Customer Reviews

Ride A Painted Pony (MIRA Single Title Hardbacks)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One stormy night, Nick Red Shield finds a battered, lost woman on the road. She gives her name as Joey, and refuses to go to a hospital or contact authorities. Nick takes her home to heal, not knowing she is Lauren Davis, a young mother on the run from the mob boss who stole her son and wants her dead. Lauren has no plan to make her dream of regaining the real Joey come true, until she gets to Nick's home. His new horse is a champion racer, with the right jockey, and she is that. The horse is also the perfect bait to lure her ex. The only flaw in her plan is that to achieve her goal, she will have to leave Nick, the man she has come to love.

**** There is no waiting for this story to kick into high gear. From the first page, the reader is intrigued, and things only go up from there. Lauren's quest is both suspenseful and heartwarming. In the past, I've considered this author's pace too slow, sometimes. There are no complaints at all in this book. ****

Amanda Killgore

Kathleen Eagle's newest release, RIDE A PAINTED PONY, is part suspense and all romance. It's the tender story of a strong, quiet man protecting, caring for, and, ultimately, falling in love with a woman who gives as good as she gets.

Late one rainy night, Nick Red Shield finds a bruised and terrified Lauren Davis beside a long, lonely stretch of highway. Against his better judgment, he folds this woman with secrets under his strong wings and takes her back to his South Dakota ranch.

Lauren Davis barely escaped a powerful and abusive ex-boyfriend, but was forced to leave her young son behind. She recovers under Nick's protective presence, regains her strength and passion for training and riding horses, and finds herself falling inescapably in love with Nick. Ultimately, though, she can't hope to build a new life without getting her son back. And that means facing the little boy's father, Raymond Vargas, the ex-boyfriend who's already ordered her death.

Rich with the details involved with in raising, training, and racing horses as well as Native American legends of painted horses, Nick and Lauren's story will undoubtedly satisfy long-time Kathleen Eagle fans and intrigue new ones.

This novel should have been a short story.

The book begins with a gripping, compelling premise -- good-guy Nick finds a mysterious and horribly battered woman cowering by the side of a Missouri road, so he helps her and provides refuge. The reader is quickly introduced to Lauren's equally intriguing backstory. After Nick brings Lauren back to his ranch, however, the story sputters and stalls. Much of the book introduces a series of tedious characters and has no real action or plot development (I believe that an entire chapter is devoted to the fascinating subject of cooking and eating pancakes for breakfast).

If the author had bypassed most of the novel, its beginning and ending would have made a brilliant novella.

Thank goodness, Kathleen has gotten her voice back. She is simply wonderful when she writes about kind and giving Lakota Cowboys, and the lucky ladies who are loved by them. Both tiny Lauren and Nick are strong yet vulnerable believable people, ones that you want to cheer for. This is definitely an keeper.

Well written - Bad guys - Heroes and Heroine - Nice mix of suspense and Romance. Enjoyed the read.

The short version is that this was like reading a novelization of a bad Lifetime movie (which is a redundant statement, anyway). The good news is that you can skip entire chapters and not lose track of the story.

I really like her books, Since I am also Sioux I can relate to most of what she has written. She's VERY good.

This book is wonderful! You should read it if you love romance, or horses, or strong deep men who are generally silent but make an exception for the woman they love.

The dialogue is great! It reminds me of Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and also of the Gilmore Girls. It's really fast and you have to pay attention to stay on top of it.

My copy of this book contained the first few pp of Eagle's next book, "Mystic Horseman." I'm already hooked!

I loved the characters, the story, everything. I couldn't put it down. A great read!