The Secret Horses of Briar Hill ~ Megan Shepherd

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill

By Megan Shepherd

“There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital—the mirrors that reflect the elegant rooms once home to a princess, now filled with sick children. Only Emmaline can see the creatures. It is her secret.

One morning, Emmaline climbs over the wall of the hospital’s abandoned gardens and discovers something incredible: a white horse with a broken wing has left the mirror-world and entered her own. 

The horse, named Foxfire, is hiding from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by colorless moonlight. If Emmaline is to keep him from finding her new friend, she must surround Foxfire with treasures of brilliant shades. But where can Emmaline find color in a world of gray?” ~Amazon description

Brittney Joy’s Review ~ Wow… I didn’t expect this book to sneak up on me like that. I read a lot of YA, but I rarely pickup a middle grade novel. On top of that, I shy away from historical settings because they are a little too close to reality for me (and sometimes, reality can be scary). I read a review of this book on a blog I love (Liber Destella - checkout Sara’s blog because it’s awesome) and I added it to my GoodReads to-read list where it stayed for nearly a year. Then, around Christmas time, I noticed that the audiobook was available through my library and I downloaded it. It immediately sucked me in and grabbed my heart.

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill is set in WWII at a children’s hospital filled with sick kiddos. Sounds depressing, right? It’s not. This book is filled with hope and magic and determination. I immediately fell in love with the main character, Emmaline, who can see winged horses in the mirrors. She’s convinced she’s the only one that can see them and the only one that can save a certain winged horse that is hiding in her world, outside the mirrors.

This book reads like a classic and I really enjoyed the audiobook’s narrator. The narrator has a British accent, but it’s not overpowering. I’ve listened to other audiobooks where a narrator’s accent is distracting because it’s hard to understand what they are saying, but that wasn’t the case with this audiobook. The narrator’s British accent added to the story. Actually, it felt like Mary Poppins was reading me a book at bedtime. I loved it!

I flew through this book, enjoying the world as it unfolded. I loved how the winged horses were incorporated because they were symbolic to what was happening in Emmaline’s real world (in the hospital). This book pulled at my heart strings as I rooted for the brave main character, her sweet friend Anna, Thomas the secretive & caring gardener, and Foxfire the broken-winged horse. I’d suggest this for anyone 11 years+ as there are some tough subjects (death), but ultimately this story is one of bravery, determination, and magic (unseen and that of the heart).

Bonus: In the audiobook there is an author’s note at the end which explains where Shepherd got her inspiration for The Secret Horses of Briar Hill. She notes that the inspiration was very personal for her because (during her research of WWII & childhood illnesses) she discovered memorabilia, letters, and photos from her grandfather’s time in WWII. In one of his letters, her grandfather noted the importance of finding beauty in the darkness of war. This struck Shepherd and that is what she wrote about in The Secret Horses of Briar Hill … finding beauty in a dark place.

LOVED. ONE OF MY FAVORITE READS OF 2018.

Sweetbriars, Leaving the City: British Equestrian Book Series ~ Hollie Anne Marsh (age range: 9-12 years)

Sweetbriars, Leaving The City: British Equestrian Book Series

By Hollie Anne Marsh

“Welcome to the yard! Come and meet the girls... Cate, Tabby and Violet and their beautiful horses. Cate is uprooted from life as she has known it. Along with her family and her gorgeous palomino show horse Odette, she moves to a charming farm deep in the English countryside.

Cate is torn. Upon moving to horse heaven, she had to leave behind her best friend Beth and her beloved horse-riding instructor Bridget. On the other hand, she has fallen in love with Sweetbriars, the farm her family has bought to make their dreams come true. Setting up an equestrian centre at Sweetbriars is fun to Cate, but settling into a new school and having a stern Pony Club riding instructor that teaches dressage is less so. At school, Cate makes friends with Violet, who is confident and wacky, and through Pony Club she gets to know Tabby, who is sweet and popular, but hides a family secret. When the eccentric neighbor Sophia becomes a regular 'drop in' to the farm, Cate begins to learn about acceptance and what friendships really mean. The girls’ lives will be intertwined in ways they could never have imagined thanks to their shared passion for horses and Cate’s determination to make Sweetbriars a success. Will Cate ever settle into living in the countryside?” ~Amazon description

Brittney Joy’s Review ~ I enjoyed this romp through the British countryside and would recommend Sweetbriars for any pre-teen (9-12 years) horse-crazy reader! Sweetbriars is a good, wholesome story filled with lessons for any horse-lover — for beginner or advanced riders. I really liked how Marsh was very detailed in the barn and riding scenes and explained horse terminology, movements, etc. The main character, Cate, is very knowledgeable concerning horses and her two friends, Tabby & Violet, are as well. However, there is a Sophia character that doesn’t know anything about horses and I really enjoyed seeing Cate teach her things - like how horses shed in summer and get thicker coats in winter and how you don’t need to brush a horse’s teeth, but they do need dental work because their teeth keep growing.

This book also shows how riding isn’t easy and it takes hard work and commitment to get better. I also love that this book features dressage. I don’t run across many fictional books that feature a dressage rider (Cate) and the author did an amazing job of describing her lessons and tests (at the horse show). This is a wonderful start to a middle grade series and I’m curious if the next book will continue to follow Cate or if the sequel will follow Tabby or Violet — two of the other girls in the friend group.

Some other fun facts about Sweetbriars:

• The cover features a real young rider and her horse! Isn’t that cool?! The Sweetbriars cover star is a thirteen year old rider named “Faye” and the palomino photographed with her is her pony, Gigman Boy George.

• The back of the book contains an “Ears to Tail Glossary of Horses” which is a horsie dictionary! This is amazing because young readers can learn even more about the terminology used in the book. Horse colors like chestnut, buckskin, and bay are defined as well as tack such as girth, head collar (or halter), and crop. And, more advanced riding terminology is defined as well — such as counter canter, diagonal, hacking, and forward (or impulsion). This is something I haven’t seen before in equine fiction and I think it’s just marvelous and such a handy learning tool for young readers! Bravo, Marsh!

• A percentage of each book sale is donated to a wonderful equine charity - RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) :)