REVIEW: Murphy’s Law by Sandy James

Seth Remington had a fortune at his fingertips, but something was missing in his life. Purpose.

Knowing he has one last chance to redeem his son, terminally ill Sterling Remington rewrites his will. To earn his inheritance, his son Seth must labor as a groom for a horse trainer.

Katie Murphy's orderly existence is turned upside down by Sterling Remington's will. Raised on hard work and dedicated to her harness racing stable, Katie agrees to take Seth on as a groom. How can she ever fulfill the challenge of instilling a work ethic in Seth and still keep her faltering stable running?

Kept at arm's length by the strict terms of Sterling's will, Seth and Katie are forced to struggle with their growing attraction until a devastating racing accident forces them to take a hard look at their relationship. How much is he willing to risk for her love?

Title: Murphy’s Law (Damaged Heroes, #1)
Author: Sandy James
Format: eBook
Genre: contemporary romance
Source: review copy
Published: February 2009 by Siren Publishing
Buy the book: Amazon
Find the author online: website | twitter | facebook


Why I Read this Book: Had it not been for the author asking me to review Murphy’s Law, I might not have ever known about this book. It would have been a sad, sad thing to have missed out on reading this book. One thing that stood out for me when I read the blurb was the equestrian element. I am very fond of horses. I absolutely loved them growing up; we used to go horseback riding every year for my birthday.

What I Liked: The writing style came off naturally. It didn’t seemed forced or like the author was trying too hard. It flowed fluidly and just felt natural. The author used her experience and expertise in harness racing and incorporated into the story. The characters were real and came to life right off the page, everyone from the main characters to the secondary characters. I hated Rachel! That woman really drove me crazy. I would love to get the back story on Samantha and Brian.

I loved the complexity of the will and the possible ramifications that would effect Seth and Katie should the will be breached. Sterling wanted his son to know what it was like to have purpose in life and he did everything he could to help make that happen. Sterling thought of everything when he re-wrote his will and there’s clause after clause in the will to prove it. In the end, Seth was in quite a predicament and there was a lot at stake for him. He had a life-altering decision to make and I was on edge waiting to see how things were going to play out!

What I Didn’t Like: Part of the storyline was a bit predicable but I still really enjoyed reading it to see for myself whether or not my intuition was right. Also, the people on the cover are not how I envisioned Seth and Katie. However, I do like the harnessed horse being included in the background.

Overall Impression: It’s been a little over a week since I’ve finished reading Murphy’s Law and I still can’t stop thinking about Seth and Katie! I could have (and would have liked to) finished this book in one sitting, if life’s little interruptions hadn’t gotten in the way. I got irked every time I had to put this book down. Murphy’s Law is a great contemporary romance read, one I enjoyed reading immensely. As soon as I’m all caught up with my review requests, I’m definitely going to read the rest of the Damaged Heroes series.

The Book Vixen’s Rating: