Luke Davis is a hard worker who takes his job at Bywater Farms seriously. A stable hand from a young age, he knows the ins and outs of the job. He also knows how to treat horses, and he can easily gain their respect. But even Luke can't help his surprise when he's appointed as the groom for King of Hearts, the farm's most prized horse.

King's a race horse--or at least he was. His racing days ended just a year and a half before when he threw his rider. The rider didn't make it, and King hasn't been amenable to a new rider since then. But Luke's boss, Clay, has faith that Luke might be able to bring King out of his shell and get him back in the game.

Luke also can't deny his attraction to his boss. He knows it's not right, but it's not like he can just turn it off. And when Clay gives Luke some obvious hints the attraction is mutual, Luke thinks he might give in. But there are some complicating factors. Clay is Luke's boss. And the rider who fell off King? Clay's lover. There's not shortage of issues to go around for these two.

Can Luke let his guard down long enough to let Clay in? And is Clay over his past enough to start a new relationship?

--

These two guys. I'm not even sure where to start. It's always interesting to see people act on their attraction for the first time. Even when they're tentative, there is a real passion that comes through.

My only real reservation here is that I feel like Clay's revelation was a bit sudden. Yes, he's had time to watch Luke and for the attraction to build. But it all still seemed to escalate quickly.

Despite that, this is a wonderful story about finding love when you've given up and when you don't think you could fall in love again. It's about moving on but not forgetting your past. It's about being there for the person you love even when it's scary to do so. And it's well worth a read. ( )

I don't think I'm going to rate this because I would feel bad giving this book less than 4 stars. The writing, the setting, the story, Luke and King, even Mrs T, all deserved 4 stars.
But I can't give this 4 stars because this is a romance, not just a romance but a Dreamspun Desire, and the connection between the MCs just isn't there. They barely interact in the first half of the book and what there is doesn't show the reader any possible interest from Clay in Luke's direction. Then the connection comes too quickly and is therefore unbelievable. And while these books don't--shouldn't--be realistic, they do need to be believeable.
I think the main problem is that we don't get Clay's pov and therefore the man and his feelings remain a mystery when we badly need them. Another issue is the time jumps so we end up being told rather than shown the important developments of their relationship.
I understand these stories are quite tightly monitored on word count and this might account for some of these problems. Also while the horse stuff is interesting I feel some of this could have been sacrificed for more relationship development.

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!


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )