Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

As a world-class equestrian and Olympic contender, Annemarie Zimmer lived for the thrill of flight atop a strong, graceful animal. Then, at eighteen, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career and Harry, the beautiful horse she cherished.

Now, twenty years later, Annemarie is coming home to her dying father's New Hampshire horse farm. Jobless and abandoned, she is bringing her troubled teenage daughter to this place of pain and memory, where ghosts of an unresolved youth still haunt the fields and stables—and where hope lives in the eyes of the handsome, gentle veterinarian Annemarie loved as a girl . . . and in the seductive allure of a trainer with a magic touch.

But everything will change yet again with one glimpse of a white striped gelding startlingly similar to the one Annemarie lost in another lifetime. And an obsession is born that could shatter her fragile world.

Average Customer Rating:

The power of a healing horse	Customer Rating:
For those of us familiar with horses we know they can be both a dangerous and healing animal, all rolled up in one package. This book shows us how the main character's life is wrapped in many horses and how she is both harmed (emotionally and physically) then heals from the horses around her later in her life. In a sense we have probably all been there with a horse.

What a waste of time.	Customer Rating:
Had to believe that the same person wrote Water for Elephants. This book was such a waste of time. Annemarie whined through out and acted like an idiot. None of the characters were likeable, not even Dan who put up with Annemarie's stupid behavior.

Stupidest book I ever read	Customer Rating:
I will give this book one star only because of the effort it takes to write a novel. It was stupid from start to finish, and I did not like one thing about this book. Her characters are one dimensional, immature and vapid. I honestly cannot believe it was published. Save your money.

Riding Lessons Falls Short

Customer Rating:

I loved Water for the Elephants and I am an equestrian so I knew I would love this book. How I wish it were true! It is rare that I give up on a book mid way through; in fact in the last year or ten this is probably the first. This book features a heroine who not only doesn't garner sympathy but her whining is so insufferable you want to just want her to shut up. But it is not just a case of her being merely unlikeable, that could keep you going. She simply is not interesting, a far worse crime for a major character in a book. The situation and characters have promise but they are sadly one dimensional both in their views of themselves and as thinly developed characters. Sara gets the horse scene right. You can smell the hay and feel the warm noses but this wasn't enough to keep me interested.

Good Story - Anne Marie is Obnoxious

Customer Rating:

I became a fan of Sara Gruen's after reading her wonderful novel, Water For Elephants, so I decided to try her first book Riding Lessons. This review is based on the audio version. When Anne Marie Zimmer was 18, she was a world class equestrian. One day during a competition, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career. Anne Marie was in a coma and her beloved horse Harry had to be put to death. Once she recovered she marries, has a bratty daughter, and eventually gets divorced. Now 20 years shes heads for her parents horse farm in New Hampshire when she learns her father is dying. The story continues, and her life once again changes. There were times when I was so sick on Anne Marie's whining, I wanted to end it all, but despite this, it was a sweet story so I had to continue. It is totally different than Water For Elephants, but none the less a good read.