Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

18 reviews

alliereads_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

4.0

Reading Dark Horses was like having my heart torn out of my chest over and over again. An incredibly painful, emotional book: I don’t often cry at novels, but Susan Mihalic made me. Roan’s pure loneliness and desperation and unending heartbreak was really difficult to get through. And when

she lost Jasper, the only thing tethering her anymore, it destroyed me.

And the fact that she was

forced to injure her father

made me sob, because it was so devastating that she was ever in that position. There were definitely a few scenes that felt a little too graphic for me, so I highly encourage readers to look at trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

dlperin's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

sare1125's review

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

unki's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

Was dark, but the story was very intriguing to follow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

dizzzybrook's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

ms_emily's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

pollyhall's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

peytonliveslife's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Rape

deezy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

happiestwhenreading's review

I am not a sensitive reader and dark subject matter does not bother me. That's why it speaks volumes that this is a dnf for me, and honestly, I wish I wouldn't have ever picked it up at all!

I knew heading in that it dealt with incest (father/daughter relationship) and pedophilia. I felt like I could handle it. But the manner in which the author handles this inapporpriate relationship was a no-go for me. I felt like she was almost glorifying it. Making it seem like it's ok, even though it's not. 

Instead of listening to my instincts, I kept going. When Roan begins to develop a sexual relationship with a peer, Mihalic implied that certain sexual acts were off-limits because then she wouldn't be 'daddy's girl' anymore. I think the point of this was to show how mentally difficult it is for a child to separate the acts with her father to the outside world, but it literally made me sick to my stomach. It didn't come across to me as a tragedy; it felt more like sympathy and that was when I realized this book is a total dealbreaker for me.

I'm disappointed in it's 3.99 Goodreads rating. I cannot understand the reviews that are saying it's a good book despite the content.

I would not recommend this for anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting