Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

8 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

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

bethann's review

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, 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

thespinystacks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

First things first - huge trigger warnings in this book. Please check them out.

This was an incredibly challenging read. I’m not faint hearted but I was physically shuddering and felt ill at times during this book. That being said, it felt purposeful and never like you were being told the graphics just because. I appreciate that.

I felt the ending was very rushed. There was a huge tension build up for 90% of this book, there was a release and you’ll have a reaction for sure, but then - it was rushed through to conclude. That let it down just a little for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Car accident

audiblybooked's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

All the trigger warnings - This is a very a difficult and uncomfortable read. Just thinking about the topics of incest and child abuse can trigger strong emotions and Dark Horses was relentless in describing Roan Montgomery's experiences with her father making this a very challenging read. Roan's voice throughout was powerful and authentic and I could not put the book down. I was very quickly emotionally invested in this story. I don't think I have ever wished so hard for the death of a character in a book than I wished for this author to execute Roan's father in the most painful way possible. The reader is not spared from experiencing those feelings of powerlessness alongside the main character in the face the seemingly invulnerable omnipotence of her Olympic gold medal champion father and her mother's emotional abandonment. She survived by focusing all of her energy into her beloved horses and her own Olympic ambitions and risks everything by getting close to Will Howard, a classmate. I was drawn in by the bittersweet relationship between Roan and Will and also with her horses. I was sickened by the way her father used that love of her horses to control her and buy her silence and continued compliance. I highly recommend this to those who like dark, emotional books and are aware of the many trigger warnings. This was an excellent excellent read - unquestionable 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

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