I have really enjoyed this series, Racetrack Royalty is book #4 in the Merindah Park series, Merindah Park (#1), Making Her Mark (#2), and Two Hearts Healing (#3) are all worth taking the time to read. 

In Racetrack Royalty, the family has flown to the UK for the Royal Ascot races due to their horse Biographical being in two of the races and Shannon, our leading man has been asked to stay on board as his trainer. Shannon has always been a bit different from his siblings and the way he interacts with people is a little different too. His family has always said 'he likes horses better than people'. It isn't until he meets Ananya on the train to the racecourse one morning, that he starts to look at this quirk of his in a different way. Ananya has an uncanny ability to really 'get' him, something no one else has ever done, and Shannon and his family want her to stay around. 

Shannon and Ananya's 'relationship' begins very suddenly when they start chatting on the train and it goes full speed ahead after he asks her to stay around in the members' area with him and his family. While the relationship did move super fast, and Ananya made decisions that were completely out of character for her, I really enjoyed the way these two interacted and I loved that Shannon had finally found someone he felt comfortable with and who understood him. Shannon has always been there for his siblings so it was extra nice to see him find some happiness. 

Ananya has a young nephew on the autism spectrum and she tentatively broaches this with Shannon. His reaction is exactly what you would expect at first, but after he starts doing some research, he starts to feel like maybe he isn't that strange after all. This is one of the benefits of having a label for a disability or a behaviour quirk. I know when I was diagnosed with ADD as an adult, it made me feel like I wasn't stupid or lazy after all and I really wished it had been picked up as I was going through school. While I don't let it define me, it was great to have an understanding of the way I was. Shannon is the same, this knowledge doesn't define him, but it does give him some peace and understanding and will hopefully allow his family to better understand him too. 

Ananya and Shannon have to overcome many challenges if they want this fledgling relationship to go somewhere. Ananya is from a very different background, both financially and culturally, with her family coming from Bangledesh, on top of that, they both live in different countries and have different things that make them happy. There was a lot going on here and there were plenty of things to deal with and misunderstandings to get through, but I enjoyed every bit of it leading up to Shannon getting his happy ever after. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for a digital copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

While publishing is very America-centric, I’m always interested to find authors located outside the US, especially when they work with non-American publishers. And in the case of Racetrack Royalty, I got a sense of the local culture, with Dahlia paying tribute to the indigenous Eora Nation, as she noted in the acknowledgments.

And this book focusing on the Royal Ascot in Australia, with both the leads being involved with horses is super fun, and one of several aspects where the book used real world information to create an entertaining story.

I did like both Shannon and Ananya for the most part, and enjoyed seeing them bond over their shared interest. And the exploration of both of their family dynamics, especially hers, given her family is from Bangladesh, is well done, and is one of the better parts of the book for me.

However, this is a case where I wish I had done a bit more research prior to requesting based on the blurb and what I knew about the author from social media, since, had I been told it was high heat earlier (or done more research), I may have reconsidered. And while I’m not opposed to high heat when done well, the inclusion of the sex here felt awkward and just didn’t feel right for me, especially since, apart from bonding over horses, they barely know each other and I didn’t finish the book feeling like this was a couple who had a firm foundation for a lasting relationship.

There is a lot I like here, but perhaps this wasn’t the best place to start with Dahlia’s work due to my qualms with it. I do recommend it if you are more interested in high-heat contemporary romances, especially since there are several things it does do well.

A romance book with two main character with a lot of personality. Meeting on a train on their way to Royal Ascot Shannon a horse trainer meets Ananya a horse breeding fanatic. It ha schemisty, it has romance, it has family bonds, it’s has self discovery, it has tears laughs and hope.
I enjoyed reading this novel set between England and Australia. A great selection of multiple character. I read it as a stand alone but I think maybe even would have enjoyed it more reading the rest of the series first.
Thank you for my ARC.

This book was a rich mixture of several plots, any one of which would have been sufficient for a great romance. All together, I was really drawn into this story and enjoyed entering into this world.

The title doesn’t really capture all that there is to this book. Ananya has a deep, passionate interest in her hobby of reading about the pedigrees of racehorses. She comes from a working-class Bangladeshi family in London and every year she saves up her money to attend the Royal Ascot races.

This year she happens to sit next to Shannon Bassett, the trainer for a horse racing in England for the first time. Shannon comes from an Australian family devoted to raising and training horses. Shannon is immediately attracted to Ananya for her passion and knowledge about horses. And she’s attracted to him.

As they spend the week together, their attraction deepens into real love and understanding plus their sexual attraction. And Ananya comes to realize that the social awkwardness and discomfort that Shannon demonstrates around others indicates that he, like her nephew, is on the autistic spectrum. Shannon is thrilled to get an explanation for why he interacts with the world differently.

With the introduction of this element into their romance, the story really jumped up a notch beyond the book that I thought I was going to be reading. The author portrays Shannon with sensitivity and insights that become understandable from her afterward explaining about autism in her own family.

Another aspect that gave depth to the story was Ananya’s views as a member of a minority community. She has a loving family who mean everything to her. They just don’t understand her interest in horses or why she hasn’t married some nice Bangladeshi guy. I enjoyed reading her interactions with her family and then Shannon’s when he meets them.

This was a great read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.