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Churchminster #5
Horse Play
If you like Jilly Cooper, you will love this naughty, funny and deliciously addictive read from much loved author, Jo Carnegie.
'Funny, saucy escapism' -- Heat
'Sexy, sassy and scandalous' Glamour
'The sort of book you lose yourself in' -- ***** Reader review
'Total escapism and very, very funny' -- ***** Reader review
'Absolutely loved it' -- ***** Reader review
'A fantastic read' -- ***** Reader review
******************************************************************************************************
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE COUNTRY...SO BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!
Churchminster village - picturesque, quaint, sleepy - OR NOT...
A place where women know exactly what they want , and it's not cream tea with the vicar.
And a place where the men had better behave . . . because the ladies won't take it lying down (well, not unless they want to!)
'Funny, saucy escapism' -- Heat
'Sexy, sassy and scandalous' Glamour
'The sort of book you lose yourself in' -- ***** Reader review
'Total escapism and very, very funny' -- ***** Reader review
'Absolutely loved it' -- ***** Reader review
'A fantastic read' -- ***** Reader review
******************************************************************************************************
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE COUNTRY...SO BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!
Churchminster village - picturesque, quaint, sleepy - OR NOT...
A place where women know exactly what they want , and it's not cream tea with the vicar.
And a place where the men had better behave . . . because the ladies won't take it lying down (well, not unless they want to!)
612 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
15 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Jo Carnegie
8 books65 followersJo Carnegie lives in London and Cardiff. She spent her early career as a fledgling reporter on Bedfordshire’s Biggleswade Chronicle before working at more! and Glamour magazine, and most recently as deputy-editor of heat.
Jo has interviewed stars from George Clooney, Justin Timberlake and Will Smith to Posh and Becks and Kylie Minogue. She now writes features for heat and is the author of the Churchminster series which began with Country Pursuits.
Jo has interviewed stars from George Clooney, Justin Timberlake and Will Smith to Posh and Becks and Kylie Minogue. She now writes features for heat and is the author of the Churchminster series which began with Country Pursuits.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 14, 2015
The fifth and last in the Churchminster series (although I hope that they will be back). This for me was the best book out of the series. Set completely in the Cotswolds, whereas some of the previous books were in London. My heart is in the countryside, and with horses, so this suited me down to the ground.
There were parts of the book that I was rooting for people and horses, but then other parts where I could have cried, especially with the evil Sebastian.
Yet another great read, where I have to admit it, I should have been working, but instead I got engrossed in reading and I could see on my Kindle I only had 20% to go, so instead of reading a few pages and putting it down, I took timeout and read the ending of the book. I couldn't give it any less than 5 out of 5.
There were parts of the book that I was rooting for people and horses, but then other parts where I could have cried, especially with the evil Sebastian.
Yet another great read, where I have to admit it, I should have been working, but instead I got engrossed in reading and I could see on my Kindle I only had 20% to go, so instead of reading a few pages and putting it down, I took timeout and read the ending of the book. I couldn't give it any less than 5 out of 5.
August 29, 2013
It's trashy, it's predictable, it's cheesy, it's full of sex, it's full of swearing, it's full of posh people, it's superficial, it's corny, it's cliched AND I loved it!!!
It was a brilliant and funny read (well, actually I listened to it on audio).
Sometimes you just want to shake your head at your book and shout 'roaringly super fun dahrrr-linnng'!!!!
It was a brilliant and funny read (well, actually I listened to it on audio).
Sometimes you just want to shake your head at your book and shout 'roaringly super fun dahrrr-linnng'!!!!
January 27, 2021
OK, it was an ok read, some descriptive writings around passionate sex towards the middle, I felt the story itself was an easy read, but at parts found myself saying "oh come on, if you didn't realise that then you are stupid" but dont want to add a spoiler as to why. I wouldn't rush to read it again, but glad I stuck with it. Perfect read for a holiday I would say, then you can leave the book behind. But this is just my humble opinion of course.
November 7, 2017
I absolutely love this author, as I always know that when a read one of Jo's books, I know that I'm in for a treat. Pure indulgence on so many levels, it's got everything.
I loved getting to know all of the different characters and there own individual stories which you get to discover as you progress through the book.
If you haven't read a her books before, then I highly recommend that you do.
I loved getting to know all of the different characters and there own individual stories which you get to discover as you progress through the book.
