Samantha's Journey is a long, boring road full of potholes

Samantha's Journey
Thoroughbred Super Edition
by Karen Bentley
Published: 1997

So I know what you're thinking. First off, it's probably "Where are the posts?" I totally understand and I offer two extremely weak explanations (at least, for me): Breaking Dawn happened and I had to attempt to read it and fail, and I became thoroughly obsessed with Guy/Marian from BBC's Robin Hood, which I find creepy because I've only watched three episodes, and he kinda sorta kills her in one of them. I don't know if this should indicate something to me or not...but I'm going to lean toward not being disturbed by this. Because I am drawn to somewhat-unrequited-but-not-really sexual tension above all else, it appears (and tall, dark and handsome morally ambiguous men, but we already knew that). And yes, this means I've been reading fan fic...which I haven't done for a while so don't judge me.

And now, back to the task at hand.


Yeah, I decided I didn't quite get enough of Karen Bentley. Actually, no, that's not true. I was going to read A Home For Melanie, but then this book came along and then I got all sidetracked with Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome Who Isn't Brad Townsend and wow...that was a long journey. Anyway, so here we are. Another super edition I haven't read. It's not a horrible cover, except for the fact that I'm pretty sure that is a denim shirt. Thankfully there is no denim jacket to complete this outfit of evil. Plus, who rides their horse to a cemetery these days? Whatever. The horse, at least, looks good.

Haunted by the past...

Samantha McLean has a terrible scare when she sees Cindy, her adoptive sister, fall over Whitebrook's track rail during a workout. Cindy's accident is frighteningly similar to the one that caused Samantha's mother's death years earlier.

Cindy's accident brings forth a flood of troubling memories for Samantha. She begins reliving the traumatic years which followed her mother's death - a difficult time when she and her father, Ian McLean, traveled aimlessly across the country in search of a place where they could rebuild their lives. Will Samantha rediscover happiness at Whitebrook Farm? Or will she be tormented forever by the tragedies of her past?

Isn't it weird how a supposedly healed trauma just up and becomes an unforeseen issue resulting in a super edition? Also, what is up with the blue, red and pink color scheme of this book? It is horrible. Red text on a pink background is not acceptable. Even in 1997.

The prologue starts out in Whitebrookland, where the squirrels and the birds sing merry songs and Samantha dances around in her amazing storybook forest that smells like rhododendrons and violets. All she's missing is a poofy pink dress and a speaking unicorn with a rainbow-colored horn. Why is it such a great day? Well, it's not because she's found her true love or anything. No, Samantha is an independent female and is thrilled because she's just been offered the formal job title of assistant trainer at Whitebrook Farm. Call me unenthused if you will, but I kinda sorta already thought that was what she was doing. Nevertheless, Samantha's off hugging herself when Tor comes along to turn her independent womanhood into domestic subservience and asks her to marry him. Wow, things just could not get better!

Completely knocked over that her life is now more thrilling than it was previously, Samantha hauls Tor down to the training oval so they can share the news. Only then Cindy has to go fall off of Honor and Samantha has to have a flashback and run away. Like the suddenly irresponsible and delicate girl she never really was but now kind of is. Cindy may or may not be dead (that Samantha knows about...I mean, she runs off to the broodmare barn...who does that?) and that means that Samantha's life will never be fun and thrilling and full of love ever again. What does she do about this? She cries in the barn. Yeah, shocking. Didn't see that coming at all.

Now we're required to jump back in time to when Samantha was twelve and her life was super freaking fantastic. Her mom, Suzanne, is awesome. Her dad, Ian, is supposedly awesome but Samantha isn't really too sure because she spends every waking moment with her mom. And you know who else is awesome? Gulfstream Waves...the horse with horrible luck in names. Gulfstream Waves is a former claimer turned stakes horse, which means he is now more loved than any other horse in the barn. Except for Miracle Worker, who is a claimer and is loved by Samantha despite this horrible fact. Gulfstream is basically Suzanne's special horse, and is going to run in the Donn and make Ian and Suzanne filthy rich and will somehow finance an entire farm that has been their dream for ages. I continue to not understand how this is possible...it's not like a $400,000 purse goes straight to the trainer and even if it did I'm pretty damn sure a farm in Florida is going to cost way more than what Ian, with his five claimers and one claimer turned possible Grade I winner, can finance realistically. Considering they live in a mobile home and all. Honestly.

