Raising the Bar

I really enjoyed the story. Loved Destin and Tonio! A wonderful story of opposites attract and second chances. This was a quick, enjoyable read for any horse lover. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🐴🐎📚

Reviewed by Michael for Diverse Reader


Poor Destin! It totally sucks to be stuck in a bad situation. Especially when that situation isn’t one of your own making , and even worse when it was created by your own father and you’re responsible for the livelihoods of a bunch of other people.



You really couldn’t blame a guy for making one last ditch effort, one last Hail Mary, and make a decision that could potentially come back to bite him.



That’s pretty much what he’s forced to do when he’s left a horse ranch after his father dies, that has pretty much been run into financial ruin by some seriously frivolous purchases.



Like a Mazerati!



I mean, you can kind of forgive the guy for hiring a guy like Tonio, with some subtle prompting from his friend Al. Is that a set up I smell?



Tonio has kind of a well-earned bad boy rep.



As far as Destin is concerned, all hope for saving the ranch rest on the…hooves of his horse, appropriately named Black Sambuca.



Destin and Tonio are total opposites of each other. The former is rather uptight, proper, and even dresses…boring. You can’t blame the guy, though, he does have a business to run after all. Tonio, on the other hand, has a little more flash to him. Compared to Destin, whose signature look includes a pair of khakis, Tonio seems more comfortable with himself.



It’s a nice story of opposites attract. Sometimes when you have someone that sees things the complete opposite of you, there’s friction. And there’s a little between these guys. But the way Tonio throws himself into training Sam (the horse), it’s kind of like he has something to prove. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to prove it to himself, Destin, or maybe both.



This was an enjoyable read, with very little angst. Unless you count horses that do not want to jump when their instructed to.

Raising the Bar by Leigh Dillon is part of Dreamspinner’s States of Love series. This book takes place in Virginia. I liked the storyline and the flow of the book. The book is only ninety-one pages long, so it’s a nice quick read, perfect for relaxing when you only have a couple of hours. Definitely recommended for people who enjoy opposites-attract storyline and problem show jumper horses. I happen to like both of those characteristics in a story, and I did enjoy reading this book. My only disappointment in the story is that I wish the author had stated what kind of horse Black Sambuca is. I would have liked to have known if he was a pure breed horse or a cross. Although since they’re planning to breed him, I would assume that he was a pureblood. But the author doesn’t mention what kind of horses the Bellingham’s were breeding. It would have helped with my visualization of what the horses on the farm looked like.

I liked Destin Bellingham. He’s inherited the family farm when his playboy father dies suddenly. Moving back from Boston, Destin finds that the family farm is about to go bankrupt. Destin may have grown up on the farm, but he’s out of his element trying to keep Bellmeade afloat. His only hope of putting Bellmeade back on the map, getting back their sponsors and saving the farm is his incredibly talented stallion, Black Sambuca. However, he first has to find somebody crazy enough to ride the powerful horse. I would have liked Destin more if he’d been a little more confident in his abilities. He grew up on this farm, but he acts like he has no idea how to run it or what needs to be done to keep it afloat. Tonio even mentions a lot of things that can be done to help keep them afloat while getting Sam where he needs to be in his jumping career but Destin isn’t willing to do any of them.

I really liked Tonio Benedetto. He’s on the smaller side with a wiry build, but he has a lot of personality. He also has an alcohol problem which he’s dealing with. For Tonio, alcohol makes him belligerent and for Destin, it’s almost a deal breaker after he takes Tonio to dinner on the first night that Tonio comes to evaluate Black Sambuca. But I liked how Tonio realizes that he messed up and promises that it won’t happen again. I also liked that Tonio isn’t willing to give up on Black Sambuca. I also liked the chemistry between Tonio and Destin. He compliments Destin in areas where he lacks experience.

Overall Raising the Bar is a cute, fun, short novella about a show jumper rider and a show jumper breeder and owner and a black stallion that is too smart for his own good.