OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Fetlocks and Fisticuffs" by SV Brown.]

S.V. Brown's "Fetlocks and Fisticuffs" follows Von Merren girl Kate Maria, her family's past, and her life of adventure, love, hope, and self-discovery.

The narrative introduces Kate Maria's parents, Jason and Zoe, as well as her siblings. The author specifically highlights Bad Boy Douglas Willard, who would play a significant role in the plot, along with Kate's cousins, extended relatives, and great-grandparents, creating a vivid picture of her world. However, too many characters and backstories made reading chaotic and confusing, making it challenging for me to comprehend who was who and how they related.

Kenneth Hawke, newly connected to Kate's family via Jason, her grandparents' friend, is next. Kate's family was beautifully connected once Kenneth joined, bringing back old tales and new connections. Kenneth's interest in Kate was always evident, prompting the family to relive their shared past to prepare Kate for his arrival, akin to a reunion between Maria's granddaughter and Jason's grandson. This represented their ups and downs as a couple on their journey together. The tension between them—tender moments, vulnerable states, and charming flirtatious conversations—was appealing to me, but the pressure Kate's family felt to accept Kenneth because of their grandparents' pasts made their story feel forced or like a family-created love in some places, which I didn't like.

As the novel progresses, Kate experiences unforeseen incidents that disturb her. She took time to recover from familial and romantic tragedies. There's always going to be light after dark, as they say. Douglas Willard returned to offer her a chance to dream again. Kate's struggle to let go of the past and embrace a bright future inspires hope for a second chance. It was emotional yet beautifully written. Douglas, the bad boy in town who waited so long for Kate, has little chance of succeeding. But will Kate and Douglas find it easy? It narrates their journey of discovery and exploration. Once again, the author used the tale's past, her grandma Maria's pattern, and the plot to force Kate to date Douglas. This frequent reference to history, tales, patterns, and resemblances dulls the story. This is a huge drawback to the book's reading experience.

I rate this book 3 out of 5. The book's positive parts, including the charming talking horses, tales about optimism for the future, and adorable relationship exchanges, are interesting. Dream sequences and conversations with their respective partners, brimming with emotion, are the highlights of the book. There were too many characters in the early chapters to understand what was happening, who they were, and how they related. Another factor that bothered me was the author's incorporation of history and patterns into Kate's connections, which in turn diminished the depth of her relationships with others. Other than this, the editing team offered an error-free format for good reading experience.

******
Fetlocks and Fisticuffs
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

This review provides a balanced critique of "Fetlocks and Fisticuffs" by S.V. Brown, highlighting the charming and emotional elements of the story, especially the charming talking horses and heartfelt relationship exchanges. However, it also points out the confusion caused by an overabundance of characters and the forced nature of relationships due to the repeated use of historical parallels. The critique is thoughtful, acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of the novel, and offers a fair 3 out of 5 rating.

Thank you for your detailed and honest review. An inside story of any person and their family is always interesting. But, like you, if there are too many family members that are talked about, I lose concentration and get tired. It seems that the author has a good story to tell but should cut out some detail. I hope the author takes your critique into account to raise this book to 5 out of 5 stars.

What a thoughtful and detailed review! I can see you dug into the book and extracted some valuable insights. Your honesty is refreshing, and I appreciate how you balanced the positives with the negatives. Your feedback is not only helpful to the author but also to fellow readers who want to know what to expect. It's clear you invested time and effort into this review, and I applaud you for that! Nice review, well done.

Informative review. IT HIGHLIGHTS both positive and negative about the hook. PERSONALLY, I TOO doesn't like imposing romance because somewhere it doesn't feel natural.

Thanks for the detailed review but I don't think that I will really enjoy this book. The storyline seems to be slow paced.

Wow there does sound like an overwhelming number of characters in this book. Family sagas can be fun reading but not with so many people. I might skip this one, thanks,

I too don't enjoy reading too many characters. If they are not well made, then it will be hard and tiring to keep up with the story. Some elements like talking horses and dream sequences add interest but not enough to pick up this book.

Unnecessary inclusion of extra characters lead to confusion and underwhelming reading experience which I don't like. Thank you for your honest review.

This book review sounds like " too many cook spoils the food ", the more characters gets add, it's difficult to manage the storyline. the review have highlighted both positive and negative points of the book.

This book blends family history with romance, weaving a complex narrative of love and perseverance.

I think the story is interesting, I will surely pick this up in the future. Thank you for your detailed review.

Kate has a big family, and that's already a problem due to the many characters that are included. This family drama and love story is not really what I'm looking for despite the merits you mentioned. Regardless, thank you for your honest review!