Well, whatever, because Gulfstream Waves is the perfect not so perfect horse and he wins the Donn anyway, this means Samantha is so close to owning a Triple Crown winner and getting a baby sister that she can practically taste it. But then Gulfstream Waves has to go remind everyone that he was a claimer (and therefore was abused, because all claimers who are not trained by Ian McLean are abused) and he goes crazy on Suzanne and Samantha thinks she'll help out but just manages to get in the way and accidentally causes her mom to go through the rail and break her neck or something. I find it interesting that this role Samantha has in her mom's death isn't immediately dragged out into the light of day...but it isn't. Gulfstream dies, her mom dies, and Ian immediately has an apoplexy about Samantha being within five yards of a horse that may or may not go crazy at a drop of a hat.

Once Suzanne dies, Ian goes a little off the handle and I suppose that means he's no longer financially sound either because that whole farm dream goes up into smoke and before you know it they're moving to Oklahoma City. Then they move to L.A. Then to Del Mar, Long Island, Finger Lakes, and then to Townsend Acres. I could get into the actual plot, which is they keep moving and Samantha keeps having issues with trying to keep her promises to her father so she won't be shoved off to live with her grandparents, but it was too boring and recapping it would be rather pointless. Anyway, it's essentially the same thing over and over. Samantha moves, finds a horse that needs her magical help, and then she has to move again. Occasionally she has friends, occasionally she doesn't. Occasionally everyone at school thinks she's either a misunderstood brat or a scrubby track kid they can torment for fun. This all lands her at Townsend Acres after about a year of wandering around the country, where she proceeds to act like a very repressed fan girl at the sight of Ashleigh Griffen, Charlie Burke and the handsome Mike Reese. And then we have a repeat of Ashleigh's Dream while Wonder's Pride stares all knowingly at Samantha. Because, as we all know, Wonder's Pride is not only perfect, he can see into the future.

Skipping back into our current time, Tor finds Samantha in the stall and convinces her that all is well and requests a kiss. Samantha complies. Fans of Thoroughbred groan and roll their eyes.

• "I'll train so many different types of horses," Samantha murmured. Oh, really, Sammy? As a thoroughbred racehorse assistant trainer these different "types" would be what, exactly?

• "Finding the next Kentucky Derby winner in an overlooked colt will be my specialty!" Just kill me with a blunt spoon now, so I can savor the pain.

• Do you know, just in general, how lame Tor's proposal is? In short: "I have news!" "Well, so do I!" "Great, you tell me your fantastic news first!" "No, I insist! You tell me your fantastical news!" "Okay! Why don't you marry me!" (This is news?) "Why, gosh, let me debate for a second if this is a dream...wait, I think I am in fact not dreaming! But wait, I need to hesitate for about ten seconds so I can give my future husband a heart attack. (...) Yes, I will marry you because you are blond and like horses, which is of the utmost importance!" "Yay! Let us carry the news to the rest of our equally perfect co-workers and friends and general townsfolk!" Yay! What is THAT?

• Wow, just how fast did that ambulance arrive?

• Even though the four-year-old colt was a claimer -- a horse who ran in the bottom ranks of racing -- Samantha wasn't taking any chances on having him run away with her. This sentence suggests that not only do claimers tend to not "run out" as much as stakes horses, but that people don't really care if and when they do go berserk on anyone.

• Samantha knew that with her red hair and green eyes, she looked like her mother. Oh yeah? That's fascinating, Samantha. Please, tell us when you first "knew" about this ever so important fact?

• Galloping ahead, Samantha saw her mother... This suggests that Samantha is galloping ahead of her mother when it's the other way around. Is it so difficult to expect an editor to be able to write, or is this asking too much?

• Miracle wasn't in Gulfstream's class as a racehorse, but Samantha loved him anyway. This sentence speaks volumes of the Thoroughbred mindset, I think. That, and apparently it's much easier to love stakes horses.

• "Gulfstream's really wired." I think at this point Karen Bentley must have had a race scene outline pinned above her head in her office, and this line was required for all pre-race dialogue.

• I have a feeling even the most dense of traumatized twelve-year-olds would be able to recognize a dead body when they run right up to one and stare at it. Also..."Samantha, your mother is dead." Look, Ian, I love your blunt informative sentences most of the time, but that was poorly done.

• Samantha's never seen a mockingbird at age twelve? What is she? Blind?

• Random fact about Ian: He can drive for twenty hours straight. By himself. He is a man of steel.

