Review: Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Racing Savannah

(Hundred Oaks # 4)

By: Miranda Kenneally

Pub. Date: December 3, 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 304

Source: Netgalley

They’re from two different worlds.

He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.

With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack. 

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret that I am a fan of Miranda Kenneally and her Hundred Oaks series, and while I have enjoyed all of her stories, they haven't compared to her first one, and my favorite, Crossing Jordan. Until Racing Savannah! Everything about this story was perfect. From the Southern setting, to the characters, to the writing and plot. Never being a fan of horses (they creep me out!), I didn't really know how I was going to feel about so many scenes in a book featuring horses, but it wasn't a problem because the writing and characters were so good!

Savannah, her father, and pregnant step mom move into the servants house of the Goodwin estate. Her dad has worked with horses his whole life and this is an excellent job to have, even if they are dirt poor. Savannah wants to have a career in training and taking care of the horses, and eager to see if the Goodwins will give her an opportunity to show what she's made of. Turns out that Mr. Goodwin has left all the decisions to his son, Jack, to see if he can handle being the boss. This makes for many interesting scenes between Jack and Savannah, who is supposed to stay away from him!

The chemistry between Savannah and Jack was so sweet. As a reader you think Jack is going to act like a rich, privileged, spoiled boy. But he isn't. He is sweet and caring, and wants to make his father proud. Savannah was also an awesome character. She loves her family, and even though she is upset with her dad for getting a lady pregnant, she doesn't hold it against them, and does what she can to help. It was a nice change of pace from other YA characters out there.

As with her other books, Kenneally focuses on a certain sport, and while I don't like horses, I enjoyed learning about them and the inner workings of horse racing.

I really enjoyed Racing Savannah. I will always read the books from the Hundred Oaks series!