Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks, #4
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: December 3, 2013

They’re from two different worlds.

He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.

With her dream of becoming a horse jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack…

"It doesn't matter where you dance. It's only who you're with."

I'm going to be really honest here... I don't have a clue in the world about what to say. I love everything that Miranda Kenneally writes, it's a fact. But I loved this one because of the cameos. They're the reason that this book gets me right in the feels, and the reason for my love of this book.

Because honestly? I didn't love Savannah and Jack as a couple. Don't get me wrong, they were adorable... but there were a lot of problems in their relationship. (miscommunication, etc.) I realize that this is a staple to almost every relationship, but it kind of saddened me to see them both getting hurt by it. So maybe I did kind of love them, if I was sad when they got hurt.

Jack was sweet and goofy 99% of the time, but he sometimes upset me. He doesn't always think of Savannah's feelings, and sometimes I just wanted to throttle the boy! Errggghhh he made me so mad! He does some really swoony things, though, so I had to forgive him for that one little slight. Just this time! I do wish that we could have seen more depth in his character - it would have been nice to know more about him.

Savannah was adorable. Just throwing that out there. I do get the impression that she is a younger teen, though, as opposed to an older one. I think she's just innocent. Yep, that's it. She's innocent. I loved the relationships that she had with her friends - they were so cute! I also loved the fact that she liked horses - we don't ever see a horse jockey protagonist in YA! I have to say, though... I don't watch races, so I didn't understand a lot of the jockeying stuff. Just because I don't watch it... doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it! Savannah grew throughout Racing Savannah, and that was so much fun to watch.

I thought that her dad was a little odd, though. He's not that big of a character in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes... I don't know. His sense of humor was really... childish. I'm not sure why a little thing like that bothers me, but it does. In another point in the book, Savannah is told to "forget the horse, ride a cowboy" by one of the other jockeys and nothing is done. I don't care how jokingly that was said, my dad would have been all over it. Again, this is a little thing, and it did not affect my enjoyment of the book overall.

I'm glad to say that Racing Savannah has that trademark Kenneally humor! This is one of the reasons that I love her books - she can write convincing teenagers and convincing dialogue with humor.

I really, really have to say something about the cameos - I am in love with them. There is nothing better than seeing your favorite characters again, even if it's for just a little bit. I will admit that I didn't recognize Will's cameo for a while - until I heard his first and last name together. Then I connected the dots - it went exactly like this: "CORNDOGGGG!" I seriously died of the adorbs right then.

We also get to see appearances by Sam & Jordan, Kate and her boyfriend, and Vanessa Green as Savannah's best friend. It was so awesome! I love how Miranda Kenneally can make all of her main characters crazy different - not one of them is the same.

All in all, Racing Savannah was actually a really good read. I definitely recommend it, especially if you're reading the series already!