Ambition by Natalie Keller Reinert

Title: Ambition

Much thanks to Natalie Keller Reinert, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it’s overdue.

I requested this during a listening dry spell, I was requesting anything just to have something to listen to. As soon as my request was granted, I immediately had doubts—I have no interest in horses or showing them or the horse world whatsoever. Or Florida, for that matter—I honestly don’t understand how anyone can think it’s a good idea to live there. Would I end up hating the book and giving a bad review when I shouldn’t have requested it to begin with?

So no one’s more surprised than me to find that I really liked this novel! I might have liked it more if I was into horses, but I thought it was generally well-written, and everything was explained well, the topic made accessible. I loved that the pace was steady, timeline was linear, there was only one POV, and the romance was so sweet. I loved that the MC truly struggled (she literally lost everything in a hurricane!) and didn’t have everything she wanted by the end (it is a series, after all)—but what she did have was repaired relationships, so she had a good arc.

However, Jules might have been a tad too bitchy; there were times when I was surprised Pete still pursued her (I mean, his crush on her was sweet, but no means no?). Times when I wasn’t surprised Becky jumped ship and Lacey was headed that way too. Times when I didn’t want to be around Jules. But there was something that drew me to her, too; perhaps knowing that her ruthlessness and acerbity masked a well of vulnerability. Maybe because she was kind of an underdog. Maybe I saw a little of myself in her. Regardless, there was enough goodness to her character to prevent me completely disliking her.

I liked the other characters as well, Pete, Becky, Lacey, Dr. Em—though I’m surprised the horses weren’t given more personality. Well, Princess Regina was–or, more accurately considering her name, Queen Regina—but Mickey and Dynamo weren’t. All the horses were well-described, but their personalities consisted largely of their faults and hangups. Dynamo was exhausted, Mickey had PTSD and was a disappointment, the girl twin had a butterfly phobia (LOL!) and the other twin had a quirk I can’t remember. Or maybe that’s about as much personality as horses have, I don’t know.

There were times when the exposition was a little too heavy on the horse talk, going into unnecessary detail, but it was written with such great flow that I didn’t mind much. Perhaps the wonderful narration helped, too. Barrie Kreinik was excellent.

I do have some questions. If Jules and Lacey were the only ones living/working on Green Winter Farm and they spent all their waking hours with the horses, who took care of the acreage? I assume the lawn was mowed, the weeds sprayed, the landscaping weeded, the trees trimmed, the buildings maintained. I highly doubt Jules bothered with gardens. There was no mention of any equipment, like power tools or machinery, they seemed to do all the work in the barn by hand, and never once did Jules mention them mowing lawn, etc., at least not to my recollection. But they would have wanted to make the entire place aesthetically pleasing for the tours of potential boarders, right? I just can’t believe that Jules and one unpaid student accomplished everything, not just the horse work, all on their own. Unless the farm was much smaller than I’m imagining.

Then the circumstances of living (and working) on Pete’s farm after the hurricane were curiously vague. I understand Jules and her horses had no where else go and Pete was exceptionally kind taking them all in. But first, I obviously missed where ten extra horses were kept, because I thought Pete’s barn was full with twenty. And did all the horses get along? Did his horses mind sharing their pastures? Then there are feed and supplies questions—one, where did Jules keep hers? If Pete’s barn was at full capacity, I can only assume his storage was, too. Two, did the finances get messy? I assume a lot of Jules’s feed and supply was ruined in the storm, and it was well established that she lived boarder check to boarder check. Was she still able to buy her own supplies after the prices were raised? Did she pay Pete any kind of rent? Maybe things weren’t as tight for her when she no longer had property to pay for or utility bills and stuff. Why didn’t Jules and Pete form some kind of business partnership since Jules needs a barn and they both have pretty much the same business model and goals? It was just strange that we went from a pretty close account of Jules’s tight finances to very vague mention of how things were organized. I suspect the author was trying to keep a complicated situation as simplified as possible for the sake of flow.

But furthermore, the situation with Pete’s grandmother needed clarity. So the farm is hers, the grandfather died years ago in a riding accident, and because of that the grandmother hates the farm and everything to do with horses. But Pete loves horses and wanted the farm, so his grandmother agreed to keep paying the bills while Pete used it for a boarding/training business and while he tried to become an eventing champion? I think he had a deadline, but she just agreed to keep paying for that place she hated for Pete’s sake? (Ha, no pun intended!) Did I understand that right? So, what’s unclear to me is the grandmother’s level of involvement. Does she live there? Her presence was never mentioned; likely I missed mention of her living elsewhere. What does she pay for vs. what does Pete pay for? Is she aware that Jules and her horses also come to squat on the grandmother’s farm and dime? How does she feel about that? I feel like the situation was brimming with drama and conflict and I was surprised it wasn’t fleshed out and explored.

Then again, those issues were introduced in the last quarter or so of the book, which was already getting long, so this book really wasn’t the place to explore that situation. I think Pete’s “secret” should have been saved for like a cliffhanger moment toward the end, maybe the sudden appearance of his disapproving grandmother to see what’s going on on her farm or something, indicating Pete’s “secret” would be explored as conflict in the next book.

So yeah, I had a few questions, and a horse lover would probably appreciate the story more, but overall this is a well-written novel that I enjoyed. My library doesn’t currently carry any of Reinert’s work, but I’ve requested all the audiobooks, so perhaps one day I can continue the saga. If Ms. Reinert would like a review of Pride’s audio, all she has to do is message me.