Horse Talk Reviews

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars 5 stars I loved this book so much. It balanced a mostly vibes and very soft romance with just enough historical accuracy to give it an edge. It is also an incredibly timely book considering it's about the news and queer people existing and finding their communities in the 1950s and while a lot has changed for the better we are also regressing so it was nice to read something so sweet and happy and hopeful despite all the things working against them. As for the romance, the caretaking was an absolute delight with the grumpy one, Nick, being so soft for the sunshine one, Andy, and making him soup and keeping track of his keys and doing anything at all Andy needed him to. And yet again Cat gave me urban planning as a treat because it had just enough dumping on Robert Moses and all the crap he did to the city to entertain me but mostly focused on the neighborhoods and people of mid-century ...

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel My rating: 5 of 5 stars 5 stars This book is low on historical accuracy but very high on vibes. It was such a compelling read and I could not put it down. It has some truly beautiful moments in it despite it being about two very problematic medieval kings getting it on throughout various castles and manors. I probably could have done without the political gambits and all the people dying in the background (or foreground in a few instances) so they could be together but it was also the 1100s so, like, stuff was weird. Honestly the less you think about this book and the more you vibe along with it the better off you'll be. I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. View all my reviews

The Gentleman's Book of Vices by Jess Everlee My rating: 2 of 5 stars This unfortunately ended up being a miss for me, on several counts. The salient points are that I felt like the characters were flat, they had no chemistry or emotion, the sex scenes were handled poorly, and the plot was frustrating to nonexistent. I think it had potential , but it was not realized here. Characters: I never felt like I got to know the characters at all. Any of the somewhat numerous cast. Charlie comes off as a self centered man child - this could be a starting point, but he never truly grows from it, jerking his fiancee around a lot with his dithering, so I just ended up not liking him at all. Miles…did we ever get any backstory on him, outside of a brief Ethan thing? I genuinely don’t think so. He’s just kind of there. Cardboard like. He didn’t feel consistent either, more like he was cobbled together of plot-convenient personalities. The smooth sommelier mome...

The King's Delight by Sarah Honey My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4 stars+ The King's Delight had all of my favorite things: 1. It was short and sweet 2. Low angst 3. Funny without being try hard 4. Under negotiated kink with zero daddy 5. Horse I really had a good time reading it. Sometimes you want a lowkey book with horses and some spanking. Not at the same time, um... Anyway, The King's Delight was also erratic's delight to read. Highly recommend! I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. View all my reviews

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars 5 stars If you haven't noticed by now, I am a big Cat Sebastian fan. She just gets me, ok? Especially the Cabot books that she describes as "vibes" and "people crying while wearing sweaters" and "generationally queer" which Tommy calls them in this exact book. Which is exactly right. What I loved most about this book is how much space Daniel and Alex make for each other. The story starts with them already as friends and together in every sense besides fucking so there is immediately domestic slowburn vibes which continue the entire time. Alex is an immigrant, a doctor, and neurodivergent, all of which are treated with care in the writing. Daniel is from a wealthy family but is still a cinnamon roll and a dirtbag who starts a community garden on a city-owned abandoned lot. In a way, the book is a story of these two finding their way both as independ...

How the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wasn't planning on reading a straight regency romance but I was told this one had a dining table sex scene so obviously I became interested. Now that I have read it I can confirm that boy does it ever have a dining table sex scene. A+ work on fulfilling my exactly one expectation for the book. As for the rest of the stuff that doesn't take place on a dining table, it was a fairly decent regency romance. The intellectual pursuits of the titular wallflower were interesting (to a point. Some of it felt like name dropping a bunch of philosophers i dont give a crap about. What is with books thinking I am here to learn!) and the support between the two main characters for fulfilling these pursuits was nice. I also enjoyed how nonjudgmental the intellectual female lead was to the dude's inability to read well. It was very sweet. On the other hand, I could have done without the con...

Murder at Union Station by David S. Pederson My rating: 3 of 5 stars Expected publication: September 13 2022 A historical murder mystery set in 1946 Phoenix - I was intrigued by the setting, as this isn’t a time period I see a lot. Plus murder mystery! The author did put a lot of effort into the accurate historical detail, especially hats. So many hat. It made for a very distinctive setting for the book, which I appreciated. Unfortunately I did find this to be a little bland and emotionless. Most of the book is expositional dialogue, with no time spent on characters thinking - not even the MC - or reflecting on things. There’s little to no discussion of how people react, until the very end. This imbalance made it read like a recitation of facts rather than an immersive story to me. I liked Lydia, she made for an amusing balance to Mason. The mystery had potential, but was hampered by the lack of investment I had in it. Overall, it was a unique setting and I appreciated ...

