What do you think?
Rate this book
Chivalry
In 1960s New York, seventeen-year-old Rachel McMahon has grown up on the backside of Belmont Park exercising race horses for her mother, a rare female trainer in a sport dominated by men. Her mother, however, doesn’t support her dream, fearing for her safety, not simply because of the inherent dangers of riding a high-spirited racehorse on the track, but because of the attacks other pioneering women jockeys have dealt with across the country.
Even so, the greatest threat to her dream was her abduction and subsequent torture at the hands of a depraved and evil man—a man she calls the “monster.” Nightmares and flashbacks take control of her life and threaten to destroy her. But then she met Erick, who shares her dream, and is determined to help her find her way out of the nightmares and back to her dreams.
With the help of Chivalry, their barn’s newest and most promising horse, Rachel and her family set their sights on the most prestigious race in the country—The Kentucky Derby. But with the intense pushback from the male jockeys and the fans, they wonder if it’s all worth it. Will Rachel be able to hold on through the storms coming against her?
Even so, the greatest threat to her dream was her abduction and subsequent torture at the hands of a depraved and evil man—a man she calls the “monster.” Nightmares and flashbacks take control of her life and threaten to destroy her. But then she met Erick, who shares her dream, and is determined to help her find her way out of the nightmares and back to her dreams.
With the help of Chivalry, their barn’s newest and most promising horse, Rachel and her family set their sights on the most prestigious race in the country—The Kentucky Derby. But with the intense pushback from the male jockeys and the fans, they wonder if it’s all worth it. Will Rachel be able to hold on through the storms coming against her?
329 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2015
4 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Kristie Higgins
7 books16 followersRaised in Southern Maryland, Kristie Higgins grew up as a horse lover, riding friends' horses whenever possible. Short stories written as a horse-obsessed teenager have stuck with her and are now emerging as novels.
She is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington and a retired instrumental music teacher. She taught in various elementary schools in Maryland for twelve years before retiring. No musician can ever give up music, so she plays keyboards in her church, with her two teenage sons playing guitar and bass alongside. At the end of the day, she relaxes, watching horse racing and writing with the help of her two cats, Shadow and Cookie.
She is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington and a retired instrumental music teacher. She taught in various elementary schools in Maryland for twelve years before retiring. No musician can ever give up music, so she plays keyboards in her church, with her two teenage sons playing guitar and bass alongside. At the end of the day, she relaxes, watching horse racing and writing with the help of her two cats, Shadow and Cookie.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 4, 2015
For a horse mad family like mine this was a must read book. This is a story about a young 17 year old girl Rachel who is abducted, raped and tortured.
Thanks to her strength of character, Rachel slowly recovers from her terrible ordeal. This is helped by the arrival of aspiring young jockey Erick and romance is in the air. However, Rachel's abduction causes her to have multiple traumatic flashbacks to her days in captivity and makes it difficult for romance to truly bloom. Fortunately Erick is very supportive and understanding. He also encourages Rachel to reach for her dream of becoming a jockey.
Rachel's mother is a racehorse trainer and having been brought up around horses, Rachel is a very promising rider but this story is set in the 1960s, when there is huge prejudice in racing against the idea of female jockeys.
A new young horse in the yard called Chivalry, is showing huge talent and causing excitement amongst the family at the possibility of him being good enough to run in The Kentucky Derby.
The race descriptions are excellent and very realistic, the romance is gentle and touching and the drama of the abduction is well written.
As I was reading I couldn't help but think of elements of National Velvet, which was always one of my favourite films but this story is far grittier and probably more suited to a wider audience.
In summary, if you like a teenage romance or are horse mad or like a drama about overcoming terrible adversity, there is something for you in this book. If like me you enjoy a combination of all three then you are in for a treat!
Thanks to her strength of character, Rachel slowly recovers from her terrible ordeal. This is helped by the arrival of aspiring young jockey Erick and romance is in the air. However, Rachel's abduction causes her to have multiple traumatic flashbacks to her days in captivity and makes it difficult for romance to truly bloom. Fortunately Erick is very supportive and understanding. He also encourages Rachel to reach for her dream of becoming a jockey.
Rachel's mother is a racehorse trainer and having been brought up around horses, Rachel is a very promising rider but this story is set in the 1960s, when there is huge prejudice in racing against the idea of female jockeys.
