A review by ashdawn
Raising the Horseman by Serena Valentino

Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
This one is frustrating. On one hand, there's a few really good scenes like this one: "When they were alone, Isadora turned to Kat. 'He’s the one manipulating you, you realize that, right?' 'You don’t know him,' said Kat, trying to clear her head. 'I know his type,' said Isadora. 'Please don’t let them pressure you into doing this.' She reached her hand out to take Kat’s, looking over at Blake and the others to see if they were looking at them. 'Don’t doubt yourself, Kat. You shouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want just to make other people happy.' Kat thought that was ironic because she felt that was exactly what she had been doing her entire life. It was as if others’ happiness was entirely in her hands. It was always a matter of a choice between her happiness and someone else’s, and she wondered when she would start choosing herself." that give clear insight into the characters, handling toxic relationships well in a way that is honoring and honest while being YA friendly. 

But as a whole, it seems like a dual timeline story telling the EXACT SAME STORY with minor character changes. It feels flat and mirror images of each other. 

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