• I'm torn between finding Samantha clutching her mother's boot either sweet or remarkably silly. At least, when she starts talking to this single boot...it is remarkably silly. Good job, Bentley. Good job.

• She realized she'd expected the Remington track to be second-rate after Gulfstream. Yeah, unfortunately, you know, it is second-rate after Gulfstream.

• So Samantha is shunned by the kids at her new school because she's wearing rancher clothing, or something to that effect. Just to be clear, she lives in OKLAHOMA CITY which is located in OKLAHOMA where it is FILLED WITH DUST and RANCHES. Where did she live previously? Miami. Are we supposed to believe that Oklahoma City has something on Miami in terms of fashion that we're not aware of? This feels like some sort of fashion Twilight Zone.

• Anyone notice how all of the main horses in this book win? Anyone?

• At the end, after Samantha visits her mom's grave, we get this weird discussion with her dad about how she's always blamed herself for getting in the way and causing Suzanne to go through the rail. And apparently Samantha was also pissed at Gulfstream for this? What? Wow, did none of that ever come up previously. Nicely done, Karen. It wouldn't be a Bentley book if the characters didn't suddenly state that they're over their inner turmoil over something no one was all that aware they were angsting over to begin with.

One thing that strikes me about this book is how it's basically the same chapter over and over and over again. Samantha moves. Samantha whines to herself. Samantha finds a horse she can secretly cherish. Samantha moves again. There was other stuff in there, but mainly I was bored by the amazing rate of repetition and am therefore going to ignore this book and move on to A Home For Melanie. Finally.

(Want more? Claire's review is here.)

Got Hope? - TB Super Edition: Ashleigh’s Hope

Ashleigh’s Hope
Thoroughbred Super Edition
Created by Joanna Campbell
Written by Karen Bentley
First Printing: April 1996

Well, I wasn’t going to be doing this one for a while, but I seem to have misplaced my copy of Ashleigh #7. I’m sure it’s in my room somewhere, maybe buried under the laundry pile of washed clothes that I was too lazy to fold. Or maybe somewhere else; but I’m sure I’ll find it eventually. In the meantime, I might as well review something else, right? Because I’m not sure if I’m ready for the saccharine sappiness that is Aladdin’s bid for the Kentucky Derby.

Before I begin, overall, this book was not bad, it had it’s moments so it could never be The Most Awesome Horse Story Evar!™ but it was not too hard to follow.

The Cover:
This is actually quite a lovely cover, the colors are so rich and vibrant, and it’s just really really peaceful with Ashleigh there with her horse. Of course, she does have blonde-ish looking hair and a nose like a pixie, but it’s still a nice cover. Granted, the horse must be one of those giant 17 hand monsters, because the angle of where his (her?) neck is coming down is waaaay up there at the top of the cover, and the halter is bigger than Ashleigh (hahaha). But it’s a lovely cover, you can see the horse has a kind eye, and it’s really very sweet. Probably one of my favorite covers, ever.

The Summary:

A Born champion...

Ashleigh Griffen is thrilled when she gets accepted into the exclusive Chesterton Riding Academy. Now she’ll get the training to accomplish her lifelong dream – to own her own horse. But the other girls at Chesterton are jealous of Ashleigh’s natural talent as a rider. They threaten to destroy everything Ashleigh has worked so hard for.

Nasty Diana Carruthers and her friends try to keep Ashleigh from competing by spreading oil on her horse’s saddle and sabotaging her practices. Ashleigh must find the strength to confront these girls. But will she be able to stop them before they succeed in ruining the only thing she’s ever loved?

I hate this blurb. It’s just so drama llama when it really isn’t. I mean, it’s really not that bad anyway, it’s not like spoiled little princesses do ruin Ashleigh’s life in the end.

Ultimately, this is another one of those “Ashleigh Needs a Big Horse of her Own Real Bad”™ plots. It’s really a recurring theme in the series, Ashleigh already has a pony of her own, but you know she “needs” a big horse to do anything. It doesn’t generate much sympathy on my part (being as I know what it’s like to be horseless, period) but I guess for horse-crazy pre-pubescent girls, it must be a smashing hit.

Also, as a note, it’s really a lot of fun to compare Ashleigh #3: Waiting for Stardust with this book because there are some similarities, and some differences. And it’s fun picking everything out.

