Breaking Free - eBook

Lauriane Snelling has been writing since 1980, with over sixty-five books published, both fiction and non-fiction, historical and contemporary, for adults and young readers. She received a Career Achievement Award for inspirational fiction from RT Book Reviews and her books consistently appear on CBA bestseller lists. A hallmark of her style is writing about real issues within a compelling story. Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons and live in the Tehachapi Mountains in California with a Bassett Hound named Sir Winston.

This horse-centered romance by inspirational novelist Snelling (A Promise for Ellie) is tedious and not the author's best work. As it opens, Maggie Roberts is serving time in prison for an unnamed crime; although the details aren't spelled out until the end of the novel, most readers will put the pieces together long before. Maggie is enrolled in a new, experimental program that offers prisoners the chance to work with retired racehorses. Before she knows it, Maggie has helped rehabilitate a horse (not so subtly named Breaking Free), and she might be fast-tracked for parole, if only she can secure a job on the outside. Enter Gil Winters. Abandoned by his ex-wife, he's heroically raising a precocious son, Eddie, who, despite suffering from spina bifida, has learned to ride. Gil would buy Eddie his own horse, but he'd need to hire a caretaker for the animal as well. Throw in that Maggie's divorced and Gil is lonely, and the plot isn't hard to predict. Still, the characters have a bit of depth, and the tale of faith, forgiveness and starting over may find a readership with Snelling's many diehard fans. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.