If you haven't read a her books before, then I highly recommend that you do.
May 8, 2020
How I have not come across this series before? Typically I seem to have read number 5 before the others... Moves along at a cracking pace, very easy to read and likeable characters. Looking forward to reading the others even if it does mean going backwards in time!
May 8, 2020
Great fun, a real romp!
August 29, 2021
Such a fun and satisfying end to the series! But I wouldn't complain one bit if we had another book 🤭
October 30, 2015
Jo Carnegie has written a fantastic series of books set in Churchminster. I have enjoyed them all but her last book Dirty Tricks was an absolute corker. I was looking forward to the release of Horse Play. At a meaty 608 pages I certainly had something to get my teeth in to.
As usual with the Churchminster books you see the familiar faces that have appeared in the other books. Although that is the case, you certainly don't have top read the others and this could be read as a stand alone book. Although that may be the case, I just love the fact that with each book comes another part of Churchminster's life and we see members of the village and what is going on in their lives.
This books main star of the show was a new face in the form of Kizzy. She works for Angie and Fred (who feature in other books) and is trying to crack her burning ambition of becoming a successful female jockey. Angie and Fred have a horse called Nobby that Kizzy rides along with Edward who comes onto the scene a little later on.
In addition to Kizzy some of my favourite characters all make an appearance along with Caro and Benedict who have another part of the storyline along with Caro's despicable ex-husband Sebastian. There is also the appearance of other villagers such as Camilla and Jed and Granny Clem. Along with those my absolutely favourite character of all is Calypso, sisters to Caro and Camilla. She has the best attitude ever and some of her sayings are absolutely hilarious. She takes up a slice of the pie as she tries to work out whether or not to go back to London to try and make her events business even more successful.
The story starts with quite a few hairy moments in the beginning and after a couple of chapters I realised that Jo Carnegie had set me up for another bumper read. After a little while we see the sexy Javier, a former Olympic dressage rider, come into the story. The story itself is heart warming, funny and at times as steamy as hell. It had me gripped from start to finish and I truly didn't want it to end. One particular moment feasturing Caro and a trip to see her son's teacher had me laughing out loud and cringeing at the same time!
The characters draw you in until you love them or loathe them and the village life certainly hasn't got any quieter in the case of Churchminster. Two other characters that made this book for me are Caro and Benedict's new neighbours Baz and Cheryl. They were fantastic and had me giggling at every appearance. The story has lots going on and I would love to live in a place like this where there is drama at every corner!
I was truly sad to finish the book and thought it may well be the best yet in the series. I can only hope that the next book comes along sooner than expected as I don't know if I can wait another year to catch up with what I now consider old friends!
As usual with the Churchminster books you see the familiar faces that have appeared in the other books. Although that is the case, you certainly don't have top read the others and this could be read as a stand alone book. Although that may be the case, I just love the fact that with each book comes another part of Churchminster's life and we see members of the village and what is going on in their lives.
This books main star of the show was a new face in the form of Kizzy. She works for Angie and Fred (who feature in other books) and is trying to crack her burning ambition of becoming a successful female jockey. Angie and Fred have a horse called Nobby that Kizzy rides along with Edward who comes onto the scene a little later on.
In addition to Kizzy some of my favourite characters all make an appearance along with Caro and Benedict who have another part of the storyline along with Caro's despicable ex-husband Sebastian. There is also the appearance of other villagers such as Camilla and Jed and Granny Clem. Along with those my absolutely favourite character of all is Calypso, sisters to Caro and Camilla. She has the best attitude ever and some of her sayings are absolutely hilarious. She takes up a slice of the pie as she tries to work out whether or not to go back to London to try and make her events business even more successful.
The story starts with quite a few hairy moments in the beginning and after a couple of chapters I realised that Jo Carnegie had set me up for another bumper read. After a little while we see the sexy Javier, a former Olympic dressage rider, come into the story. The story itself is heart warming, funny and at times as steamy as hell. It had me gripped from start to finish and I truly didn't want it to end. One particular moment feasturing Caro and a trip to see her son's teacher had me laughing out loud and cringeing at the same time!
The characters draw you in until you love them or loathe them and the village life certainly hasn't got any quieter in the case of Churchminster. Two other characters that made this book for me are Caro and Benedict's new neighbours Baz and Cheryl. They were fantastic and had me giggling at every appearance. The story has lots going on and I would love to live in a place like this where there is drama at every corner!
