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Beautiful Horseflesh
Greed, lust, and lawlessness are the bedrock of this thrilling literary debut from Apprentice House Press. When Bumble B, a speedy and capricious thoroughbred arrives at the Smitt’s family farm, she quickly becomes the subject of eager speculation; perhaps this is the dark horse that will keep the struggling farm afloat. The horse’s beautiful sheen and enviable speed are only part of the story, however, as her handsome and flirtatious trainer, Bud, insists on strict privacy in preparation for the upcoming high-stakes race. What is he hiding? For good or ill, this fickle filly is about to change the Smitt’s lives forever.
274 pages
Published June 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 2, 2021
Beautiful Horseflesh by Karen S Bennett 📚
I don't think I've ever read a book solely based on horses and this was great change in scenario for me. It was a really unique read for me. It was set in the world of horse racing and water walk for horses. I had no idea that horse had their space to exercise and I learnt a lot of new details in the book which was unexpected.
The writing style was articulate and emphatic. The tone of the book was formal and a bit rigid. The narration was in multiple POV's. The language was lucid. Some of the characters were nice but other characters were just plain annoying in the book. It made me think why are you being so reckless, stop doing that ( internally screaming). The plot was gripping. The genre was family drama cum mystery.
The story was about the Smitt family recently lost their father to cancer. Their whole form was in great debt and mecial bills made things worse. So when a a new thoroughbred horse, Bumble B came to the farm, they were all very excited. It meant big money, especially if he won the race. But the Bumbe B's trainer was bad news and he was hiding something big. Does the family find out in time or do they get hurt? Read to find out! Overall, it was a fun, engaging read.
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐✨
- Afreen
I don't think I've ever read a book solely based on horses and this was great change in scenario for me. It was a really unique read for me. It was set in the world of horse racing and water walk for horses. I had no idea that horse had their space to exercise and I learnt a lot of new details in the book which was unexpected.
The writing style was articulate and emphatic. The tone of the book was formal and a bit rigid. The narration was in multiple POV's. The language was lucid. Some of the characters were nice but other characters were just plain annoying in the book. It made me think why are you being so reckless, stop doing that ( internally screaming). The plot was gripping. The genre was family drama cum mystery.
The story was about the Smitt family recently lost their father to cancer. Their whole form was in great debt and mecial bills made things worse. So when a a new thoroughbred horse, Bumble B came to the farm, they were all very excited. It meant big money, especially if he won the race. But the Bumbe B's trainer was bad news and he was hiding something big. Does the family find out in time or do they get hurt? Read to find out! Overall, it was a fun, engaging read.
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐✨
- Afreen
May 21, 2021
When so-called adults exhibit the impulsivity of Thoroughbreds, high school students Luis and younger sister Miranda assume responsibility as employees of the family’s Palmetto, Florida water walk and horse boarding facility. _Beautiful Horseflesh_ narrates a human tale of ambition, intrigue, and loss, evident after a talented two-year-old purebred filly and her trainer arrive for a Tampa Bay stakes race.
Author Karen S. Bennett, previously a nurse practitioner in correctional settings, recognizes off-kilter behaviors and paints a picture of dependable, sane teenagers revealing maturity well beyond their years as they struggle against treacherous, psychopathological adults. For thrills, read _Beautiful Horseflesh_. The odds are in your favor.
--Kimberly Kirby Buchholz, developmental editor of _Beautiful Horseflesh_
Author Karen S. Bennett, previously a nurse practitioner in correctional settings, recognizes off-kilter behaviors and paints a picture of dependable, sane teenagers revealing maturity well beyond their years as they struggle against treacherous, psychopathological adults. For thrills, read _Beautiful Horseflesh_. The odds are in your favor.
