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Silks and Sins
Geri and Jackie O’Keane inherit their father’s riding stables in Ireland and, both business women, set about modernising, including a website. When Jackie meets Valentine Murney, a rising star in the flat racing world, her life appears complete. Val, who admits that he’s no saint, is dedicated, good looking, kind, and a great lover. Jackie sets her sights on the highly competitive 'most stylish lady' raceday prizes. Meanwhile Geri is drifting towards her own relationship.
But when two spiteful stable girls tell Jackie that her jockey boyfriend has been sleeping with someone else, she faces making a decision which might be the greatest mistake of her life.
But when two spiteful stable girls tell Jackie that her jockey boyfriend has been sleeping with someone else, she faces making a decision which might be the greatest mistake of her life.
- GenresRomance
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 10, 2013
3 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Clare O'Beara
25 books371 followersClare O'Beara is a tree surgeon and expert witness, and a former national standard showjumper. She has qualified in multimedia journalism, data visualisation, media law, environmental, social and governance law, artificial intelligence, and ecology. She has served on the Royal Dublin Society's Forestry and the Environment Committee.
Clare is an award–winning writer, award-winning blogger, and award-winning photojournalist, whose journalism work has been published in more than thirty countries. Her credits include Writing.ie, The Register.com, Mensa Magazine and Mensa International Journal. Photo credits include the Daily Mail and Extra.ie. Editor of Inside DBS, the official blog website of Dublin Business School, and the Sustainable College blog.
2022 - Winner, Journalism Relating to Health, National Student Media Awards.
2021 - Winner, Blog/ Vlog Of The Year, National Student Media Awards.
2021 - Nominated, EPA Award for Journalism Relating to The Environment.
2021 - Dublin Business School Volunteer Of The Year.
2020 - Second, Dublin Business School Create Contest.
2014 - Winner, Arkady Renko Short Story Contest held by Simon & Schuster.
https://the-dark-pages-blog.blogspot....
2013 - Winner, Print Journalism in Ireland's National Media Awards.
2012 - Runner-Up, Print Journalism, National Media Awards.
Top 500/ Vine Reviewer: Amazon.co.uk.
Top 1% Goodreads Reviewer / Top 1% Goodreads Reader.
The MacGuyver for the Hugo Awards at Worldcon Dublin 2019.
Clare is an independent publisher who works to make her e-books Carbon Neutral. She was Vice-President of the DBS Sustainability Society (Winner, Most Improved Society in 2021) as part of the Green Campus movement. DBS was Runner-up Green Campus in the National Education Awards, 2021. She was President and Editor of the DBS Journalism Society (Winner, Blog /Vlog of The Year, National Student Media Awards. 2021.)
Clare reads extensively and reviews books for Fresh Fiction.com. She contributed a story to A Pint And A Haircut (Lon Dubh, 2010), an anthology in aid of Concern's Haiti fund.
She lives in Dublin with her husband and cats.
Clare is an award–winning writer, award-winning blogger, and award-winning photojournalist, whose journalism work has been published in more than thirty countries. Her credits include Writing.ie, The Register.com, Mensa Magazine and Mensa International Journal. Photo credits include the Daily Mail and Extra.ie. Editor of Inside DBS, the official blog website of Dublin Business School, and the Sustainable College blog.
2022 - Winner, Journalism Relating to Health, National Student Media Awards.
2021 - Winner, Blog/ Vlog Of The Year, National Student Media Awards.
2021 - Nominated, EPA Award for Journalism Relating to The Environment.
2021 - Dublin Business School Volunteer Of The Year.
2020 - Second, Dublin Business School Create Contest.
2014 - Winner, Arkady Renko Short Story Contest held by Simon & Schuster.
https://the-dark-pages-blog.blogspot....
2013 - Winner, Print Journalism in Ireland's National Media Awards.
2012 - Runner-Up, Print Journalism, National Media Awards.
Top 500/ Vine Reviewer: Amazon.co.uk.
