M. Garzon

Tea (pronounced Tay-a) Everson and her twin brother live with their stepfather, Declan Foster, on his horse ranch in Ontario, where he operates a boarding stable and riding school. Tea is sixteen, an ambitious show jumper, and she and her horse, Blaze of Glory, have qualified for the Royals.

Then their cousin, or rather, Dec’s nephew, Jadan Foster, a professional polo player, comes back for a visit after having been away for years. He’s handsome, charming, six years older than the twins, and part of the much more prosperous part of the family. It’s the start of a difficult, challenging year for Tea, Jadan, Declan, and everyone around them.

Declan loves his two adopted children, but saying he’s a strict disciplinarian is an understatement. When pushed far enough, he reaches for his belt as a disciplinary tool, and Tea and her brother have learned to live with this. He’s determined to keep them safe, and Tea’s jumping worries him. He tolerates her jumping Blaze and other familiar horses, but has strict rules about exactly what she can do, the size of jumps she can take without the trainer present, etc.

Tea, who is a truly gifted jumper and horse handler, finds this stifling, and at sixteen, patience and demonstrating responsibility in order to win more freedom to use her own judgment is not her strong point. Believing that Dec can’t afford to pay the whole cost of her going to the Royals because of business conditions this year, she decides to earn her own money with a temporary job—exercising horses at the nearby racetrack. The problem with this is that Dec has forbidden the twins to go anywhere near the track, because it’s a rough environment that he feels is not safe for them. When Tea does it anyway, while Dec is away on his other business, Jadan stops by the track and sees her. He says he won’t tell Dec if she quits, but she won’t do that, and he does tell Dec.

Dec beats her with his belt, and also grounds her for just two weeks—the two weeks of the Royals.

Jadan is shocked at the beating. Tea is really devastated by the loss of the chance to go to the Royals. When this is followed shortly after by an accident that kills Blaze, they’re all in for a tough year.
Tea needs to work through her grief over Blaze’s death, and also the crushed dream of a show jumping career, which requires not just riding ability but the right horse. Jadan is working through guilt at being the cause of Tea’s beating. And Dec, we gradually learn, decides it’s time to do something about his own resort to violence when defied.
The dynamics of this family are complicated and interesting. Tea’s mother married Dec when the twins were ten—and died when they were fourteen. Dec is the only family they have, and two years after their mother’s death, they worry about what will happen if Dec decides he no longer wants these two children who aren’t his. Jadan’s parents are divorced, and his father is more violent and abusive than Dec—something they apparently got from their own father. At one point, Dec had offered to take in Jadan, and if that had happened, he and twins would have grown up as siblings.

But that didn’t happen, and instead they’re almost-cousins who haven’t met in years and are just getting acquainted. Tea looks at him and sees an attractive young man, a horseman like herself, who isn’t all that many years older than she is. Jadan is a lot more aware of the age difference, and how the relationship might look questionable to others.
Tea is grieving Blaze, and is haunted by what she hasn’t told her family about the accident. Without a horse of her own, she’s riding and working with the school horses, some of the boarders, and occasionally riding “difficult” horses for others. Dec, concerned for her safety, is almost over-protective, trying to limit her risk to almost nothing. Tea, though, is maturing into a very skilled and even gifted rider and trainer, and needs to challenge herself.

The relationships among Tea, Dec, and Jadan, strained by the conflicts and bound together by their love of horses as well as each other, make a compelling and emotionally satisfying story.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley from the author.… (lisätietoja)

Blaze of Glory is a romance that will have you following this horse whisperer through the pages of her life, including all the angst and passion that a 17 year old girl carries with her. Her trials and tribulations kept me involved and wondering how everything was going to work out okay and become a happy ending.

I love horses and think they are magnificent creatures. I love to watch them in motion and imagine myself riding, with the wind blowing across my face and through my hair, my heart pounding with the hoofbeats, as we race across the ground. How exhilarating a feeling is that?

Tea is an independent, sassy, strong willed, hardworking girl that has a special affinity with horses. Her impulsiveness gets her in trouble over and over again.

Her parents had died and Tea and her brother are living with her stepfather. Jaden, her older “cousin” (by circumstance only, not a blood relation) gives her butterflies and sweaty palms, her heart throbs when she is near him. Her love for him could very well destroy her already dysfunctional relationship with her stepfather.

I am an action junkie, but I was not kept waiting for a murder, magic or adventure. I knew this was not that kind of story.

This is Tea’s story. M Garzon would lead me up to the moment of the kiss, then deny me. I felt it was going to happen, but when.

