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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
"Dark Horses" is a hard book to read as well as a hard one to review. The subject matter is as dark as they come, and the novel is hard to put down.
Gifted equestrian Roan is fifteen. Her father and grandfather were Olympic champions, and now she is on the same path. Her father is demanding, controlling. She has no friends and barely notices until she meets a nice boy named Will and starts a friendship with him. As she grows older Roan has been pulling away from her father's orbit in the tiniest ways and with the harshest results--he kills a beloved pet, sells her favorite horse, threatens to fire employees she has come to love. Her mother has left, saying that she can no longer be a third wheel in the family. Because her father has trained her body in all ways, he tells her that she likes having sex with him. And because she now has a friend, he focuses his sights on Will.
Yes, this is tough stuff, and her father's methods of control are especially vile. I don't think I've ever read a book so upfront with and issue so disturbing. Don't stop reading though. The ending is not what you expect.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for approval to read this novel.
Gifted equestrian Roan is fifteen. Her father and grandfather were Olympic champions, and now she is on the same path. Her father is demanding, controlling. She has no friends and barely notices until she meets a nice boy named Will and starts a friendship with him. As she grows older Roan has been pulling away from her father's orbit in the tiniest ways and with the harshest results--he kills a beloved pet, sells her favorite horse, threatens to fire employees she has come to love. Her mother has left, saying that she can no longer be a third wheel in the family. Because her father has trained her body in all ways, he tells her that she likes having sex with him. And because she now has a friend, he focuses his sights on Will.
Yes, this is tough stuff, and her father's methods of control are especially vile. I don't think I've ever read a book so upfront with and issue so disturbing. Don't stop reading though. The ending is not what you expect.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for approval to read this novel.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. Could not put this book down. It covers a lot of hard hitting topics that are uncomfortable to read at a lot of times. I admire the strength of Roan and her resilience and bravery. It's impossible to not love her character development.
all i want is an adult horse book that is slightly dark and this is the second adult horse book in a year that has gotten all the horse stuff right but is just fully trauma porn conveyed with graphic scenes. the story was interesting and i will read more from this author, but a lot of this was gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous.
DARK HORSES by debut author Susan Mihalic is a book that necessitates a lot of trigger warnings. In fact, the ARC came with a cover over the real cover, warning readers of the delicate nature of the story. I’d read up on the book, so already knew what to expect, but for those of you unfamiliar with the book, the story involves incest in truly the worst possible way. (This is made clear very early on, so I’m giving nothing away.)
Knowing that, Dark Horses is a story of a teenage girl, on the brink of qualifying for the U.S. dressage Olympic team. Her father/ coach, an Olympian himself, is every bit as driven as she is and her mother is largely absent. Though I found parts of this story very uncomfortable, I also understand that things like this do happen, and I found much to like about Roan’s journey. I especially enjoyed learning about the sport of dressage and all that goes into it. (A horse made me cry!) I liked the relationships between Roan and several of the side characters and appreciated this as a much more intense coming-of-age story than you typically read. If I were to change one bit it would be the ending. I thought it was just a little too neat and tidy. I know exactly what I’d want to see differently, so message me if you’ve read this
Knowing that, Dark Horses is a story of a teenage girl, on the brink of qualifying for the U.S. dressage Olympic team. Her father/ coach, an Olympian himself, is every bit as driven as she is and her mother is largely absent. Though I found parts of this story very uncomfortable, I also understand that things like this do happen, and I found much to like about Roan’s journey. I especially enjoyed learning about the sport of dressage and all that goes into it. (A horse made me cry!) I liked the relationships between Roan and several of the side characters and appreciated this as a much more intense coming-of-age story than you typically read. If I were to change one bit it would be the ending. I thought it was just a little too neat and tidy. I know exactly what I’d want to see differently, so message me if you’ve read this
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very character driven book. Though it was character driven, the pacing was medium and the chapter endings kept you wanting to read just a little more. I really enjoyed the ending and how the story was wrapped up. I thought I had the ending guessed but I’m happier that I was wrong and I think this ending gave the best justice.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Was dark, but the story was very intriguing to follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail