Book Review: Ride Into Romance

Reviewed by Alexandria Ducksworth

A lighthearted love story that carries hope, forgiveness, and a promise of accomplished dreams

Maggie Austin has big dreams of becoming a thoroughbred jockey. All she wants is to live her life with horses. But her troublesome boyfriend David wants her to stay in his big house as his trophy girl. No matter what Maggie has in mind, David’s plans are her plans. 

An opportunity arises for Maggie to race horses in California. David attempts to stop her, but Maggie continues to follow her heart. Unknowingly, her jockey dreams lead her into the arms of John “Johnny” Baker, her childhood best friend.

Ride Into Romance is an inspiring story about reaching your dreams. It’s hard for Maggie to give up her old life in New Jersey with David; it’s the only life she knows. She has had a few jockey opportunities here and there, but not as much as she would like. Also, without her boyfriend’s money, she couldn’t get far. 

Maggie has to take a leap of faith if she wants to make her horse racing dreams work. She takes whatever savings she has and drives with Johnny to California. Sometimes we have to have faith in order to make our dreams a reality. Life can get complicated, challenging, and even soul-sucking if we’re in the wrong situation. Maggie is a strong reminder that we can accomplish many things if we stay focused and try.

Johnny is a favorable love interest. He’s always supportive of Maggie’s decisions, and it stands out bright in contrast to David. I appreciate Black not writing Johnny as the “out-of-the-blue” love interest Maggie instantly falls in love with because she’s in a new world. She and Johnny had known each other since elementary school. And being closer to Maggie had been on Johnny’s mind for years. For this romance, it’s about time their friendship blossomed into something deeper. Romance readers will really appreciate it, especially if they love handsome cowboys.

Ride into Romance is an uplifting love story suitable for readers who love modern westerns, cowboys, and friends-to-lovers tropes. The author does a great job presenting the world of horse racing too. It’s not as easy as it looks on the outside, nor is it as cheap. Fortunately for us, Maggie has to go through all of these obstacles for us, and we just have to hope she succeeds.

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