Cover Image: Blades of Bluegrass

Blades of Bluegrass

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Member Reviews

D. Jackson Leigh wrote a wonderful story. I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the chemistry between the main characters. Both characters had great growth that allowed them to heal. The angst was understandable and remedied timely. 4/5 stars.

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Two industries, military and horse racing, where politics and greed have destroyed much of the honor that was in it. That is where our main characters find themselves caught up in the intrigue and power plays. Oh add misogyny and patriarchy run amok. The book was too short- we need to hear more about our heros who fought the system and made our world just a little bit better.

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I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

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Captain Britt Story lost more than her arm in combat. She lost her faith in the institution she swore to serve, and her faith in her father, once her hero. She knows something the Army wants to protect, and they insist she stay in until her rehab is done, hoping to persuade her to partake in a bionic limb experiment. Occupational First Lieutenant Teddy Alexander lost her wife in combat, and though she’s not super excited to be an on site personal occupational therapist to Britt, she believes wholeheartedly in this project, and as she and Britt become closer, she begins to believe in Britt, too. Both will have some tough decisions to make when secrets come to light.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s helped me to slowly climb out of my Rona reading slump. I loved the characters, and am always looking for good stories with disability rep. The element of horse racing was fun, too, as I know next to nothing on the subject. I loved Britt’s passion for her grandfather’s farm, the trade, and the old man himself. The tension built really well. I enjoyed the science dive behind bionic limbs and research into restoring mobility to those who want it after dismemberment. I loved Britt and Teddie’s slow burn relationship, the hurdles they had to overcome, and their journey to each other. They were super cute, and this book was just what I needed in these weird, uncertain times.

Once again you benefit from me being behind, because you don’t have to wait for this one. It’s available from your favorite retailer and or for request at your local library now.

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This is extremely well written. The plot is multi-layered and very well developed through the book. The characters are very real and multi-dimensional. Their relationship has some emotional depth besides the obvious attraction and hotness. The topics touched upon in the book seem very well researched and real. The story is well worth the read!

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I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

I loved all three plots - Britt's military career, her love of horses and racing and her struggle to overcome her feelings of remorse and guilt.

Teddy's dream of restoring injured vets to battle ready soldiers and overcoming the death of her wife.

The romance that blooms slowly, sweetly between them - until the army, PTSD and old memories confusing the issue.

I loved this book - the only issue I had was the pages long description of sex. For me. Less is more but others may enjoy the scenes a great deal.

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This was a great story and the chemistry just flew off the page. I felt like I was really there to feel the story and witness the romance unfold.

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I really enjoyed this book! I always like to read if someone has to overcome something and is getting out stronger on the other end! And even better if the character finds love on the way! So well done and thank you for this nice or rather moving read!

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3.6 my rating for this book.

I really did enjoy this story and one of the main reasons I choose this book was because I've read previous book's by D. Jackson Leigh. This author tends to include horse's or have the setting on a farm in her story lines and I really do love a book when it is set in this kind of environment.

You have a number of characters in the story such as Teddy Alexander who's an occupational therapist, she was in the spot light when she successfully received survivor's benefits when her wife was killed in the military. Also Britt Story who was hurt while deployed to Afghanistan, went home to her grandfathers horse farm to try to forget and recuperate from her injury. Teddy and Britt are brought together, while Britt receives treatment from a program for a new experimental prosthesis.

There is romance, but for me, the romance between the 2 characters seemed to sizzle out at a certain point of the story, which is a shame, but there is enough in the story line to keep you intrigued.

It's a real heart touching story line, very well written, you can tell plenty of research as been done while writing this story. And the setting of the story makes you feel like you are there. I really did enjoy book and can't wait to see what D.Jackson Leigh brings out next.

I received a ARC for a honest review..