Top 1% Goodreads Reviewer / Top 1% Goodreads Reader.
The MacGuyver for the Hugo Awards at Worldcon Dublin 2019.
Clare is an independent publisher who works to make her e-books Carbon Neutral. She was Vice-President of the DBS Sustainability Society (Winner, Most Improved Society in 2021) as part of the Green Campus movement. DBS was Runner-up Green Campus in the National Education Awards, 2021. She was President and Editor of the DBS Journalism Society (Winner, Blog /Vlog of The Year, National Student Media Awards. 2021.)
Clare reads extensively and reviews books for Fresh Fiction.com. She contributed a story to A Pint And A Haircut (Lon Dubh, 2010), an anthology in aid of Concern's Haiti fund.
She lives in Dublin with her husband and cats.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 8, 2015
I'm not much of a romance reader, but this was more about horses in Ireland. The romance wasn't overpowering nor distracting & seemed natural enough. I originally thought this was more of a YA book, but the situations are probably best suited for older teens & up.
It was an interesting situation; 2 sisters inherit their father's riding stable. They need to update it & breath new life into the situation. They certainly do that. Very likable, although a bit sketchy as was the mother.
Odd coming from me, but the book was too slim. There were quite a few situations that could have been fleshed out better such as a perfect bit of karma.
Anyway, it was fun reading about the horse scene in Ireland. Obviously the author knows it well.
It was an interesting situation; 2 sisters inherit their father's riding stable. They need to update it & breath new life into the situation. They certainly do that. Very likable, although a bit sketchy as was the mother.
Odd coming from me, but the book was too slim. There were quite a few situations that could have been fleshed out better such as a perfect bit of karma.
Anyway, it was fun reading about the horse scene in Ireland. Obviously the author knows it well.
August 31, 2016
This is a charming novel of two sisters and love. I enjoyed the setting in horse country. It was fast paced, fun and delightful.
I felt as if I was right there, riding on the horse, dressing up for the judges and falling in love. Great job Ms. O'Beara!
I felt as if I was right there, riding on the horse, dressing up for the judges and falling in love. Great job Ms. O'Beara!
March 19, 2014
This book is about Irish horse racing and people who deal with other horse-related establishments.
I must admit that I know very little about this topic, but the main characters include two sisters who are trying to make a go of their deceased father's horse-training/lessons farm [pardon me if I have these terms all wrong], their mother, who decided to move to town, a jockey who is interested in the younger sister, and a man who is interested in the older sister.
I read this book on my Kindle and I don't know whether the spacing between topics in chapters was the problem for me, but a row of asterisks between them would have helped me know a shift in time or place was coming. Without this kind of format, I felt in several places that I must have skipped a page accidentally and had to go back and check that this was not the case. This caused my reading experience to be somewhat disjointed.
I have just read this author's book MURDER AT IRISH MENSA and liked it very much, so I was expecting to be more engaged with this story than I was. I liked it but I didn't love it. If Irish horse racing and living in the Irish countryside and being involved with horses is of interest to potential readers, I would encourage them to try SILKS AND SINS by Clare O'Beara.
I must admit that I know very little about this topic, but the main characters include two sisters who are trying to make a go of their deceased father's horse-training/lessons farm [pardon me if I have these terms all wrong], their mother, who decided to move to town, a jockey who is interested in the younger sister, and a man who is interested in the older sister.
I read this book on my Kindle and I don't know whether the spacing between topics in chapters was the problem for me, but a row of asterisks between them would have helped me know a shift in time or place was coming. Without this kind of format, I felt in several places that I must have skipped a page accidentally and had to go back and check that this was not the case. This caused my reading experience to be somewhat disjointed.
I have just read this author's book MURDER AT IRISH MENSA and liked it very much, so I was expecting to be more engaged with this story than I was. I liked it but I didn't love it. If Irish horse racing and living in the Irish countryside and being involved with horses is of interest to potential readers, I would encourage them to try SILKS AND SINS by Clare O'Beara.
