Showdown

April 24, 2006
The Horse Whisperer
and National Velvet
meet Jackie Collins behind the barn in this libidinous fly-on-the-stall peek at horse racing and California real estate chicanery, just in time for beach read season. Irresistible Bobby Cameron, 23, and already one of the most skilled horse breakers and trainers in the world, inherits Highwood, his father's 3,000-acre California ranch, but not the money to keep it out of foreclosure. He takes a job training two horses on a highly regarded racing stud farm in Newmarket, England, where he falls for the farm owner's 17-year-old daughter, Milly Lockwood Groves. Milly is a frustrated rider forced by her family to give up her career after a neck injury, and she's living in the shadow of her neighbor and rival, Rachel Delaney, a sexy and successful pro rider. Milly's dad has a minor stroke and finally agrees to let her return to riding and to train with Bobby at Highwood. While Milly grows closer to her dream of professional riding—and outshining Rachel—naïve Bobby takes on a sleazy partner with big bucks and an ulterior motive. This follow-up to Bagshawe's surprise bestseller, Adored
, should satisfy this year's crop of vacationers.

June 1, 2006
In this follow-up to "Adored", Bagshawe takes readers into the worlds of horseracing, horse breeding, and ranching. British teenager Milly Lockwood Groves wants to be a jockey, but her breeder father and social-climbing mother forbid her from pursuing her dream. Things change for Milly both personally and professionally when she develops a crush on visiting American horse trainer Bobby Cameron and an unfortunate event results in something positive: her parents allow her to go to California under Bobby -s care to train to race professionally. Meanwhile, twentysomething Bobby is disturbed by his growing attraction to Milly (she -s only 17!), inherits his father -s California ranch, and enters into a deal with a devil, with unfortunate consequences for him and Milly. Supporting characters like Milly -s brother, Jasper, and her rival, Rachel, add to the hijinks. Although this entertaining escapist read includes all the compelling elements of unrequited love, sex, drugs, and deceit, Bobby -s attraction to Milly just doesn -t ring true and prevents the book from being as deliciously captivating as Bagshawe -s acclaimed debut. Still, public libraries should expect summer demand." -Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.