--Kimberly Kirby Buchholz, developmental editor of _Beautiful Horseflesh_
May 29, 2021
Recently I was contacted about being sent a horse book to read and review. Of course I am always keen to add to my horse book library. And so I received a copy of Beautiful Horseflesh by Karen S. Bennett. This book focuses around a boarding and water walk farm owned by the Smitt family. Eighteen-year-old Luis Smitt is rapt to know that a promising young thoroughbred filly is coming to their farm to make use of the water walking facility. Read more at https://equus-blog.com/beautiful-hors...
May 19, 2021
Karen Bennett is a natural storyteller. Give her an audience and enjoyable tales flow forth, complete with interesting characters in extraordinary circumstances, described in lush detail.
Beautiful Horseflesh is vintage Karen. My favorite character is Luis Smitt, a serious, responsible teen who soon understands that things are not what they appear at Smitt's Water Walk Farm when a handsome trainer brings a beautiful racehorse to their training facility to get ready for a big race. Luis discovers that beauty can sometimes be an attractive disguise for deceit which, in this case, leads to the death of someone he loves.
Bennett's storytelling style is at full force in this story, so climb onboard with her and gallop to an interesting ending.
Beautiful Horseflesh is vintage Karen. My favorite character is Luis Smitt, a serious, responsible teen who soon understands that things are not what they appear at Smitt's Water Walk Farm when a handsome trainer brings a beautiful racehorse to their training facility to get ready for a big race. Luis discovers that beauty can sometimes be an attractive disguise for deceit which, in this case, leads to the death of someone he loves.
Bennett's storytelling style is at full force in this story, so climb onboard with her and gallop to an interesting ending.
May 18, 2021
This is a story about a family, a horse, a drop-dead handsome horse trainer, and two murders. The family is grieving over the recent death of their husband and father. The horse is a thoroughbred racer with a promising future. The horse trainer, as I said, is drop-dead handsome, but he also has a problem with alcohol, an eye for teenage girls, and great love for his grandfather. And the murders? Those you’ll have to learn about when you read this intriguing novel. All of these elements are stirred together and spiced with a significant deceit. Bennett has created authentic characters that infuriated me at times and broke my heart at others. In a plot filled with surprises, they kept me caring about them until the end.
May 2, 2021
When I pick up a book centered the world of horse racing, I don't expect the novel to be a literary master piece. But as a life long equestrian with a love of thoroughbreds and the racing world, I did expect the story to be engaging and at least grounded in reality. I have read some truly wonderful stories by people who know horses but maybe aren't quite ready to be published authors and I have read really well written novels from people who are clearly not horse people but manage to get enough right to not pull you out of the story. This book is neither well written nor written by someone who knows a thing about thoroughbreds and horse racing. It is a hot mess.
From the very first page the characters say things that just don't make sense. For example, the fancy thoroughbred that is coming to their farm has apparently broken a Belmont stakes record and yet they don't know if the filly has raced. The characters explain the most basic of concepts to each other, even though they're supposed to be established horse people and are not new to their jobs. Descriptions of characters, horses, and places are all overly verbose. Overall, it's a very clunky attempt and not one I would recommend others read.
From the very first page the characters say things that just don't make sense. For example, the fancy thoroughbred that is coming to their farm has apparently broken a Belmont stakes record and yet they don't know if the filly has raced. The characters explain the most basic of concepts to each other, even though they're supposed to be established horse people and are not new to their jobs. Descriptions of characters, horses, and places are all overly verbose. Overall, it's a very clunky attempt and not one I would recommend others read.
March 16, 2022
Summary
Bumble B was a gorgeous race horse, and brand new to the race track. She arrived at the Smitt’s boarding and water walk farm. The Smitt family was going to pay off all their debts when she won the race. Luis Smitt called her, “ a beautiful piece of horseflesh”. She was going to be the miracle to save his family from the debt that built during his illness and passing.
Her trainer, Bud, was charismatic and handsome. Not only Mrs. Smitt was attracted, so was Luis’ sixteen year old younger sister. Luis was getting ready to go to college and was worried about the finances. The horse would solve all their problems!
