Rating: 
Summary: An okay story, but...
Review: ...not for those who have not read the previous series -- the Texas and Vegas series. I haven't read those books, and I suddenly felt that there were all these unknown characters thrown in the mix more than half-way through. It was very confusing!The other problem I had with this book was the multiple plots and climaxes. Nealy's young, the Kentucky Derby is a big deal, that whole story line climaxes and is resolved in a few pages. On to the next, and the next, and the next. All the characters end up being underdeveloped and shallow, sometimes doing things you wouldn't expect (would her daughter REALLY have hidden out for a week after the problem on the cruise? It just doesn't fit the character!). The story was interesting, but there were just too many flaws. I won't be returning for the rest of this trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: Colemans and Thorntons the never ending saga goes on!
Review:
In another great narrative chronology, Fern Michaels weaves the saga of the Coleman-Thornton families into Kentucky and the arena of thoroughbred horseracing. If you've read the Texas and Vegas series, you'll love becoming acquainted with - Nealy Coleman Diamond, a woman who, with incredible luck and lots of hard work, has succeeded in the man's world of thoroughbred racing.
With her usual superb storytelling style, Fern Michaels's plot is believably straightforward in its portrayal of women and men in the thoroughbred-racing world. She weaves passion, power, greed, ruthless games, dysfunctional families, and cruelty of the human spirit into a compelling tale with a cliffhanger ending that will have you eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Criticism about the setting's factual details of the horseracing world may or may not be well founded, but you have to remember -- it is a fictional story.
Kentucky Heat lacks in-depth character development and skims over long passages of time, but the plot twists will keep you turning the pages. The introduction of multiple characters from the Texas and Las Vegas tales may be problematic for those readers unfamiliar with the previous series, but enough backstory places the characters for the reader. All in all, it's classic Fern Michaels and an entertaining read.
Rating: 
Summary: Vastly Overrated
Review: After hearing about what a great author Fern Michaels was I read Kentucky Rich and was VERY dissapointed. The characters are one dimensional and even though a lot of things happen in the book there is no real plot to speak of. Characters she has introduced in such a way as to make them seem important are killed off randomly and the book jumps around so much that you never really settle in to the story. Also, the book clearly leans on her earlier books. If you are like me and haven't read them you realize this book cannot stand alone. The only reason to read it is if you are so attached to her earlier books that you can't bear to let go of the characters. I'll skip any further books by Fern Michaels after this disaster.
Rating:
Summary: Kentucky Rich
Review: As a professional in the thoroughbred racing and breeding industry, I was horrified at the inaccuracies and absurdities portrayed in this book. Ms. Michaels has the ability to tell a tale, but displays a serious lack of knowledge about racing and breeding. The story line is totally implausible from a racing perspective, and in fact violates the rules of racing in more than one aspect. True, this is a work of fiction, but more sophisticated readers expect real research on the part of the author, not Disneyesque fairy tales. More than once, scenes describing interactions between horses and humans were absurd and dangerous, particularly one where the heroine mounts a loose filly (a horse unknown to the rider) that is not wearing tack, and then proceeds to place a 2 year old child on the horse in front of her. Anyone in the horse business, racing or not, would have to cringe while reading this scene. There are numerous other scenes that display the author's lack of knowledge about the business. I have never read this author's work before,and was drawn to it because of its connections to the racing industry. I won't read any more of her work, because she obviously doesn't research her subjects.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating, heart-wrenching, passionate and fluid....
Review: As a strong, aggressive woman in the aviation world who owns Native Dancer bloodline horses I found this book worthy of applause.
The story was imaginable , in every sense of fictional fantasy ....fiercely portraying women and men with their horses -dreams of racing the Triple Crown, preparing foals for their 2 minutes of fame, passion, power, greed, cruelty to human spirit, ruthless games, dysfunctional families, love gone wrong, guarded hearts, miscommunication that paved new paths...............yes, this is an honest portrayal of life.
The saga stayed busy yet emotionally connected, fluid and dramatic showing the ultimate sides of unconditional love and riveting hatred intertwined.
I will be reading the entire trilogy and recommend this author and her works highly.
Comments refer to paperback version.
Rating:
Summary: Written for teenagers, not adults
Review: Despite enjoying some of Michaels' other books, I found this to be very disappointing. The entire plot is just too goody-goody and predictable. The caliber of writing is at about the 8th grade level, and the overall quality of this book in terms of plot, depth, and style is best for teenage readers.
