Guarding Cat

I had not read the previous books in the series so there were some nuances that I did not get about Aidan's siblings, but it was not critical. I enjoyed the Irish/Midwestern romance scenario and I enjoyed the background of horses, both racing and breeding. Some of the romance scenes and/or dreams were a bit overdone, but on the whole it was a nice read. Kind of a typical waste the afternoon away romance.

If you're looking for a mix of thriller and romance, this is it! Ms. Rosemoor has a most arresting plot. The more you read the harder it is to put down.

Guarding Cat is a beautiful blend of fantasy, romance and thriller. I just had to know who the murderer was. This is one book you definitely cannot judge from the cover.

All in all a wonderful read.

This final book in the McKenna Curse series is the best of all. Cat and Aidan have great chemistry. The uneasy partnership, the past, and stubbornness will have to be overcome to get their HEA. My only complaint is that I wanted a satisfying conclusion to the interactions involving Cat's ex. The mystery is full of suspense and action. The tension is high and I guessed the villain completely wrong.

Last one in McKenna curse series.
Adean and Cat are thrown together for horse breeding and racing. Unfortunately, evil comes to Cat's ranch.
Likeable protagonist, suspenseful, keeps you guessing.
Will look for more books my this author.

Guarding Cat by Patricia Rosemoor was an enjoyable read. it is book 5 in the McKenna Curse series and It held my interest.

Guarding Cat by Patricia Rosemoor is another of is the latest in the Mckenna Curse series emanating from a curse placed over 100 years ago up the progeny of Donal McKenna who had apparently jilted the wrong woman, Sheelin O'Keefe, who decreed that his descendant would put anyone they fell in love with in mortal danger. What a great premise. The stories in this series are unrelated except for the curse, but they are all powerful. This one features Aiden McKenna, a horse trainer in Ireland, and Cat Clarke, a breeder in the United States, who makes a last ditch effort to save her business by bringing Aiden and his horse, Mac Finnian to the US to race and ultimately to put to stud, earning her a hearty sum. Aiden knows better than to fall in love. He lost, Pegeen, the love of his life, to the curse, and will not chance it again. His draw to Cat proves too strong...

Rosemoor writes a good romance, featuring characters with interesting personalities and backstories. This is totally a character-driven novel with plot points revolving solely around the characters personality flaws. Cat is intelligent, but more importantly, driven. Aiden is stubborn and kind of conceited. He knows his own worth. He is also very protective...in general...but especially with Cat. Horse racing and breeding seems to inspire plenty of good stories, usually mysteries, as there seems to be plenty of ways to lie, cheat, and steal. All of that and more rears it ugly head in this story. It was enticing, interesting, and very romantic. I recommend it.

I was invited to read an ARC of Guarding Cat by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #guardingcat

Cat owns a breeding farm. Now I knew very little about this aspect of horses so I researched it. I found an article in the Horse magazine which was informative of how a large breeding facility operates.
What they are attempting to do is to provide a controlled environment for the breeding. Artificial insemination is not used, so they use live stallions for the breeding. It is a high cost business. As well as he controller- to keep track of ins and outs, here is the agronomist whose job it is to produce pastures that are both balanced in their nutrients and palatable to the horses. There are the vet and their technician, who take bloods, ultrasounds and check on the health and ovulation of the mares. Including palpating/ultrasounding mares for breeding soundness and estrous cycle timing; using that information to plan breedings; checking for pregnancies and problems; administering treatments; and monitoring stallion fertility. They also handle preventative care such as plasma administration for foals; deworming; vaccinations; and caring for sick animals; confirming ejaculation occurred; evaluating sperm motility via dismount semen samples after every breeding; and evaluating sperm morphology (physical shape). Mares will undergo uterine bacterial culturing prior to the breeding season. This allows time to treat any infection present and avoids "wasted" breedings. Mares are also cultured if they don’t get pregnant on the first cycle; the samples are evaluated at the farm, as are foals’ immunoglobulin levels. Amazingly technical and complicated work to ensure a successful pregnancy that will produce a foal that can win races and then – if male – earn lots of dosh at stud.
Then there is the barn manager who looks after the mares and foals general care; and marketing – of the stallions and facilities available; plus someone for all the following roles: assistant controller; stallion administrator; certified public accountant; farm manager; seeding of pastures; projects coordinator; landscape architect; director of bloodstock services; insurance; sales coordinator; and transport.
So compared to all these staff we can see that Cat’s farm is very small ‘fry’.
This story is a romance with horses, mystery and suspense, and some murder thrown in for good luck. We are not privy to the police side of things, but we do have a horse whisperer from Ireland, who also has second sight, who needs to get his colt to race and win well so that he can be used for stud – at exorbitant charges.
Quite an insight into also just how many staff there are at a race course to look after the horses all of whom have a separate job – grooming; stall work; walking a ‘hot’ horse after racing; riding a horse to train him and so on. No wonder it costs so much to race horses! And to buy a Thoroughbred horse.
All the English classics are for three-year-olds, and are designed to establish which horses are the best of that generation, so they can then be bred from. As breeding has become more commercialised, with powerful studs such as Darley and the mighty Coolmore in Ireland, so racing has in some respects become secondary, a means to the end of producing commercial stallions. According to the Guardian newspaper, 2009 :
A really good stud could impregnate least 100 mares a year; the owner of each mare is likely to pay around £75,000 for the privilege; he thus stands to make at least £7.5m a year. He could cover 400 mares if the owners wanted to work him really hard. And this happens for around 20 years!

Sea and Sand earned $250,000 per mare! – or pregnancy in 2009. See photo of him. Gorgeous.
The most expensive stud – Galileo - in 2008 was reputed to earn over $600,000 per pregnancy!
So 4 stars for learning about thoroughbreds..

Guarding Cat is the fifth instalment in Patricia Rosemoor’s McKenna Curse series and readers will be thoroughly entertained by the relationship between Cat and Aiden and the ever-looming mystery and danger that play a resounding part in their lives. A great storyline with an intriguing plot, strong character development and a soul deep connection that can’t be denied. Ms Rosemoor has delivered a fabulous tale of magic, mystery and mayhem which ensures her readers keep coming back for more.