Downed Fences by Kate Roman

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I had already had the chance to find out that Kate Roman’s style is to make “ordinary” some extraordinary stories, like writing an almost homemade love story among a vet and a werewolf, and with Downed Fences she did it again. Part of the Spurs & Saddles series at Torquere Books, it would have been easy to make it “homemade” setting the story in a ranch or in the rodeo circuit, settings that already have us used to being not “fashionable” and “shining”. But instead she chooses the show jumping circuit, that already in the name makes you think to ribbon and stables smelling like flowers other than sweat (and also something else). There is a lot of money behind this sport, but it’s not money in your face, like the prize for a rodeo, but more in business agreements and other bartering happening more in offices than along a trail.

Cody is one of those jumpers, not only he is also the son of an owner, so apparently he has everything easy, best horses, best trainers… but Cody has a gentle hand and even a gentler heart and he misguided interest for love; he is in an abusive relationship with his trainer, a man who hardly makes difference between training him and an horse, Cody is nothing more than something else to “schooling” and I’m not mistaking in using “something” instead of someone, Gary is not considering Cody with the respect you have for a lover.

After years of this treatment, Cody is scared and skittish, like a mistreated horse, and only a very gentle hand can convince him to trust again the “rein” of another rider (yes, I know, there is a big pun here, and it’s entirely intended). Troy is another jumper, but also a trainer, with not enough money to own his horses, but with all the love for the animals and the sport to being a good man. Maybe he will never be rich, but he is for sure happier than Cody.

Not really knowing that it’s the right way to approach Cody, Troy deals with him like he would do with a scared horse: letting him know that he will be safe with him, but not forcing him to accept a new saddle; tempting him with treats, gentle strokes and plenty of freedom. Cody, who has not experiment kindness in years, is fully taken from the first moment.

Downed Fences is a nice novella, not really full of events or highly dramatic, but with enough emotional level to make the reader feel for Cody and being happy for Troy, who apparently has found his perfect match.

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Amazon Kindle: Downed Fences

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