The Big Picture Plot:

1) The main and most important plot of the story is Ashleigh’s burning unfulfilled desire for a real live horse of her own; it’s as I’ve said, a recurring theme of the series. Ashleigh needs a horse of course; a pony just isn’t good enough after all. Especially since Moe seems to be confirmed as a purebred Shetland and is 11 hands high. I sort of get Ashleigh’s point here, the smallest pony I ever remember riding was a 13-odd hand POA, so I can see why she’d want something a bit taller – but she’s shooting for the moon here; even a 14-hand horse is too small, she wants a big Thoroughbred racehorse. So this means Ashleigh will constantly sigh and mope and sulk through most of the book until she finally does get a horse. Yay for her! But first, her parents insist that she and Caroline take riding lessons, which brings us to…

2) Said riding lessons at a big-time stable in Lexington. Chesterton Riding Academy is a posh upscale place with two outdoor arenas, an indoor, with “most of the horses on the place over sixteen hands” and probably very expensive lessons. And riding in the lesson group with Ashleigh and Caroline are a “bunch of rich snobby stuck-up kids from school” such as…

3) Diana Carruthers. Who’s apparently the Thoroughbred version of Veronica DiAngelo (or perhaps a younger version of Lavinia Townsend.) She’s snobby, she’s popular, she’s the star center on the school soccer team, and she’s filthy stinkin’ rich, which is everything that Ashleigh is not. But unlike Veronica D, Diana has cronies, and they play tricks on Ashleigh such as putting too much oil on her saddle, or smearing her school horse in horseshit (really, wouldn’t these kids get noticed if they were pushing a wheelbarrow full of manure down the aisle?) Diana is all jealous and bothered by Ashleigh’s “natural talent” and makes life pretty tough for Ashleigh – but I’m sure by normal riding school standards, it’s all a walk in the park.

4) And then we come to how Karen Bentley interpreted Caroline’s accident that was referenced in Wonder’s Promise – only instead of a horse merely spooking at a truck backfiring, this horse freaks out, runs off and gives Ashleigh the chance to save the day – and Caroline gets thrown, breaks her head (was she bloody wearing a helmet?) and goes into a coma for days and days in which her parents hover by her bedside, leaving the day-to-day running of the farm in the hands of their younger daughter (way to go Drama Llama Bentley!)

5) Mona: In both the regular series and the Ashleigh spin-off series, Mona gets her Thoroughbred, Frisky, before Ashleigh gets Stardust (Mona gets Frisky on Thanksgiving in this book, and at Christmas in Ashleigh #3.) This of course means, Mona being a smug little wench calls Ashleigh to brag about her brand new shiny horse, and thus it always leads to a yelling, screaming cat-fight between the two girls. They fight twice in this book, which doesn’t surprise me much, since Mona acts smug and superior, and then worried and possessive. And Ashleigh’s on the defense because poor poor her, she doesn’t have a horse of her very own. Still, they reconcile pretty easily here, and I was a little disappointed because I really sort of liked the long drawn out angst in Ashleigh #3.

6) Stardust finally arrives! Hooray! Ashleigh has a horse at last. Sweet! And it’s instant EXPLODING HEARTS AND STARS for both Ashleigh and Stardust, which is a relief because we’re spared the pseudo-Natural Horsemanship crap from Ashleigh #3. You even get a little sappy suspense going on; with Ashleigh taking Stardust for a ride, and then feeling sorry for herself afterwards until her parents say “You can has horseh!” Everyone lives happily ever after…

7) … except maybe for Diana’s Warmblood gelding, Silverado. Ashleigh got to ride him a few times in her lesson, and got to jump him. And then Diana got careless, pulled a Veronica D. and crashed her horse into a jump, and then they had to put him down. At which point, Ashleigh decides that riding lessons just aren’t for her, and she stays at home to ride Stardust.

Some Key Points of Interest

• Did you know the Griffens bought Zip Away (who is apparently one of their best broodmares) for peanuts? No kidding, and I quote: “Yes-we were very lucky to get Zip Away when we did,” Mr. Griffen answered. “We paid only twenty-five hundred dollars for her at the Ocala Breeders’ Auction a year and a half ago.” Karen, you dolt! $2,500 is pin money. It’s like NOTHING. I bought my Haflinger for “twenty-five hundred dollars” If this mare is really high class, there’s no way she would go through the sale that cheaply. Please, please tell me you meant twenty-five thousand dollars. Please, for all that is holy!

