Shelley Peterson

Romance and the supernatural mingle with uncontrolled dark ambition, and Abby — with the help of her extraordinary horse, Dancer — must put a stop to it before her entire community is destroyed. Champion showjumper Dancer needs a new rider for the upcoming Grand Invitational, and Abby Malone is delighted to be chosen. It’s a dream come true, and she can hardly wait to get started. However, it turns out that Abby and Dancer may have some unexpected — and dangerous — hurdles to jump. The community is staging a play in the old converted barn, and as strange events begin to occur, Abby soon discovers something about the theatre is not quite right. Is she imagining things? Or is someone out to get her?

The Saddle Creek Series

Stagestruck

Sheila Goicea

#1 on my TBR for #ARCAugust tag.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Abby Malone, a sixteen-year-old horse lover, is no stranger to a challenge. Growing up with horses, and dedicating much time to growing her skills and relationships with them, Abby has become a capable rider. 

When Abby is noticed for her talent, she is chosen to ride Dancer, a "retired" show-jumper stallion to ride at the upcoming Grand Invitational. Taking on Dancer as her new project, Abby didn't realize she also took on a new, ruthless enemy.

Alongside her preparation for the jumping event, some people in the community decide to reopen an old theater and put on a play. Juggling time between horses and the play, Abby begins to realize her love for the stage, with the help of an unlikely friend.

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For not having read the previous two books in this series, I didn't feel lost coming into this installment. Peterson's writing style makes it easy to jump into the series by giving concise explanations of past events that set up, and contribute to the plot in Stagestruck. 

Although the plot was easy to understand, there were certain elements that didn't have enough justification. The main antagonist, Samuel Owens, absolutely hates Dancer, the main horse character---so much so, that he repeatedly tries to kill him. It's a bit...extreme.

 

Every book needs to have an antagonist, but I think that Owens was too strong of a character for not only this plot, but his counter-characters. 

I thought this was a unique mix of horses and paranormal. Plots that include horses, whether they are movies, books, stories, etc., are always easy for me to internalize. I grew up reading exclusively horse books, so I tend to eat them up...even if they are under my designated "reading level." 

I felt that the paranormal aspect of the story could have been explored more than it was. I felt that it didn't give enough for the reader to really react to the fact that there is a ghost haunting the theater. Furthermore, I found his reason for sticking around to be cheesy.

As I've said, there could have been more explanation in certain aspects. Some characters were underdeveloped, and their motives weren't always clear or had enough reasoning behind them. However, I appreciated that Peterson knew about what she was writing about when it came to horses. It was clear to me that she has experience and knowledge in equine affairs, and that is a MUST when writing about this topic!

Since the story had some holes, I'm only granting it 3 stars. I thought it was creative, but needed more detail throughout. 

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: Kissing.
Violence: Minimal. 

3 stars.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

Stagestruck The Saddle Creek Series

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