Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

e-ARC, 304 pages
Release Date: December 3, 2013
Published by: Sourebooks Fire
Hundred Oaks, #4
Source: NetGalley (A huge thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this galley! I was given nothing in exchange for a just and honest review!)
For fans of: Chick-lit, Contemporary Romance, Sparkly Covers, Hot Literary Guys, Realistic Fiction, YA

     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…

*MY THOUGHTS*

     When I found out that Miranda Kenneally was coming out with another Hundred Oaks book, I just KNEW I had to read it. Every Keneally book is always filled with some type of lesson, as well as some amazing YA boy. And this one was no different. I read this one for a blog tour, but I wanted to do my review separate... Because I knew this review was going to be pretty long!
     The number one thing I loved about this one was Kenneally's world building. I'm not sure if it was because I grew up in the south too, but all the scenery and the plantation style home and just everything was all too familiar. I've seen so many homes like that in my Texas home its crazy. I could surely relate to everything on Jack's property. Her world-building paired with my imagination and my knowledge of the south made for an awesome reading experience.
     Speaking of Jack, I say this about all the Kenneally boys, but for sure Jack is my favorite. Jack was born and raised in the South and all he knows is horses and family. His main goal is to make his father proud of him and make a name for his self and his horses afterwards. I could honestly relate to Jack on EVERYTHING. (Well except the horses...) He valued family so much that all he wanted was for his father to entrust the family business to him. This is obviously a huge deal at his young age. He wants to do everything in his power to make sure his father knows he made the right decision. Pretty much, he doesn't want to let him down. I don't believe for a second that he was playing into the whole social class thing regarding Savannah. I think he was mainly looking out for himself. Because let's be honest, Jack was the sweetest thing ever. Plus he was a SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN that was a real honest to goodness COWBOY. I could hear him talking in his southern accent every time I read dialogue from him.
     I really liked and related to Savannah too. She was a strong independent girl who knew exactly what she wanted and who valued family above all else too! She wasn't any where near as well off as Jack and his family, but she was content with what she had. She just used it as motivation to help make things better. These are also things that I value, so I saw some of me in her as well. And also like her, I don't always wear what's name brand or what hot right then, but that's fine. It just means that that's not what's important to me.
     Now Jack and Savannah's romance was amazing as well. (I think I loved it so much because it was a forbidden one!) I hated that Jack had to hide his relationships. I really think he had to do that because his father said he wouldn't have much time to think about girls. Which gave people the assumption that he was never with the same girl more than once. I didn't like all the pressure that was put on him. He never got to enjoy being a teen and just dating. But in the end, when he finally stood up for him and Savannah, they were finally happy. I loved seeing their HEA.
     This novel brings another Keneally lesson, "you can't help who you love." As I've said countless times, "you don't chose love, love chooses you." And this is the perfect example of that. And it brings with it horses... Everyone loves horses! lol
Overall, I give this