Book Review: "Lily's Leap" by Tea Cooper

Released by Lyrical Press, Inc.

Synopsis
To the victor goes he spoils.
Born into privileged society, Lilibeth Dungarven finds herself married, widowed, and much to her distress, back under her father’s rule, all before her twenty-first birthday. But this feisty and independent young woman has a dream: she is determined to breed the perfect racehorse and restore the family’s flagging fortunes. An accomplished rider, she takes matters into her own hands and sets out to restore the Dungarven horse farm to its former glory.
When the devastatingly attractive Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumbles across a mob of the best horses they’ve ever seen, and the daughter of the famed Dungarven horse farm, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch is worth a king’s ransom. Surely it can’t be too difficult to contain their beautiful young woman with violet eyes and skin-tight breeches for seven days?
ReviewLily is a determined and independent woman who is rebuilding her life after the tragic death of her husband and mother. She is living in a world where her opinions and abilities are not valued and are routinely overlooked. Captain Tom is difficult to understand. He seems all bad and naughty, but given the chance he is a man seeking a purpose. Once he finds Lily, he also finds himself.
I found Cooper’s writing style slow, I believe it was purposely done to develop interest in character motivations. I think there are two schools of thought on writing, one where characters are explained at the beginning, and another where we are told their actions and their motivations are hinted at. I guess I am just from the other school of thought. I like to understand what characters are doing and why, rather than making educated guesses.
Lily’s Leap is a short novel and focuses on a week in the lives of the characters. As such, Cooper’s writing is easy to read and vividly paints an image of the Australian bush as both charming and dangerous. I really enjoyed the images Cooper invokes through her skilled use of language. Overall, a well written book by a talented writer. Sadly, I found the characters hard to relate to and at times shallow, especially Captain Tom. Most of the time, I didn’t have any idea what he was doing, or thinking.  (3 Crowns - A Duchess of a Good Read)
(Reviewed by Countess Sarah)