June 26, 2019
Fun and Informative read
From the book:
“Every time Jackie thought she understood racing there was more to learn.”
Every time I turned a page, there was more for me to learn — horse terms and Irish ways of speaking. I had to look some terms up and some I could figure out.
My daughter rode horses and would tell me all about her experiences. This is my first horse book, though. It helped to be familiar with some of the ideas.
My actual middle name, really, is McClamroch, so it is good for me to be able to understand Irish phrases I am not familiar with living in the USA. Such fun.
Silks, I learned, is what Jockey’s wear. My daughter had to tell me that before I read the book.
Sins is when harm comes to the beautiful horses — which is prevented.
Although Jackie has an interesting time with her jockey boyfriend!
From the book:
“Every time Jackie thought she understood racing there was more to learn.”
Every time I turned a page, there was more for me to learn — horse terms and Irish ways of speaking. I had to look some terms up and some I could figure out.
My daughter rode horses and would tell me all about her experiences. This is my first horse book, though. It helped to be familiar with some of the ideas.
My actual middle name, really, is McClamroch, so it is good for me to be able to understand Irish phrases I am not familiar with living in the USA. Such fun.
Silks, I learned, is what Jockey’s wear. My daughter had to tell me that before I read the book.
Sins is when harm comes to the beautiful horses — which is prevented.
Although Jackie has an interesting time with her jockey boyfriend!
August 5, 2020
I was thrilled with this story. My choice was made on the grounds it is a modern Irish romance set deeply within the horse life that Ireland is so famous for. If you are part of the great Irish dispora, such as myself, you might understand the urge to know what life is like for our cousins back in the old country; flag waving over. This was also my first venture into romance and I knew it would be a little spicy. My motive for reading romance was: as a writer I find it crops up in my work, so you could call it research. Well, Clare hides nothing from us and the story rides the characters ups and downs but in a human and believable way. I felt at home with the characters and immersed in their lives. Before reading this, what I knew about horses and the horsey ways, you could ride on a pin. Now I feel I can have a decent conversation with my old friend who lives on a farm with horses; grand. I thought the story was a nice length.
March 11, 2017
I love romance books and also used to do a lot of horse riding and so this book seemed to be the perfect choice for me. I liked the characters particular Valentine with his confident nature perfect for the main male lead. I can see that the author had knowledge or researched her subject well as this came across abundantly in the story. An interesting and worth while read. Highly recommended.
November 22, 2015
Two sisters who appear to be in their twenties, Jackie and Geri O'Keane, inherit a family riding stable in Ireland when their father dies. Geri, just made "redundant" by layoffs, and Jackie, going through the motions in a less-than-promising job, decide to take a chance and revitalize the stable into a vibrant and profitable enterprise. This project leads each to meet an eligible young man. The book focuses primarily on Jackie's relationship with Val, a promising jockey. As a romance, the book follows a familiar trajectory: Jackie and Val's developing intimacy founders on an emotional hurdle that the characters must overcome before (no spoilers here, surely) reuniting.
Thus, two plot lines intertwine: the romance and the women's efforts to showcase their business as a lively part of their community. Val links the two by contributing to the stable's web site launch and by providing Jackie with the impetus to compete in well-publicized "best-dressed" competitions at a variety of race courses. Jackie, in turn, becomes involved in the life of the racing yard for which Val serves as both principal jockey and "lad," or groom.
Silks and Sins is a gentle story populated by gentle, sensible characters with whom I thoroughly enjoyed spending time. Part of my enjoyment came from learning about the horse world in Ireland; O'Beara's matter-of-fact depiction of a young jockey's working life alongside her portrait of the day-to-day obstacles faced by young women in modern Ireland breathe life into the familiar romance framework. She doesn't glamorize either racing or running a riding stable, showing each as places where people work hard and struggle to keep up the discipline and integrity essential to success.
