Irish Fire

Rating:
Summary: Irish Fire
Review: Although the books of Jeanette Baker has been recommended to me by several people, and I have all her books, it wasn't until IRISH FIRE that I actually read one. Boy was I impressed! Her details of Irish life in general and horses and horse racing in particular, are absolutely outstanding! What a talented writer! I'm now off the pull her other books out of my teetering TBR pile to see for myself how her previous books compare. Since she has just won RWA's Rita award for best paranormal of 1999, I'm guessing I have some more treasures in store for me. If they others are anything like IRISH FIRE, they will keep me up reading into the wee hours of the morning as well. Kudos to Ms. Baker for a fabulous read! This one's highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: Although the books of Jeanette Baker has been recommended to me by several people, and I have all her books, it wasn't until IRISH FIRE that I actually read one. Boy was I impressed! Her details of Irish life in general and horses and horse racing in particular, are absolutely outstanding! What a talented writer! I'm now off the pull her other books out of my teetering TBR pile to see for myself how her previous books compare. Since she has just won RWA's Rita award for best paranormal of 1999, I'm guessing I have some more treasures in store for me. If they others are anything like IRISH FIRE, they will keep me up reading into the wee hours of the morning as well. Kudos to Ms. Baker for a fabulous read! This one's highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Irish Fire
Review: Excellent, If you enjoy horses and would like a fantasy trip to to Ireland you will love this title. The clean romance will keep you reading. A sweet story.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written book
Review: In a significant departure, Jeanette Baker writes a totally contemporary novel set almost entirely in Ireland. There are no shifts in time periods and no ghosts. I enjoyed this book very much but I can't grade it quite as high as her "Irish Lady," which did contain those elements. There are also no political problems for the characters to deal with and a complete absence of the IRA, also unlike "Irish Lady." Instead, Baker uses the horse country of both Ireland and Kentucky to tell her tale of a wife who leaves her philandering, alcoholic husband back on their Kentucky horse farm estate. She returns to her childhood village in Ireland, along with her two children, and moves in with her mother. A famous track is located nearby and that is what the heroine needs. Breeding and training thoroughbred horses is her sole career interest and Ireland has only very recently been receptive to women entering the field. America, especially Kentucky, was open to women being in this field much earlier. The hero of the book is the head person at the major, very well funded "yard", the Irish word for "horse farm." This novel has many fascinating characters, which Baker develops very well. One also learns quite a bit about breeding these purebred horses, including the inbreeding of them and the resulting, hereditary medical problems. I was quite fascinated with this horse material, especially about a hereditary disease that horses can carry from bad breeding practices. "Irish Fire" is a very engaging story but not one that you'd want to read again and again. However, I doff my hat to Baker, who may have temporarily been out of paranormal ideas, and tried something different instead.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written book
Review: Wow! Jeanette Baker has done it again. I was't sure what to expect from Jeanette Baker's foray into the contemporary world, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I would miss the beauty and color of the past, but once again Baker educates us and this time in an area the general populous is not familiar - the horse industry. This book is so full of vivid descriptions that it was I who was standing tall in the saddle racing the horses down the track in the frigid irish air, and I who was sitting in the kitchen smelling the apple cobbler baking in the oven. Caitlin's "secret" was a bit obvious, but easily overlooked when the rest of the book was such a beautiful read. Bravo once again!!!