HOPEFUL CHANCES by Reynene Burgess

Jari Collins took over her parents thoroughbred ranch when her parents died. She was doing very well and gaining a reputation in the equine community. She was even engaged to the love of her life, Andrew Kerrigan. But then she caught Brenda with her arms wrapped around Andrew and she broke their engagement. After Andrew's many attempts to give Jari an explanation, he finally heads for England to work on a deal he had going there. Now someone is trying to steel Jari's prize stallion. Not really knowing what to do she asks Andrew to return and help her figure it out. They suspect Brenda is behind it but they need evidence to convict her. Andrew explains that part of the plan is for them to become engaged again. The difficulty is that neither one will have to pretend because the feelings are still very strong and they really do want to work things out. When the situation becomes bigger than expected and Andrew is forced to keep secrets from Jari, will she be able to trust him and more importantly will she be able to forgive him?

I enjoyed Hopeful Chances but I must admit that I had a hard time feeling endeared to these characters. I kinda felt like the emotional attachment between out lead couple just wasn't there. Andrew was a likable guy but I really felt like he wasn't very smooth. He wasn't really one who took time with Jari. He would just swoop in for kiss and then be somewhat cold. Part of the reason for that is revealed in the story but it still seemed stilted to me. Jari was not a heroine I particularly cared for. She kinda came across as whiny at times. She's the one who called Andrew back to help but then most of the time it seemed like she was working against him. I did like the secondary characters and their personalities though, and I enjoyed how the story played out. You know who's involved but to watch everything from a birds-eye view was interesting. I might add that this wouldn't be considered 'Christian Fiction' but it was a clean story with the exception of a few 'words'.