What's it about (in a nutshell):
Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier is a dark and twisted double mystery (as the reader is not given the name of the murderer or the murdered but knows a murder has happened) and domestic thriller about the equestrian world where equestrian moms make dance moms look tame in comparison.

My Reading Experience:
This story is so fascinating and compelling that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. I even stayed up late into the night because I just had to know the identity of the victim and the identity of the murderer. I loved that I learned a murder was committed but didn't know who or by whom. This technique kept me guessing from the beginning to the end, with many possibilities for both.

I also found the equestrian world portrayal very authentic (other than the murder). Horse people are fully invested and cannot be swayed. Their passion for horses can translate in a few different ways to their children. However, this story did focus on moms who wanted to relive and improve on their experiences through their children. There are also moms out there who don't want their children to share in their passion and actively discourage it, which is a fascinating mindset. (I was raised by such a mom.) I loved having the connection to the story as it enhanced my reading experience even more.

Lastly, I loved how this story was set up. The reader is told at the very beginning that a murder will happen and given clues (and red herrings) in the interlude chapters where a police detective is interviewing people from the equestrian center. The fact that the identity of the murderer and the victim are not known completely provides that force to make the reader want to know more and not be able to stop reading until you find out.

Characters:
Maple is 12 years old and the former victim of bullying at her previous school in Texas. She fears anything and everything and only rides horses to appease her mother, Heather. Throughout the story, she finds her backbone but goes a bit too far to a rude and bratty demeanor.

Vida is one of the girls at the stables that befriends Maple. She is 17 but small for her age and is not nice, almost evil at times.

Heather is Maple and Piper's mother and wants her daughters to have the experience with horses that she always wanted but didn't experience.

Pamela is Vida's mother and a lifetime member of the Equestrian Center. She holds a lot of secrets, and that is evident from the very beginning.

Piper is Maple's 18-year-old sister, who stopped riding horses despite being a natural when her mother became overbearing. She will be starting college in the fall and is drawn to the Equestrian Center when she realizes she has nothing to fill her time waiting for school to start.

Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in the third person, but it focuses on a different character per chapter, Maple (12 years old), Vida (17 years old), Pamela (Vida's mother), Heather (Maple's mother), and Piper (Maple's adult sister). There are also chapters of Interviews by Detective Perez that start the story and happen periodically throughout that, taking the reader to the present and letting us in on a murder that is going to happen. But we do not know who will be murdered or who the murderer is. This double mystery works perfectly to keep the story compelling and the pace extremely fast. As a matter of fact, I stayed up long into the night to find the identity of the victim and the perpetrator.

Setting:
Girls and Their Horses takes place in Southern California. Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian is the primary setting and is used ideally. Considering how small the location is and how focused the story stays, it is a testament to how well everything is utilized, particularly Rancho Santa Fe. That's where all the action happens, including the murder.

Moods:
Mysterious
Dark
Tense

Read if you like:
Dark, fast-paced thrillers
The horse world/horses
Dual mystery thrillers

I love novels that immerse me in subcultures I don't know much about, and I excited to learn more about the horse jumping world. This novel follows the trope of rich people behaving badly but with the delicious twist of horse jumping and the dangers, seen and unseen, of being in a "barn family". It was a fun escape while also exploring the dark side of wealth, the competition girls and sisters feel with one another and the pressures of motherhood. I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Eliza Jane Brazier, and Berkley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Whew, I feel like I need a breather before starting my next read because this was WILD! I love any sort of "rich people behaving badly" story, and Girls and Their Horses was definitely a pinnacle example of that. This book was filled to the brim with drama and suspense, and I flew through it trying to find out what happened next. I did enjoy all the drama, but I would not say I enjoyed this book as a whole. First off, I would like to never see the word "horse" again, as it was stated literally HUNDREDS of times in this novel lol. I get what this book was about, but it was still so much to read. I also thought this book was just a little too miserable; I like fun aspects in my "rich people behaving badly" stories, and quite frankly, none of this book was fun. I hated all characters and all the choices they were making, leaving me literally no one to root for. The one-ish character I could root for the most had a plot line that was not something I like personally and seemed too cliche for the book. I think this was an interesting concept, but a very poor execution. I would have liked to see more fun and juicy tidbits to add to the mystery rather than instances that genuinely made me despise the book and never see/hear the word "horse" again.

I think my favorite part about this thriller is that all the reader knows in the beginning is that there has been a death. You don't know who died, so the whole book you are looking for clues as to who died and who had the motive to kill them. Because of that structure, it really made me think of the first season of White Lotus. That and the exorbitant amount of money these families have or have had. This would make a wonderful book club pick because there is so much to read into the people mimicking horses, the structure of the novel, and of course the juicy thriller tidbits. The ending was one revelation after another. A wonderful thriller beach read!

