Clara hat ihre Karriere als Springreiterin aufgegeben. Sie studiert Tiermedizin. Matthias Meischberger ist immer noch ihre große Liebe, aber leider sehen sie sich nicht sehr häufig, denn Matthias wurde inzwischen mit Claras Pferd Aimée ins deutsche Springreiterteam aufgenommen und muss hart trainieren.
In den Semesterferien absolviert Clara ein Praktikum bei York Nösse, einem erfahrenen Tiermediziner, der unter anderem auch das Gestüt Hannover-Wildburg medizinisch betreut. Als Firebird, ein edler Hengst aus diesem Gestüt, sich bei einem Springturnier schwer verletzt, ist Clara die einzige, die davon überzeugt ist, dass der Hengst wieder gesund werden kann. Sie opfert jede freie Minute, um ihn zu pflegen, und sie schafft es tatsächlich. Nun setzt sie sich in den Kopf, Firebird ein Comeback im internationalen Springsport zu ermöglichen.
Niemand glaubt, dass ihr das gelingen wird. Bis auf den jungen Tierarzt Klaus-Peter Graubner, der von der selbstbewussten, hübschen Clara sehr angetan ist. Er will Clara helfen …
The Cover
They just can’t get the horses right, can they? Firebird looks like an Arabian although he’s supposed to be a Hanoverian and they don’t have a dished head. The mane is once again awfully long (I love long manes but they just don’t exist in professional show jumping), plus, he’s supposed to be a chestnut.
The Background
This is the companion to Clara und das Glück dieser Erde. I think the story of this one is not part of the ZDF Christmas TV series, but I’m not sure since I haven’t watched that series yet. After the first novel, I was quite wary about this one. Well, what can I say, this book drove me crazy … as indicated by all the swearing. I’m terribly sorry but I just had to vent my emotions.
The Story
Time has passed and Clara studies to become a vet. She’s still got her own horse but has quit jumping. She’s still together with Matthias, who rides her horse in international competitions. This premise is actually quite interesting. I really enjoyed reading about Clara’s internship at the vet’s and her caring for Firebird. At least part of the time. Once again, this book would have gotten a much better rating if it weren’t for the characters.
The Characters
I just … no, no, no, no! I thought the first one was bad characterwise but they all go downhill from there:
Protagonist Clara still has her very own head. Unfortunately, she’s just so erratic, I can’t handle her. First she’s given up riding and concentrates on becoming a vet. Then suddenly she decides she wants to give that horse a great comeback and totally ignores her studies – just to change her mind when it doesn’t work out the way she wants to and desperately tries to pick up the pieces of her semester at uni. She also treats her best friend like crap, although she’s super helpful.
Her mother has actually improved a lot from the first novel and is mostly bearable up to quite nice and friendly. Her father, on the other hand, has taken a turn for the worse. What the hell, if you have a father like this, you really don’t need any enemies! Greatest asshole in the world award definitely goes to him.
And since I’m handing out awards: Matthias gets the one for worst boyfriend ever. He’s such an egoistic dick, I can’t believe Clara’s even considering him. Although Clara gave him Aimée, she’s still her horse and he can’t just decide over Clara’s head. Every time he sees his career threatened by Clara, he’s such a dick to her. He doesn’t understand her at all and only wants the best for himself. Just no! If I were Clara, I’d thrown a temper tantrum and launched him into outer space.
Trainer Heinrich is still kind of weird. One page, I really like him because he looks out for Clara, the next he does something that really makes me want to slap him. He also doesn’t really get her, but at least he’s not being an ass.
There were a couple of nice characters like the internship vet, the owner of the stable, and the vet hinted at in the blurb. Oh, and the horses were classy and great. Of course. What would we do without the horses?!