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I like this book. Both lead characters, Britt and Teddy, were well developed and likeable. I also really enjoyed the supporting characters, like E.B., and the warm, familiar atmosphere the author managed to create at Story Hill Farm. I struggle with the idea of animals being bred for profit and raced, and found the horse talk too detailed and uncomfortable at times. I enjoyed the military background of the leads more - the storyline about the cover up of sexual assault in the army was the most interesting aspect of the book, and the fact that one of the leads launched legal action to get her dead partner's benefits was interesting. The conflict between the leads towards the end was a little extreme and could have easily been solved through communication, other than that I enjoyed this book.

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Six years after First Lieutenant Teddy Alexander was thrust into the national spotlight when she successfully petitioned to receive survivor’s benefits after her wife was killed in Afghanistan, she’s assigned as an occupational therapist to Captain Britt Story. Britt has lost her left arm in Afghanistan, but it was not the only thing she has lost there. She lost faith in humanity and honor after an incident in Afghanistan where her command failed to act as they should have, and they have lost a soldier. She wants to go out of the army as soon as possible but the department where Teddy is working for, want’s here to stay and be one of the first to receive a newly developed prosthetic.

The author takes us to Kentucky and the horse breeding farm of Britt's grandfather E.B. and gives us an insight into the breeding and yearlings auctions of racehorses as well as a little bit about horse racing. Leigh weaves political and military intrigue into the story and is not afraid of the topic of rehabilitation of war wounded. The part about the arm prosthesis was very interesting and fascinating, which is already possible today and what still will be possible.

The romance part I liked a lot. Teddy and Britt are both well-developed characters and their chemistry was great. I loved the way they interacted with each other, how they bonded after the initial repulse from Britt. The author built up the intimacy slowly over the massaging and treatment of the arm stump until there were coming feelings they both didn't expect in the first place. Also, the part with the horses are beautifully written, I’m an animal lover, so every time animals are involved is already a plus for me. I guess we can feel the love the author has for the horses too. I fell in love with Misty too.

The interwoven political and military intrigue and how it was handled brought tension into the whole story and also into Britt's family and address a topic that can certainly occur everywhere in the military and unfortunately is still partly tried to be dismissed as a trivial offense and swept under the carpet.

I have not yet read many books about traumatized female soldiers who have lost a leg or an arm. I can only remember one. Although as a Swiss I have no idea what it is like to go to foreign countries to fight, stories about women in the military always fascinate and touch me very much.

A romance about the loss in different kinds of ways, about loyalty, family, love and so much more.
Highly recommended.
My rating 4.5 stars.

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Captain Britt Storey lost her arm in Afganistan and she comes home to her grandfather's horse farm to heal. Teddy is an occupational therapist personally tasked with Britt's rehab. Britt takes some time to warm up and accept Teddy's help, but as their relationship and trust grows, they allow themselves to explore the attraction beneath the surface. All too soon politics and duty interrupt their peaceful oasis on the farm. Can their love exist in the real world?

Reading Leigh's books is always a joy, they're heartwarming and cozy books that tug at the heartstrings. I loved this world, from the farm to the greater surrounding Kentucky seen through Britt's eyes showing off her home and Teddy's eyes seeing and falling in love with the place as she does the woman. All the characters in this book were wonderful, vibrant and multi-faceted characters. I hope there will be another book and another romance to experience with these wonderful people and inspiring setting. The chemistry between Britt and Teddy was really

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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It's the story of Britt and Teddy. Britt is a US Army soldier who lost an arm in Afghanistan. And it's a complicated, very complicated story about why and how that happened.

Teddy is also in the Army, an Occupational and Physical Therapist who is assigned directly to Britt to help her rehab. She's also told to go live on Britt's grandfather's horse farm to rehab Britt. All because of who Britt's father is. They get closer as they work together of course, and start becoming friends, and then more.

There is then the big subplot of the novel. What happened over there to have Britt so dead set against everything that is the US Army (the brass especially).

The subplot was incredibly intense and very current (which is a depressing and horrible thought). And I thought that the two stories really meshed well together. A twist in one leading to the other and vice versa.

