CBR15 Bingo – Sex: What would a bonkbuster be without sex? And here it drives much of the action and drama of the book as well.
Jake Lovell and Rupert Campbell-Black were born to very different circumstances which have made them very different men, but they both have the same goal – to rise to the top of the spectacular, high-octane world of… show jumping.
As I was embarking on an international trip with limited internet access, I thought it would be prudent to stock up on reading materials. This meant, of course, downloading plenty of content to my Kindle and packing the longest unread book I had on hand to take along with me. My copy of Riders is 919 pages long. Alas, I devoured the whole thing while still on my way to India!
It’s hard to explain this book without spoilers. The main character might nominally be Jake Lovell, but the scope of the story is far wider, having us follow a close knit circle of British show jumpers and their various wives and employees. The writing is snarky and the author is well aware that the characters are deeply flawed, but the pursuit of the sport offers them some kind of redemption, no matter how fleeting it might be.
On the other hand, you can’t call it very satisfying. As in life, characters do the most foolish things in their interpersonal relations, and everyone does not get their comeuppance, even if they do manage their own sort of happy ending. Also Helen Macaulay is like her namesake very much more trouble than she is worth, and though ultimately I feel bad for her, I really did begin dreading her name on the page!