Sometimes, when you doubt yourself enough, when the world at large seems to not want you to succeed, the Fates give you a smack in the back of the head, a la Jethro Tibbs in NCIS.
I received a copy of the book “Wheeler” in return for an honest review. When I read the description about the book I will admit I was a bit hesitant to read it as I am not the most sports minded person and know next to nothing about women’s cycling but I was intrigued by the synopsis and decided to give it a go. Wow! I was not disappointed. This well written debut novel has a little of everything…sports, romance, personal tragedy… and it was a real page turner!
When you are introduced to the protagonist, professional cyclist Loren Mackenzie, it is the middle of the racing season. During a training run she has a flat tire. Graham Atherton, the famous good looking and sexy actor, comes to her rescue and a romantic relationship ensues. As Atherton woos her with quotes from Shakespeare, Loren travels across Europe with her team and demonstrates the limits to which she pushes her body to win. Loren struggles physically to hang on and is forced to confront the horrors of her past.
Sara Zalesky demonstrates the depth of her of cycling knowledge and does a great job of balancing that detail with romance and suspense. The added bits of Shakespeare and French are fun and give an authentic feel to the European locations. I look forward to reading a second “Wheeler” book.
I was honestly floored when this appeared this afternoon. I’ve been more than discouraged of late as promotion/marketing of the book has been difficult, to say the least.
Not everyone is going to love it and it will never be perfect in my eyes. But, I’ll hang my hat on this opinion (after I fix the few boo boos she found).
When I hit 50 reviews, perhaps I’ll feel justified in having a book signing. HAHAHAHA
Wheeler 