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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cant really give this 5 stars because it’s a seriously heavy and dark topic...but this book was one of the best equine based books I’ve read in a long time.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dark Horses is a page turner but you will have trouble at times continuing to read it. A very well written novel about a very dark subject.
Roan Montgomery is a 15 year old equestrian with olympic ambitions. Her father a famous equestrian and medalist is her coach. He's always been her coach. He has high hopes for Roan's future and he controls every aspect of her life from social media to how she dresses. He always has. Everyone says how lucky she is that he cares so much. Her mother hates her for her relationship with her father and spares no words letting her know that she doesn't nor has she ever loved Roan. All Roan wants is for him to leave her alone. She knows that their relationship is inappropriate. She knows that she has to listen to daddy or else.
Again a hard read and unspeakable subject but very well written. Roan saves the story with her strength of character as she becomes her own person away from her daddy.
I wasn't real happy with the ending which rang a little rushed and too easy but still a good read and I look forward to reading her again.
Roan Montgomery is a 15 year old equestrian with olympic ambitions. Her father a famous equestrian and medalist is her coach. He's always been her coach. He has high hopes for Roan's future and he controls every aspect of her life from social media to how she dresses. He always has. Everyone says how lucky she is that he cares so much. Her mother hates her for her relationship with her father and spares no words letting her know that she doesn't nor has she ever loved Roan. All Roan wants is for him to leave her alone. She knows that their relationship is inappropriate. She knows that she has to listen to daddy or else.
Again a hard read and unspeakable subject but very well written. Roan saves the story with her strength of character as she becomes her own person away from her daddy.
I wasn't real happy with the ending which rang a little rushed and too easy but still a good read and I look forward to reading her again.
At times I truly hated this story and wondered why I kept going... the subject matter was just so horrific. It made me genuinely uncomfortable. I'm not going to "rate" it b/c I don't want my problem with the topic to ding the author's stats.
**edit
Apparently I have to rate it for the algorithm to allow it to show in my "read" stats.
**edit
Apparently I have to rate it for the algorithm to allow it to show in my "read" stats.
Dark Horses is a piercing debut about a young girl who has unshakeable dreams all while experiencing frightening levels of violence.
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I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and urge you to look at the CW’s for this book before picking it up. The publisher had some at the beginning which I strongly appreciated! This book took me quite some time to read and I honestly believe the book necessitates it. The content is not ‘easy’ and the writing is so straightforward that it was difficult to read about Roan’s experiences. It felt like I was being told outright what she was going through, and immediately after being told how I should feel about that moment. I like when a book allows the reader to really ponder what just happened, and what they think about it. I was brought to tears multiple times and had to sit the book down repeatedly because it was incredibly difficult to read.
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This book is not just one traumatic scene after another. Just like Roan’s life, it is interspersed with her passion: horseback riding. I learned so much about horses and found the competitions to be extremely engaging! Roan’s spirit and love for horses shone through the pages of the book and I was cheering her on through each and every competition. I don’t pretend to assert that there is an ‘ideal’ survivor or way to process trauma, but I found the ending of the book and Roan’s thought process about the “finale” of the book to be somewhat troubling. If you have read the book I’d love to discuss the ending with you! When I reached the second half of the book I couldn’t stop reading and needed to reach the end! Overall, I’d cautiously recommend this book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
CW: sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse, rape, death of an animal (non malicious), pedophilia, drug and alcohol abuse, body shaming, disordered eating
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and urge you to look at the CW’s for this book before picking it up. The publisher had some at the beginning which I strongly appreciated! This book took me quite some time to read and I honestly believe the book necessitates it. The content is not ‘easy’ and the writing is so straightforward that it was difficult to read about Roan’s experiences. It felt like I was being told outright what she was going through, and immediately after being told how I should feel about that moment. I like when a book allows the reader to really ponder what just happened, and what they think about it. I was brought to tears multiple times and had to sit the book down repeatedly because it was incredibly difficult to read.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is not just one traumatic scene after another. Just like Roan’s life, it is interspersed with her passion: horseback riding. I learned so much about horses and found the competitions to be extremely engaging! Roan’s spirit and love for horses shone through the pages of the book and I was cheering her on through each and every competition. I don’t pretend to assert that there is an ‘ideal’ survivor or way to process trauma, but I found the ending of the book and Roan’s thought process about the “finale” of the book to be somewhat troubling. If you have read the book I’d love to discuss the ending with you! When I reached the second half of the book I couldn’t stop reading and needed to reach the end! Overall, I’d cautiously recommend this book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