The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars Cat Sebastian hits it for me every dang time. A (reformed) rake with a heart of gold and a proper gentleman falling in love? While taking care of each other the whole time?? And a double romantic "look at you"??? Stop it. It even had my favorite trope which hardly anyone writes which is paperwork . Julian taking care of Courtenay's paperwork and finances and Courtenay taking care of Julian when he was sick is everything I've ever wanted. My one complaint is yet again the book was way too short! I want a million more words of these two taking care of each other forever. Now excuse me while I go cry over Julian saying Courtenay is his favorite person again. View all my reviews

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare My rating: 4 of 5 stars “You may say you dinna want to attract notice. Well, I notice all of you.” Very cute book, with very solid and well developed leads. Both FMC and MMC had struggles to face, but they did it with great communication, and really supported each other throughout. The setup was very amusing. A solid read! When a Scot Ties the Knot on Amazon  (I got it from my library) View all my reviews

How the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Horse rating: 0 of 5 horses Expected publication: September 27th 2022 Overall, a decent historical romance, more idealistic than some but that’s okay, it made it entertaining. Positives: • I liked the casual FF relationship between side characters. • Lots of diversity rep just casually dropped in. • Anachronistic but idgaf. • The beginning was a really fun read - both of them being in denial, Finn trying to set up Tabitha and • Dom despite the obvious chemistry between Finn and Tabitha…a lot of good moments. • There were also excellent sex scenes throughout the book. Criticisms: The biggest criticism that I have is how unbalanced this is between the leads, emotionally speaking. Finn does so much for Tabitha - libraries, going to the Sterling Society, bringing her books, helping build the Platinum Collective, and then the big thing he does at the end despite their estrangement…! He does so much . Emotionally ...

The Marriage Ring by Cathy Maxwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars Horse rating: 🐴🐴 of five horses This was very sweet, I really liked both Richard and Grace, and especially them together. Grace was a lovely character, facing her past and all the mental baggage she had from life. She never let it get her down, even if it made her defensive at times (understandably) but still open to hope and connection with Richard. Poor bb Richard, trying so hard to be good enough and fit in and he just struggles. I loved seeing him find himself slowly throughout the book. He also wished he’d taken a moment to tell her what he really thought about her. He’d tell her she was beautiful—but then she’d heard that from a hundred other men. So Richard amended his thoughts. He decided, if he could speak to Grace one last time, he’d tell her how resourceful she was, and wise. And that he admired her intelligence and even her bluntness that could set his teeth on edge. there was just so much sweetness...

An Inconvenient Duke by Anna Harrington My rating: 3 of 5 stars Horse rating: 🐴 of 5 horses (horse slander) This was generally ...fine. Positive-neutral. I read this several years ago, before I had actual rating systems and reviewed things, and I guess past me had slightly rosier views. This was still a pleasant read. It had a strong mystery-crime plot with good tension running through it. Unfortunately, this also sort of handicapped the romance plot, which ended up feeling a bit shorted overall. It also had some heavier subjects, and did a pretty decent job of mixing these more modern ideas with the views of the time. On the whole, a book. An Inconvenient Duke on Amazon  (I actually borrowed this from the library) View all my reviews

The Wrong Rake by Eliot Grayson My rating: 3 of 5 stars 3 stars. This was a short mostly vibes not much plot book. The beginning read like the author had found a fun historical vocabulary list and used all of them but after a bit I either got used to the writing or there were less of these words and it got much easier to go with the vibes. Also, for being so short it was very steamy! I did like the vibes but overall the book didn't do anything new or memorable. I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. View all my reviews

Redemption of a Slave by Laura Taylor My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've read a lot of omegaverse and mpreg in my life so when an author can give me something new it's always a treat. The world of Redemption of a Slave had a fairly typical dynamic where alphas are in charge, omegas are the very bottom of the class system, and betas are somewhere in between. What was new were the slight changes to how the biology of alphas, omegas, and betas worked. It was enough to make it feel totally unique. I especially enjoyed how important betas are to the whole omegaverse ecosystem. The reveals of the biology quirks came up in an organic way too which was nice. Biology and world building aside, the romance in this book was very sweet and very slow burn. The omega main character had gone through a lot so the time and space between the two main characters felt necessary for the romance to develop and made it more believable instead of having a magical healing ...

