With Nealy, horses come first. So when her two grown children's irresponsible acts nearly cost her Shufly, the foal that carries her hopes for the Triple Crown, she throws them both off Blue Diamond Farms. To the world Nearly looks unbreakable. Inside, her heart has shattered, as she struggles alone to build her racing stables into the best in Kentucky - and Shufly into the horse of the century. When Hatch Littletree, her ex-husband's law partner, pays an unexpected visit, he brings Nealy both much-needed comfort and turmoil, as he urges her to heal the painful rift with her children. Raw with emotion and yet filled with unstoppable determination, Nealy will stand strong...and ultimately, triumph
Kentucky Heat: Kentucky Series, Book 2
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From Publishers Weekly
Building on the success of her Vegas and Texas series, Michaels (Kentucky Rich) enlarges the Coleman and Thornton family legacies in her second novel set in bluegrass country. The indomitable Nealy Coleman Diamond Clay has her hands full: the foal that carries her hopes for the Triple Crown is born early while her grown children and helpmeets are away. When they return with news (her son has eloped with the family's cook and her daughter's husband abandoned her on a cruise) Nealy is furious as far as she's concerned, they were due home a week ago. "The horses always [come] first," sighs daughter Emmie. The multiple catastrophes strain plausibility, but the stalwart Michaels, whose plots are chock-full of dramatic tension, knows how to pull off the impossible. Nealy meets her match in her late husband's former law partner, Hatch Littletree, a larger-than-life Native American whose physical magnitude and considerable wealth is matched by his big heart and largess. The internecine family feuds, present and past not to mention the author's compulsion to fill in the blanks about the Thorntons and Colemans and their stormy histories takes away from the larger story about the developing relationship between Nealy and Hatch, and her endeavors toward a second Triple Crown sweep. In addition, a subplot involving a potential movie about Nealy's life (introduced in a rambling prologue and inexplicably ignored for over 200 pages) fails miserably. The brisk narrative also goes awry when a sudden cataclysm following a thrilling race victory robs the climax of its punch, dragging out the final section of the book to its inevitable happy conclusion. National advertising.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Continuing the saga begun in Kentucky Rich, Michaels rejoins Nealy Coleman Diamond Clay several years after her Triple Crown win. Though she is comfortable with her horses, Nealy struggles with personal relationships at all levels. At first, she appears so rigid and harsh that it is difficult to sympathize with her. Even a later explanation that she drove her adult children away out of love fails to counteract this first impression. For most of the book, Nealy works her way to self-understanding and real happiness, but just as it seems she has succeeded, Michaels inserts an almost unbelievable event to rip her life apart again. Nealy's sudden reversion to self-isolation and a subsequent return to happiness seem rushed, with little plot or character development. Stilted dialog, frequent encounters with the spirit of Nealy's dead husband, and the appearance of characters from the "Texas" and "Vegas" trilogies serve only to muddy the plot. These flaws do not seem to bother her fans, however. Public libraries where Kentucky Rich was popular will want to purchase. Barbara E. Kemp, Univ. of Houston Libs.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Fern Michaels is the best romance writer I've ever read. For those of you who like romance in a book but don't want to read about the sex details for 5 pages, this is the author for you. Fern Michaels has a way to make her characters come to life. You really feel like you involved in the story by feeling sympathy, happiness and sadness right along with the characters in her stories. The Kentucky series is a must have for any reader who loves a good romance story with a whole lot more.
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
When I picked up this book I must admit I was excited to read it as this author was new to me, and I always enjoy getting to know different authors. However, I was tragically disappointed.
I found the book severely lacking in any form of talented writing style, and was baffled throughout the book as to why the 52-year-old main character (Nealy) consistently acted like a squealy teenager ("oh my god! He's so hot."). All writing faux pas aside, I was disgusted by the fact that the book had no semblance of a tangible plot, and the vague one in it was predictable, poorly drawn, confusing, very rushed, and not even remotely interesting. Michaels (the author) tries to make the connection between Nealy and her horses magical but I found it highly unrealistic and inconsistent. She was going way too many places at once with this and failed in each venture.