CW: sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse, rape, death of an animal (non malicious), pedophilia, drug and alcohol abuse, body shaming, disordered eating
Dark Horses is a piercing debut about a young girl who has unshakeable dreams all while experiencing frightening levels of violence.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and urge you to look at the CW’s for this book before picking it up. The publisher had some at the beginning which I strongly appreciated! This book took me quite some time to read and I honestly believe the book necessitates it. The content is not ‘easy’ and the writing is so straightforward that it was difficult to read about Roan’s experiences. It felt like I was being told outright what she was going through, and immediately after being told how I should feel about that moment. I like when a book allows the reader to really ponder what just happened, and what they think about it. I was brought to tears multiple times and had to sit the book down repeatedly because it was incredibly difficult to read.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is not just one traumatic scene after another. Just like Roan’s life, it is interspersed with her passion: horseback riding. I learned so much about horses and found the competitions to be extremely engaging! Roan’s spirit and love for horses shone through the pages of the book and I was cheering her on through each and every competition. I don’t pretend to assert that there is an ‘ideal’ survivor or way to process trauma, but I found the ending of the book and Roan’s thought process about the “finale” of the book to be somewhat troubling. If you have read the book I’d love to discuss the ending with you! When I reached the second half of the book I couldn’t stop reading and needed to reach the end! Overall, I’d cautiously recommend this book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
CW: sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse, rape, death of an animal (non malicious), pedophilia, drug and alcohol abuse, body shaming, disordered eating
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and urge you to look at the CW’s for this book before picking it up. The publisher had some at the beginning which I strongly appreciated! This book took me quite some time to read and I honestly believe the book necessitates it. The content is not ‘easy’ and the writing is so straightforward that it was difficult to read about Roan’s experiences. It felt like I was being told outright what she was going through, and immediately after being told how I should feel about that moment. I like when a book allows the reader to really ponder what just happened, and what they think about it. I was brought to tears multiple times and had to sit the book down repeatedly because it was incredibly difficult to read.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is not just one traumatic scene after another. Just like Roan’s life, it is interspersed with her passion: horseback riding. I learned so much about horses and found the competitions to be extremely engaging! Roan’s spirit and love for horses shone through the pages of the book and I was cheering her on through each and every competition. I don’t pretend to assert that there is an ‘ideal’ survivor or way to process trauma, but I found the ending of the book and Roan’s thought process about the “finale” of the book to be somewhat troubling. If you have read the book I’d love to discuss the ending with you! When I reached the second half of the book I couldn’t stop reading and needed to reach the end! Overall, I’d cautiously recommend this book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
CW: sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse, rape, death of an animal (non malicious), pedophilia, drug and alcohol abuse, body shaming, disordered eating
This is definitely not a book for everyone. There are some really difficult topics and it may be triggering to some. But with that being said I did find the book very compelling and well written. You truly get inside Roan's head and you feel her pain and her struggles throughout the entire novel.
Thus book was at times almost painful to read. 15 Roan does not in any circumstances have an happy family, even though it might seem like that from the outside. Being a child prology in horse riding and being a teenager should have been enough. But with her mom being very distans from her and her very abusive and controlling father, she has to much on her plate. I was so angry at times that she had to live with such worthless parents. The book truly tucked on my emotions and I couldn't stop reading. Had to know what was going to happen to Roan in the end. Higly recommend this book but a big warning for child mental/sexual abuse. It's not an easy read
BIG CONTENT WARNING ON THIS ONE. Beautifully written, but hard to read. Hard to recommend to people just due to the graphic and sensitive content.