This cover is exactly right for the story. Beautiful!
Blurb from Good Reads:
“Ride hard, swing hard, and take out as many of those creepy critters as you can.”
Twelve year old Matt Del Toro is the greenest greenhorn in his family’s centuries-old business: riding down and destroying wolf-like monsters, known as skinners. Now, with those creatures multiplying, both in number and ferocity, Matt must saddle up and match his father’s skills at monster whacking. Odds of doing that? Yeah, about a trillion to one. Because Matt’s father is the legendary Javier Del Toro—hunter, scholar, and a true caballero: a gentleman of the horse.
Luckily, Matt has twelve hundred pounds of backup in his best friend—El Cid, an Andalusian war stallion with the ability of human speech, more fighting savvy than a medieval knight, and a heart as big and steadfast as the Rocky Mountains.
Serious horse power.
Those skinners don’t stand a chance.
My Thoughts
DEL
TORO MOON
Review
By
Darby Karchut
What do you do when you read a book that you don’t want
to end, but it does, of course? I’ll tell you what I just did. I was enjoying
the story so much, I was not ready to let go of it. So, I did the logical thing
and read it again. I’m happy, happy I did because I grew even closer to the
characters and their lives and the way each of them faced a situation in his or
her own way. What am I talking about? Multi-award-winning author Darby
Karchut’s latest novel, DEL TORO MOON, a story that took me on an adventure I
shall always remember.
As I followed the Del Toro family through their good
times and bad, I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love. The author has a magic
touch when it comes to creating characters so real I can imagine them as my
neighbors. The Del Toro family would make for an exciting neighborhood for sure.
Twelve-year-old Matt is my favorite character. Javier,
his father, is doing a good job of raising Matt and his older brother, Ben,
after their mother’s death in a car accident, years earlier. They have
disagreements as in most families, but they are solved. Their father knows how
to deal with his sons. Matt also has a lot of questions about life and girls,
which he will learn a little at a time. But one thing he knows is horses.
Here again, Darby Karchut shows her knowledge of an
animal that fascinates me. I know a little about horses: quarter horses and
thoroughbreds. In DEL TORO MOON, I met a breed of Andalusian War Horses. Wow!
The description of them makes me want to see a live one. There’s El Cid and
Turk and Izzie, who all play important roles in the novel and in some ways are
the stars. At least to me. They also have a special talent, but I’m not telling
what. Surprise.
I must not forget the creatures known as skinners.
They mean death to whomever they bite. If you have a weak stomach maybe don’t
read about them while you’re eating. The author describes them very vividly,
and it’s not a pretty picture. I hope to never meet such a creature.
Thank you, Darby Karchut, for taking me on this wild
adventure. Does Matt have any more plans for the future? Hint, hint. I highly
recommend this story.
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Pre-order at:
AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE
Other stores
Fun setup for a story. Good thing Matt has a smart horse.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, Alex. These horses are amazing. Would love to have one of my own. Except they're too smart for me. :)
DeleteI'm intrigued! Great cover.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Karin. The story is beautiful. I'm probably going to read it a third time because I find something different each time I look through it. What a lovely way to spend the evening.
DeleteThank you, thank you, Beverly, for this review. You simply made my day. Your comment about reading the book twice was the best compliment ever!
ReplyDeleteYou made my day too, Darby. The story is better than I ever dreamed. I love Matt and the horses. You probably know which scene made me cry. Congratulations on a beautiful novel.
DeleteHey, you're the one that first quoted "...no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader..." to me. :-)
DeleteAnd it is so true. You do such a lovely job of creating characters the reader loves, at least this reader. I care about what happens to them. They laugh. I laugh. They cry. I cry. And love every minute of it.
DeleteSure know it is a great read when you want to read it again.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Pat. I don't read too many novels twice.
DeleteThat's awesome when you don't want a book to end. I've had the same feeling with a few books/series and like you, actually read them twice.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Natalie. When you love a book, you just can't leave it sometimes. It also inspires me to work harder on my stories.
DeleteA most enjoyable review to a much I'm sure a great book. Beverly.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Thank you, Yvonne. It is a lovely story that touched my heart.
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