Review & Guest Blog Post The Mysteries of the Magical Horse by P J Flynn (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)

 August 2013, 125 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Themes: time travel, living in wartime Britain, life as a royal guest, unexpected windfalls, magical horse, having to avoid telling the truth, misleading people, not wanting to say goodbye, reunion, fun times, friendships forged, 

Book Blurb from media kit:

Vicky was an ordinary teenager, helping out in her parent’s smallholding with the horses.

Her life suddenly changed dramatically into a roller-coaster journey through the ages. Through Elizabethan times; Through World War II; Through the Swinging Sixties and many more times.

Come and join Vicky and her horse Red on their exciting travels.

Nayuleska's thoughts

Since I'm really into horse books at the moment, and I do love time travel, I couldn't say no to this fun read. I loved the closeness that Vicky felt to both Red and Jack, it served them well when they went through tough times in their time travelling. They had a lot of fun, and forged friends which would last through the decades (& benefit Vicky when she reached adulthood (that didn't happen in this book but that's all I'm saying on the matter!)). I found the World War 2 era hard to read, just because of the horrors that went on (not explored in Vicky's story). 

What I love the most is also an issue which made this book miss having full marks. I enjoyed there being no purpose to why Vicky had to travel, as that so frequently provides a darker story line which I'm not after at the moment. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all the smaller details of living in the different eras, of getting a real feel for the times from a modern perspective.

Equally I wasn't quite keen on there being no purpose because it felt like something was missing. Vicky got to choose where she went with Red/Jack, which is fun and yet there was the potential for there to be a mission for Vicky to fulfil which would justify why she kept time travelling (to find something/someone). Additionally the issue of affecting history wasn't as fully explored as it could have been, especially with what Vicky & Jack ended up doing. . 

However, overall this is a fab, fun and pretty much an easy & relaxing read. (Don't worry, I can't think of any more adjectives to use!) I do recommend it for a light read, and if you like horses who are rather special. I'm looking forward to reading more of Vicky & Red/Jack's adventures! 

You can find out more on P J Flynn's website.

Suggested read

A book which isn't about time travel but is about a girl which has a sweet feel like The Mysteries of the Magical Horse is Ivy Takes Care by Rosemary Wells (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)

Guest Blog Post

P J with his readers

Nayu: I happily present the post P J kindly wrote to go with my review here on NRC: 

Ten years ago I had a double hip operation and near to the end of the getting better period I visited my friends who had about 6 horses. While I was there Jade, the daughter, brought her red headed boyfriend along. That night, after a lovely day, I had a mixed up dream about a horse and a red headed boy. Well in the morning the dream had snowballed into a horse changing into a Red headed boy, which I thought would be a great story for my grandchildren.

My luck changed when I was looking for a front cover, I met Pandoer better known as Bear. I was smitten by this wonderful animal and saw him every week for 4 years until he was sold. I was devastated as he moved to Gloucester. On losing my great friend Bear, I was going past a field near to my home in Duston Northamptonshire and made friends with Billy and Sapphire. For the next 6 years I never missed a day with their treats and carrots. I might add the owner became a friend as well. Now they have moved away too so I am lost, but never mind I hope to find more friends along the way.

So in actual fact, The Magic Horse books all started with a dream. All my books are fantasy but my love of animals will come to the fore and it’s a toss-up between horses or cats which are my favourite. 

Nayu: Cats! Cats are best! Although I'm secret horse admirer too, if you could't already tell from all the horse stories I read! Thank you, P J for sharing the inspiration to The Mysteries of the Magical Horse. I'm delighted to learn that so far there will be 3 books in the series - I'm certainly looking forward to the next too!

I would also like to thank Lisa of Bookalicious Travel Addict for organising this blog tour, and helping me to discover another fun horse-themed read.