Wonderful. Sarah is determined to fulfil her grandfather's dream on her horse, Bo. When he becomes ill, it becomes more and more difficult. Natasha, a busy solicitor advocate with no time for a personal life, and her estranged husband, Mac agree to temporarily foster Sarah. Will the problems they face concerning Sarah make or break their failed relationship ? Jojo Moyes has written another best seller.

This was a very emotional story about a young girl and her horse. She was having a very hard life but would do anything for her horse and her sick Grandfather. As the story progresses so does the emotional level and I was in bits by the end. A great read and a very satisfying conclusion.

I have read numerous books by Jo Jo Moyes and was pleased when this one was offered on NetGalley. I am not sure how I missed reading The Horse Dancer in the past but am very pleased that I have now read it. The book was interesting in its subject, even though I am not particularly a horse lover. The plot nicely skipped along and as usual I found this a page turner. This is a must for lovers of the author.

Having read other books by JoJo Moyes and thoroughly enjoyed them this one certainly disappoint. It is about a young girl, Sarah, who has been mainly brought up by her grandparents, and with her grandmother since passed, lives with just her grandfather - 'Papa'. Her Papa was once part of the most prestigious riding academies in the world, 'Le Cadre Noir'. His love of horses, their beauty and discipline of performance has been passed on to young Sarah, who in turn shares his love of their horse 'Boo' and will do anything to hold onto him and aspires to fulfill her Papa's dream for her. However, life is not without its complications. The book deals with many issues, of growing up in modern society with a disadvantaged background, and how being strong willed and resilient can help to get her through some tough times. When her Papa suddenly has a stroke and is hospitalised, Sarah finds herself in the care of social services and through chance events, ends up living with Mac and Natasha - a freelance photographer and Natasha a legal barrister dealing with children's cases in family law. Whilst Sarah brings her own problems to the lives of Mac and Natasha, their lives are not without their own issues and complications of the past. Through their relationship, Moyes explores the struggles some couples may face when not able to have children and that decision between family, parenthood and careers. Through their involvement with Sarah, Mac and Natasha are forced to face up to issues of their past. By helping Sarah to overcome her struggles in life, they too are forced to face up to their relationship and past issues and discover their own meaning and understanding of love, relationships and family. Whilst dealing with many current issues around growing up in disadvantaged background and family relationships, this book is also a must for any horse lovers. It is the tale of how a young girls love for her horse gives her the spirit and determination to survive in life, whilst reminding us of the the history of horses; not only in France with the Cadre Noir, but also where horses were once a means of working life in Britain. The story keeps you gripped throughout, with identifiable characters, finding yourself sharing their emotional journeys in life. I would most definitely recommend this book and am now inspired to read more of Moyes other novels. My thanks goes to netgalley and Hodder books for the opportunity to read an ARC copy of this.

This book captured me from the beginning. You don't have to be a horse lover to enjoy reading it. It is the story of a couple going through a divorce and how their lives are changed by the arrival of a 1 4 year old girl, who also happens to own a horse. One for horse lovers and romantics and a great holiday read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. Reviewed on Goodreads and Facebook.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have to confess I did not really like this book and I am a big animal lover, it was way too slow for me.

... And breathe! I feel as though I’ve been holding my breath, pretty much since I started the Horse Dancer journey willing it to work out for Natasha, Mac and especially Sarah.

But that’s not how it started, oh dear me no, I thought I’d made a horrible mistake, horses? I don’t do horses! It’s not that I dislike horses, I don’t, if anything I’m in awe of them, but I certainly don’t read books about them, they are not my ‘go to’ animal and 540 odd pages of ‘Horse’ story was not my idea of fun. But ... I reckon I read 5 pages and then the undeniable ‘Moyes Magic’ kicked in and I was completely and irrevocably hooked.

This is a great story of love (in all its guises), heartache, pain, adversity and family. The characters jump off the pages and are so well defined that you could swear you know them and the quirky Moyes charm is there in abundance. I loved, loved, loved this book and can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jojo Moyes does it again, beautifully written story, with such vivid descriptions that I could clearly picture the scene. Highly recommend this book.

You can’t go wrong curling up under the duvet with a JoJo Moyes novel. The Horse Dancer, originally published in 2010, must have slipped under my reading net. Sarah, granddaughter of a once critically acclaimed horse rider, finds herself in dire circumstances, left to fend for herself, and for her horse, Boo. Shunted through the foster system, she ends up in the house of lawyer Natasha and her husband Max, a photographer. There’s a small problem of the fact that Sarah and Max have been separated for a year and are just about to sign the divorce papers, forced to live together for a few weeks whilst things are finalized, and a slightly bigger problem in that they have no idea what Sarah and Boo have been through, or what her ambitions are.