A new young horse in the yard called Chivalry, is showing huge talent and causing excitement amongst the family at the possibility of him being good enough to run in The Kentucky Derby.
The race descriptions are excellent and very realistic, the romance is gentle and touching and the drama of the abduction is well written.
As I was reading I couldn't help but think of elements of National Velvet, which was always one of my favourite films but this story is far grittier and probably more suited to a wider audience.
In summary, if you like a teenage romance or are horse mad or like a drama about overcoming terrible adversity, there is something for you in this book. If like me you enjoy a combination of all three then you are in for a treat!
January 14, 2015
This is a really good start to a series by a first-time author. Chivalry is almost a tale of 2 stories, both focused on Rachel, the main character. Chivalry takes place in the late 60s, New York.
It's an account of kidnapping and the nightmarish after-effects of trying to survive and move on, woven together with a story of the same young lady, working her way into a male dominated area. I've never read a book on horse-racing or jockeys before, so this subject was something new and interesting. The author took us behind the scenes and showed us parts of the racing world that most spectators never see.
The prologue and the beginning part of the book are focused mainly on the kidnapping and Rachel's fight to work through the nightmare, with the help of her family and new friend Erick.
As Rachel comes to terms with her kidnapping, she is working hard to become a jockey, not an easy feat during the time frame this book takes place. The men are not happy with the thought of a female joining their ranks and Rachel encounters some discrimination and threats that I'm sure would have been very common in the 60s. I have to say I was really sucked in at the end of the book, and was cheering Rachel on!
In addition to the kidnapping and jockey story lines, we watch as Rachel and Erick fall in love...this was very sweet. Erick was such a big help to Rachel as she worked her way through all the emotions she was feeling in regards to her kidnapping, he never pushed her to deal with more than she could at any one time, while always being there for her.
There's an epilogue, with a little preview of what's to come next...should be interesting!
It's an account of kidnapping and the nightmarish after-effects of trying to survive and move on, woven together with a story of the same young lady, working her way into a male dominated area. I've never read a book on horse-racing or jockeys before, so this subject was something new and interesting. The author took us behind the scenes and showed us parts of the racing world that most spectators never see.
The prologue and the beginning part of the book are focused mainly on the kidnapping and Rachel's fight to work through the nightmare, with the help of her family and new friend Erick.
As Rachel comes to terms with her kidnapping, she is working hard to become a jockey, not an easy feat during the time frame this book takes place. The men are not happy with the thought of a female joining their ranks and Rachel encounters some discrimination and threats that I'm sure would have been very common in the 60s. I have to say I was really sucked in at the end of the book, and was cheering Rachel on!
In addition to the kidnapping and jockey story lines, we watch as Rachel and Erick fall in love...this was very sweet. Erick was such a big help to Rachel as she worked her way through all the emotions she was feeling in regards to her kidnapping, he never pushed her to deal with more than she could at any one time, while always being there for her.
There's an epilogue, with a little preview of what's to come next...should be interesting!
February 15, 2015
Stellar novel about horses and heroism. This wonderful novel touches upon many important issues. While it can be categorized a romance, its underlying theme of how women are treated in 1960’s is crucial. The key character 17-year-old Rachel suffers a brutal kidnapping and rape at the start of the novel. Through ingenuity she manages her escape, but the police seem incapable of finding the perpetrator. How Rachel manages to deal with the aftermath of the rape is engrossing in itself, but the novel then moves on to the horse-racing lifestyle and how Rachel strives to be a jockey. In the 60’s the barriers to women participating in ‘in a man’s sport’ had not been breached and the novel fearlessly documents her trials and tribulations as she ventures into the macho world of horse-racing. During all this, she encounters a kind young man (also a jockey), Erick, and the story becomes so engrossing it is difficult to put down. I loved the historical notes placed at the end of the novel and how all the threads came together at the end as well as the excellent detail of the racing world and its wonderful horses. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2017
Great first novel For Kristie Higgins. It grabbed my right out of the gate and kept the pace as it shot me over the finish line. Rachel's bravery in overcoming horrific events and attempting to break through the barrier as a woman jockey were inspiring. Also a great little love story!
January 7, 2015
This story starts out with pretty gritty intensity. It grabbed me and sucked me in right away. Well done.
