation leads to him to question his relationship with his girlfriend of two years.

As Vince learns to accept himself, he and Dustin grow closer. At the urging of his family, he agrees to try to make the United States Olympic show jumping team with Xander, and he hopes Dustin will travel with him as his groom. But first, Vince must confess his feelings before Dustin decides there’s no hope for romance between them and moves on. 

REVIEW:

There’s nowhere Vince Anderson felt so sure of himself and comfortable with than with his horse, Xander. Along with a really nice girlfriend, loving family and a job he loves, what more does he want and need? But when he offered Dustin a shelter to their barn did he realized what he truly wants. Soon revelations changed his life. Now all he have to do is make a move and what he wants would be his.

Light and short read. I  find the book really enjoyable. After finishing it, I’m surprised that I really had a good time reading it. I think it had to do with the main characters and the cowboy charm. The writing is also good. Easy to grasp and understand even with horse related topics. And I did learn a lot about horses. Though it wasn’t until later that there was a really a development between Vince and Dustin in terms of romance. Trust me, I did get a little bit frustrated with that.

But the last 20% or so of the book was the major turning point for me to rate this with 4 stars. God, I keep waiting that moment to encounter the emotional turmoil, the tension between the main characters. And when I did finally had that, it hit me like somebody splashed a really cold water on my face.

Not the best analogy, I know. But man, it did made me cry. If it wasn’t for that last 20% of the book, Vince and Dustin wouldn’t be this remarkable characters for me.

I also like the sub- characters. Especially the relationship between Vince and Jane (Vince’s ex-girlfriend). It’s always nice to have the girl who was left behind or the girl whom the boy broke with being not a bitch. Exes do stay friends. And it’s nice that they stayed that way. It must have been hard for Jane but women are strong, they take it in stride. And that’s not unrealistic.

I had a great time reading this book, I’m still wiping the remnants of my tears when I started writing this review. Fear not, this has a happy ending. And I hope you’ll enjoy this book. This is just the right pace and length for me.

I looked up the profile of the author in Goodreads, and it’s her first book based on what was there. For a debut, the author did a good job.

P.S. Dear author, please tell me there would be a sequel. Please. Please. Please.  I, we need it.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press