So after rereading the entire Canterwood Crest series for the first time in like 7 years, my biggest thoughts from it are….

Heather Fox is mean girl turned frenemy turned friend done right! And of course, she easily becomes the most interesting one.

Alison should have gotten more content… No reason in particular, I just liked her. Also totally crackship her with Eric. I also crackship Eric with Brit. I just want Eric with someone.

I thought Eric and Sasha was a much much better couple than Sasha and Jacob. I mean Eric cared so much and he was a wonderful boyfriend and a good friend too. Literally, that line when Sasha realized Eric made her smile, Eric made her feel good…

Jacob was such an ass after the break up. Especially dating her friend right after but willing to drop that friend just so he could ask Sasha out. Oh, oh and being unnecessarily jealous of Eric. Dude, Sasha wasn’t your girlfriend at the time, chill. Okay, okay he did redeem himself at the very end but I still like Eric so much better. Again, Eric deserves the best.

And I applaud Jessica Burkhart for including Cole, a gay character. I mean she never explicitly states it but the being bullied for being too feminine, liking fashion, naming his horse Valentino, you can draw the connection. Also the fact that she explicitly wrote, “Cole’s infectious energy always made me smile. We could talk about anything—horses, cute guys Cole was crushing on—and we always had fun” (Famous 42 if one wants to check for proof).. yeah. Its small but pretty big for 2013.

I liked Lauren as a protagonist more than Sasha. I appreciated Lauren for her maturity, her loyalty and her dedication to riding. (Though at times she was so mature it felt less like a 12 year old and more like a high schooler or even a college student, she was that eloquent and mature about her friendship fights and empathy for others feelings) Also she had a better arc with how she was getting over her fear of jumping and her championship past. Sasha had her immature moments that I just wanted to face palm so hard plus her inferiority complex of her riding.

Which brings me to how Lauren idolizes Sasha. I can understand why since they came from the same stable. But when Lauren says Sasha was a blue ribbon rider who won so many championships… it felt like they were talking about a different person. Maybe it’s because Sasha had such a low view of her riding that it colored my opinion but I was surprised to hear Lauren and ALL her friends hold her in such high esteem as such a great rider when that title should be given to Heather and Britt and Callie who constantly showed well and were extremely dedicated. But then again, Sasha’s lesson at the end of the book was realizing that she was chosen for YENT because her riding was as accomplished as her teammates so I guess she’s a good rider too. It’s still so jarring.

So yeah, the series still holds up all these years and I’m interested to see how Burkhar’s writing has matured or changed since then as she brings a new series in the same universe, Saddlehill Academy.