Maisie has always loved horses. She is also a talented artist. When the opportunity arises for her to study in Paris, her two worlds collide. There, in the heart of the city, Maisie finds the childhood diary of famous horse artist, Rose Bonifait, and meets the beautiful black stallion, Claude.
As the two girls’ stories emerge, tragedies unfold – both past and present – and Maisie realises that she can’t begin to imagine life without her forever horse…
Horse lovers rejoice at this tender tale set both present and past. Maisie has already found her life’s passions at age 12: Horses and painting beautiful portraits of them.
While she pursues her craft in Paris through a scholarship opportunity, Dad stays behind in London. The arrangement doesn’t seem to be working for Maisie with loneliness setting in and a critical teacher who is not helping. Then she finds Claude, the most stunning creature she has ever come across and his rider, Oscar, a police guard in the city.
Maisie’s first person narration is accompanied by flashbacks to Rose Bonifait’s narration of her life as a rare female budding artist in the 1800’s. Her character is based on a a real artist of the time, Rosa Bonheur.
The modern day atmosphere of Paris comes alive along with an all too familiar event: terrorism. It’s a believable interruption and one that provides much drama for the second half of the story.
I reviewed another of Stacy Gregg’s books in 2019, The Fire Stallion. Now with The Forever Horse she once again has created a compelling story with heart.
Animal lovers have another friend to fill their reading time with a memorable tale of friendship.
AUTHOR STUFF
Stacy gives listeners writing tips in this video on her web site.
You can also take a look at her interesting bio and books she has authored.
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I received a copy of The Forever Horse in exchange for my honest review. Comments are welcome below.
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What a beautiful story for horse lovers. I see Maisie is 12. Would a teenager 15 enjoy this book? I have a great granddaughter who has been riding much of her life. She voracious reader and loves horse stories. But she’s trending to more YA now.
I would think she’d enjoy the story. Plot points like living away from home and pursuing a passion are of interest to most teens. There also the act of terrorism occurring that certainly speaks to an older audience. The author also has many more horse centered stories. Hope that helps.