I found the book severely lacking in any form of talented writing style, and was baffled throughout the book as to why the 52-year-old main character (Nealy) consistently acted like a squealy teenager ("oh my god! He's so hot."). All writing faux pas aside, I was disgusted by the fact that the book had no semblance of a tangible plot, and the vague one in it was predictable, poorly drawn, confusing, very rushed, and not even remotely interesting. Michaels (the author) tries to make the connection between Nealy and her horses magical but I found it highly unrealistic and inconsistent. She was going way too many places at once with this and failed in each venture.
Overall I found this book starkly juvenile, and were I her publisher/editor I would have handed it to her and suggested she have another go at it. Sadly not worth the read or the money.
Format:Hardcover
This book was my first Fern Michaels book, and it will definately not be the last one i read!
Nealy Diamond Clay is a famous jockey that owns and runs Blue Diamond Farms, a top horse racing farm in Kentucky.
Nealy's children, Nick and Emmie, had finaly convinced their mother to let them have a week off for vacation, which Nealy never had allowed. So when they both took an extra week off (without telling Nealy!) and one of the farm's mares had complications foaling, Nealy was angry. To her the horses came first, so she kicked them off the farm. Later in the book you find out that Nealy really kicked them out because deep down she knew knew that they would never create a life of their own if she didnt push them away from the comforts of Blue Diamond Farms.
Through this rough time, Nealy also meets up with her dead husband's best friend, Hatch, Nealy tries to fight it, but through it all she knows she has romantic feelings for Hatch.
Also, Nealy is entered to ride Shufly, her champion horse Flyby's son, in the Kentucky Derby. But Nealy is woman in her early fifties, and many people doubt her. Can she and Shufly win the triple crown races against all odds?
For awhile everything is great for Nealy. She is in love with Hatch, has reunited with her children, has had a good horse racing season, and has traveled the world with her new fiance. But can one dreadful night destroy everything for Nealy, and maybe even cost her life?
Nealy Diamond Clay is a famous jockey that owns and runs Blue Diamond Farms, a top horse racing farm in Kentucky.
Nealy's children, Nick and Emmie, had finaly convinced their mother to let them have a week off for vacation, which Nealy never had allowed. So when they both took an extra week off (without telling Nealy!) and one of the farm's mares had complications foaling, Nealy was angry. To her the horses came first, so she kicked them off the farm. Later in the book you find out that Nealy really kicked them out because deep down she knew knew that they would never create a life of their own if she didnt push them away from the comforts of Blue Diamond Farms.
Through this rough time, Nealy also meets up with her dead husband's best friend, Hatch, Nealy tries to fight it, but through it all she knows she has romantic feelings for Hatch.
Also, Nealy is entered to ride Shufly, her champion horse Flyby's son, in the Kentucky Derby. But Nealy is woman in her early fifties, and many people doubt her. Can she and Shufly win the triple crown races against all odds?
For awhile everything is great for Nealy. She is in love with Hatch, has reunited with her children, has had a good horse racing season, and has traveled the world with her new fiance. But can one dreadful night destroy everything for Nealy, and maybe even cost her life?
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
A real disappointment
Both Kentucky Rich and Kentucky Heat were terrible. The dialog and the characters were totally unrealistic. I won't be reading the third in this lackluster trilogy. Read more
Published on Aug 20 2002
3.0 out of 5 stars
Michaels follows up her Texas and Vegas trilogies...
Nealy Coleman Diamond returns in Kentucky Heat-the stage is set when Nealy throws her two grown children, Emmie and Nick, off her horse farm for what she considers irresponsible... Read more
Published on Aug 12 2002 by Melissa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Racing Without Running
Trying to race through each new and incredibly exciting chapter of Fern Michaels' Kentucky Heat, the 2nd book in her 3-book series, while experiencing the emotional ups and downs... Read more
Published on Jun 18 2002 by Sharon Munro
4.0 out of 5 stars
engaging character study
Thoroughbred horse owner Nealy Coleman makes it clear that she will not tolerate any misbehavior when it comes to her beloved horses. Read more
Published on April 30 2002 by Harriet Klausner
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