Legends Lake

This is the type of luscious, non-taxing book you want to eat with a spoon. It is that good. It has everything: A black stallion. A rugged, sexy, troubled but ultra-honorable hunk of a horse-training hero. A beautiful, fey, Irish heroine who may or may not be a witch. A sulky teenaged girl who has to learn a few lessons about life. A vile ogre rapist of an ex-husband.Are you still with me?Add in gorgeous descriptions of the Ireland coast, incredibly erotic and tender love scenes, wonderful descriptions of horse racing, a supernatural sea creature, a crumbling castle, a love affair of legendary proportions...and you will forget all your troubles. The only problem I had while reading this divine book was having to stop to refill my iced tea. This is JoAnn Ross at her absolute best, and I thank her. The pleasure was all mine!!

Magic. It's in the smile of a little girl and under the flying feet of a champion racehorse. It's in the hands of Kate O'Sullivan. And, readers, it's in this book. Kate O'Sullivan is a practicing Druid, a horse breeder, and a mother of two. She has finally found peace and joy in life after too many years with an abusive drunk of a husband. But she senses change coming, and it blows into her life in the person of Alec MacKenna. Alec trains horses for a living, but that living is in jeopardy after he left his last job and was blacklisted in the racing community as a result. His last chance is a tall, awkward-looking horse named Legends Lake. This horse can run like the wind, but something is spooking him with dangerous consequences. Alec takes the horse back to Ireland to LegendsLake's breeder in hopes of getting to the bottom of his bad behavior. In a memorable first encounter, he meets Kate as she is rescuing a hawthorn tree from a bulldozer. His beliefs change slowly as he watches her bond with the horse--and also with his troubled stepdaughter. At first, he's testy and contentious, but his abrasiveness softens, and he begins to believe in magic. Kate's husband may have left, but he is still her husband. Divorce takes years togo through in Catholic Ireland. And one day, Kate's husband decides to comeback.... The magic of Ireland is on full display in this marvel ofexquisitely crafted prose. Two wonderful people are able to overcome deeply scarring events in their pasts to be together.

I have been waiting for Kate's book ever since A WOMAN'S HEART. I am sorry I had to wait so long, but it was worth it.Once again Ms. Ross takes us to rural Ireland, giving the backdrop of her story a richness and flavor of the Emerald Isle, as well as an acknowledgement that the area is changing, painfully at times, to "join" the modern world.As is A WOMAN'S HEART and FAIR HAVEN, both set in the same locale, the story is about much more than the relationship between the hero and heroine. Alec and Kate are the center of the story but before they can live happily ever after they have to reconcile their own painful pasts, and help their children do the same. This is a story of becoming a family as much as it is finding new love.Alec, Kate and the children are all multidimensional and real. By the end of the story, you not only understand the forces that have made them as human as they are, but you better appreciate their love by seeing what has been overcome.A previous review claimed that the storyline was improbable and unbelievable because a horse can not be healed in the short amount of time the book takes place. In response, I have to say, this a romance that focuses on human relationships, not a treatise on Thoroughbred psychology. The story thread of the stallion healing from his abuse and emotional trauma complements and paces the healing taking place with all of the other characters.All in all, this was a wonderful book, and well worth the time I took to read it. I can only wish it was longer....

In Florida, horse trainer Alec MacKenna informs owner Douglas Wellesley that his thoroughbred Lady Justice should not run today. Douglas forces the issue and the steed is injured in what will turn out to be the last race for this champion horse. Alec?s concern for the horse?s best interest costs him his thriving career as a leading trainer as the industry blames him for the accident and for his angry behavior towards the obstinate owner. Alec gets a second chance when he is asked to work miracles with talented LEGENDS LAKE, a horse that is lightning fast, but tends to jump the oval fence. He takes his new charge to Kate O?Sullivan's horse farm in Ireland so that the original breeder can help him understand the horse. As they work together, Alec and Kate begin to fall in love although her use of Druid magic to help her horses confuses him. However, he has a hurting stepdaughter still in mourning for the death of her mother (his wife) and she is legally married to a nasty sort making a relationship between them impossible. LEGENDS LAKE is an entertaining contemporary romance with a bit of magic and plenty of relationship drama to include the title hero. The story line is fun though the horse racing saga of LEGENDS LAKE asks the reader to run quite a stretch. Still, the interpersonal relationships are well designed so that the audience obtains insight into the feelings of several players. More than just the $2 better or the casual Derby follower will enjoy JoAnn Ross? Triple Crown winner.Harriet Klausner

Alex McKenna, horse trainer, punches his former employer because of the former's pursuit of winning rather than considering the welfare of his horse, Lady Justice, who eventually dies. Because of this Alex is systematically barred by other horse owners except for his 90 year old friend, Winnie. She purchased a Legends Lake at a good price because he has a tendency to leave the track and jump fences during a race. Alex contacts the horse's breeder, Kate who lives in Ireland and is told to bring the horse to Ireland so she can work with him.Kate is owns a stud farm and lives there with her two children, Jamie and Brigid. She is separated from her abusive husband, but has to wait five years to obtain a divorce. Kate is a pagan and is a "witch". When Alex arrives in Ireland accompanied by his ex-wife's 15 year old daughter, Zoe, he first meets Kate while she is standing under a hawthorn tree which she purports to be the home of fairies and defying a crew of construction workers who want to tear down the tree.Alex and Kate are drawn to each other but each try to fight the attraction. Meanwhile, Kate is working with Legends Lake to ascertain what his problem is so they can correct it. She connects with the horse and stays unconscious for over twenty hours but she has discovered the problem. Legends Lake is a magnificent thoroughbred and can be a winner if his fears can be alleviated.This story is about a love of horses, family and the things we all hold dear. The chemistry between Alex and Kate is wonderful as well as the connections between Alex, Kate, Zoe, Jamie and Brigid. Of course, her evil husband, Cadel, comes into the picture with dire results.If you like Jo Ann Ross's writings, you will love this one.