But I also enjoyed the realistic, quietly engaging plot lines. Geri's efforts to modernize the stable kept me thinking about what I'd do with such a challenge. Jackie and Val's inevitable crisis isn't melodramatic or contrived; it presents them with a serious challenge that they must work to resolve. Their reactions are natural and true to the characters. There are not a lot of surprises, but none are really needed. I found myself quite caught up in these people's understated lives.
In other words, you probably won't stay up until four in the morning to finish this book, and if you're not a romance fan (I'm not), you may resist the predictability underlying (but in this case not defining) the main plot line. But the compensating strengths of the story are such that I think many readers, like me, will look forward to re-entering O'Beara's world each day.
My only thought for O'Beara: the cover image doesn't do the book justice. The two woman depicted look like Queen Elizabeth's aunts, not at all like the stylish young entrepreneurs I took Jackie and Geri to be!
Of course, I've never been to the races in Ireland, more's the pity. So I'm open to correction by those in the know. :-)
Thus, two plot lines intertwine: the romance and the women's efforts to showcase their business as a lively part of their community. Val links the two by contributing to the stable's web site launch and by providing Jackie with the impetus to compete in well-publicized "best-dressed" competitions at a variety of race courses. Jackie, in turn, becomes involved in the life of the racing yard for which Val serves as both principal jockey and "lad," or groom.
Silks and Sins is a gentle story populated by gentle, sensible characters with whom I thoroughly enjoyed spending time. Part of my enjoyment came from learning about the horse world in Ireland; O'Beara's matter-of-fact depiction of a young jockey's working life alongside her portrait of the day-to-day obstacles faced by young women in modern Ireland breathe life into the familiar romance framework. She doesn't glamorize either racing or running a riding stable, showing each as places where people work hard and struggle to keep up the discipline and integrity essential to success.
But I also enjoyed the realistic, quietly engaging plot lines. Geri's efforts to modernize the stable kept me thinking about what I'd do with such a challenge. Jackie and Val's inevitable crisis isn't melodramatic or contrived; it presents them with a serious challenge that they must work to resolve. Their reactions are natural and true to the characters. There are not a lot of surprises, but none are really needed. I found myself quite caught up in these people's understated lives.
In other words, you probably won't stay up until four in the morning to finish this book, and if you're not a romance fan (I'm not), you may resist the predictability underlying (but in this case not defining) the main plot line. But the compensating strengths of the story are such that I think many readers, like me, will look forward to re-entering O'Beara's world each day.
My only thought for O'Beara: the cover image doesn't do the book justice. The two woman depicted look like Queen Elizabeth's aunts, not at all like the stylish young entrepreneurs I took Jackie and Geri to be!
Of course, I've never been to the races in Ireland, more's the pity. So I'm open to correction by those in the know. :-)
August 11, 2015
The book itself is surprisingly short and fairly easy to read, although readers should keep it mind that it’s written in British English. There are two adult daughters who are somewhat floundering about when their dad dies and leaves them the somewhat neglected horse stables. They need to figure out how to make money while the stables are in probate so they put their thinking caps on and modernize it. One of the sisters, Jackie meets a handsome jockey and they find themselves in a racy relationship (a few paragraphs of sexual situations-which totally surprised me. I don't know why, maybe because the cover of the book looks a little "fuddy-duddy" but when I say "racy" I mean "racy!") until she finds out that he’s been cheating on her. In the meantime, her sister, Geri has her own tentative growing relationship with a married man who is involved in a divorce. After a scary event (you’ll have to read the story to find out what), there are nice outcomes abound (involving even their “mum”!). Almost a fairy tale ending.
If you like horses and/or racing, you will love this book.
If you like horses and/or racing, you will love this book.
November 28, 2015
This is a well-written, pleasant, easy reading novel on the adult woman's theme "looking for true love when hope is thin" that ends well for two sisters who each finds her man. Sex scenes were a little racy, but no sins were committed. Especially recommended for readers into horses, riding stables, and the racing world. The storyline demands that more alluring women be placed on the cover.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews