• Leaping Hearts

  • By: J. R. Ward
  • Narrated by: Kate Rudd
  • Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (363 ratings)

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Leaping Hearts  By  cover art

Leaping Hearts

By: J. R. Ward
Narrated by: Kate Rudd
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Publisher's summary

Everyone thinks A.J. Sutherland is crazy to buy a rogue stallion that no rider or trainer has been able to tame. But if anybody has the hustle to make something out of that hell-raiser, it’s her. She can’t do it alone, however, and goes after the great Devlin McCloud, an equestrian legend with a bad leg - and a worse attitude.

Devlin recognizes a fighter when he sees one - and that horse isn’t a wallflower, either. Before he knows it, he’s got a wild stallion in his empty stable and a hot-headed, heavenly-bodied rider sleeping on his couch. But can he get all three of them through the championship in one piece?

This passion he’s found with his rider is compromising training - and at this level of competition, any distraction is not just unprofessional, but downright deadly…

©2012 J. R. Ward (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

Critic reviews

“Fans of Nora Roberts...will savor every well-written page.” ( Booklist)
“Truly awesome.” ( Huntress Reviews)

What listeners say about Leaping Hearts

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    196
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    168
  • 4 Stars
    89
  • 3 Stars
    56
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    6

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Light easy listen equestrian based romance

Firstly, let me say I'm a huge JRW fan, anything that gets written by her is an automatic download for me - especially after Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fallen Angels Series however, be warned this is nothing like them and that this 'new release' is deceiving in that it was actually her FIRST published book.

This is a 'turn your brain off and just listen' type book, it's an enjoyable lighthearted sweet romance about A.J. the daughter of a rich stable owner who buys a thoroughbred horse named Sabbath in the hope of training him for Show Jumping and takes on more than she bargains for. Devlin's, a mentally and physically tormented ex Show Jumping Champion who becomes involved and is forced to help her and their attraction is immediate. Their relationship is developed and established early on in the book so you are left with a lot of equestrian dialogue merging with a few white lies and bad decisions made by them that has disasterous effects on their relationship.

Worth a credit? No, I was expecting more from the writer of the BDB (not realising it was her first) but if you like the sound of the above then spend your $ rather than a credit 'cause it's cheap enough.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Surprise, I liked it!

I bought this book more than 6 months ago, glad I finally listened to it! I am not a horse person, it's fair to say I am ANTI horse...and had I known at the time that is what this book was about it wouldn't have made it into my cart, even for the $5 I got it for, which is a shame because I would have missed out!

This is the first book JR Ward ever wrote, there is an awesome foreword on here from her too, which makes the book really special! This book is about a spoiled rich girl who is somehow salt of the earth. She doesn't think twice about spending 30k on a horse, but she will be the first to brush and care for it, many contradictions in that but in this story it works! The female lead is strong and smart, and the male lead is damaged but salvageable, and the two of them just work!

The best news about this story is that the drama was believable and the reactions were appropriate to the issues....I love it when an author gets that right!

I wouldn't have been sad if I had paid full price, used a credit or gotten it on sale! It was sweet, nice, dramatic, and you get to feel two people fall in love over time, not in a day, and isn't THAT a nice change....the one draw back is the hot scenes weren't actually there, one bad point to me, but others out there may be thrilled to have a romance without an ounce of erotica, so to those people, ENJOY!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good solid entertainment

I've always enjoyed J.R. Ward's Brotherhood series, and took a chance on this book. Excellent! It was an enjoyable listen, well thought out and spot on about her horses! I was impressed by her story telling and development of the characters. Well done!!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow moving story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. Story was decent but predictable and didn't really have a cliffhanger moment..
I read a lot of JR Ward books and I know this is her first book so I take that into consideration.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Give it more depth.

What three words best describe Kate Rudd’s voice?

Annoying
Lack of good male voice portrayal

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Not sure...

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not JR Ward's best

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Facts were confusing. As a barn mom I was very confused were they show jumping? Or eventing? For a horse person it was very distracting the mixing of eventing and show jumping terms. Also who would spend all day working a horse???? I Love JR Ward other stories but this one was lacking facts.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Nothing I thought the narration was great!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The first book ever published by J.R. Ward

3.5 Stars ⭐️

I honestly have no earthly idea how this book got into my TBR library, but I'm glad I found it. This is the very FIRST book that JR Ward ever published. She has a really long author forward that tells the story behind the publication of her first book. It was worth the read just for that.

The story itself was okay. It was a typical romance story that centers around competitive horse jumping and I did like the plot. The two MC's were interesting and then there was the "awful" step mother and step brother.

I listened to most of this on audio and the thing that kept popping up for me was that the narrator - Kate Rudd- narrates the Kingfountain series of books (by Jeff Wheeler) and for some reason, her voice kept bringing that series up to my mind. Weird, I know.....

So, definitely worth the time investment and it also is great to see how far Ms. Ward has come from there.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good listen

This book is an early Warden creation that's far from the pages of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. There are signs of the deep character development and humor that loyal Ward fans have come to know and love. Horses are part of my everyday life so this book really grabbed me. The h is kind of wishy washy at times and the ending felt a bit rushed, but all in all it's absolutely worth a listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

heartwarming

it was a heartwarming story. The characters were great. the love making was them making love not sex.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the most painful, but still pretty bad.

Definitely struggled to finish this one.

The voice actor is okay, but the accent for the 80 year old farm hand went from American grandpa, to Irish gypsy with a swing of Louisiana creole. It was probably bad directing, but it was so noticeably bad.

Warning of spoilers for the story below.

The female lead is annoying, and she doesn't get better. I guess you could say she got some character development by realizing she's a reckless little rich girl. But I don't really see the change from when she started realizing that.

She still kept being reckless and when she didn't get what she wanted in the end, she basically threw a temper tantrum and was like "Fine then, I quit and it's all your fault for breaking up with me."

Literally the thing she said she loved most in the world, that was important enough to break away from her family for, became moot because her boyfriend broke up with her. All because she was lying to him and it made her feel bad that he wasn't going to take any of her bullshit.

But you know how romance books go, he just "can't live with out her", they all make half assed apologies and they get married the next day (forget rebuilding trust, that's for losers that want healthy relationships.) and ride off into the sunset.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Horses and heat!

Very well written and surprisingly detailed equestrian story line. Great decision to use just a few relatable characters - kept the story close-knit. Loved this book!

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