Reviews with content warning for Rape - Dark Horses

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

shelby1994's review

challenging dark 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

3.0

I read an NPR interview with Mihalic where she said:

“I became obsessed with the idea of writing a story about sexual abuse that was different from anything that had been written before.”

Yet, the last several years we have seen:

- The Larry Nassar trial

- The abuse in the NSWL

- The US Figure Skating payout after a coach was charged with sexual assault

- The sexual assault lawsuit that rightfully took down the several NHL coaching legends

- and more and more and more

I don’t know if something can be considered “never been written before” if we are seeing it played out in front of us. Just this week, a cross-country coach in the county next to mine was charged after sexually harassing and threatening one of his teenage athletes.

The writing itself is bracing, and Mihalic is able to convey the process of mental blocking and compartmentalization in a way completely specific to Roan. The location of Middleburg, VA made this of added interest – there’s always some rubber-necking when a dark story takes place in the area you live, and I’m not immune to that. But the quality of writing can’t quite make up for how she chooses to show the abusive relationship between Roan and her coach-father. There is realistic, then there is gratuitous, and this book leans too close to the latter for me.

I think that a more productive way to interact with this type of story is to take the fictional element out of it. Read the victim statements from the Larry Nassar trial. Or Chanel Miller’s writing. Or any statement out by a female athlete in the last decade. They didn’t have a say in how their particular “story of abuse” played out, and it seems like those are the stories we should be paying attention to.

Content Warnings

happiestwhenreading's review

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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.

Content Warnings

bethann's review

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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

Content Warnings

lauramorgan's review

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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

Content Warnings

heathero621's review

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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."

Content Warnings

thespinystacks's review against another edition

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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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schlinkles's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

2.0

Content Warnings

jessicawarpup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

tashm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

Wow. I thought this was better than MDV, more nuanced and explored the issues of grooming, manipulation and long-term sexual abuse in a very different way. I may have enjoyed it more because I like Roan, our main character, a lot.

Content Warnings