March 8, 2018
I love to read series’ so when I saw this one I gave it a shot and I am glad I did. What a great book. In the beginning I never saw it coming for Rachel totally took me by surprise and I loved it. It was one of those books for me that as soon as I started it I didn’t want to put it down to do anything else. After such a traumatic experience it takes Rachel some time to heal and I love how this author shows you the healing process, not a lot of people would or could relate to that. Then when Rachel finds love how the teenager she falls in love with is so patient and kind, girls need to know that just because something bad has happened doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world like Rachel thought.
I love how Rachel goes back into her passion of horses and gets back on them, and gets back into a routine. Then even though it is a mans world (set back in the 1960’s) she goes for it and gets her jockeys license and shows them that all women can do what a man can do even if they do not like it. I just wish more women would have stuck with it like Rachel. I would recommend this book, for older teens to older adults. It’s just a good read for everyone.
I can’t wait to get into the second book which I am starting right now!
I love how Rachel goes back into her passion of horses and gets back on them, and gets back into a routine. Then even though it is a mans world (set back in the 1960’s) she goes for it and gets her jockeys license and shows them that all women can do what a man can do even if they do not like it. I just wish more women would have stuck with it like Rachel. I would recommend this book, for older teens to older adults. It’s just a good read for everyone.
I can’t wait to get into the second book which I am starting right now!
May 14, 2017
It was amazing! If you like horses & horse racing...this book is for you!
September 13, 2015
this was a bit dark for me. As a mother of daughters it is hard to read about kidnap, rape and torture. But this book also shows courage faith and strength.
I found this as an eye opener especially after last years women from Cleveland being rescued after years of being held captive. this story tells the aftermath of such a horrendous act that the women faced. the nightmares and panic attacks are just a small price they face daily. But the strengh it takes to survive and continue to live is unbelievable.
In this book it also shows the strengh it took to participate in a mans field, to follow ones dreams and go for it.
A little dark, hard to read but also worth the eye opining view.
I found this as an eye opener especially after last years women from Cleveland being rescued after years of being held captive. this story tells the aftermath of such a horrendous act that the women faced. the nightmares and panic attacks are just a small price they face daily. But the strengh it takes to survive and continue to live is unbelievable.
In this book it also shows the strengh it took to participate in a mans field, to follow ones dreams and go for it.
A little dark, hard to read but also worth the eye opining view.
November 8, 2015
I received this book through a First Reads Giveaway for free.
I loved this book. As with most females, we somehow have an innate love of horses, so this fits right in our wheelhouse. It was a very moving story regarding Rachel's life over a year and what she had to go through. If I have one complaint, it is how there was no closure on the crimes committed against her, but her fight to come to terms with what happened to her was remarkable and of course, it came about through her love for her horses and a perceptive young man.
I loved this book. As with most females, we somehow have an innate love of horses, so this fits right in our wheelhouse. It was a very moving story regarding Rachel's life over a year and what she had to go through. If I have one complaint, it is how there was no closure on the crimes committed against her, but her fight to come to terms with what happened to her was remarkable and of course, it came about through her love for her horses and a perceptive young man.
April 7, 2015
I was drawn into the story quickly. The details gave me a clear picture and made me feel like I was there watching . I learned something about horse racing that I never knew. I was glad that Rachel was able to overcome her kidnapping with the help of her family and a gentle caring man. I can't wait to read her next story.
April 22, 2015
Great book by a new author. I learned a lot about horse racing as it was in the late 60s and about the struggle of women jockeys during that time. It is the first book of the series. Looking forward to more!
January 29, 2017
Overcoming tragedy to reach success
Following a hellacious life experience, you watch as Rachel learns to go forward, reclaiming her life and breaking a glass ceiling. Set in the late '60's, you see how life has changed because of the courage and strength of women like Rachel.
Following a hellacious life experience, you watch as Rachel learns to go forward, reclaiming her life and breaking a glass ceiling. Set in the late '60's, you see how life has changed because of the courage and strength of women like Rachel.
November 26, 2017
A book full of drama that portrays a world ruled by passion and chance, that of horses and jockeys - horse-racing. The action takes place in the 60s, a decade of change for women who began to express their dissatisfaction with gender inequality. During this period of extremes and transformational change, women began to assert themselves as equal to men in the "workforce". Anyway, horses are associated with a kind of freedom. The main character struggles to recover from trauma and the storyline produces a great mix of emotions. I "raced" to the end of this good romance story...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews