Summary from goodreads:
Last year, I had it all. Two jumpers on the show circuit, a lot of wins, and a lot of attention – the good kind. But now I have nothing. My life is circling the drain. The only spark of light that exists for me is my new, forbidden passion. If my stepfather finds out, he will kill me. My twin brother, my only blood relative in the world, has already begged me not to. If it can’t be horses, it has to be this.
Blaze of Glory by M. Garzon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Let me begin by saying I was concerned that I might not like this book. The author and I sent messages back and forth, and I thought I would give it a try. I have not read a lot of YA books, but I was always willing to read something just a little bit different. I had begun to enjoy horses in the last book I read, and I thought this book may even give me more of an appreciation of these wonderful animals.
From the beginning, I was drawn into the story. The author is an excellent writer–I was impressed with her vocabulary, characterization, and wit. I absolutely loved Tea from the beginning, and my heart cried for her as she had to go through very realistic tragedies. I always appreciate it when authors put in tragedies, as hard as they are to read. And there is one towards the beginning of the story that will jolt the reader–it sure did me!
I figured I knew what would happen between Tea and Jaden (no spoilers!), but the story of those two was what made me read more than half of the book in just a few days. I honestly could not put it down! And then ending was exactly what it should have been. In fact, the second half of the book was mesmerizing. Even if was a romance that would probably be considered sappy by some. I like a good romance, and this book certainly lived up to that and more.
As far as issues with the book itself, I only have two comments (and neither of them cause me to mark the book down). The author had warned me about drugs in the book–I felt she handled this well, so no complaints there. I did find some adult language, but thankfully they were only used sparsely and at times that make sense. The words could be offensive to some readers, but I have to admit that in context, I did not find them offensive. The Lord’s name was never used in vain–that truly is amazing. The author had also warned me about the intimate scenes. Here’s my take on that. There is really only one sex scene, and thankfully, it never gets too detailed. Tea struggles with her feelings of wanting to have sex, and that is normal. She is seventeen. While I wish she had waited until she got married to have sex, a good share of teens are much more promiscuous than she. We can only hope that Tea is only intimate with this one person and no one else.
About M. GarzonWhen she’s not hiking up the sides of active volcanoes in the company of stray dogs, M. Garzon likes to take time to appreciate the fierce beauty of the natural world around her. She used to ride horses for a living, which was fantastic, but now considers herself extremely lucky to be a writer. She shares her home with two kids and too many rescue animals.
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