I could have eaten popcorn while reading this book - just taking it all in. The petty friendships; mother and daughters; the sexy cowboy; the lost teenager; the controller manager - center of all it all.
Great for a beach read - I could not put it down. Chilling and kinda trashy.

I know absolutely nothing about horseback riding and competitions. But did I need to going in? Nope!

What I do know is that this is a soap opera-like, drama filled book about a group of teenage girls (and one guy), their parents, and the man who trains them. This one had all the good stuff- overbearing parents living through their children, lies, secrets, sex, cheating, and even a little murder to end it with a bang!

The Parkers, new monied Heather and Jeff, along with their daughters, Maple and Piper, move to California from Texas. Maple had been bullied in Texas and they need a fresh start. Heather pushes her girls to compete in horseback riding, and the entire family is sucked into the stable drama!

This had a Dynasty type feel with the rich kids and the drama! Add in the murder and mystery and it was sooo good!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing and Let's Talk Books Promo for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and allowing me to be a part of this Berkley Buddy Read!

This was a slow burn. A bit too slow for me but I did like it!

The chapters were short which made it easy to read. I felt like the story was probably pretty accurate regarding horse people.

Overall this was a 3.5 star read. I definitely liked it but it took until about 55% of the book before I was interested in it.

Thank you for my advanced copy!

Girls and their Horses is a compulsive read. This is literally a soap opera at an equestrian farm where mothers sip drinks and gossip, girls ride horses and money buys your entry into the circle. Oh and throw in a murder for more drama. I couldn't stop reading this book.

The jealousy. The rivalry. The cattiness of these mothers. It's a wickedly delicious murder mystery with rich people!!!

Thank you Berkley for the complimentary copy.

Liane Moriarty better watch out! This was such a fun murder mystery and family drama. You can tell that the author has a personal connection to this story and the cast was just so diabolical, which was fantastic on top of the plot and pacing!

Yes someone's been murdered (who?) but the real grist of this story is Heather, who wants her daughter Maple to make friends and be a star rider at the training barn next to her huge new home. Heather moved the family including her reluctant daughter Piper to California from Texas because Maple was being bullied and her husband was cheating on her and now she's unleashing her wallet to achieve her goals, if not Maple's. Pamela, who's barely hanging on financially, befriends Heather at the request of Kieran the trainer and forces her daughter Vida to include Maple in her set but Vida has, well, issues. And then there's Douglass who is the barn ace with horses and with women as well. The purchase of Commotion, a horse to be reckoned with who is too much for Maple, pulls a lot of threads together, as Piper bonds with him, Maple fears him, and Vida wants him. There's lots of drama here but wow is this one a page turner. I didn't guess the identity of the murder victim or the motive but honestly, that was less interesting to me than the interplay over the horse. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

Honestly, I am shocked that this book is 400 pages (in the best way). I FLEW through it. If you are totally unfamiliar with the elite word of showjumping like I was, Brazier does a phenomenal job guiding the reader through the ins and outs of competitive horse shows. I was completely addicted to the power dynamics between the helicopter Barn Moms and the horse trainers. There are many characters you will love to hate and a few you will really root for. This was a drama filled murder mystery told in reverse chronology with short satisfying chapters. Girls and Their Horses ticked a lot of boxes for me!

I have not read Good Rich People, but after reading this I immediately added it to my TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

When the newly rich Parker family moves to California, Heather is determined to get her daughters into show horse riding. She joins an exclusive riding club for lesson and becomes involved in deep competition and secrets.

This was a pretty slow burn but it’s intense and has a lot of teenage and family drama. While the pacing is slower, the drama is deep. I love any story that takes you into a hobby that is its own little world, and horse riding in this book is certainly that. It’s full of competition, jealously, and overall teenage angst. It is a murder mystery where you’re not quite sure who the victim is until the end.

“If racing is the sport of kings, then this is the sport of princesses. And all of us are the minstrels, so you’d better start fu**ing dancing.”

Girls and Their Horses comes out 6/6.

I received a gifted galley of GIRLS AND THEIR HORSES by Eliza Jane Brazier for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Publication Date: 6/6/2023
GIRLS AND THEIR HORSES begins with the Parker family moving to Southern California. They are newly rich and looking to make a fresh start in a neighborhood full of the well off. Heather envisions a family life as horse people, so she enrolls her daughters with the most elite local stables. Her youngest daughter is not so sure that riding horses is her things, in fact the big animals kind of scare her, but she wants to make her mother happy and the new pursuit comes with a built in network of friends for her and her mother. Unfortunately, it also comes with drama and from the beginning of the book we know that there has been a tragedy and police are on scene to investigate.

