Life has not been kind to Sophia Fitzroy. She and her twin brother grew up in Ireland watching their horse training father at work. But their father's early death and their subsequent other troubles left Sophia and Jonas with few life choices. Now in their early 20s, the duo are working with a circus in England just to be able to eat.
Aaron Whitworth has lived on the edges of society his whole life. Though he is illegitimate, he has been recognized by his father and is therefore a gentleman. But he takes pride in his work managing two different stables near Newmarket, as it gives him a chance to stand on his own feet and earn his own accomplishments.
When circumstances force Aaron to look for a replacement jockey for a quickly-approaching race, he takes a look at what the passing circus has to offer. He makes a desperate written offer of employment to "the redheaded horse trainer," unintentionally hiring Sophia. Is Aaron crazy for agreeing to let a woman run as a jockey?
Sophia is driven to prove herself and earn both respect and income for a better future. Talkative and determined, she makes friends among Aaron's acquaintances, though she feels every inch a poor circus performer. What will happen when the races begin?
I loved how the quiet desperation and social ostracism of these two drew them together. They could understand one another on an intuitive level. Both characters had needs that the other could fill, which made me as a reader cheer hard for them. A slight complaint about this book is that there were so many characters from the author's previous books, ones I have not read, which made Aaron's social circle somewhat confusing to follow. I appreciated the way faith and healing was woven in, and any horse lover will be thrilled at the amount of scenes pertaining to riding or caring for these animals.
I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All thoughts in this review are my own.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
