Blaze of Glory

Book 1

By: m. garzon

Narrated by: Kasi Hollowell

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

What if you had to choose between the life that you loved and the love of your life?

Last year, I had it all: two jumpers on the show circuit, a lot of wins, and a lot of attention - the good kind. But now I have nothing. My life is circling the drain. The only spark of light that exists for me is my new, forbidden passion. If my stepfather finds out, he will kill me. My twin brother, my only blood relative in the world, has already begged me not to. But I can't help myself. If it can't be horses, it has to be this...

©2011 M. Garzon (P)2018 M. Garzon

Loved this Book!

What a fantastic coming of age story! It's a long listen, but it honestly didn't feel like it! Even though I left my teenage years behind a long time ago, this book is so well written that it brought it all back like it was yesterday. The uncertainty of your first real love, the pressure of living up to the expectations placed on you, the agony of loss... I just couldn't stop listening! So happy I received a free copy of this book that I'm leaving this honest review in the hope that you'll read it too! The story is great, the narration was fantastic... you just can't go wrong with it!

Exceptional coming of age story

This was an exceptional coming of age story. The author has done a wonderful job building the characters and the narrator brings the characters to life. Looking forward to more by this author and narrator.

Loved It

I got this story via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. When I first started listening to this I thought I was getting another one of those stories where the stepfather likes the boy but not the girl. But as the story progressed it got clearer that there was so much more going on. I enjoyed the HEA as well as the many plot twists involved in the story. I am sorry about the horse but glad that the stepdad did love the stepdaughter and gave her the brother of the horse she loved so much and lost. I am sure that there is more to the story but it did not end in a cliffhanger. The narrator did so much to make the story come to life.

Young adult horses.

Young adult horses.
It strikes me that there doesn't seem to be a explanation for the stars that are given. So I thought I'd start giving my take on it.
1 horrible no redeeming qualities.
2 there are redeeming qualities.
3 good worth reading, or well written but not my cup of tea.
4 great but there's something off.
5 loved it.

Argg, everything I started to write becomes a spoiler. I HATE spoilers so I think I'll just go on to say that the narration gives the story life.
Reasons I enjoyed this audio book:
Tear-jerker, Romantic, Wonderful characters, Page-turner, Great world building, Unpredictable, Original, Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Action-packed.
Bookshelves/tags.
angst, horses, read, recorded, romance, series, teens, young-adult.
This Audiobook was given to me for free at my request from the publisher, author or narrator and I provided this unbiased voluntary review.

Good young adult read with interesting family dynamics!

Hi, received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I am new to M. Garzon’s books but enjoyed delving into this story about Tea and her complicated, evolving relationship with Jaden that had me rooting for them. I liked that though Tea was a junior, she worked hard with her horses and students and was driven to meet her goals. She wasn’t a pushover. She had some rough months facing consequences for being reckless only to be followed by tragedy but she emerged and came out on the other side. I was excited to see her grow into a more forthright and honest young woman when it would have been easier to be vague or lie, showing her personal growth as well. There is teen romance that faces its own challenges due to family dynamics. I liked the pace of the story and development of their young love. I liked the emphasis on communication at key points when trying to work though issues they were facing. Great twist near end with her birthday gift! Jaden and Tea have made it this far, hope the days ahead now that their relationship is out in the open get easier and they find support for their future.

Great coming of Age

An excellent coming of age novel that really brought the feels to me. Garzon is a great author and I would read more by them in the future. The characters are full of life and feel like real people to me, going through realistic tragedies.

The narration is excellent as well! Hollowell did a wonderful job of making each character feel distinct from the other. I recommend the audio version!

Awesome

This was an amazing story and I can not wait for the next one!! Kasi Hollowell did a great job with the narration and brought the characters to life!! I highly recommend this one!! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Mixed Bag

I find myself reacting in a mixed way to this series thus far. It is certainly engaging and emotional and addresses many light and shade issues both in the horse world and in the complex world of teen - young adult relationships. I plan to listen to the next audiobook in the series but with reservations. Lately, I have been wondering why it is seen as positive to create extreme characters that are frankly annoying and act more like foot-stamping rebellious 10-year-olds much of the time. Do we really need every detail of their immature emotions - perhaps that is what is irritating - the completely overshare.... Point could be made without the extremes.

In addition, my skin crawls at Tea's obsession with sex and her unfortunate obsession and clinginess - I guess this is seen as representing teenagers but I do not agree with this annoying stereotype: Yes hormones are surging in the teen years but for me it was with restraint, not hanging off the opposite sex like a clinging out of control monkey trying to get orgasms like some sort of drug. Perhaps Tea should have asked Jaden to piggyback her everywhere or carry her like a cavewoman as happened on occasions. This idea of teenagers being one out-of-control hormonal reaction is very distasteful.

But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this book is the concept that extreme physical assault by a parent or peer and overwhelming controlling behaviour is EVER something to accommodate. There is a great deal of overlooking, downplaying and downright denial which is concerning.

So I proceed to Book 2 with caution and hope the stronger aspects of the story prevail - the details of the horse world, the role of family, the value of close friends, and the rites of passage we all pass through.

It should be noted that the narration for this book is very competent for both male and female characters. Bravo Kasi Hollowell.

an incredible Young Adult Book

I loved the story so very much I know I will give this book to my nieces and nephews to listen the book was a very well written end story was great

Black Beauty, Black Stallion, Horse Whisperer

Coming of age riding, showing, jumping, playing polo, exercising thoroughbreds at the racetrack--can you say horse-mad? Except this is someone who grew up on a farm/ranch/stables dedicated to horses and has been learning all about them since she was young. There is a strong story line, taking Téa ("TAY-uh") and her twin brother Seth through their last years of high school with their step-dad and his extended family with all the angst and drama of high emotion. But the drama and dramatics are well-told and compelling and, while I may disagree strongly with several of the actions taken, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, especially as narrated by Kasi Hollowell, whose vocal range is excellent, bringing added drama of its own to highlight the action.