From Publisher’s Website:

In this unforgettable novel of love, hope, and second chances, a grieving man’s personal plan for redemption is suddenly and unexpectedly turned upside down . . .

If Wishes Were Horses

Wyatt Blaine desperately seeks a reason to continue. Devastated by the senseless deaths of his wife and son at the hands of a drunk driver, he remains unable to forgive, and to love again. Searching for a sense of peace, he decides to revive his late wife’s equine therapy program for troubled teens at the Blaine family ranch. By honoring her memory in this way, he hopes to find the sense of closure that has long eluded him.

But then Wyatt’s pastor asks for the impossible—for Wyatt to meet with Gabby Powers, the widow of the man responsible for Wyatt’s unbearable sorrow. Wyatt knows Gabby is not to blame for the tragedy, so when she begs him to accept her troubled teenage son, Trevor, into the program, he reluctantly agrees. With some help and guidance from Ram, Wyatt’s irascible but lovable father, Wyatt does his best to accept Gabby and Trevor’s unsettling presence at the ranch. Even so, Wyatt still feels that he is somehow betraying his late wife’s memory rather than honoring it.

But to his great surprise, Wyatt also finds himself drawn to Gabby’s warmth, tenderness, and surprising ability to soothe his troubled soul. Day after day, their mutual attraction becomes more intense, more impossible to ignore. But to heal completely, Wyatt and Gabby must first overcome the common tragedy that separates them and learn the true nature of forgiveness. And only by conquering these seeming impossibilities might their hearts become free to love each other . . . .

My Review:

I saw this book at my local Borders just before it closed. Because I had already picked up a couple of books and didn’t have enough money to get anything else, I scanned the ISBN with my phone and put on my To Be Read list. I recently checked it out from the library, and I was not disappointed.

Much like I did with Nicholas Evans’ Horse Whisperer in 1995, I was drawn to this book not by it’s cover blurb, but because it had a horse on the cover. I know. A book shouldn’t be judged by it’s cover, but sometimes it can lead you a gem of a story.

Robert Barclay has given the world a book that pulls at the heart strings. There were many times during the story that I had tears in my eyes, and few times that tears actually did flow. I won’t tell you why, because I don’t want to spoil the story. It’s a rare book that can make me cry.

The characters were written very well. They were believable and I found myself very interested in what happened to them, especially Trevor. I think in this whole story, Trevor had the largest hurdle to overcome. Wyatt’s wasn’t far behind, but a young teenage boy takes longer to realize his beliefs about a situation are wrong.

For a non-horse person, Robert Barclay did a wonderful job with his research. However, there were a few minor things that were incorrect, but I was able to mostly overlook them. I was yelling at Ram because he took a lit cigarette in to a barn.

This was an enjoyable Sweet Romance. There was a kiss around page 300 and it did lead to sex, but Barclay did not show his readers that moment between the characters. Sometimes, it’s nice to read something not so graphic. There were many times I thought Wyatt and Gabby should have kissed long before they actually did.

I will be recommending this story to my family and friends.

I give If Wishes Were Horses a 5 Horseshoe rating.

If Wishes Were Horses is available from Amazon in Print and Kindle editions. Also from Barnes and Noble in Print and Nook editions.

Publication Details:

Author Robert Barclay
Title If Wishes Were Horses
Format Print
Length 386
Publication Date February 15, 2011
Publisher William Marrow (An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
ISBN 978-0-0619-6688-0