Rating: 
Summary: You will be captiated by the magic of Ireland....
Review: Alec MacKenna has been cast out of the elite horse racing circles in Kentucky. All his life he worked to make the MacKenna name respectable again after his father disgraced the name. He was finally moving up in the occupation he loved, as a horse trainer. That all changed one muddy day when the horse he had been training for years died while running his heart out. After recommending to the horse's owner not to let him run, Alec was furious and devestated. He let his fury get the best of him and let his fist fly at the owner. That wouldn't have been so bad, except almost all the owners of the horses in stable were present. Soon, he discovered himself with no horses and a bad reputation. That all changed when a good friend brought him to see Legends Lake. His first look at this not-so-fine piece of horseflesh was deceiving however. He knew by looking at him that he had a champion, but there was a problem with the horse. To find the solution, he took Legends Lake back to Ireland and her breeder.Kate O'Sullivan was estatic to have her horse back at the stud. She was not so estatic at meeting the MacKenna though. He was too brash, too cynical, and to her eye had to many similarities to her estranged husband. As the days passed, Kate learned that she was wrong and that Alec was as gentle as her gentlest mare in the stable. But his passion surprised her, as did her passion for him for she had never felt anything like it in all her life. Legends Lake is the story of overcoming your past and trusting enough to fall in love. Alec learns to love in the beauty of Ireland and Kate learns that her fey magic will not always fail her. Ross also brings us Zoe, Alec's daughter, and Jaime and Brigid, Kates two children. The reader will be captivated as these five people try to make themselves a family and overcome all the loss in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: You will be captiated by the magic of Ireland....
Review: Alec MacKenna has been cast out of the elite horse racing circles in Kentucky. All his life he worked to make the MacKenna name respectable again after his father disgraced the name. He was finally moving up in the occupation he loved, as a horse trainer. That all changed one muddy day when the horse he had been training for years died while running his heart out. After recommending to the horse's owner not to let him run, Alec was furious and devestated. He let his fury get the best of him and let his fist fly at the owner. That wouldn't have been so bad, except almost all the owners of the horses in stable were present. Soon, he discovered himself with no horses and a bad reputation. That all changed when a good friend brought him to see Legends Lake. His first look at this not-so-fine piece of horseflesh was deceiving however. He knew by looking at him that he had a champion, but there was a problem with the horse. To find the solution, he took Legends Lake back to Ireland and her breeder. Kate O'Sullivan was estatic to have her horse back at the stud. She was not so estatic at meeting the MacKenna though. He was too brash, too cynical, and to her eye had to many similarities to her estranged husband. As the days passed, Kate learned that she was wrong and that Alec was as gentle as her gentlest mare in the stable. But his passion surprised her, as did her passion for him for she had never felt anything like it in all her life. Legends Lake is the story of overcoming your past and trusting enough to fall in love. Alec learns to love in the beauty of Ireland and Kate learns that her fey magic will not always fail her. Ross also brings us Zoe, Alec's daughter, and Jaime and Brigid, Kates two children. The reader will be captivated as these five people try to make themselves a family and overcome all the loss in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Ross brings the magic of Ireland back in Legends Lake!
Review: Alec MacKenna is building a name as a trainer for himself among racing circles until an accident that ruins his reputation. Well, it wasn't really the accident, but punching out the owner afterwards, but the end result remains the same...no one wants to work with Alec. An old friend gives him a last chance--a horse named Legends Lake. The horse has all the makings of a true champion, but there's something spooking it. Alec needs to help the Legends Lake overcome its fear in order to get his life back on track. That journey takes him to Ireland. Kate O'Sullivan spent years in a horrible marriage, but now her husband is gone, and she's rebuilding her life for herself, her children and her horses. When Legends Lake comes home to where he was bred, it's Kate's job, along with Alec, to help the horse overcome his fear and find his true potential. And while they're both helping Legends Lake, maybe they can help each other overcome their fear and find their true potential...a potential that is stronger when they include the other in that future. JoAnn Ross crafts a powerful story of the healing power of love as she returns to Castlelough, Ireland--a place where magic and love walk hand in hand.
Rating:
Summary: Ross brings the magic of Ireland back in Legends Lake!
Review: Alec MacKenna is building a name as a trainer for himself among racing circles until an accident that ruins his reputation. Well, it wasn't really the accident, but punching out the owner afterwards, but the end result remains the same...no one wants to work with Alec. An old friend gives him a last chance--a horse named Legends Lake. The horse has all the makings of a true champion, but there's something spooking it. Alec needs to help the Legends Lake overcome its fear in order to get his life back on track. That journey takes him to Ireland. Kate O'Sullivan spent years in a horrible marriage, but now her husband is gone, and she's rebuilding her life for herself, her children and her horses. When Legends Lake comes home to where he was bred, it's Kate's job, along with Alec, to help the horse overcome his fear and find his true potential. And while they're both helping Legends Lake, maybe they can help each other overcome their fear and find their true potential...a potential that is stronger when they include the other in that future. JoAnn Ross crafts a powerful story of the healing power of love as she returns to Castlelough, Ireland--a place where magic and love walk hand in hand.
