Review: THROWN by Colette Auclair Takes a Blue Ribbon!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 5, 2014
E-Galley provided by publisher  for review purposes on my blog from which this is excerpted. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions presented herein are my own.I really loved this book! It had great characters who didn’t really fit any mold, who made awful decisions, and who, unlike most of us, readily admitted when they were wrong. It also has great “horse stuff.”The two main characters are Grady, a movie star and Amanda an equestrian whose PTSD has taken her off the circuit. The children in the story are Wave and Solstice. I did have an issue with the short time it takes the girls to go from spoiled rotten, entitled, Hollywood hoydens to nice kids who merely needed a little structure and discipline.Auclair’s descriptive abilities come through well, especially with the architecture of her bosses house, barn and the area they live in. Her writing shows an ease with and affection for her characters, as well as a natural writing voice.Grady has a habit of caving to his kid’s demands and jumping to conclusions. He is easily swayed to act rashly, even against his better judgment. He seems down-to-earth, but is a “movie star” and while he doesn’t often play that card on purpose, he does have a tendency to just expect certain deferential behaviors from others.Amanda prefers to employ “horse sense” in dealing with difficult people, especially her boss and her kids. She is usually right and it works more often than not. She is good with people.She also makes spurious assumptions based on stereotypes about Harris, Grady’s friend and chef’s sexual orientation based on his knowledge of skin care.  Harris also provides the slap down to his best friend’s sillier, “movie-star” behaviors — he plays the clown, the truth teller and the voice of reason.I was really taken by the story and it’s contemporary romance with comedy, and drama. Any pet or animal lover will appreciate Amanda’s sense of loss in having had to sell her horse. Towards the end I was brought to tears. It’s really a great debut novel that deserves a chance. At under $2 as an e-book it’s a great bet I can Highly Recommend!