Winter Circuit

Show Circuit #2

by Kim Ablon Whitney

WARNING: CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT. RECOMMENDED FOR AGE 16+

After the Vermont Summer Circuit, Hannah Waer said good-bye to her first love, grand prix rider Chris Kern, and headed off to college. But once she’s there, she can’t stop thinking about Chris competing in Florida all winter along with his ex girlfriend, Mary Beth. Hannah is determined to join them in Wellington for the Winter Circuit, but when she finally gets there, it’s not everything she hoped it would be.

Chris is busy and stressed, trying to rebuild his career. Meanwhile, the frustratingly charming and beautiful Mary Beth seems set on winning Chris back. Zoe Tramell is in over her head with some seriously bad people and might need Hannah’s help—if Hannah is willing to forgive Zoe enough to help her. And then there’s Dakota, the difficult, young junior rider Hannah is supposed to be taking care of who wears Louboutin shoes, barks orders at Hannah, and chases after older guys.

The Winter Circuit is the pinnacle of the country’s glamorous show jumping circuit—it’s also where Hannah, Chris, and Zoe must face big questions of what’s next for them in life and how far they’re willing to go to get there.

Genres: Horses

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2015

About the author

Kim moved back to her hometown of Newton, Mass. where she lives with her husband, two young sons, and greyhound. She is a graduate of Tufts University, and has an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She is a member of the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus and is the coordinator of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. A lifelong horse lover and rider, she is a nationally licensed judge and officiates at horse shows around the country. She’s also a passionate Boston sports fan, and an excerpt from her baseball-themed novel-in-progress will appear in the anthology FENWAY FICTION.

Reviews

[Geena Barret · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I absolutely fell in love with Hannah in Summer Circuit, Winter Circuit left much to be desired. Hannah is no longer in Vermont; she's in college now and away from Chris. The self-assured woman I felt she had become in Summer Circuit was long gone in Winter Circuit. This Hannah was just a shell, she had become so insecure. Instead of being excited that she has this gorgeous guy in love with her, she spends almost the entire book trying to figure out what makes her so special. Why her? It just dragged on too much for my comfort. Instead of being in wonder, she was agonizing so much she needed a counselor. All of her sessions focused on Chris, who talked to her absolutely whenever he could, while working on his career. Instead of her doing the same thing with college, she just clammed up and obsessed over his ex, whom he has zero interest in rekindling things with. I would have loved to see her characterization grow from how much of a strong ending Summer Circuit was. In one part of the book, a trainer had asked her if she was on the riding team at her college. Why wouldn't Hannah sign up for something like that? After falling in love with the process in Vermont, I would have thought that would be something she would have instantly looked for at her college. It just didn't make sense to me. I still devoured the book, I just grew to not like the person Hannah had become. Something else that was different from the first is I felt like this one was a little less centered around horses. Definitely OK, there are still a lot of horses! But there's no need to learn the process that Hannah had previously learned before. I just missed her learning to ride better (which is why I would have loved to have read about her joining the school team). Besides Hannah, all of the other characters are wonderful. Dakota, the girl Hannah is hired to look after, is a riot. It's still an enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next one--heard it'll be about Zoe this time around.

[Mary Pagones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds to spend the winter in Wellington, so reading this book was the next best thing! The details about the types of riders you might encounter, the different ‘tiers’ of horse show money, the politics of monitoring the different in-gates, even the logistics of getting to the show grounds—all of them just ‘felt’ so realistic. Even the description of the food and vendors! The book is also deliciously funny without being mean-spirited about some of the wealth that inevitably is involved showing on the A-circuit.

Hannah’s emotional struggles are also very believable. She is a shy young woman who finally experienced her sexual awakening right before leaving for college. This results in her becoming obsessed with her absent boyfriend. I think I am a bit less in love with Chris Kern than Hannah is but I enjoy accompanying her on her emotional journey as she tries to find her way in the world and a more independent and assured sense of her identity.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hannah and Chris are very unlikeable in this book. But I did love that it took place in Wellington since I grew up in Palm beach, so I actually knew where somethings were! Other than that this book was kind of blah, I didn’t even know what the plot was till about 80% through, it was just their day to day life and winy jealous paranoia most of the time. Will not be continuing with this series.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So sad! My heart was breaking for Chris and Hannah. But the riding stuff is great.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't as horsey as the last or as horsey as I'd have liked, but it was a neat glimpse into the crazy world of WEF!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

Heart wrenching. The writer captures the feelings of the main character so well, like ur feeling it yourself. The ending definitely makes you want more.

[Peyton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with a protagonist who has your occupation (student&rider)