• I can’t help but giggle when Ashleigh thinks that Cheryl Marshall (one of Diana’s friends) says she has a Hanoverian, and Ashleigh’s response is “Big horse” and privately thinks “in her opinon someone as short as Cheryl didn’t belong on a Hanoverian, but it wasn’t worth it to Ashleigh to point this out.” Uh… yeah, this coming from a girl who wants to ride 16 and 17 hand Thoroughbred racehorses? A girl who isn’t exactly Shaquille O’Neill herself?

• I could kick Diana right now. I’ll challenge her to a duel, pistols at dawn. How dare that little fictional figment of Bentley's imagination say that “riding a pony isn’t the same as riding a real horse.” I dare ya, Diana, ride my pony, then we’ll see who’s better, huh. Double dog dare ya! Seriously though, it’s that kind of attitude from the writer that makes people think that only little kids ride ponies, when in fact, grownups ride them too. And have more fun that way!

• Triple Derby who is Zip Away’s “half-brother” won the Breeder’s Cup Classic the year before this book takes place. However, when he races again in the next Classic during the events of the book, Mr. Griffen gets excited and says “he’s setting faster fractions than last year’s winner.” Uh … he IS last year’s winner. Duh.

• Ooooh! Foreshadowing! Wanderer is mentioned in the book, and how she’s expecting a June foal that Ashleigh thinks will be a colt. Why, it’s a perfect lead in for Ashleigh’s Diary.

• pg 141: Cheryl circled Dynasty. He was so big, Ashleigh thought Cheryl was posting in slow motion. Yeah, no kidding. This is why these 10 year old kids should be on fucking ponies for god’s sake.

So there we have it, Ashleigh’s Hope. Not too bad a read all in all, but not the most wonderful of novels either. Guess I’ll have to go dig Ashleigh #7 out of the laundry pile now. Or maybe I’ll put off the sappiness that is Aladdin’s Derby still longer, and review the one book that has the uncanny ability to reduce me to tears even at my age.

Hmmm … Aladdin? Tears? Aladdin … heck with it, I’ll break out the tissues, and cuddle up with The Forgotten Filly, seeing as we’re all taking a bit of a break from Thoroughbred itself. Besides, it’s Thoroughbred-related, being part of “Ashleigh’s Thoroughbred Collection” and written by Karle Dickerson, who has written some of the New Generation books.

Despite nearly dying, it's the best day ever! TB Super: Ashleigh's Christmas Miracle

Ashleigh's Christmas Miracle
Thoroughbred Super Edition
by Joanna Campbell
Original Publication: 1994

Welcome to the book that forever after confuses everything. Or, more specifically, the dream that confuses everything. After reading this thing I can't help but wonder...how the hell did Karen Bentley manage to take the whole thing as canon? How? Just...gah!

Okay, I've got time later to bitch about how this book screws the entire series. On to more pressing matters. Like the cover!


It's a fairly romantic cover, although I could really do without the holly garland. Plus, it just has to keep reminding me of how unthinkable it would be to show up at the hospital to pick up your recently conscious wife and premature infant in a horse drawn sleigh in below freezing temperatures. A horse drawn sleigh is romantic and fun for about five minutes. It is not romantic and fun for a drawn out haul through town and who knows how much country when you have an infant with you. I just...need to stop looking at this.

A baby for Christmas . . .

Ashleigh Griffen and Mike Reese are expecting their first child right after the New Year. But on Christmas Eve, as Ashleigh makes the rounds of the stables at Whitebrook Farm, handing out Christmas treats to all her favorite horses, a stallion's kick puts both her life and the life of her baby in jeopardy.

Ashleigh is rushed to the hospital, where her baby is born premature. As she drifts in and out of consciousness, she dreams about her daughter's life as an Olympic riding champion. Will Ashleigh live to see her daughter become a winner, or will her dreams for her daughter die with her?

It's Christmas Eve and Ashleigh's eight months pregnant. The long and the short of the story that matters is she gets kicked in the stomach by a freaked out gelding, causing premature labor. She gives birth to Christina, a blood vessel bursts in Ashleigh's brain, and she slips into unconsciousness for an unspecified number of days. During this time she dreams about her daughter living without her. Then Ashleigh wakes up and goes home, promising her infant daughter that she'll always be there for her.

