I'm having the greatest fun reading this horsey adventure! A Young Adult book involving a supernatural horse and his teenage girl rider is about to be filmed at Timber Ridge Stables, and the young riders there are all keen to try out for the part of stunt double. In their eyes they are all RIDING FOR THE STARS.

The adventures from the novel are ludicrous enough to make two girls, Kate and her best pal Holly, laugh, but they rave over the star cast and handsome black horse. Not to mention the excitement and experience even in screen tests, and the pay for a stunt double. Kate is determined to win the part, and she's assured of Holly's help. Holly has had a challenging life and doesn't feel up to the risks. But well-off, spoilt Angela who also stables her horse at Timber Ridge, has set her sights on the role and when the cameras appear, the rivalry gets out of hand.

This latest marvellous adventure from Maggie Dana is a short novel at under a hundred pages, so I don't want to give away too much story. While this isn't a romance, there are some really interesting guys. I felt by the end that Angela was maybe too much of a one-sided character, but then again, this is a big opportunity and she would be bound to give it her best shot. I also found some backstory to let me know about the girls' previous adventures, but not about how they each fit at the stables until halfway through. Regular readers won't have a problem but new readers need to keep going until that point explains matters.

I'd previously read Maggie Dana's exceptional time travel tale Turning On A Dime but this was my first time to read an all-contemporary story of hers. The Timber Ridge Stables series has several books in it by now and RIDING FOR THE STARS is the third in the series. There are horses galore, practical stable management tips and lots of laughs. Excitement is guaranteed. While the age group suggested is 8 - 12 years, most horse-loving teens will be fine with the read.