Rating:
Summary: Learn about a subject before writing about it!
Review: Fern Michaels has obviously done very little research about the thoroughbred industry and racing. There are so many errors that they distract from the story. Examples: 1) The author describes a foaling stall as being "bigger than average, thirty square feet." That is the size of a closet! For a horse giving birth? 2) The Bluegrass Stakes are said to be run before 145,000 people. In fact, the race is run at Keeneland, a small track. Its website lists its record crowd as 38,501. 3) The author apparently thinks that Derby entrys are brought to the track on the morning of the race with no prior workouts on the track. 4) The author seems to have never been to a thoroughbred race. She has the track announcer at Churchill Downs droning on like we hear on TV. In fact, personal opinions broadcast over a track's PA would affect betting and would never be allowed. The list goes on and on. The book's cover says that this book ushers in "an extraordinary new trilogy." That makes three books you should skip.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Writer
Review: Fern Michaels is the best romance writer I've ever read. For those of you who like romance in a book but don't want to read about the sex details for 5 pages, this is the author for you. Fern Michaels has a way to make her characters come to life. You really feel like you involved in the story by feeling sympathy, happiness and sadness right along with the characters in her stories. The Kentucky series is a must have for any reader who loves a good romance story with a whole lot more.
Rating:
Summary: When Will Kentucky Rich be in Paperback
Review: I do not rate this book as yet because I would like to know when it come out in paperback and you do not say. Please, when will this book come out in paperback?
Rating:
Summary: Started off good...
Review: I got this book, Kentucky Rich, along with its sequel, Kentucky Heat, a few days ago and just finished the first book. It took awhile to get through and I ended up skimming a lot of it. The book starts off interesting, with a prologue about Nealy Coleman coming back to the home she was driven off of 30 years earlier to "dance" on her dying father's grave and to make him pay for mistreating her. The novel then goes to "part 1," which goes back 30 years to talk about how 17 year old Nealy and her 2 year old daughter ran away from home (at the urgings of her two brothers, Pyne and Rhy) and ended up at Blue Diamond Farms, where the owners, Maud and Jess, take them in. It follows Nealy's growing up and eventually taking over the farm. Part 2 is 30 years later, and starts with the prologue and Nealy's reunion with her brothers and dying father. This is where the book really starts to fall on its face. The plot here gets mind numbingly boring, even confusing at times when the author brings back dozens of characters from two of her other trilogies (which I have not read, so I am not familiar with them). Nealy as a herione is rather unlikeable. She's immature, even at the end as a 50-something year old woman. She's often cold and heartless. I couldn't garner any sympathy for her and her actions often made me say "What the heck??" The romance in this book is practically unmentioned. Nealy meets the hero in the first part of the book, barely interacts with him during the entire "part 1" and the two are married at the end. Part 2 opens with basically "Oh yeah, Hunt died and actually his and Nealy's relationship wasn't really love, he was having affairs and didn't deserve her." Uhh... what??! It's also obvious that Fern Michaels knows practically nothing about horses. Being a horsewoman myself, I laughed out loud at some of the ridiculous scenes in this book. Some other reviewers have mentioned them as well - one of my favorite idiotic scenes is when Nealy wants the stallion to witness the birth of his colt and have the three of them (stallion, mare and colt) become a "family." Sorry, but horses are not people. While I believe they feel affection, they don't form "families" in the way that people do. Also, the author seemed to have a lot of trouble putting the plot together. It jumped around so much it was jarring to read. One example is when Nealy meets a guy that some of her friends are trying to set her up with. He starts off by telling her that a woman's place is in the kitchen and not on a horse (which of course makes her mad). Eventually he apologizes and they make up. Cut, next chapter begins. It's several months later and Nealy hates his guts because they were supposed to have a date and he stood her up. What the heck?? She also makes a big deal out of certain events.. like a hundred pages leading up to a big race - a race so important because it was her promise to the dying Maud that the horse win - then spends one short paragraph on the race itself. Overall, I wasn't very impressed with this book. The main character is unsympathetic, poorly written and unlikeable. There is practically no romance in the book - and what romance IS there is completely unrealistic. Research is important, and its obvious the author either didn't do her research on horses and racing, or just decided to disregard the facts. So I give it 2 stars.
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