I appreciated the sharp, concise writing style and the twisty, turny relationship development between the prickly Mateo and still-waters-run-deep Christopher, particularly the gradual reveal of what exactly Mateo's hangups were. The side characters Emily and especially Cameron were delightful. I could have used a little bit more with Douglas (I felt some inconsistency with his characterization), but the plot was well paced and cheerful, not to mention exciting! I broke out cackling several times over some absolute gems of one-liners. My piny bone (like the funny bone, only it goes off when there is a delicious amount of pining going on somewhere) was aching wonderfully. A short, sweet read with a romantic finish.

Did you ever see the movie “The Room”? This book was akin to that, but with horses sprinkled in to give this set dressing. There was little to no narrative cohesion, which is crucial for the enemies-to-lovers trope. I found the stakes to be lacking, the characters flat, and the tension nonexistent.

This could have been an excellent story. It definitely needed to be longer and more thought-through. I could stomach Mateo’s immaturity if there’d been a more seamlessly executed explanation for his choices. Too many expository passages made the text drag.

In short, there is potential. Unfortunately, this finished draft reads like a first draft.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for granting me the opportunity to review this book.

What a wonderfully entertaining book. I love the enemies to lovers trope * Chef Kiss. The author does a great job demonstrating skills to compartmentalize (i.e. 'public' face versus private) to the ability to learn and grow when presented with new information. That's refreshing in the main character, as so many have the irritating habit of holding on to their beliefs no matter how many different ways they might be disproven.

The secondary characters were interesting; Emily was a wonderful companion, the only one who knew and saw the real Mateo and the only one he trusted enough to let his guard down. There was also Cameron, and I'd like to read more about him, please! He seems like someone who has a story to tell.

This was a great, quick read that's high in comfy romance and low on stress. There's a touch of steam, and as I said I am always up for enemies-to-lovers in a story. Add to that the wonderful characters of Emily and Cameron (and the little found family they make with Mateo), and I was hooked from beginning to end. I definitely recommend it.

I love all things horse-wise but this read was lacking for me. Read it in one sitting as it was a quick read. Overall this was a light, enjoyable, read but it could have been better with some more substance.

This book needed to be longer. Everything was too neat, too tidy, and very, very shallow. The ONE sex scene was underwhelming, and even worse, I was not left wanting more.

I read this on my Kindle, so I might be wrong, but this definitely felt like a novella instead of a novel. I enjoyed the setting of rival stables and the twist at the end was interesting. However, it felt too short for any deep character development to happen, so I was left wanting more at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of Hollywood to Horses.

I really liked this book but I loved the idea that was this book a lot more. Mateo is a retired Olympian running his own stables in his home town. One day he hears that one of his own childhood 'friends', Christopher, is returning to their hometown but Christopher is a Hollywood actor so why would he return? To take over his father's stables that's why. A steamy 'enemies' to lovers romance takes place in the following pages.

I loved the idea behind this book but I think that Schwartz didn't have enough written to really get into the details that could have made this story great. With only approximately 99 pages to this story it was a quick and enjoyable read but it could have been so much more. With more time we could have explored Christopher and Mateo's childhoods a bit more and why they are so hostile (besides a quick write off of Christopher showing up to prom with a date). More could have been explored about the homophobia that Christopher's dad showed to both the main characters and how that actually effected them, especially Christopher having to live with it.

Overall this was a light, enjoyable, read but it could have been better with some more substance.

This was a good story that introduces us to Matteo, a former Olympian who runs a riding academy with his cousin. When his old crush retires from his very successful acting career to take over the rival academy Mateo is not happy. There’s a push and pull between Matteo and Christopher that you feel immediately. I just wish the story was more flushed out.

I never warmed up to Matteo, I thought he acted very immature. He felt like he had a lot to prove but I didn’t feel the backstory told enough to understand exactly where he was coming from. He is a bit of a diva and I didn’t get a attachment to him in any way that I usually get when reading a book from one characters POV. Since we only get inside Matteo’s head we don’t really get to know Christopher who to me was the more interesting character.

