Bright, Broken Things: Good Things Come Book 0.5 (A Prequel)

“Perfect for those… who grew up reading the Black Stallion and Thoroughbred books.”

Was it weird to take life lessons from a year-old Thoroughbred?

For Liv, the safest place in the world is on the back of a racehorse, not in the lecture halls and labs of the prestigious Ontario Veterinary College. It’s easy to resent Nate Miller when he’s hired to start the young Thoroughbreds on her father’s farm, a job she should be doing. The fact he shares her goal of becoming a jockey only adds to her ire, because he’s making it happen, while she stagnates in school.

Nate fled his hometown out west wanting nothing more than to leave the past behind. All he knows is horses, so the farm job is the perfect place to lie low while he figures out what he’s supposed to be doing with his life. Riding races feels like a distant dream.

Liv admits Nate’s good at what he does — but she keeps one project for herself. Claire has captured her heart, becoming her emotional support through the stress of her studies. So when Nate attracts the attention of a jockey’s agent, suddenly Liv needs him to stay. Because if he leaves, her father will send the yearlings away for training — including Claire, the one thing that grounds her.

Welcome to the world of Good Things Come, a compelling ride through the highs and lows of the world of Thoroughbred horse racing. For fans of the movies Seabiscuit and Secretariat, and anyone who appreciates authentic equestrian fiction and themes of found family and slow burn romance. Ten Furlongs Magazine says, "In the very small, mixed bag of racing fiction writers... Linda Shantz stands out for her seriousness of intent."

Read them all!

Bright, Broken Things (A Good Things Come Prequel Book)
Good Things Come (Good Things Come Book 1)
All The Little Things (Good Things Come Book 2)
All Good Things (Good Things Come Book 3)
This Good Thing (Good Things Come Book 4)
Merry Little Things (Good Things Come Book 5)
All The Best Things (Good Things Come Book 6)
Horse of the Year (Good Things Come Book 7)
Shiny Little Things (Good Things Come Book 8)
All The Right Things (Good Things Come Book 9)

What the reviews say:

"Touching, intriguing, complicated and so much more. Anyone who cares about people and what makes them who they are will want to read this book." – Amazon review.

"Linda Shantz is an expert on the Canadian Thoroughbred racing scene and writes about Thoroughbreds and the people that work with them in a way that is genuine, and full of vivid detail." – BookBub review.

"Love, love, loved it! Couldn't put it down." – BookBub review.

"The writing is vivid and brings the settings and characters to life on the page." – early reader.

"This is the first horse book I've read since Dick Francis' racing mysteries that I can find no errors in. I have high hopes that this series may be the replacement I've been hoping to find for many years." – Amazon review.

"Linda Shantz's books are always engaging and well written. I can't say enough about how wonderful this series is." – Amazon Review.