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If Wishes Were Horses: A Novel [Hardcover]

Robert Barclay (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 15, 2011

In this unforgettable novel of love, hope, and second chances, a grieving man's personal plan for redemption is suddenly and unexpectedly turned upside down . . . .

If Wishes Were Horses

Wyatt Blaine desperately seeks a reason to continue. Devastated by the senseless deaths of his wife and son at the hands of a drunk driver, he remains unable to forgive, and to love again. Searching for a sense of peace, he decides to revive his late wife's equine therapy program for troubled teens at the Blaine family ranch. By honoring her memory in this way, he hopes to find the sense of closure that has long eluded him.

But then Wyatt's pastor asks for the impossible—for Wyatt to meet with Gabby Powers, the widow of the man responsible for Wyatt's unbearable sorrow. Wyatt knows Gabby is not to blame for the tragedy, so when she begs him to accept her troubled teenage son, Trevor, into the program, he reluctantly agrees. With some help and guidance from Ram, Wyatt's irascible but lovable father, Wyatt does his best to accept Gabby and Trevor's unsettling presence at the ranch. Even so, Wyatt still feels that he is somehow betraying his late wife's memory rather than honoring it.

But to his great surprise, Wyatt also finds himself drawn to Gabby's warmth, tenderness, and surprising ability to soothe his troubled soul. Day after day, their mutual attraction becomes more intense, more impossible to ignore. But to heal completely, Wyatt and Gabby must first overcome the common tragedy that separates them and learn the true nature of forgiveness. And only by conquering these seeming impossibilities might their hearts become free to love each other . . . .


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barclay takes the Nicholas Sparks formula out for a limping spin in his melodramatic debut weepy. Wyatt Blaine's happy world crumbles on his 35th birthday when his wife and his son are killed by a drunk driver. Five years later, Wyatt still hasn't recovered from their deaths, and Trevor MacPherson--the 14-year-old son of the man who killed Wyatt's family--is having problems at school and is offered one last chance: participate in the New Beginnings horse therapy program on the Blaine ranch. Blaine is shocked and furious when he finds out who Trevor is, but he allows him into the program. A bigger surprise comes in the form of Trevor's mother, Gabby, who is the most attractive and interesting woman Blaine has met since his wife's death. Barclay clearly knows a great deal about horsemanship, though the contrived romance angle is tough to get past, especially considering how central it is. Wyatt's irascible father provides some relief, but the clunky writing and maudlin aesthetic make this a nonstarter. (Feb.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

“I loved it. A great read myself and staff enjoyed very much, with wonderful characters and writing.” (Earlene Scott, Scotts Bookstore Newnan, GA )

“IF WISHES WERE HORSES is chock full of wonderful characters. The novel is a moving one, at turns poignant, sad, dramatic, amusing, and hopeful.” (Romance Reviews Today )

“A powerful story...You’ll rejoice in the triumphs experienced at a horse-therapy program for troubled teens and observe how results can best be achieved through actions.” (PBG Lifestyle Magazine )

[If Wishes Were Horses] will satisfy fans of sweet romances and tender family sagas… Mr. Barclay weaves a quiet tale about people with hearts of gold, each barely coping with inner demons or tragic circumstances, who learn that they need one another in order to find redemption. (NY Journal of Books )

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow; 1st ed edition (February 15, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061966886
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061966880
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Over the top, November 19, 2010
By 
poltroon "poltroon" (Mendocino County, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: If Wishes Were Horses: A Novel (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Wyatt Blaine is a rich lawyer-cowboy with a to-die-for body, an enormous horse ranch near Boca Raton, a fabulous personality, and endless finances. And, he's single. But bad news, he's still mourning the tragic death of his wife and son - on his birthday no less, sent out on a meaningless errand - in an automobile accident involving a drunk driver - 5 years ago.

But - amazingly - Gabrielle, the widow of that drunk driver, is also still single, gorgeous, poor but noble, and she has a troubled son who her priest - fully knowing the history - suggests for the horse therapy program run by Wyatt Blaine at his ranch.

Oddly, during the first conversation with the priest ( who seems a good guy, and a nice minor character), it seems the author is trying to keep us in suspense about the shared history between Gabrielle and Wyatt. The connection was obvious to me, but the longer the scene went, the more I wondered if the author was pretending the characters didn't know. It was just strange.

I wanted to like this novel. And I hoped it would be about horses, but it's not, really. There are horses on the ranch, prized horses, but the author doesn't quite have the details right in places. I was surprised to feel it read more like a romance type novel, though there is no explicit activity.

The conflicts don't always ring true. Gabby is not sure she can ever forgive Wyatt when she falls off one of his horses. The huge family secret of the Blaine family seems medically improbable. There is a rain of tragedy at the end that took the novel from fluffy romance with knight and shining armor to a lead weight. And still, the author teases by not quite describing what happened to who for many pages, for no good reason. We know we're mourning, but we have to wait for the next chapter set months later to find out for what.

It's not really bad, and I didn't hate it. But, it didn't quite find its genre.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars If Wishes Were Horses, January 5, 2011
This review is from: If Wishes Were Horses: A Novel (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This was a very nice gentle story to read when you need to relax. You know from the very beginning the outcome of the book so you aren't waiting with baited breath for the ending. If you have had a long exhausting day and want to read something that helps calm you down enough for a goods night's sleep, then this is a book for you. It is well written, but entirely predictable, but sometimes you need that! For the type of book it is, it is great. Not great literature, but a great book in it's own class.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, February 28, 2011
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This review is from: If Wishes Were Horses: A Novel (Hardcover)
I have always loved Nicolas Spark's books and this book surely reminded me of his writing. I throughly enjoyed it, an easy, feel good read. If you like Spark's you will like this book.
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