Name: Breaking Free
ISBN: 9780439130240

Lauren Brooke

Heartland is a horse farm nestled in the hills of Virginia, but it's much more than that. Heartland is like no other place -- it's a place where the scars of the past can be healed, a place where frightened and abused horses learn to trust again. Pegasus is all Amy has left of her past, but he's steadily growing weaker. Amy's trying to care for him and hold Heartland together. She's striving to do just what her mother would have done, but everything is beginning to unravel. It will take all of Amy's courage to let go of her mother's legacy, but it is the only way that she will break free and find her own.

Breaking Free

Briar's Reviews

Many years ago, I was heavily into the television series that is based off of this book series. Heartland had a special place in my heart and I would not miss an episode under any circumstance. It was so sweet and heartwarming, plus it had horses! As an animal lover, it just felt like a t.v. series made for me. Then, in walks this book series. I accidentally stumbled across the first book and I was jazzed. So, like any bookworm, I decided I needed to read the series that inspired one of my favourite childhood shows.

Just the other week, I found books #3 through #20 at a charity book sale. And yes, dear fellow reviewers, I bought all of those. I am going to slowly but surely work my way through these books and see how they span out. It could be good, it could be bad, who knows! I haven't read this many books in one series since my childhood. It's time to get cracking!

This book didn't woo me like the first two did, but it did have a lot of heart and soul. There's loss and heartbreak scattered in this book, similar to how the first book did - but this one felt so much sadder. My heart aches, but I also have a strong feeling that this series will pick up and bring so many more happy memories (oh boy, do I hope it does... no more heart break please...).

There's trouble brewing in Heartland when less and less boarders are coming in. Business is drying up, and people are even leaving the beloved horse whisperers. With gossip-y teenage girls and rivalries going on, Amy and Lou will have to get crafty to bring in more clientele to keep the business afloat. Meanwhile, romantic feelings may be stirring, illnesses may be around the corner, and everyone misses the woman who started it all. This book is a roller coaster of emotions!

I did peek at other reviews after I finished this book. I don't think this series is purely accurate for how you should train horses, but I do think it's a kind of horse whisperer type of magic that little girls believe in. This book is definitely made for a younger audience (I would guesstimate about eight to twelve years old), and at that age I totally believed in the magic of talking to an animal the right way. It's not veterinarian approved, but it is the kind of magic you want back in your youth. If you have the right connection, it will all work out. Taking that with a grain of salt, this book is not accurate for horse medicine (and if you are reading this book for that purpose... why?...) but I don't think it's meant to. It's to bring out that childhood whimsy we all miss. At least, that's how I take the book. 

Now if only I could talk to my cats the way Amy talks to horses... I could solve so many issues...

Three out of five stars!