I was truly sad to finish the book and thought it may well be the best yet in the series. I can only hope that the next book comes along sooner than expected as I don't know if I can wait another year to catch up with what I now consider old friends!
May 4, 2012
I'm not too sure what to make of this book. It has took me weeks to finally finish it, and it has been a struggle I must admit. It took me ages to get into the book unfortunately and I found myself choosing to do other things than read - very unusual for me. I wasn't sure if this was just because I have been really busy with crafting lately but actually I started a Fiona O'Brien book the same day I finished Horseplay, and I have already read about half of it!
For some reason, I found this latest book by Jo Carnegie to just not be as good as her previous books. I have loved all her other ones, and I always enjoy reading about Churchminster and the residents. It just seemed too long, which wouldn't bother me usually, but there seemed to be a lot of build up, and then I found the ending to be quite rushed, which considering the length of the book was disappointing. I almost felt like there should be more, so I am not sure if there is going to be a follow up to this book?
I found the character of Kizzy to be rather annoying if I'm honest, she seemed very immature most of the time, and her descriptions of Javier were rather cringe worthy at times! I also personally felt that there was rather a lot of sex in the book, which wouldn't normally bother me, but some scenes/descriptions were rather cringey and sometimes I felt like I wanted more story.
I really like Jo Carnegie as an author, and so I will read her next book without a doubt, but will be hoping it is more engrossing than this one.
For some reason, I found this latest book by Jo Carnegie to just not be as good as her previous books. I have loved all her other ones, and I always enjoy reading about Churchminster and the residents. It just seemed too long, which wouldn't bother me usually, but there seemed to be a lot of build up, and then I found the ending to be quite rushed, which considering the length of the book was disappointing. I almost felt like there should be more, so I am not sure if there is going to be a follow up to this book?
I found the character of Kizzy to be rather annoying if I'm honest, she seemed very immature most of the time, and her descriptions of Javier were rather cringe worthy at times! I also personally felt that there was rather a lot of sex in the book, which wouldn't normally bother me, but some scenes/descriptions were rather cringey and sometimes I felt like I wanted more story.
I really like Jo Carnegie as an author, and so I will read her next book without a doubt, but will be hoping it is more engrossing than this one.
January 22, 2015
Not as keen on this one, mainly because of Javier and Kizzy. The newly introduced Javier has a touch of the Mr. Rochester about him, all brooding (read uncommunicative, controlling and slightly creepy as well as having a wife locked in the attic), whereas Kizzy is no Jane Eyre, she's far too busy swooning over his half-gypsy good looks and amazing skill on horses and pianos. The horse in a thunderstorm rescue at the end was really cheesy and I thought the abrupt death of his wife was a bit too convenient (contrasting with Devon & Lady Fraser's decision to go their separate ways in the previous books. Anyway,apparently being a widower will make Javier a good husband and that Kizzy will 'heal him' (pah!).
I had the same criticism with the custody battle, it was gripping and I really felt for the characters, then suddenly everything was sorted out and it wasn't really mentioned again. Sebastian was just portrayed as being an irredeemable villain, but I was more interested in poor Suzette. I suppose I am not reading these books for unhappy endings, but I got a bit impatient with this one.
I had the same criticism with the custody battle, it was gripping and I really felt for the characters, then suddenly everything was sorted out and it wasn't really mentioned again. Sebastian was just portrayed as being an irredeemable villain, but I was more interested in poor Suzette. I suppose I am not reading these books for unhappy endings, but I got a bit impatient with this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2013
Having read all the other Churchminster books by Jo, I was very excited to be reading Horse Play and I have to say it is just as good as all the others. Whilst it contains the same characters and locations as the pervious books, it would stand alone as a story on its own, you wouldn’t have had to read the pervious books to understand it …. however, you’d be mad not to read them all!
Brilliantly well written in a style that is very similar to Jilly Cooper. 600 pages packed full of humour, drama, heated romance and village life with the rich and in some cases, famous. This is the sort of book you lose yourself in and believe in the characters that you are reading about, despite them living in a very different type of world I do!!
I’m a huge fan of this series and was delighted to hear that there will be at least a 6th book coming out in the future.