A clean romance that kept me hanging on, wishing and hoping that Tea would become the professional horse rider she wishes to be and capture the love of her heart’s desire.

I chose the book knowing it wasn’t an action-packed thriller. Tea’s story kept me involved and waiting for what would come next. The ending answers all the questions I had, yet leaves the book open to continue Tea’s story.

“Small as a kitten, brave as a tiger.”… (lisätietoja)

I read Look Twice, in exchange for review from Tomoson. The book was written by m. garzon and published by Petal Press. This is a sequel to Blaze of Glory. I received a Kindle Edition.

I did not read the first book and now wish I did. I did buy the first book in 2012. Now I have incentive to read it. The first few pages listed a lot of characters and I wasn't sure how they was connected. Was very overwhelming. I love to read, so I was not going to let not having the first book stop me from reading the second.

Other than that:

The book is about Tea or Taya. Tea has a brother named Seth. Tea is dating Jaden. The relationship does have drama and controversy. Their relationship isn't the most appropriate, but Tea and Jaden want to make their relationship work. There is something going on and everyone is trying to meet to discuss it.

The book was written well and the scenes moved quickly in the beginning.… (lisätietoja)

I am always anxious to read and review a book when it is also the authors debut novel. I think these are the most exciting, and I especially love meeting the author, and being able to catch a glimpse of what might be coming in the future. M. Garzon's , Blaze of Glory, is no exception to my geeky anticipation with debuts.
This is a very well thought out story, it's written as if it's just second nature to this author, and the descriptions, characters, and especially the horses. I personally have no experience with horses, but she has created some very beautiful personalities for them in this book, and just like you will get to know the other characters as if you knew them all their lives, you will also feel the same about the horses in this book.
Tea, is a 17 year old who has a twin brother, Seth. Since their mother passed away, their step father, who is pretty strict with both of them, but, tries to do what is best in his eyes, continues to raise them. Dec, (their step father) has a nephew, Jaden.
Jaden is 6 years older then Tea, and a polo player, and comes back to Canada after a few years of traveling and playing polo. Of course, you can say Tea and Jaden are first cousins, however it isn't by blood, which leads me to the next part about when Tea and Jaden fall in love.
I know this could possibly turn some people away, however, this isn't the first time this has happened, and again, it isn't by blood, so, I guess the reader should be the "judge" of that.
Tea and Seth have an incredible bond, and are the best of friends. I like their relationship, and think it is well thought out and just as I would wish or hope or want for my own children's relationships to be. Although Seth, loves his twin sister to pieces, he is a bit worried about her "forbidden love" for their cousin, Jaden. Again, another regular brotherly thing to do. Especially under these circumstances.
I also like Seth because he isn't scolding or showing disappointment, because he accepts his sister and loves her just for being her, he is more concerned about how this relationship with Jaden, will affect her life.
Although both Tea's and Seth's lives have had it's ups and downs and more then their fair share of bad luck and sadness, they are both very strong 17 year olds. Mainly Tea, who is quite stubborn and headstrong, but even if these qualities are sometimes seen as a fault, I have always thought that it depends on how you use these qualities, which is then considered, in my eyes, (and maybe because I am very similar), an asset, therefore, I do appreciate Tea's character a lot. She has the same type of "assets" that I see in my own 2 daughters and along with this usually comes good values,morals and respect.
Of course what comes next would be the growing closeness and love between Jaden and Tea. I would recommend that even if you are thinking, "omg!" or " I wouldn't want my daughters reading this!", I would read it first myself. M. Garzon, does a tremendous job with such an intricate subject and it isn't poorly written, and it is done so tastefully that you will end up cheering and filled with joy for Jaden and Tea.
I don't personally believe that every 17 year old girl who reads this book, will then turn around and think it is ok to have sex, just because everybody else is, or have sex with their cousins. That being said, you should be the judge, and if you feel your teen isn't going to have a problem and change her ways due to what she has read, then she should be just fine.
There are many, many, many things out there that we wish we could shelter our children from, and you know, it isn't going to happen. It is always there, and they will find it, read it, see it, hear it. If they have a brain, they can think for themselves and they will know right from wrong, or they will learn to accept some things that aren't as "normal" as society says.
I would not recommend this book for a pre teen and depending on maturity, maybe not even 14 or 15. But again, parents should be involved in their children's lives and if you read it, and have no issues, it is fine. I have 4 kids of my own, 2 daughters, and we did try as parents to shelter our children, and we still do. The biggest culprit, television. I would much rather they read a book then watched TV. and this book isn't going to scar them.

** I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review **… (lisätietoja)