Sarah dreams of being a dressage rider and has been training Boo for years under the watchful eye of her grandfather, but without him, the bills are mounting up, the stables have been sold to a gangster who wants something more than money in payment and her dreams are slipping away, all whilst she has to deal with the traumatic family changes.

The story, whilst not entirely realistic, is a good one. It’s about how a teenager pursues her dreams, about how a lawyer learns what’s important in life, how a couple overcomes obstacles together and overall, it’s about friendship and the powerful bond of love that connects them all.

A book about courage, strength, friendship and love that I read from start to finish in one day. Four Stars.

Engrossing from the first page! I couldn’t put this book down. Excellently written characters, with realistic flaws and good qualities, had me devouring pages to find out how they developed. Natasha and Mac’s difficult relationship and how they were forced to overcome issues to support Sarah, a plucky orphan. A gripping read and highly recommended. One of the best books I’ve read this year (and I’ve read a LOT of books!)
Very satisfying conclusion. Loved it

A lovely book. Not sure how I missed it first time round. This is such a mix of genuine and likeable characters but potentially unravelled by the secrets and feelings that they all hold within. The bond between the horse and its young owner is beautifully depicted and amazing descriptions of the way the horse responds to her. A book to lose yourself in.

I love jo Jo’s books and really enjoyed the me before you series and one plus one! The horse dancer looked familiar and within a couple of chapters I realised I had read this book before several years ago! I could really relate to Sarah and boo as grinning up I had my own pony called Henry and the relationship between horse and rider is such a unique one. This book is a lovely read that draws you in but is a real heartwarming read.
Thank you net galley for the opportunity to reread such a lovely book.

I love Jo Jo Moyes books each book draws me into the world of her characters that come alive jump off the page& take me from my armchair to their world, The Horse Dancer is another wonderful read a book of relationships between humans animals a book I could not put down. # netgalley #hodder &stoughton.

The Horse Dancer, Jojo Moyes


Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult),Women's Fiction

Ah no....usual moan :-( Why, why do we have women's fiction as a category? Why assume men won't/don't read romance – they do, they write it and read it.

….anyway, the book. Its my first Jojo Moyes read, I was put off after reading that Me before You had a sad ending – for me I like a happy ending. But as a lifelong horse addict I felt I needed to read this book. I'm a real dressage lover too and the Spanish Riding School and the Cadre Noir were my childhood dreams.
The horse parts were well done, very believable and I know there are little backyard stables such as the one where Sarah kept Boo. The legal stuff, I've seen some criticism of that but to back up Natasha's character and actions we needed that in a certain amount of depth.

The issues I has were that for a long time we had three stories, the initial one of Henri and Florence, then Natasha and Mac, then Sarah, and it was well into the novel before the three converged and made sense to me. I didn't really like the characters either, Natasha, I felt for her and what she'd been through but she was very closed off. Mac, I guess he also was affected and sometimes tragedy brings couples closer, sometimes they fall apart, I just found it hard to believe that such a strong attraction, how two such intelligent people could let themselves drift away. Sarah, I wanted to like her, she's been through so much, but I guess that made her what she was, and I found it hard to warm to her.

Its a well written novel, not the dumbed down type that so often dominates, but I need to feel a connection to the characters and I just didn't. The story seemed incredibly slow too, I like long novels but so much of this just felt like filler to me, made me lose attention. On top of that long, drawn out story I then felt the ending was way too brief, rushed almost, and I didn't have time to mentally adapt to all the changes and accept the turnaround.

Stars: Two and a half. Loved the horse interactions, and Mac's photography, but just felt the main part of the novel and the characters didn't really connect with me.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Relationships and communication (both animal and human) are explored vividly. Colourful, vibrant scenes depict the horsemanship in the narrative. The guardianship of children and young adults is explored and the courtroom scenario with the teacher in the witness box is riveting.

The best thing I can say about this book is I accidentally read it twice and didn’t mind. I read it years ago. Got it again now to read, thinking it was new, recognised it quickly but carried on reading anyway. Sarah and her Grandpa’s relationship and Sarah’s life and troubles itself are an addictive story, as is Natasha and Mac’s relationship. It’s hard to say much without giving much away. A story that keeps you on your toes and really pulls you in. Great supporting characters and a satisfying ending. It’s not a quick read but is one you won’t want to put down.