The dream is this long affair stretching over six years, wherein Christina attempts to become one of the best three-day eventers in the country and prove that she is her mother's daughter. The first section of the dream involves Christina falling for this filly of Fleet Goddess's (your classic sickly foal situation), the second part involves training the filly as a three-year-old and Christina suffering almost catastrophic injury, and the final part is all about pigheadedly refusing to acknowledge her pain threshold and becoming the great rider she knew she'd be. At the young age of 16. At her rate Christina will be using a walker by the time she's thirty.

Oddities:

• This book jumps forward two years to when Wonder is twelve and Ashleigh is 24. However, Precocious is still described as being a "possible winner" although at this point she'd nearly be four years old.

• You know, I made light of how simple the name Wonder's Pride was before. I'd like to apologize to Wonder's Pride, because the name Jazz Goddess deserves more mocking. Well, her dad is Jazzman and her mom is Fleet Goddess so . . . *light blub on!* Yeah, Christina is ten and all when she comes up with this name, but her friend came up with the name Determined so I'm not accepting that excuse.

• Also, it appears Jazz Goddess (ugh) has tendon laxity. If she can stand up by herself with that condition I don't think corrective booties are necessary.

• The supernatural hearing voices element is a little weird and out of no where. It fits in when Christina is entirely out of it after her fall, but the other time would have me wondering if I wasn't a little insane.

• There's an instance in here where Tor walks in wearing riding breeches and a jacket over a turtleneck and then claps his hands. I just couldn't help laughing at this.
  

• Who is this Whitebrook Lass and why does the whole farm seem to rely on her so much?

• I find it amusing how everyone at Whitebrook has this almost visceral reaction to disliking Lord Townsend, even though by all that we know, Whitebrook Farm should own half of Lord Townsend because he's out of Townsend Princess. Poor Lord Townsend. Such the black sheep of the family.

• Ross. Okay, sure, it makes sense. Brad vs. Ashleigh and Ross vs. Christina. It's natural. Unfortunately the tension there just isn't as, well, palpable? Hysterically time consuming? I kept reading about their competitive need to beat the crap out of each other and thought about how much I might really enjoy the build up to Christina/Parker later on.

• I would have really enjoyed to see an explanation for why Samantha quit Whitebrook after Ashleigh died. That would have been an interesting, sad story. And that's what strikes me about this book. The dream is more or less a waste of time (although entertaining time...I'll give it that) but it skips the more interesting storylines. You know what could have been skipped? Part One. Joanna should have started with Part Two, dedicated a whole section to Christina's rehabilitation and near collapse due to pushing herself too hard, and then Part Three should have been the preparation for the Rolex Kentucky. Why gloss over all that good stuff so we can read about a foal with a not-so-serious problem and a ten-year-old girl with the patience of a gnat?

• Also, a hat? Seriously? The whole plot twist is a hat flying out of nowhere and spoking Jazz, thereby injuring Christina? I was all set to see Jazz doing some typical green horse shenanigans resulting in injury. Instead it's a hat hitting her horse on the nose. I didn't know to be refreshed or annoyed.

• Why do they keep stabbing Christina with needles to get her to sleep? She has an IV. Use it.

• My favorite line: "Yo, crip." I have no idea why Ross says this to Christina. Although it is quickly becoming my favorite quote in the series.

• I really enjoyed Mike's conversation with Christina about competition and not letting it drive her life. I also find it exceedingly ironic because Cindy is next and if anyone was sorely in need of that talk, it's her.

• There's another one of those "I know it sounds crazy..." medical moments brought to us by Joanna Campbell. The nurses, despite it being "strictly against the rules" (although I don't see why, generally speaking, but considering Chris is a month premature I guess it makes some rational sense) brings Christina into Ashleigh's hospital room because they think it will help bring her out of her coma-like whatever. And in true "this only happens in the movies!" Christina accidentally bumps Ashleigh's cheek and she wakes up like she's just woken from a light nap.

• And then they stick both weakened Ashleigh and premature Christina in an open sleigh for a ride that will last who knows how long, despite the nurses twittering stupidly about how the doctors would never allow it. I'm sure there was some pool between the nurses going on by the end of that book on how soon they'd be seeing Ashleigh & Co. back at the hospital after that.

My main problem with this book isn't the book itself. The book is pretty good despite it sort of just ending randomly and skimming over things that would have been more interesting than the things described in detail. My problem is how the dream becomes canon later on. Kevin, Ross, the eventing...they all just step out of this dream and into the canon series, which irks me to no end.

Thus I have to blame this book for all the stupidity later.

Now...now I tackle Tor's rumored infidelity and the complete ridiculousness of Cindy.