Ok, I'll out myself first and say Kim's a mate of mine and we write for the same Riva line... But that said, I don't read a lot of Riva books because it tends to dent my morale and boy was this book no exception. Kim's writing is always so beautifully accomplished, she has a really fresh fun flirty single title style which always makes me feel I'm getting a lot of bang for my buck. But the premise for this story in particular intrigued me. I mean, the political background of the Marshall family would normally have been a real turn off for me, but Kim weaved it so beautifully into her hero Ethan's conflict that it gave the story a richness and complexity I wasn't expecting. And then we have the risks she took with her heroine Lily. I've written a few bad boy heroes with criminal pasts and they're hard to write, and even harder to make relatable. But a bad girl heroine!! Kimberly Lang has serious cojones and the risks she took were absolutely worth it. I found Lily a wonderfully complex and moving character and I was totally behind her when it seemed that no matter how much she fought to overcome her past it might destroy her future anyway.
I also loved the interaction between Lily and Ethan, the cute, quirky and also very sexy dialogue exchanges... And I even liked the horses! And I am so not a horsey person.
In a nutshell, this is a rich, textured and compellingly written love story that takes risks with its characters and then pulls them off. But don't take my word for it, check it out yourself. Can't wait for the second part of the Marshall trilogy, The Power and the Glory, which is Ethan's brother Brady's story. It's gonna be my Christmas treat!