Another wonderfully descriptive, sweet story of loss and love and recovery. Hyde has so many areas of personal expertise to draw from in her writing. As an equestrian, she is very familiar with so many aspects of horses as evidenced by her apparently obvious understanding of dressage. ( )

This is a beautifully written novel about family and love and helping other people when you can. It's about a woman and a teenager with major problems that learn to help each other understand their lives and search for happier times.

Faith has left her mentally and psychological abusive husband and is hiding in her parents cottage on the Pacific shore. Sarah is a 14 year old girl, living with her grandmother and hiding from her father after the suspicious death of her mother. They meet and seem to recognize the need in each other. Sarah's grandmother asks Faith to take Sarah somewhere while she works to get custody. They go to the horse farm where her beloved horse - Midnight - is stabled. Her father had jut sold Midnight to pay his gambling debts which further devastates Sarah. Sarah and Midnight have a strong bond and he preforms dressage with her better than with anyone so she starts helping (reluctantly) the man who bought Midnight. As the summer continues, Faith and Sarah both realize that they are stronger than they thought - but are they strong enough to face the people who brought them so much pain??

The characters are wonderful and well written - as with all of Catherine Ryan Hyde's characters. The reader is pulled into their lives and emotions and I can promise a few tears along their journeys. Along with a great story with believable characters, there is a lot of information about horses and dressage and the horse show circuits. I loved it.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )

I enjoyed the book but it wasn't my favorite. I absolutely loved Allie and Bea, Heaven Adjacent and Leaving Blythe River and this book just didn't give me the same feelings. It was a great book, I just didn't love it. Sarah and Faith's relationship reminded me a little bit of Allie and Bea's. Loved parts of the story and most of the characters. I hate to say that I never loved Sarah. At times I just didn't like her. Would someone allow their granddaughter to go off with a complete stranger? I would have enjoyed learning more about Faith and her life. Enjoyed reading about the horses. Love the writing style. I always feel like I'm part of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books.

Faith recently left her husband. She ends up at her father's beach house and befriends Sarah. Sarah is a fourteen year old girl who recently lost her mom and her horse. Her mom died and her dad sold the horse. Throughout the summer, Faith and Sarah spend there time getting Midnight, the horse, ready for shows and to be sold. Midnight is a very special horse and pretty much only likes when Sarah rides her. Faith and Sarah end up helping each.

I did enjoy the book but had a hard time with the story. Some parts became anticlimactic, especially with Sarah's dad and Faith's ex-husband. Sarah was fourteen but at times I thought I was reading about a nine year old with the way she acted. I know she had a traumatic like with her mom suddenly and suspiciously dying. I think she grieved more for the horse than her mom. I'm glad Faith and Sarah found each other because they were exactly what they both needed.

I definitely recommend the book and can't wait to read more books by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, for a free electronic ARC of this novel. ( )