Kentucky Sunrise [Hardcover]

Fern Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

KENTUCKY SUNRISE is the triumphant climax to Fern Michael's masterwork. A celebration of the themes that have won Michaels accolades and millions of readers - love and loyalty to family and friends, courage, commitment, passion, and the special bond that exists between a mother and daughter - this third Kentucky novel brings the saga that began in Texas and Vegas to a rich and deeply satisfying conclusion. Here, Nealy Coleman Diamond faces her greatest challenge yet - to produce another Derby winner and show the world that a determined woman never quits.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prolific novelist Michaels completes the saga of the Coleman and Thornton families with this follow-up to Kentucky Rich and Kentucky Heat. She focuses on the relationship between Nealy Coleman, a one-time runaway unwed mother who became the indomitable horsewoman-proprietor of Blue Diamond Farms, and her daughter, Emmie. Nealy's prestigious stables were run with a perfectionist's firm hand until her recent marriage to lawyer Hatch Littletree left Emmie in charge. Emmie not only fails to keep up appearances at the farm but also chooses the wrong horse to train for the Derby, where there'll be a mammoth family reunion. Mother and daughter's lifelong rivalry suddenly becomes a struggle for control of the family estate. Emmie, who inherited her mother's strong will, is battling an undiagnosed illness and a secret fear of losing custody of her own child. When she finds out she has rheumatoid arthritis, she goes for an extended stay at the Rehabilitation Center in Las Vegas, founded by her aunt Fanny. Nealy abandons retirement to try and reestablish the reputation of her beloved stables. Another familial crisis surfaces when Willow, Nealy's ex-daughter-in-law, is wanted on a murder charge and demands that Hatch's law firm represent her. When Emmie returns to Kentucky, the power struggle turns ugly. There is, of course, a stunning Derby day climax. Long on action, colorful dialogue and coincidence but short on subtle characterizations and sense of place, the book will satisfy Michaels's many fans, if not win her new ones. Featured alternate selection of the Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs, alternate selection of the Literary Guild; audio rights to Brilliance Audio.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Nealy Coleman Diamond Clay Littletree returns to Blue Diamond Farms in Kentucky, where her life as a world-famous breeder and jockey began, only to find the farm she entrusted to her daughter, Emmie, has fallen into disrepair. Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis, Emmie goes off to rehab, while her mother assumes the reigns of management, and soon the women are in thorny conflict over the prospect of two new horses as well as differences of character. Emmie believes that she can never be her mother, an assessment Nealy agrees with, thinking that her daughter has never worked hard enough to achieve all that she has, while Nealy has had to scrape and claw for every success. Nealy also has her somewhat distant husband and son to worry about while all this is going on. The third installment of Michaels' Kentucky horse opera is billed as the conclusion, but there are enough lose ends for another title in this popular series. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 295 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073942985X
• ISBN-13: 978-0739429853
• ASIN: 1575667630
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,097,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fern Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Fool Me Once, Sweet Revenge, The Nosy Neighbor, Pretty Woman, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting relationship drama, September 30, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kentucky Sunrise (Hardcover)

Nealy Clay Littletree accompanied by her new husband Hatch, returns to Blue Diamond Farms, currently run by her daughter Emmie Coleman. However, Nealy is disappointed with the poor conditions of the horse farm and appalled over the thoroughbred chosen to represent Blue Diamond at the Derby. Being a half owner along with Emmie, Nealy begins efforts to invigorate Blue Diamond into her the operation.

Emmie resents her mother's cavalier attitude and interference. A rivalry that somewhat existed before Nealy's arrival with Emmie trying to outdo her mother's success explodes into full war between the two relatives. Ultimately, the business cannot go on like this and a final confrontation between mother and daughter over who runs Blue Diamond is imminent with their personal relationship on the line as well.

The final tale of Fern Michaels' Kentucky trilogy is an exciting relationship drama that focuses on the poignancy of two women who love one another yet perhaps love the farm more. This leads to an unhealthy competition for top dog (horse?) in what may prove to be a destructive relationship if they are not more sensitive to the other's feelings. The story line is typical of Ms. Michaels' extended Texas-Vegas-Kentucky orb and many of the same characters appear in this novel adding to the enjoyment of fans, but also takes a trots down a surprising track.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Author obvisouly has no experience in horse racing!, September 24, 2004

By 

Ali (St. Simons Island, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kentucky Sunrise (Paperback)

I started reading this book way back in August and I've been reading it for over a month and still haven't finished it. This book is trash! A horse just doesn't go to the Derby without prior prep races. They usually have a two year old season and then they have prep races in their three year old season and if they are lucky the horse makes it to the Derby. Another major flaw is that jockeys would NEVER ride their first race in the Derby. Jockeys start out riding at the bottom ranks and work their way up to the bigger stakes races as they improve. I still can't figure out why this author would write on a subject they had no experience.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kentucky Sunrise, June 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Kentucky Sunrise (Paperback)

I LOVE this series!! If you started with the Texas series, instead of this book, which is the last book in the series, I think you will find that these characters have a lot of depth and you become very involved with their lives. Once I started, I could not put these books down!!