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If Wishes Were Horses: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 441 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In the spirit of Nicholas Sparks comes If Wishes Were Horses. Author Robert Barclay has crafted a deeply moving story of love, hope, and forgiveness, as two damaged souls torn apart by a common tragedy slowly find a way to heal. Destined to be a much-beloved classic on a par with Robert James Waller's The Bridges of Madison County, Barclay's If Wishes Were Horses is a story rich in emotion that will touch the heart of every reader who fervently believes in second chances at love.
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"I was first intrigued by the cover of this novel--there's something mysterious and enchanting about it, to my mind. While the novel is somewhat predictable and does read somewhat like a Nicholas Sparks novel (which is not a criticism, just an observation), I found myself loving the characters Barclay created for this novel. The way the main characters Wyatt and Gabby work through their painful shared history (each on opposite sides of the accident that took the lives of Wyatt's wife & son and Gabby's ex-husband) and come out on the other side was meaningful, and I really enjoyed Wyatt's relationship with his father--a man slowly losing himself to Alzheimer's disease. Strong characters, strong relationships, nice outcomes, slightly predictable... but I really enjoyed this book and found myself wanting to turn each page faster and faster to see how things would be resolved. An enjoyable read--academic, no; but thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless."
— Mel (4 out of 5 stars)
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“If Wishes Were Horses is chock full of wonderful characters. The novel is a moving one, at turns poignant, sad, dramatic, amusing, and hopeful.”
— RT Book Reviews -
“Will satisfy fans of sweet romances and tender family sagas… Mr. Barclay weaves a quiet tale about people with hearts of gold, each barely coping with inner demons or tragic circumstances, who learn that they need one another in order to find redemption.”
— NY Journal of Books
If Wishes Were Horses Listener Reviews
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" A good book with lots of very involved different relationships happening. The theme of forgiveness is prevelant. All ends well. I did think the ending seemed a little dragged out. "
— Loretta, 1/24/2014 -
" CHEESY! The only reason I didn't give this one star is that it was easy to read and amusing to roll my eyes at all the cheese! The author obviously wanted to write a love story but had no idea how to do it. On page 10 the "lovers" have never met yet there is a strong attraction. Page 322 the "lovers" have never spent more than an hour together, yet they have never felt a stronger love. Just because the author wrote it doesn't make the reader feel it. I thought this story was going to be more about the horse therapy, but the only thing associated there was mucking the stalls and rewarding the boy for calling another girl stupid during therapy. Again, it makes no sense, but the author needed the boy to win the award, so he just threw in a story. I almost wish someone else would read it so we could talk about all the improbabilities of this story. "
— Lisa, 1/23/2014 -
" I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get through it... It was too predictable and the characters were too cliched..... "
— Rachel, 1/22/2014 -
" I was attracted to the equine therapy/ Florida ranch theme. Turns out to be poorly written chick lit, a romance novel with inadequately developed characters. "
— Fred, 1/16/2014 -
" A story of "real" people going through the troubling aftermath of entertwined personal tragedies accompanied by the healing power of horses. This started out a bit stiff and slow for me but as it developed it became a wonderful story. It made me miss my days at the ranch working w/ horses...one day i'll do it again. "
— Sarah, 1/6/2014 -
" I had too many books out and almost sent this back to the library unread. For some reason I decided to hang on to it and I'm SO glad because this is probably one of my favorite books I've ever read. I love it! "
— Amanda, 1/1/2014 -
" Enjoyed this story very much. Great romance. This would make a good movi. "
— Diane, 9/30/2013 -
" I really liked this book, finished in just a couple of days. One historical error, Wild Bill Hickok was killed in Deadwood South Dakota not Deadwood Colorado. "
— Rhonda, 9/18/2013 -
" Got a little more than halfway through and decided I couldn't finish it. Maybe i just wasn't in the mood for a syrupy romance, or maybe the crappy horse scenes did me in. Either way, I don't feel guilty about not finishing it. Proof that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. "
— Teeni, 8/2/2013 -
" Very touching story - only took me about 2 evenings to read this "
— Polly, 6/22/2013 -
" sucked, Nicholas Sparks lite, like a romance without any good sex scenes, trying too hard "
— Jeannine, 6/13/2013 -
" An uforgettable story of love and forgiveness. Gabby's drunken husband is the reason Wyatts wife and son are dead. Her son is included in a New Beginnings Program, dealing with horses and life. "
— Anne, 6/5/2013 -
" Can't get enough of it! <3 "
— Kayla, 4/25/2013 -
" Great book about loss and finding love again. It was kind of predictable, but well written with likable characters. As a horse lover, I enjoyed that storyline as well. Definitely recommend and will look for another book by Barclay soon. "
— Melissa, 8/22/2012 -
" A little too mushy, like a Harlequin romance. I like a mystery much better, but it was an ok read. "
— Sherry, 5/7/2012 -
" Very predictable for the most part. The characters were ok, but Gabby about made me crazy in parts as she got so upset over something I thought was not such a big deal. Trevor transformed a bit fast from a bad to good kid but it is fiction! All in all decent read but could have been better. "
— Karen, 3/15/2012 -
" Predictable - light and just what you need by the pool:) "
— Mae, 2/10/2012 -
" Great story, so appreciated by an old ranch gal like myself. Loved it! "
— Doris, 10/18/2011 -
" A really good read!!! I loved Barclay's style. The story was full of emotion as display in well developed characters. "
— Judy, 9/27/2011 -
" Totally loved it :) "
— Jayme, 9/9/2011 -
" Nothing special and horribly predictable. I had to suspend my brain to even read it. What was I thinking? Skip this one. "
— Shauna, 8/11/2011 -
" I REALLY like this book! Hope....Forgiveness...and Love..... "
— Leslie, 8/3/2011 -
" Seemed like a "paperback romance" dressed up as a full feature book. There are some sad horse moments, a barn fire and deaths. This book deals with Equine Therapy Program for troubled teens. "
— Kathy, 3/16/2011
About Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay, author of If Wishes Were Horses, sold his successful consulting business and moved from upstate New York to south Florida, where he could devote his full attention to what he always wanted to do—write. He also enjoys weightlifting, Shotokan karate, and going to the beach to do absolutely nothing.
About Mike Chamberlain
Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer in Los Angeles whose audiobook narration has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. His voice credits range from radio commercials and television narration to animation and video game characters. Stage trained at Boston College, he has performed works from Shakespeare and the classics to contemporary drama and comedy.