An honest review thanks to NetGalley. Wow. For some reason, I kept putting this at the back of my shelf, but once I started it today, I just couldn't put it down. It was absolutely amazing, I haven't read A.L. Brooks before, but I will definitely be looking out for her in the future. This is a great romantic read that also has a fair bit of angst about Sadie's family. This was definitely worth the read and I plan on re-reading it very soon.

My second novel by Brooks and another very good one. Loved the main characters (Sadie and Holly), and some of the minor ones were truly well-done. Sadie's gran Elsie is not just for my shelf for superb grandmothers, but also for my unforgettable supporting shelf. Along with the well-chosen title and cover Dark Horse is the complete package. Sincerely recommended.

This was... nice. It was a very nice story and was pretty cute. Just enough family drama balanced with falling in love. My only complaint is that I don't think Holly's POV was necessary since it didn't really add any drama or suspense. Her voice was no different than Sadie's either and I would get them mixed up, not realizing the POV had switched. Last thought: that was the first time I have ever seen the word "brekkie".
Overall, a cute read.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and while vastly different to the first, it was still an enjoyable read.

Don’t be fooled by the cover that this is a biker story. While the heroine does indeed own a motorcycle, it doesn’t feature anymore into a story than a character who has a car as their mode of transportation.

With that said the title is fitting as Sadie is the black sheep, or should I say Dark Horse, of the family. When she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit, it’s the final straw for her A-hole of a father and she is sent to live with her Grandmother at the tender age of seventeen. I saw this is a cloud with a silver lining, Elsie was such a wonderful character, I’m sure Sadie was much better off living under her roof than with her unsupportive parents.

Twelve years on, when Sadie receives news her mother has a brain tumour, she returns to her childhood town/home. From that point on the story is a touching one of redemption and second chances.

Staying at the hotel, rather than with her parents, Sadie becomes involved with Holly. Their relationship is a slow burn and not without its issues. I actually thought the connection between Holly’s Aunty and Sadie would cause a whole lot of chaos but alas, it dropped off as quick as the blow-up.

Sadie’s father and sister are rather one-dimensional characters, but given I didn’t care one iota for either of them, that wasn’t a bad thing.

This story touches on many issues, abandonment, second chances, grief, conflict, homophobes, coming out, and a happy resolution.

genre: drama, contemporary romance
length: 100,000 words, 28 chapters
main characters:
Sadie Williams, 29, cafe manager, short messy blonde hair, green eyes framed by long pale eyelashes, 175 cm tall with solid build
Holly O'Brien, 22, has a marketing degree, temporary working as a hotel receptionist, dark straight brown hair to just brush shoulders, big brown eyes, stylish thick-rimmed glasses
main theme: coming home after 12 years of family estrangement
setting: Manly (a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia), Ballarat (city in the state of Victoria, Australia)
my opinion:
- well executed story with depth and feeling and excellent character development
- highly recommended to all who like family drama and romance interwoven in the same story
- will definitely read other books by A.L. Brooks
cover: excellent, well related to the plot
book rating: 5 stars
eARC by Ylva Publishing via NetGalley

3 1/2 Stars. I believe this is Brooks' second full length book, and the first I have read by her. I thought this was a pretty decent read that evoked quite a few emotions in me. While this book is absolutely a romance, I think I would call it a drama-romance.

The story is about Sadie, who has been estranged from her family for over 12 years. When she finds out her mother is dying from cancer, this is her chance to get answers and maybe closure with her. When Sadie returns home, she find more than she expected, including a woman she can't take her eyes off of. Holly's age and location are warning signs for Sadie to stay away. Will she listen to her head or follow her heart?

I liked both main character quite a bit. Sadie could frustrate me with her abandonment issues. It definitely added some pressure to a possible relationship. Holly is 22 to Sadie's 29, not a big age gap, but we all remember at the age of 22, you still have a lot of growing up to do. I thought Brooks did a good job of letting Holly act her age, but she's still a character you really enjoyed.

As I said above, this book is more of a drama-romance. There is a lot going on. Mild violence, and scenes that will make you cry. But there is a lot of heart in this book so you will smile too. There is some angst in this book, but it resolves itself pretty quickly. I actually liked it that way. I was very impressed with the romance of the book. I think the characters have a ton of chemistry, that really jumps off the pages. I also have to mention that Brooks is very good at writing steamy sex scenes. Some of the better ones that I have read in a little while.

My one issue with this book and why I didn't rate it higher than 3 1/2 stars.. I think the pace slowed down in parts. There was some parts that just flew by, others was just a little too slow. I actually think this book could have used less pages. A few of the slower scenes were not needed, and could have been pulled to tighten up the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this enough to recommend it and want to read more books, by Brooks, in the future.

An ARC was given to me by YLVA, for a honest review.

Testing link for my publisher account since there was a new way to upload books on NG. Loved the new way and the quickness of it.