I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Making the Running
by Hannah Hooton
Series: Aspen Valley #4
Series Rating:
Published by Smashwords Edition on June 2nd 2015
Genres: Sports Romance
Pages: 462
Format: Kindle
Source: the Author
Goodreads
Also in this series: Keeping the Peace, Giving Chase (Aspen Valley, #2), Share and Share Alike, Chasing the Wind
On the surface of things, life for stable lass, Kate Creswell, looks rosy. Wealthy boyfriend, Nicholas, is a text-book example of the perfect partner, and her ambition to lead up at Cheltenham Festival is set to come true with her favourite horse, d'Artagnan.
But dig a little deeper and things aren’t quite so blissful. There’s the small task of keeping her mother's alcoholism a secret from Nicholas's well-to-do family. What about Nicholas’s dislike of d’Artagnan’s jockey, Ben de Jager? Could there be something more sinister to Ben's ability to be a good loser, and could their Gold Cup bid be in jeopardy?
A lot of things can change between flag fall and finish line. Nothing is a certainty. Not in life, not in racing, and not in love.
‘A modern day Jilly Cooper.’ ***** Gallops & Garlands
‘By far my favourite equestrian novel I’ve read.’ ***** LB Equestrian
‘The balance between simplicity of describing a race and giving my imagination enough fuel to see the horses jumping was perfect.’ ***** The Rubber Curry Comb
My take on this book: Making the Running by Hannah Hooton is another great book of horse racing, from the Aspen Valley Series, by this wonderful author. This one focuses on Kate, a stable lass at Aspen Valley, and her, recently, complicated love life with two half-brothers, Nicholas and Ben. Kate has never really felt pretty or beautiful when she is standing or sitting next to her younger sister, Saskia, who she practically raised by herself because her mom was not really there and her dad was never around.
Kate’s life is pretty much complicated all the way around, between her complicated home life and dealing with two half-brothers’ that she might be in love with, but isn’t sure which. Kate has tried to keep her personal life away from her work life and it has been going very well for her. Although working with her sister is extremely trying at times..
She has mostly been keeping the secret of her mom’s alcoholism to herself, along with trying to keep her youngest brother in school and whatnot. Mostly she didn’t want Nicholas and his parents to dislike her or her family just because of her mom’s drinking problem. Kate tried to fit herself into Nicholas’ life while disliking what he was doing to d’Artagnan, the horse she takes care of, so that The Whistler could win.
Ben, d’Artagnan’s jockey and half-brother to Nicholas, didn’t like what was going on with the horse either but that is what he does for his dad. Ben thought he liked Saskia at first, which is why Kate went after Nicholas, but after a while he realized around the same time as Kate that he liked her and she liked him. Kate and Ben have been on a rollercoaster of feelings since they first met to the very ending of the book.
Making the Running by Hannah Hooton is such a good book that I’m giving it a five butterflies rating because it is that good.
Overall I would recommend reading Making the Running by Hannah Hooton to everyone (at least adults to read it, it is a little much for the young adults).
Anyways until the next time enjoy this book review brought to you by
Baroness’ Book Trove.
**Where to find this book**
** Goodreads **
About Hannah Hooton
Hannah Hooton is a multiple award-winning author and screenwriter based in UK.
After splitting with her literary agent to venture into indie-publishing, Hannah burst onto the contemporary romance scene in January 2012 with the release of her debut novel, At Long Odds. This was followed by the Amazon bestselling Aspen Valley series, which charts the lives, loves and dramas of a jump racing yard.
The inspiration for her novels came while combining her wanderlust with her love of horseracing when travelling around Australia and working from one racing stable to the next as a strapper (not to be confused with stripper) and the exuberant imagination of a girl with an empty purse and a passion for a very expensive sport.
Giving Chase was the winner of Best International Romance at the Some Kind of Wonderful Awards in 2012, one place better than Keeping the Peace finished the year before.
Share and Share Alike won the ARU Katy Price Prize 2014 and finished runner-up in the RWA Marlene Contest 2014.
Recently graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge with First Class Honours, Hannah was also awarded the McCleod Prize for finishing top of her year.
Hannah balanced her time at university writing her novels and improving her craft, but also learning the art of screenwriting. To date, Hannah has completed three screenplays (one of which sparked her abrupt change in career to return to university as a mature student just so she could learn how to write it properly), all of which received critical praise and first class marks. The feature-length script, Incarnate, is a science fiction WW2 drama with romantic elements, a world – quite literally – away from Hannah’s comfort zone of horse racing romances.