I felt this story was rushed. There was also a strange thing that happens to Christopher that I saw coming the entire book. I do feel the story could’ve been a bit longer to develop the relationship between Matteo and Christopher. Everything was just told and then we get a HEA.

My favorite character of the story was Cameron, who works at Matteo’s academy. I would’ve enjoyed a story about him. For a shorter story I felt bored by the last quarter of the book.

*I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Short and sweet enemies to lovers romance!

I really enjoyed this short novel! There's the enemies to romance, there's horses, there's a superstar... basically all you can want! Because it was a short book, there wasn't much of a deep dive into characters, backstories and feelings and in this case, it was written very well for the reader to interpret all feelings and characters exceptionally.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for the earc in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this equestrian M/M romance, the first book I have read by Dez Schwartz. Mateo and Christopher have some history, but while Mateo became an Olympic rider, Christopher pursued a successful Hollywood acting career, but returns to Virginia to run his family's riding school. Mateo has his own riding school, setting up conflict between them despite obvious attraction. I hope this leads to a series, as I especially want to learn more about Cameron, a young dressage expert who is mentored by Mateo but generally shuns the spotlight.

Well, this certainly was a pleasant surprise! It's my first book by this author, but if they decide to turn this into a series, I most certainly will read the rest too. I loved the writing, the characters, the setting and the story. When reading, this book reminded me of the romance pockets I read when I was a teenager and that brought back some really fond memories.

I loved Mateo, who, in all his grumpiness, is actually quite funny when he has conversations with his cousin/best friend Emily or Christopher. At first he came across as someone a little too eager to be in the spotlights, a little too fond of himself, but when you get to know him, you learn he often uses it as a bit of self-mockery, a mask he wears so people won't see his true feelings. There were more layers to him than I expected.
Christopher is a sweet guy, a perfect match for Mateo. I loved those two together!

The secondary characters were interesting; Emily was a wonderful companion, the only one who knew and saw the real Mateo and the only one he trusted enough to let his guard down.
There was also Cameron, and I'd like to read more about him, please! He seems like someone who has a story to tell.

All in all, a pleasant, enjoyable read. A quick one too, as it is a novella. A recommended read for sure!

Thanks to Netgalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of "Hollywood to Horses" in exchange for a unbiased review.

Matteo, a former Olympian, is now a well known trainer in his hometown after retiring from competitive riding due to injury. He runs his barn with the help of his cousin, Emily, and assistant trainer, Cameron.

Then, out of the blue, Matteo's childhood rival, Christopher, returns to take over his family's barn after retiring from Hollywood and recently getting divorced. He proposes a competition with Matteo's barn in order to raise money for charity.

Matteo soon realizes that his jealousy and rivalry with Christopher may have been attraction all along...

Ultimately, although the story/romance was cute, there was so much more room for depth of the characters and their story. There was a strange time jump of a few months and I feel like instead of jumping forward in time, much more of the backstory and more scenes with Matteo and Christopher were needed.

The sabotage at the end was a little strange and I also felt like it would have worked better if other instances of sabotage had occurred throughout the book.

I overall did not love this book, but I did especially love the side characters of Emily and Cameron.

The first three-quarters of this rivalry to romance story has all the expected elements of every great Hallmark movie.

Matteo, a former Olympic athlete, turns to teaching after a career-ending injury. He spends his days working alongside his sister and ranch co-owner, Emily, and his talented but insecure assistant, Cameron.

Meanwhile, Christopher, a successful Hollywood actor, returns home after his father’s death and after years of absence to take over the family ranch.

Cue the emotional tug-of-war as Matteo comes to terms with the fact that he may be falling for his “not-so-sworn” enemy.

I loved the chemistry between Christopher and Matteo. Their quippy banter never went so far as to make me root against their relationship, but at times Matteo did come across as whiny.

But hey, every good protagonist has room for growth.

I also really enjoyed the mentorship role Matteo takes on with Cameron. His constant encouragement and pride in his friend made me see him in a different light.

The melodrama at the end seemed rushed, and left me feeling unsatisfied. Likewise, the steamy scene that followed was too brief, and left me wanting more.

But overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I would certainly read more from Dez Schwartz.