Dun Lady's Jess is a nice book with quite an original concept. When Carey is pursued by enemies, he invokes a spell that transports him to our world. His horse, Dun Lady's Jess, comes along with him, but due to some strange quirk in the spell, she is transformed into a woman. Particularly in the first half, we get to see the world through Jess' eyes, trying to learn human behavior. Her little horsey mannerisms are well done, and in general, Jess is a very nice character. She is not perfect or all powerful, but she deals with her transformation quite well, becoming more her own woman as time goes by.

I have to say, the other aspects of the book were rather mediocre. Sure, there are some ok side characters in the book. Particularly Jaime, the owner of a riding school and Jess' host for most of her time on Earth, is sympathetic and turns out to be quite brave as well. Carey is a bit of an ass. Ok, I'm sure I could come up with some excuses for him, but quite frankly, I don't feel like it. No matter how much Dun Lady's Jess might have liked his voice when she was his horse, he is quite simply nothing special. Same goes pretty much for the other characters, even the sympathetic ones. As for the worlds, well, Earth is Earth, and the other world is ok, but again, somewhat mediocre. The magic is nothing special, the society is nothing special. If it weren't for Dun Lady's Jess, this book would be boring, despite the fact that it is an easy read. Fortunately, though, it does have Dun Lady's Jess, and she makes up for quite a bit. Overall, nothing brilliant, but highly entertaining with an original character. You could do worse... ( )

This is a beautiful fantasy. One that's you want to curl up and read if you, or anyone you know, once wanted to be a horse. There is magic, shapeshifting, a traveling between lands. My second book by Doranna Durgin and rest assured not my last. 💜 ( )

This story features another world, parallel to ours, that has magic.... where anything done with magic can be felt by other people with magical abilities- and intercepted by magic as well. To avoid that, important items are written down and carried by couriers on horses. When the book opens, a new and possibly dangerous spell is being taken on horseback from a magician's hold to his ruler- and the courier gets attacked by men who want the spell for someone else. In the confusion of a fight, the courier invokes a charm that should protect him- it does, by magically transporting him and his horse to our world.

His horse is somehow turned into a woman. Two people walking in the woods find her there alone and unconscious, naked except for the horse's tack, saddle and blanket. They take her home intending to call authorities in the morning. But after arguing about it, decide she has suffered some kind of trauma and they'd rather help her personally, than see her locked up by police or committed to an insane asylum. She still has the mind of a horse, so she acts very strangely for a person. She has a limited use of language, which gets better with some practice. Once over her shock, she is very anxious to find the man who was her courier- but it so happens that his attacker was also transported to our world. So the horse-woman gets her new friends involved in trying to find the courier and help him return to his own world, while evading "the bad guys"...

Hardest to get around were the poorly-written characters- human characters, that is. The horse-turned-woman is very convincing. In fact, she's the best aspect of the entire book, and the main thing that kept me reading. The author obviously knows horses, and her idea of how an animal suddenly transformed into a person might think and behave was excellently done. But the other people in the story often had me baffled.... and their personalities did not stand out well- in fact, I didn't even care when one of the main group got killed. The two main villains were unbelievable as well- their statements and actions often didn't make sense. Parts of the storyline that had to do with conflict between the courier's side and "the bad guys" in the other world really started to bore me, so much that I almost quit halfway. However the description of this alternate, magical reality was interesting, and the details about horses so well done that I'm considering reading the sequel- although prepared to roll my eyes at what the people say and do, and just pay attention to the animals in it, haha.

It's overall kind of an odd mix. Parts of this book feel like an action/thriller, parts like urban fantasy, and then it starts to lean towards being a romance as well. Not strongly any one thing- except for the horses.

more at the Dogear Diary ( )

I received a copy of this book through the LT Early Reviewers program.

A really intriguing premise, likeable characters and a story written with real skill, this was a thought-provoking yet lighthearted adventure. Accurate descriptions of horses, their behaviour and life at a barn were a special delight to me, all the more so as they are a bit unusual for a fantasy book.

World-building and characterisation were a bit less advanced on the magical world, but that's easy to forgive because in this particular case, as a reader you want to concentrate more on the unusual protagonist and the development of her friends anyway. I especially liked the shifting between POV characters and grew very fond of Jaime.

If I have anything negative to say, it would be about the hinted at romance aspect - the premise is wonderfully complicated enough without needing that "compulsory" element at all.

I'm glad to see there are more stories set in the same world and hope to read them some day. ( )

You would have been hard-pressed to convince me that a book about a horse who magically becomes a woman could make me suspend my disbelief long enough to read it and yet that's exactly what Doranna Durgin managed to accomplish.

And how, exactly, to you imbue a horse/woman with the manners and thoughts that a horse might have? Again, Doranna Durgin managed to do it without me disbelieving the actions and thoughts and communications of the newly created woman.

I imagine this book would delight any pre-teen or teen who is in love with horses and who might spend many hours at the barn working with her beloved friends. Best read while sitting on a hay bale, tucked into a corner, perhaps with a gentle rain on the barn roof, the glorious smell of warm horses in the air... or just at home, tucked into a comfy chair, imagining the smells and dimly lit aisles of the barn. It's a girl's book for sure. ( )