As time passed, Luis began to notice odd black flecks appearing in the horse’s water every time Bud came by…. What was that?
Conclusion
The story began a bit slow and it was hard for me to continue. However, I was glad I did. The ending was definitely not what I had expected. There were topics of deceit, growing up, and inequality.
Bumble B was a gorgeous race horse, and brand new to the race track. She arrived at the Smitt’s boarding and water walk farm. The Smitt family was going to pay off all their debts when she won the race. Luis Smitt called her, “ a beautiful piece of horseflesh”. She was going to be the miracle to save his family from the debt that built during his illness and passing.
Her trainer, Bud, was charismatic and handsome. Not only Mrs. Smitt was attracted, so was Luis’ sixteen year old younger sister. Luis was getting ready to go to college and was worried about the finances. The horse would solve all their problems!
As time passed, Luis began to notice odd black flecks appearing in the horse’s water every time Bud came by…. What was that?
Conclusion
The story began a bit slow and it was hard for me to continue. However, I was glad I did. The ending was definitely not what I had expected. There were topics of deceit, growing up, and inequality.
September 12, 2021
I enjoyed everything about this book, which was given to me as a gift. I loved the size, the length and the font making it easy to hold, carry and read. I enjoyed the beautiful craft the author employed sculpting scenes that welcomed me right into them, and right into the family, for that matter.
While dark stories about horses are not my usual fare, I loved slipping into this world. The language was clever--names, double entendres, similes, that made me pause and laugh or connect in a meaningful way with the text. What a fun getaway from my pandemic impacted life.
I scouted out my next read already--The Farewell Tour, also by Karen S. Bennett
While dark stories about horses are not my usual fare, I loved slipping into this world. The language was clever--names, double entendres, similes, that made me pause and laugh or connect in a meaningful way with the text. What a fun getaway from my pandemic impacted life.
I scouted out my next read already--The Farewell Tour, also by Karen S. Bennett
February 16, 2023
I really really wanted to love this book. I met the author at a local equine event and she was a joy to chat with. My love for Thoroughbreds and racing is what made me stop and chat with her to begin with.
However, the book just wasn’t great. I didn’t like how the thoughts of the characters were always in quotations, got very confusing. Also, there was a pretty substantial event that takes place and the details of it were so vague I had to keep asking myself if that’s all the author was going to express about it.
I give it 2 stars only because 1. My love for the topic and 2. I enjoyed conversing with the author in person.
However, the book just wasn’t great. I didn’t like how the thoughts of the characters were always in quotations, got very confusing. Also, there was a pretty substantial event that takes place and the details of it were so vague I had to keep asking myself if that’s all the author was going to express about it.
I give it 2 stars only because 1. My love for the topic and 2. I enjoyed conversing with the author in person.
April 22, 2021
Are the 90s long enough ago for this to be considered historical fiction? Either way, this was an easy read that draws you into the world of horses at the Smitt's family farm in Florida, and also draws you into the mystery that surrounds Bumble B, a Thoroughbred filly who comes to the farm. I certainly expected some of the ending, but much of it did surprise me and keep me on my toes! This is a mystery that I think would appeal to both adults and teens and, most of all, horse lovers.
Advance copy available through NetGalley.
Advance copy available through NetGalley.
April 22, 2021
Beautifully written and excellently paced, the fictional novel Beautiful Horseflesh by Karen Bennett is a fascinating look at life on a horse farm in Florida. The lives of the horse caretakers and horses are forever changed when a young and wild filly comes to live on the farm and mystery ensues.
April 22, 2021
An intriguing mystery with a very dramatic ending!
Read
May 7, 2021This fast-paced story about horses and teens will transport you to a horse farm in Florida and keep you turning the pages until the big race. It's a great read for the beach or the plane.
November 14, 2021
I liked this story. The ending was not what I expected.
The story had a great flow.
The story had a great flow.
June 24, 2021
Review and q&a here: https://tinyletter.com/ReadersUp/lett...
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews