Ride a Painted Pony

Nick Red Shield finds a woman in the middle of a highway. She's been beaten, she's bruised and bleeding, barely knows who she is. At first, Nick thinks he has hit her with his pickup truck and horse trailer, but thankfully that isn't so. So how did this mysterious woman, going by the name of Joey, manage to get there? Lauren Davis was once an up and coming jockey .. until she met a man who made her feel special. She didn't know how controlling and manipulative he could be until she had her baby. Trying to take the baby and leave him led to her near death and her son being kidnapped. Red Shield is a quiet, introspective man who is much more comfortable with horses than he is people ..especially women. But he does have a protective streak a mile wide and this particular woman is getting under his skin. Kathleen Eagle is well-known for her contemporary western romances. This one did not live up to the expectations. The beginning was really good .. well-written. Nick Red Shield seemed to be written to stereotype .. silent American Indian. I liked Lauren "Joey" in the beginning, but once at her host's ranch, she became this simpering female. I expected a strong woman and didn't get one. It did get better after that, but by them I wasn't much interested in what happened to any of them. I did enjoy the location descriptions and talk about horses, mainly Indian Ponies. While I didn't particularly like this one, when looking for a romance with just a hint of suspense, I would definitely look at some of her older books. Many thanks to the author / BelleBooks - Bell Bridge Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.