Horse Play [Kindle Edition]

I've read all but one of Jo Carnegie's Churchminster series and really enjoyed them. I have to admit the last one wasn't the best, but when I received a copy of Horse Play for review, I was really hoping that it'd be back up to the standards of the other books, and luckily Jo Carnegie really didn't let me down! I also like her new cover look, with the bold photography making the book stand out far more and it has a bit of a fun look to it as well. Although it's book 5 of a series, you could also read this without having read the previous 4 novels, you just won't know some of the background although the important bits about the characters are explained as you go along! So why should you pick up a copy of Horse Play?

The book contains many characters as most of the Churchminster villagers make a comeback of sorts in this book, even if its just a brief mention. The main ones from previous books are sisters Caro and Calypso, both wildly different but equally fun to read about, Angie and Freddie who own a big house and horses, and of course the lovely Granny Clem. We are introduced to a few new characters in the book, Kizzy, a young girl who works for Angie and Freddie, and Javier, a former Olympic dressage rider and object of Kizzy's affections. These new characters blended in perfectly with those of old, and I really did like Kizzy, despite her naivety somewhat towards Javier and things like that. Kizzy and Javier's story, which does take some surprising twists and turns is one of the main focuses of the story, together with Kizzy's loves of horses. Caro had her own storyline too, to do with her hideous ex-husband and son Milo, I found it quite hard to read and get to grips with, I think every mum dreads being in Caro's position here but I felt Carnegie handled it very well and it moved with a good pace in the book too.

I'm not a massive fan of horses if I'm honest, they freak me out a bit as they're huge and you just don't know what they're thinking behind those eyes but since this book really focus on them, I had to put my dislike behind me and plough on. However, I found the horsey bits really enjoyable, and there wasn't anything too technical in there, in fact I really liked the detail about the horse riding and Kizzy's experience with the horse and Ed, the rider too. It was funny to see Carnegie write about the racecourse which my garden looks over too, I wish there was a little more about Newbury racecourse in there but it was fun reading it in a book for sure! You don't have to be a horsey person to understand these bits either, and what you don't understand obviously isn't hugely important anyway!

This book is full of fun, laughs, sex and living in the countryside, and it's a complete joy to read about from start to finish. Yes, there's lots of characters to keep track of, but once you've got them all down, it's easy peasy to follow as they are all so different. There are also lots of different stories going on too, from the fun horsey story involving Kizzy, the Fox-Titts and Javier, and then Caro's family dramas, and Calypso's life dramas too! There's some raunchy sex scenes, lots of laugh out loud funny moments and just a bit of everything for everyone really. You'll really love this if you've enjoyed the rest of the Churchminster series so far, but if you haven't yet experienced Churchminster, this would certainly be a great place to start! I enjoyed every page and didn't want to leave the residents of Churchminster once more... I can't wait for the next one!

I have 3 young kids and never have any time to myself, let alone to read anything. However I was going a long haul flight by on my own last weekend - economy felt like the spa without children - and I picked up a copy of Horse Play on a whim at Gatwick. LOVED LOVED LOVED it - read it within 3 days which is a record for me. It was sassy, funny, smooth reading, love the different dynamics of all the characters. Sometimes you buy a book that you just think is "spot on" and this is the perfect read if you want something that will make you smile page after page. One of the best books I have read in ages.

Jo Carnegie has written a fantastic series of books set in Churchminster. I have enjoyed them all but her last book Dirty Tricks was an absolute corker. I was looking forward to the release of Horse Play. At a meaty 608 pages I certainly had something to get my teeth in to.

As usual with the Churchminster books you see the familiar faces that have appeared in the other books. Although that is the case, you certainly don't have top read the others and this could be read as a stand alone book. Although that may be the case, I just love the fact that with each book comes another part of Churchminster's life and we see members of the village and what is going on in their lives.

This books main star of the show was a new face in the form of Kizzy. She works for Angie and Fred (who feature in other books) and is trying to crack her burning ambition of becoming a successful female jockey. Angie and Fred have a horse called Nobby that Kizzy rides along with Edward who comes onto the scene a little later on.

In addition to Kizzy some of my favourite characters all make an appearance along with Caro and Benedict who have another part of the storyline along with Caro's despicable ex-husband Sebastian. There is also the appearance of other villagers such as Camilla and Jed and Granny Clem. Along with those my absolutely favourite character of all is Calypso, sisters to Caro and Camilla. She has the best attitude ever and some of her sayings are absolutely hilarious. She takes up a slice of the pie as she tries to work out whether or not to go back to London to try and make her events business even more successful.

The story starts with quite a few hairy moments in the beginning and after a couple of chapters I realised that Jo Carnegie had set me up for another bumper read. After a little while we see the sexy Javier, a former Olympic dressage rider, come into the story. The story itself is heart warming, funny and at times as steamy as hell. It had me gripped from start to finish and I truly didn't want it to end. One particular moment feasturing Caro and a trip to see her son's teacher had me laughing out loud and cringeing at the same time!

The characters draw you in until you love them or loathe them and the village life certainly hasn't got any quieter in the case of Churchminster. Two other characters that made this book for me are Caro and Benedict's new neighbours Baz and Cheryl. They were fantastic and had me giggling at every appearance. The story has lots going on and I would love to live in a place like this where there is drama at every corner!

I was truly sad to finish the book and thought it may well be the best yet in the series. I can only hope that the next book comes along sooner than expected as I don't know if I can wait another year to catch up with what I now consider old friends!