Blaze of Glory by M. Garzon

Tea is your normal teenager, but unlike most teens, her chores include riding lessons and going to tournaments for jumping. She adores her horse Blaze and loves to show off when she is riding him. However, Tea is stubborn, rebellious and not afraid to speak her mind. These antics get her into hot water with her step-dad Dec quite a bit. Her brother, Seth, and she get along very well and are very close, especially with the death of their mother.
When Dec's nephew comes to visit, Tea and Seth don't really know him so they welcome him back with open arms. Jaden is a polo player who is well-known but he has decided to take a break from the tournaments and go to law school. What Tea doesn't count on is Jaden telling Dec on her when she gets caught exercising horses for a race track. Her punishment is severe and she decides she hates Jaden.

But over time, she forgives him and they are getting along amicably when her life is turned upside down. An accident costs Tea her pride and joy and she sinks into a depressed state. With help from Jaden and her friends, she begins to live her life again, but decides she really is crushing on Jaden. She knows she can't act upon it- he's her cousin. But trying to keep her emotions to herself is a day's work in itself, especially when he begins to teach her Polo.

When he catches her at a party with drugs, he goes ballistic. They try again to keep their emotions intact but their desire for one another is too strong to ignore. However, their actions have consequences. They may not be related by blood, but they are still family and the guilt the two suffer is almost enough to tear them apart.

Blaze of Glory is a wonderful young adult romance with horses, teen angst, drama, and more. I really enjoyed Tea and Jaden's characters but thought the relationship between Tea and Seth was too perfect. Brothers and sisters do not get along that well, in my opinion. The romance is light, but there is one sexual encounter that is not vanilla. I found myself caught up in Tea's world, the horses and her friends and was completely engrossed. A well-written and enthralling novel - I can't wait to see what rising star M. Garzon has in store next!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.