Rough Magic

Think the next Educated or Wild. Palmer’s memoir of beating the odds to become a horse champion is an inspiring saga of perseverance — and a classic underdog tale.

Entertainment Weekly

Prior-Palmer's style is a fascinating mix of pep and poignancy. A really terrific story by a spirited new voice.

Sara Baume

[Prior-Palmer's] gorgeous, sensual depiction of this race is a literary marvel; it feels like you are riding alongside her across the desolate steppes; her verbal acuity makes vivid the most elusive of landscapes; her triumph becomes ours.

NYLON

Absolutely riveting.

Buzzfeed

Filled with soulful self-reflection and race detail, this fast-paced page-turner is a thrill ride from start to finish.

Publishers Weekly

Feisty and exhilarating . . . Horse lovers will adore this inspiring and spirited memoir.

Kirkus Reviews

In this sensual, spiritual memoir, Prior-Palmer recounts her grueling journey through immense physical hardship, and her surprising transformation from underdog to champion

Esquire

Prior-Palmer may be a gifted equestrian, but also she’s a born writer. . . . The journey, told through Prior Palmer’s voice, would’ve been interesting even without the satisfaction of victory

Refinery 29

Prior-Palmer writes with a dash and boldness few writers possess. . . Her narrative alchemy is remarkable

NPR

An astonishing and hair-raising memoir that you, too, will race to finish.

Newsweek

A riot.

Metro

It’s the resistance to the obvious narratives that makes Rough Magic so appealing: the book undermines lazy women-in-the-wilderness tropes at every turn.

Sarah Moss, Guardian

Rough Magic is transporting, beguiling and terrifically entertaining.

Daily Mail

Such an addictive and likeable book. It’s not really about horse riding. It’s about female nonconformity and a desire to plug into the thrills and torments of existence *****

The Telegraph

A heroic tale beautifully told

TLS