Review of ‘Blades of Bluegrass’ by D. Jackson Leigh

This was a good read! I’m happy to say that I am on a mini-run of good books and I had a feeling Leigh would keep it going. I’ve been a fan of Leigh for a long while. I feel comfortable with her writing and I like that I know what to expect, yet her stories always feel fresh. Plus, Leigh is great at writing about horses and for whatever reason WLW stories and horses always go well together.

I’m a big fan of women in military lesbian romances so I was really excited to read this one. I was also happy that Leigh didn’t shy away from a story about a solider in rehab. Britt lost her arm while in Afghanistan so she has to come to terms with that loss while rehabbing for possible new advancement in prosthetics. I was wracking my brain about how many books I have read that touches on this subject and it is not many at all. Everything from the nerve pain, phantom pain, to the medicines and exercises, not only did my heart hurt for what so many veterans go through, but I felt like I actually learned something too. You come away from this book knowing that Leigh did her research and tried her best to be accurate on this subject.

I found I really enjoyed the setting of the book. Leigh absolutely took us to Kentucky and I’m ready to go there to watch some races and drink some bourbon. With the mix of horse raising/racing, some political intrigue, and Britt’s rehab, there was always something going on in this book that kept my attention. I would have read the whole book in one sitting but stupid sleep got in the way. The book doesn’t lag, is never boring, and is just very readable.

When it came to the romance I liked it. Both characters are pleasant, well fleshed-out, and detailed. The chemistry is not in your face but it is there. I think the sex scenes were needed and added to the heat level. I needed to see that increased level of intimacy to really believe that they could have a happily ever after. The romance got better for me as the book went on and their intimacy improved.

I do have to mention my main issue is that I had to roll my eyes at the main angst moment. It’s not what caused the angst, that was fine and it worked for the story. My problem was how one of the mains handled the angst that I thought was a bit ridiculous.

Overall, this was a good and enjoyable read. It was nice to be transported to Kentucky while we are stuck in social distancing instead. I would easily recommend this to romance fans and I can’t wait to see what Leigh writes next. 3.75 stars.

An ARC was given to me for an honest review.