Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

21 reviews

brookeklebe'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, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Rape, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Sexual content

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

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

dosxhime's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Dark Horses really was up there for darkest books I read so far. 

The abuse Roan suffered from her family was all too real and it made her circumstances all the more tragic. Here only real hope was Jasper, Will, and horseback riding. There was very little for her to look forward to in the face of her father's abuse, however her growth was satisfying and cathartic to read. I cheered when she cut her hair and called her father out for what he is. 

I will say that the romance aspect was a little meh. It kinda just felt like they were there and treted each other decently/normally and that was why Will and Roan fell for each other. The resolution between Roan and her father wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be since it kind of felt half-assed I guess. He doesn't get ruined in the way that I hoped. 

Anyways, Roan's growth was impeccable and is really the bread-n-butter of this novel. 

4.5 / 5 A- 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Rape, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Animal death, Violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Confinement, and Bullying

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

lmd77's review

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, and Child abuse

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, Gaslighting, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

lauramorgan's review

dark medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident

heathero621's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Roan is a teenage girl that is a competitive horse rider.  She is following in the footsteps of her famous olympian father, Monty.  Her father is also her coach and the two of them have an inappropriate relationship with each other.  It isn't until Roan and a classmate Will get close that Roan sees how inappropriate things are and tries to figure out a way she can get out from under her dad's control.

A book about a father raping his daughter is pretty disgusting and it was hard to get through some of the parts of the book.  I just don't understand how anyone could do that, but I know that it is something that happens.  I contemplated stopping the book, but the writing wasn't horrible and I was curious to see where the author was going to go with the book.  It's not an easy book to read and the scenes do get graphic at points.  I think my thoughts during most of this book were "ewww."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Incest