Rating:
Summary: A Magical Lovely Story of Family, Horses, and Witches
Review: Alex McKenna, horse trainer, punches his former employer because of the former's pursuit of winning rather than considering the welfare of his horse, Lady Justice, who eventually dies. Because of this Alex is systematically barred by other horse owners except for his 90 year old friend, Winnie. She purchased a Legends Lake at a good price because he has a tendency to leave the track and jump fences during a race. Alex contacts the horse's breeder, Kate who lives in Ireland and is told to bring the horse to Ireland so she can work with him. Kate is owns a stud farm and lives there with her two children, Jamie and Brigid. She is separated from her abusive husband, but has to wait five years to obtain a divorce. Kate is a pagan and is a "witch". When Alex arrives in Ireland accompanied by his ex-wife's 15 year old daughter, Zoe, he first meets Kate while she is standing under a hawthorn tree which she purports to be the home of fairies and defying a crew of construction workers who want to tear down the tree. Alex and Kate are drawn to each other but each try to fight the attraction. Meanwhile, Kate is working with Legends Lake to ascertain what his problem is so they can correct it. She connects with the horse and stays unconscious for over twenty hours but she has discovered the problem. Legends Lake is a magnificent thoroughbred and can be a winner if his fears can be alleviated. This story is about a love of horses, family and the things we all hold dear. The chemistry between Alex and Kate is wonderful as well as the connections between Alex, Kate, Zoe, Jamie and Brigid. Of course, her evil husband, Cadel, comes into the picture with dire results. If you like Jo Ann Ross's writings, you will love this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs down
Review: I am a hunter/jumper rider, but I consider myself fairly familiar with the Thoroughbred world. I found the premise of this book farfetched. It was all just a bit too fairy-tale for the featured couple to fall in love and for the horse to be magically "fixed" just be returning to the land of his birth. One major research error disturbed me - artifical insemination is NOT ALLOWED by the Jockey Club, which registers Thoroughbreds. The pagan/supernatural storyline detracted from the main plot, in my opinion. Read for yourself and see.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner!
Review: I have been waiting for Kate's book ever since A WOMAN'S HEART. I am sorry I had to wait so long, but it was worth it. Once again Ms. Ross takes us to rural Ireland, giving the backdrop of her story a richness and flavor of the Emerald Isle, as well as an acknowledgement that the area is changing, painfully at times, to "join" the modern world. As is A WOMAN'S HEART and FAIR HAVEN, both set in the same locale, the story is about much more than the relationship between the hero and heroine. Alec and Kate are the center of the story but before they can live happily ever after they have to reconcile their own painful pasts, and help their children do the same. This is a story of becoming a family as much as it is finding new love. Alec, Kate and the children are all multidimensional and real. By the end of the story, you not only understand the forces that have made them as human as they are, but you better appreciate their love by seeing what has been overcome. A previous review claimed that the storyline was improbable and unbelievable because a horse can not be healed in the short amount of time the book takes place. In response, I have to say, this a romance that focuses on human relationships, not a treatise on Thoroughbred psychology. The story thread of the stallion healing from his abuse and emotional trauma complements and paces the healing taking place with all of the other characters. All in all, this was a wonderful book, and well worth the time I took to read it. I can only wish it was longer....
Rating:
Summary: Another winner!
Review: I have been waiting for Kate's book ever since A WOMAN'S HEART. I am sorry I had to wait so long, but it was worth it. Once again Ms. Ross takes us to rural Ireland, giving the backdrop of her story a richness and flavor of the Emerald Isle, as well as an acknowledgement that the area is changing, painfully at times, to "join" the modern world. As is A WOMAN'S HEART and FAIR HAVEN, both set in the same locale, the story is about much more than the relationship between the hero and heroine. Alec and Kate are the center of the story but before they can live happily ever after they have to reconcile their own painful pasts, and help their children do the same. This is a story of becoming a family as much as it is finding new love. Alec, Kate and the children are all multidimensional and real. By the end of the story, you not only understand the forces that have made them as human as they are, but you better appreciate their love by seeing what has been overcome. A previous review claimed that the storyline was improbable and unbelievable because a horse can not be healed in the short amount of time the book takes place. In response, I have to say, this a romance that focuses on human relationships, not a treatise on Thoroughbred psychology. The story thread of the stallion healing from his abuse and emotional trauma complements and paces the healing taking place with all of the other characters. All in all, this was a wonderful book, and well worth the time I took to read it. I can only wish it was longer....
Rating: 
Summary: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing....
Review: I picked this book up because I have been a fan of horse racing all my life, and frankly, it's hard to find decent fiction about horses period. So fiction about horse racing was irresistible. However, the author knows a bit about horses and horse racing, but not enough to make for a seamless read. There were alot of glaring errors in that regard that any racing fan should have spotted---no trainer in his right mind would run a 3 year-old filly 12 furlongs in January (not that there are any races of that length for 3 yo's at that time of year anyway), the trainer in the story had way too many good horses to be realistic (very few men, except maybe Jimmy Jones, are that lucky), the trainer would have had owners lined up to hire him after he decked the owner of the filly that broke down, and Legend's Lake couldn't have run in the Derby because he didn't earn enough money to be eligible. Horses have to run and win (or at least hit the board frequently) in order to get to the Derby---you can't just run a horse because you think he's good enough. Duh! Anyhow, I did give the book 3 stars because it was at least entertaining, even if it was check-your-brain at the door type fare. I liked Kate particularly, although her Irish dialect was a tad on the campy side, and Zoe was a very well-written and sympathetic character (except that rebeling teens don't listen to N'Sync---try Marilyn Manson or NIN). :-)
Rating:
Summary: Lovely and well written
Review: I thought this book was excellent. I bought this because of my love for horse racing. The characters are well devoloped and it is a good example of how sometimes our lives and horses' lives are not alwayz perfect. Legends Lake's problem is well devoloped and it doesn't obsess on it. It was very realistic and injoyable. It doesn't focis on just horse racing either, it also focises on how Kate was abused by her x-husband and what Alex did about it. You'll like this book even if you don't love horses. Nice job Joann!!!
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