Like Silk Breathing by Camille Duplessis My rating: 5 of 5 stars 5 stars Content Warnings my ARC didn't have: attempted suicide, depression, death, grief, alcoholism, cheating (kissing only), fade to black, point of view chapters from two side characters This was a lovely little seaside jaunt of a book. It had some heavy themes but they seemed to be more accepted as something that simply was instead of a Big Dramatic Thing. The subtlety magical world building made me want a deeper dive into the lore of witches and selkies and witch hunters. The two main characters were also lovely and the slowburn relationship was nicely developed. It's just a nicely packaged simple little story. I wasn't expecting much and it gave me a lot even without Theo ever shifting into a selkie on page. (I am still disappointed we don't get to see Theo as a selkie!) Anyway, the emotional depth in the book is like looking into a tide pool: small but complex. Hi...

Like Silk Breathing by Camille Duplessis My rating: 4 of 5 stars Horse rating: 0 of five horses ARC difficulty: temperate sand dune Expected publication: June 28th, 2022 Content warnings: In case you don’t see the content warnings in the author’s note at the beginning: grief, loss of a loved one, depression, mental health, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt In his version of the myth about a man who stole a selkie’s skin, the selkie kept the man. This was not the story I had expected based on the blurb. I had anticipated more of a suspenseful, action-y paranormal romance, in an alt-historical setting. This is actually a much more internally focused book, rather than being concerned with a larger external plot. I found it to be a captivating and emotional look into mental health and especially depression as we see it through Tom, who I related to rather strongly. I would say I may have enjoyed it more this way, than if it had been what I had originally expected. The ...

Tommy Cabot Was Here by Cat Sebastian My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved everything about this book except the length. I usually don't complain about something as pedestrian as the length of a book but this one unfortunately suffered narratively by being way too short. Everything felt as if it was just beginning and nothing really happened. That being said, I really did love everything about this book. Especially the amount of tears Tommy sheds for no reason, or, really, for every reason ever. A weepy older main character is a lovely change from the stoic manly man stuff that can come through in a romance. In conclusion, I needed approximately 5 times the amount of pages with weeping Tommy being hugged by Everett.  Tommy Cabot Was Here on Amazon View all my reviews

Peter Cabot Gets Lost by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars   If there was a book version of catnip for me it would be this book. It has a road trip, a couple of dingdongs falling in love along the way, it's short, and it's very sweet with a dash of humor. All of my favorite things! I mean, the book has the main characters saying things like this: "All it takes is three days, a couple newspapers, and a handsome face, and I lose my principles." Isn't that cute? This book is just super cute and Cat Sebastian wrote it in a masterful way where no word is wasted. Tightly written historical fluff is something I want more of so I suppose I'll just have to read the other book in the series now.   Peter Cabot Gets Lost on Amazon View all my reviews

Redemption of a Slave by Laura Taylor My rating: 4 of 5 stars Horse rating: 🐴🐴🐴🐴 of 5 horses This really grew on me the more I read. I appreciated that the horrible experiences of Dante were not super long in length (doesn't make it better really) so that his healing process felt more natural, rather than like magic dick or something. He still had a long path to go and many traumas, but it wasn't overloaded. I enjoyed the slow growth of their relationship throughout the book - so slow it kind of crept up on me. So well done! And very sweet as they built a rapport and a romance overall. This had a fascinating historical aspect - it was more interpersonal, with the alpha-beta-omega dynamics being more servant/master. Belowstairs drama, jostling for position, it reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey. Like a tiny bit. Idk that's my only reference point. Great tension throughout the book despite the self-contained plot line - no massive external things. I...

The Servant and the Gentleman   by   Annabelle Greene Ellie's Review:  5 stars Annabelle Greene seems to excel at writing fun, tropey historicals without sacrificing great prose and emotional connection. This features class differences, hurt/comfort, fake relationship(!), slow-ish burn, forced proximity (only one bed), long time pining and also whatever trope "being comforted after a nightmare" is, which I now realize I need more of. And it's good to read a regency-era historical where, while homophobia does exist and isn't discarded, the fear of being found out and the shame of one's sexual orientation aren't main plot points. I read this straight after reading and loving the second book in this series. I already liked Josiah, the hardworking chief assistant of the Society of Beast. He's used to blending in the background of this molly club he basically runs almost by himself and to being disregarded by every member because he's from the lower cl...