In & Out: Year One in the Jumping for Gold Series

by Barbara Moss

In & Out is a horse tale like no other. A sprawling narrative filled with romance, intrigue, and excitement, it also provides a clear-eyed and wholly realistic view of the equestrian world, offering the kind of authentic details about horses, riding techniques, and business practices that only an insider could provide. At the center of the story stands Jericho Brandeis, an ambitious yet untamed man who seeks glory on his own terms. An intriguing cast of characters surrounds him, including the wealthy patron Bob Marx, the only man who can help Jericho realize his dreams, Marx's sexy young wife, Darien, whose illicit love could become Jericho's downfall, U.S. Chef d'Equip Chuck Frankel, the closest thing to a father figure Jericho has ever known, hunk bartender Trevor Braeden, Jericho's friend and rival, and the indomitable stallion Chasseur de Lion, an alluring yet potentially fatal challenge to Jericho's considerable horsemanship. Jericho must maneuver his way through a hazardous maze of violence, corruption, and seduction if he is to fulfill his aspirations at the World Equestrian Games. The adventures of Jericho Brandeis, full of passion, promise, and turmoil, will thrill all lovers of horses and of adventure and romance.

618 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2005

Reviews

[Blondish And Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

In & Out is wonderfully trashy and compulsively readable. It is about as far from literature as you can get, yet impossible to put down. It invites obvious comparisons with Jilly Cooper's Riders series, and fans of Riders will probably enjoy this book. Jericho Brandeis is a brash, temperamental, gifted rider. His strength and skill let him take on the horses that are challenging or even dangerous. He trains hunters and jumpers for the wealthy on the Florida circuit, while bringing along his own horses. The story starts with Jericho riding Monterrey, a potential Olympic horse, whose owners require a lot of attention (and butt-kissing!), as well as Jericho buying a rank, unruly mare with a huge heart and a huge jump (and a huge head). The rich owners use their money to manipulate things, they jump from trainer to trainer, while the trainers try to keep the horses into which they've put so much time and effort—and maybe to acquire a few more owners that aren't happy with their current trainer! Jericho seems to be irresistable to women, which causes problems of its own. One of the best things is that the author is clearly very familiar with horses, the things that the horses do ring true for the most part—and there are lots of horses and lots of detailed horse action.

As far as the bad: Jericho is aggravating to read about much of the time because he's constantly losing his temper and overhearing some part of a conversation and then over reacting to it. Makes you want to grab him and shake him and remind him that he has to be an adult, and in real life having temper tantrums all.the.time is not the way to succeed. Also, he never talks or speaks, he is always snarling or purring or growling or stalking a gazelle (whoops, not that last part). Ok, we get it, he's apparently like a...tiger or something.

(Warning: some spoilers in this paragraph!) The other annoying thing about Jericho is that he is constantly meeting women who are either cheating on their husbands or who are pretty much complete sluts, then he instantly falls in love with them, then he's surprised and hurt when they turn out to be cheating sluts. The first woman is picked up in a bar by his roommate and sleeps with him—then later that same night Jericho has sex with her. Then he falls in love and is later shocked to find out that she's married. Really? Because she seemed so demure?? Then he has an affair with the wife of one of his owners and gets all hurt when she won't leave her rich husband to run off with him (Dude, she married for money and slept with the horse trainer—she might NOT be a “nice girl”!)

Overall—the book is a super fun read, it's so trashy it's almost embarrassing to admit enjoying it, but I do! I actually reread it periodically and enjoy it every time (generally when I'm up at night on foal-watch each Spring). A guilty pleasure, and one I highly recommend.

Edited on 8/31/19 to add: I just reread this again. It's as far from literature as it's possible to be, yet it's addictive and soooo fun to read. I wish the author would write the sequel (it's listed as Book 1). Now I'm off to read something highbrow so I can pretend I'm an intellectual...

[April Callis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with how to rate this book. Because the negatives are huge - the main character is a misogynist, several parts are blatantly homophobic, and the women in the novel generally show up to throw themselves at the main character. Plus the writing is often terrible, the plot is often unrealistic, and there is a surprise "pro-life" argument thrown in for fun.

That said, the horse characters in this novel are phenomenal. Honestly, I love QL more than any other horse character ever. Each horse has a personality, and the author does a phenomenal job describing riding, stadium jumping, horse training, etc. When the main character is jumping a course it's like you're riding one yourself - you understand every turn he's taking, and you get a feel for how each horse will approach the jumps.

So basically the book itself is terrible, but I've read it multiple times because of how much I love the horses. Plot/human characters = 0, equine characters = 5.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hands-down the trashiest book I have EVER read, and I know from trashy books. Jericho Brandeis is the sleaziest, nastiest, sketchiest rider on the hunter-jumper circuit...and everyone adores him, but everyone. Women fawn over him and instantly lose their personalities in his presence. The fiercest horses become his lap-dogs. He wins every bar fight he enters. Patrons buy him wildly expensive horses on a whim. The US Chef d'Equipe (please note the correct spelling, unlike the author's usage) gives him a second, third, fourth, fifth chance...actually, I lost count of how many times Jericho was a complete asshole and someone thought it was charming.

It would've been a much better, and shorter, book if Jericho had been hit by a fourteen-wheeler five pages in and the author had followed the lives of the decent, honest, hardworking, and NICE people who got to benefit from his grisly, painful death. (Sequel, anyone?)

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book (I can easily ignore bad writing) except for a few problems:

Ace can be really bad for stallions. Although, I guess criminals wouldn't care.

Belgium (the country) has 3 official languages (Dutch, French & German) NONE OF WHICH ARE "BELGIUM" BECAUSE THAT IS NOT A LANGUAGE! Sigh, she must have mentioned 5 times "they were speaking Belgium"

I could have done without the abortion business. A women has a right to chose (in this country at least) so let it go. Even if it was your kid, sorry dude but you have no say until it's born.

[Jewel_louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this book just about every six months. It's such a refreshing read for equestrian adults. Jericho is a arrogant, egotistical, and a huge jerk but also you can't help but to love him. He is the stereotypical equestrian guy who just so happens to be good enough and talented enough to be successful. I love every bit of him. Now I am just waiting on a sequel or more books to come!