Review: The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephenia H. McGee

Genre: Historical Romance 
Publisher: Revell
Released: Oct. 4, 2022
352 pages

About the Book:

A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They're easier to handle, they're more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father's passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers.

Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father's death--even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he's come to admire.

  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

Nora has grown up on a horse farm and wants to be a horse trainer. But it 1905 and her family tells her that a women’s place is to get married and manage the house. When her father dies she believes she will inherit the farm and can continue training her horse, Arrow. However her uncle has different plans and motives. Silas arrives at the farm looking for answers about what happened to his father and his horse 15 years ago. He gets hired as a horse trainer for Nora’s horse. Arrow only seems to listen to Nora so Silas asks her to show him how she has been training Arrow so far. The two begin to form a bond and Silas explains his reasons for being at the farm. Nora has suspicions about what happened to the horse Silas is searching for, but if her suspicions are right, it could have a negative impact on Emberwild, her home. Nora is torn between what to do.

There are quite a few details provided about the time and activities spent with the horse Arrow. Even though I love horses, this did not keep me that invested in the story. I found the story moved slow with not much really happening for a good portion of the book. It did pick up near the end, but by then I was ready to be done. I struggled with Nora, I could understand her frustration at not being able to do what her heart really wanted and the way her uncle treated her really annoyed me, but I also felt she was very passive around others and didn’t stand up for herself. Once again it was the main guy character, Silas, that I connected with the most. He is an honest man trying to get answers about his father’s death and what happened to his father’s horse. I liked that he could see that Nora could contribute to the horse training. He gets blamed for something he didn’t do and is gone for a while. I did not like the idea of Nora being paired with a guy 17 years old than herself and was glad when she finally stood up for herself. I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance that did happened, I would have liked more time with them getting to know one another to believe the feelings that developed. I was pleased with the way the story wrapped up and happy with how things worked out for each person.

Favourite Quote: 

“There were so many things she couldn't control, but she wouldn't let worry rob her of the contentment she'd found. She'd pray for peace and let God work out the details.”

(I received an ARC of this book from Revell through NetGalley; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)