It was a really great read (not surprisingly, since I always like something about a D. Jackson Leigh novel).

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

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DNF


If they had more personality I would like to read this. I felt this could be a really nice opposites attract story but neither of them had any personality and I just got tired of waiting for the story to take off.

My partner is an amputee and I was so tired and fed up with Britt’s rejection of her prosthesis. We had to fight so hard and go through so many
hoops to get her leg back it isn’t funny because we could Not afford the 3000 dollars or more for a private consult for her. Britt’s obvious privilege rankles and I can’t feel any sympathy for her.

The writing isn’t bad, but infodumpjng about horses alone with shallow and unlikeable characters couldn’t hold my interest.

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Blades of Bluegrass has been one of my favorite reads so far with year. Leigh had me invested from the start with this compelling story about two military women who both are feeling the weight of their past and unspoken words between them.

The plot and story unfolded at a good pace. While I had questions along the way, Leigh did a good job of answer them along the way. I did not want to put it down because I wanted to see what happened next and how it was all resolved.

I loved all the characters. I genuinely cared about both Britt and Teddy. And there were some great side characters as well. I enjoyed the interaction and interplay between the characters as well as some of the animal characters, such as the horses and kittens. And I felt for and with the characters as information was presented.

While I know that it doesn't give anyone reading this review details to go on, I will say read this book. It is well developed. I felt like I learned things through reading it and want to explore things, like bionic prosthetics, more. I definitely will revisit this book in the future because I already wanted more as I finished the story. I also will be looking into more books by D. Jackson Leigh.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC ebook from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for this review.

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This is a great book. I loved the military aspects and the way the secret and all the complexities were dealt with realistically. The romance was sweet and the many animals included added more interest and depth to the storyline. I am a great fan of this author and every book has been excellent. I look forward to what's to come. I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed this book. It was not only a good story but it had some very interesting content about horse racing, bionic prosthesis and the rehabilitation process after an amputation. And a warm romance between 2 warm main characters. And a very strong but small portion of the story involves a very heart wrenching story about the abuse of women in the military.
The title really fits the story. All the life on the horse farm and the info about horse breeding and racing was very colorful. The cover fits well also.
I listened to the audio version and I was not thrilled with the narrator. Not much in the way of changing voices for different characters or showing a lot of emotion but I got used to it about 30% in. I highly recommend the book but not the audio version.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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There’s a lot more to this book than reading the blurb might suggest. Yes it’s a “disabled” veteran and therapist romance set in the world of horses, but Ms Jackson Leigh takes the opportunity to introduce sexism in the services, grief and promises to dead loved ones, what we mean by “family” and a lot about horses and healing. I know nothing about horse breeding or riding but I got so much out of this book regardless. It is universal in its themes. Pain, guilt, love, grief, family - there’s a depth that draws you in.

Both leads are well developed and the changes in Britt as she fights against her “stump” and the patience of Teddy as she guides the amputee to acceptance and healing are beautifully captured and you are with them every step and stumble of the way. The end is satisfying as Britt has her day in court and Teddy comes to terms with the changes she needs to make to find answers. I loved Britt’s grandfather and their housekeeper and I’d quite happily read more about all these characters.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review

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Thank you NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and D. Jackson Leigh for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
This was my first D. Jackson Leigh book and I am happy to say I wasn’t disappointed! This book felt so much more than just a romance. There was friendship, growth, grief and love throughout that kept me glued to the pages until the very end!
The author very clearly knew what she was writing about! It’s always about when an author does the research and puts the time into what they’re writing. I learned quite a bit about amputations and prostheses and how these things are affecting veterans. My brother-in-law is a medic in the Army and worked at the VA for years while home. I felt like this book gave me a glimpse of some of the people who may work with.

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Wow! Great book. Great story with characters you can't help but fall in love with. A must read. D. Jackson Leigh has done a smashing job with this story. I simply could not put it down. A very powerful read.

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