Brilliantly well written in a style that is very similar to Jilly Cooper. 600 pages packed full of humour, drama, heated romance and village life with the rich and in some cases, famous. This is the sort of book you lose yourself in and believe in the characters that you are reading about, despite them living in a very different type of world I do!!
I’m a huge fan of this series and was delighted to hear that there will be at least a 6th book coming out in the future.
January 7, 2013
I received a copy of Horse Play by Jo Carnegie in exchange for an honest review.
I was a bit hesitant to start this book because the thickness scared me. I had a print copy, and I imagined it taking me weeks to be able to finish this lengthy book. I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to dive right into the plot and really enjoy the story, not having to worry about timing issues because I was engrossed in the character’s lives. There are a lot of characters that get their POV time in this novel, but I think I did a good job at keeping everyone separated and learning all their stories. There is a lot of drama, a lot of romance, and I was very entertained throughout.
I was a bit hesitant to start this book because the thickness scared me. I had a print copy, and I imagined it taking me weeks to be able to finish this lengthy book. I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to dive right into the plot and really enjoy the story, not having to worry about timing issues because I was engrossed in the character’s lives. There are a lot of characters that get their POV time in this novel, but I think I did a good job at keeping everyone separated and learning all their stories. There is a lot of drama, a lot of romance, and I was very entertained throughout.
January 28, 2012
This book is another installment in the lives of the residents of Churchminster and we catch up with some old friends.
Although I enjoyed it, this book was not my favourite in the series as I felt it lacked some of the fresness of the previous books. I also found it a bit hard to get into and overly descriptive in some places.
Overall, a good story and it would be a good holiday read for when you are sat in the sun. There are a few new characters in this book, although I would like a little more reference to some older ones. I'm looking forward to the next installment!
Although I enjoyed it, this book was not my favourite in the series as I felt it lacked some of the fresness of the previous books. I also found it a bit hard to get into and overly descriptive in some places.
Overall, a good story and it would be a good holiday read for when you are sat in the sun. There are a few new characters in this book, although I would like a little more reference to some older ones. I'm looking forward to the next installment!
February 18, 2012
I love reading Jo Carnegie, for light, easy, funny chick-lit. This one was good, but not as good, funny or gripping as the previous Churchminster tales.
At the risk of sounding prudish, too much sex, not enough character development, or humour.
It was a light fun read, but could have been better. Jo does however remain one of my favourite trashy chick-lit authors.
At the risk of sounding prudish, too much sex, not enough character development, or humour.
It was a light fun read, but could have been better. Jo does however remain one of my favourite trashy chick-lit authors.
September 5, 2013
I enjoyed it, it was quite light and fresh but there were a tad too many characters with their own stories going on, it was getting a bit too much and took away from going deeper. Kizzy and javiers story for example could have been even deeper as could of calypso and Archie's story, I didn't care for the rest!
Read
March 21, 2012Marking this one as read, but in fact it's a did-not finish. Almost 300 pages into it, weeks of struggle, I admit defeat. I's just pointless to read on. Nothing happened, lots of space used up for a big nothing. This is not a book for me.
September 26, 2012
Loved it, had me laughing for the whole 3 hours it took to read. Definitely a book you cannot put down. I will be buying more from this author. A great view of upper class england and how life isnt always a bed of roses, even if you could afford a bed made of roses.
Read
February 16, 2012Pretty good. In the vein of Jilly Cooper but without the class. Still fun but not as funny.
April 4, 2012
It was okay
May 4, 2012
Great book, made me laugh so much at times.. If you have ever lived in a village you will enjoy the characters and story..
This can be read as a lone story or as part of the Churchminster series.
This can be read as a lone story or as part of the Churchminster series.
July 18, 2012
loved this, will have to read the rest of them, chick lit!
January 9, 2013
I picked it up because of the name and I like stories with horses. The story just didn't engage me.
January 1, 2015
Stopped reading round page 100, very boring....
August 5, 2015
this is a very funny book, loved it :-)
August 22, 2015
enjoyable read. funny loveable characters and the ending wasn't too cheesy, sweet!
June 29, 2016
Horses good looking people,drink and sex
Fairly well written but the story is A bit predicable but a nice easy read with nice characters and a nice ending
Fairly well written but the story is A bit predicable but a nice easy read with nice characters and a nice ending
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews