The story is about Vanessa, a young woman who used to work in a fairground. She has been through both betrayal and tragedy, and is currently married to someone supposedly solid and reliable.

I thought the plot was well crafted. Although the outcome is inevitable, there are developments that I was not expecting, and it makes a good light read. I found Vanessa quite believable, if naive at times. However I found it difficult to believe in her husband, who becomes increasingly more unpleasant through the book.

There's a 'hero', of course; his main passion is horses, and he’s quite rude at times. There are some likeable minor characters, too, who help to flesh out the novel.

On the less positive side, I felt at times as if I were being ‘educated’ too much about horses and show jumping, topics in which I have no interest whatsoever. The research was thorough and the writing realistic, but most of the information wasn’t relevant to the story. The other thing that bugged me was one detailed ‘intimate’ scene - something that happens in so many women’s fiction books these days, but which then makes them unsuitable to recommend to young teenage friends (and some of my adult friends) who might otherwise enjoy them.

Still, it’s a good story overall in the 'chicklit' style, and the ending was entirely satisfactory. Three and a half stars would be fairer. ( )