This book is pure people behaving badly drama and it was very entertaining. It wasn’t a ‘can’t put it down’ type of read for me, but it was very easy to binge when I did pick it up. I really felt for Heather’s youngest daughter Mabel who has had a rough time in life. She was bullied in her previous school, so the lure of the friend network that comes with her new hobby is rough even if the mean girl cliques are less than ideal when it comes to friendships.

This really provided an interesting look into the equestrian world. I knew it was a very expensive hobby (certainly not one I’d be able to pursue beyond the lessons my grandparents would occasionally buy me on vacation) but this definitely is over the top! It definitely was an interesting world!

GIRLS AND THEIR HORSES is out today!

Nothing good comes from competitive sports, especially when bitchy teenagers are involved.

I am so thankful to Berkley Publishing, Eliza Jane Brazier, PRH Audio, and NetGalley for granting me audiobook access and a digital copy of Girls and Their Horses before this gossipy horror hits shelves on June 6, 2023.

Heather is eager to get her two daughters into competitive horse jumping, so she uproots her whole family to California so they can compete with the best of the best at Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian. Piper, the oldest, misses Texas and isn't as inclined to take up with this new barn, even though she has the talents that her younger sister Maple doesn't yet have.

Maple, bullied back in Texas, is eager to make new friends and might be a bit scared of the horses but wants to be involved. For Heather, though, she's not the best at listening to the needs of her daughters, instead thriving to the best "Barn Mom" flaunting their million-dollar horses and accessories in the rest of the families' faces.

As I said, nothing good comes from bitchy competition, so it's only after a few throws and bucks that the Parker sisters begin to speculate that someone means to sabotage their performance. Flash forward to a police investigation after a big show that leaves one woman dead, but who could it be, and why?

Girls and Their Horses offers a fictional glimpse into the lives of "barn moms," their privileged daughters, mother/daughter relationships, teen girl friendships/rivalries, class dynamics, and the horse obsessed equestrian club lifestyle. This one is part murder mystery but mostly a soap opera domestic drama. The majority of the characters were unlikeable but I like that in a "rich people behaving badly" type of book. This one was not as over the top as Brazier's last novel Good Rich People, but I still enjoyed it and I'll check out what she writes next.

Special thanks to @netgalley for the ARC and @prhaudio for the ALC of Girls and Their Horses. All opinions are my own.

Blue ribbon for Eliza Brazier's Girls and Their Horses. There's just the right amount of horse and rider detail here to please the equine heart and sufficient plot and character development to entertain any devotee of the thriller/mystery genre. It is the equestrian detail and accuracy however that make this book a true find in the less than bountiful offerings available to those who read and ride. A great ride for anyone who reads.

Girls and Their Horses is Eliza Jane Brazier's best book yet! Set in the world of rich kids riding horseback in an elite stable - filled with tons of drama amongst both the adults and the kids, this is the type of book I called "deliciously devious" - and I loved every single page.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Berkley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Posh horse barn + nouveau riche + a dead body on page one = a nuanced mystery/thriller that I couldn’t put down all weekend.

We cycle among five characters’ perspectives, which made for rich character development. I didn’t love any of the characters—but I couldn’t hate them either. I was invested in every one, and kept trying to figure out the end (I didn’t, BTW). While I’m sometimes wary of books about rich people behaving poorly, Girls and Their Horses isn’t really about rich people (though wealth plays an integral role in how the characters interact with each other).

You don’t have to know anything about horses to enjoy this book, and I was propelled to keep reading. Thank you so much to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the digital review copy!

First, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for giving me an arc of this book. I have always been a horse girl so when I saw the description of this book, I knew I had to read it. The description that this is dance moms meets the horse world is the truest thing in the world. I really liked all the characters even ones who got to my nerves occasionally. All of the horse things were extremely correct and very well done which made me happy. I also liked the idea of that we see the police interviews and then we flash back into what was going on. it was fun to read those interviews and then to see what new clues we got about who the killer was and who died. I kind of guess who the killer was but I was surprised about who ended up being murdered. As someone who doesn’t read thrillers, I very much enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed the mystery element of this one. As a reader, you know right away that a body was found at the horse stalls, but you don’t know who. From there, the book flashes back and uses multiple POVs to reveal what transpired and who died.

This is a bit of a slow burn, but I didn’t mind. I was interested in the story. It depicts the good, bad, and ugly of excess wealth as well as how mothers who try to live vicariously through their children create toxic environments.

I didn’t really like any of the characters, so that was a bit of a barrier to overcome but I wanted to discover who died and how so I kept with it until the end.

I think if you’re a horse person and ride those beautiful animals and are familiar with that world, you’ll get even more from this story. I’m not, but still thought it was a fun read.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4