olexandra's review against another edition
5.0
I would like to say, this isn’t a book for everyone. People should expect that a lot of things in this book could be triggering mainly the sexual abuse. This was a very hard book to read emotionally. It left me very open and devastated for Roan and what she suffered through. Overall, however, it was a very haunting and compelling story. Roan and Will gave me so much hope, and I’m glad the book ended on a positive note for Roan, and she achieved her freedom on her own terms. The book just had so much light and was written so well it was easy to picture everything. The good and sadly the bad too.
Not to give too much away, personally, I would prefer a different ending and something even more gruesome than what happened to her father, and her mother definitely should have met a worse fate than she did. But I’m really glad Roan was satisfied with what happened. She deserved everything she ever wanted. I'm glad I read it, and I would recommend it, but only with the already mentioned warning.
Not to give too much away, personally, I would prefer a different ending and something even more gruesome than what happened to her father, and her mother definitely should have met a worse fate than she did. But I’m really glad Roan was satisfied with what happened. She deserved everything she ever wanted. I'm glad I read it, and I would recommend it, but only with the already mentioned warning.
brookeklebe'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? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
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
aliciapajda's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
3.5
ingridostby's review against another edition
2.0
The jacket sums it up nicely: This book is "at the intersection of a commercial page-turner and urgent survivor story." My own spin on that is it's a story about child abuse that's a little too horny for my comfort. It was indeed a book I didn't want to put down, and I credit the straightforward prose for that, along with my desire to see how it ends in relation to her father. In terms of how it tackles abuse and the narrator's vocabulary regarding it (as well as how the father's "comeuppance" was treated), I'm perplexed. Abuse survivors do have complicated relationships with their abusers, and as one of them I know, but often we don't use terms that glorify situations, especially sexual ones. Every survivor is different, though, so who knows. All in all, this read like a titillating young adult novel with adult content. I would not say this is high lit but I also think it knows what it is and what it's marketed as. Go in expecting a sensationalized, dark story of child abuse, along with a YA love story — neither of which are as realistic as literature that deals with similar topics. If you're looking for a read like this that's embedded with realism, try My Dark Vanessa.
bcupp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
rachel98798's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
curiouskatreads's review against another edition
5.0
OUCH … my heart.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that is so compelling, emotional and raw that I quite literally didn’t want to put it down. At the same time, it’s really uncomfortable and has a lot of potential triggers (listed below), so be warned. In this story, author Susan Mihalic pulls back the veil on a taboo subject that no one wants to think about, much less look at in such a stark and unflinching light.
Roan Montgomery is the 15-year-old daughter of a renowned Olympic medal-winning equestrian who is now coaching her in his footsteps toward the same goals. Monty, who Roan refers to as “Daddy”, is highly respected in this world - strict, smart, capable and in control. Unfortunately, he uses these same qualities to manipulate, control and abuse her, which he’s been doing unchecked since she was a very young child. When she catches the interest of Will Howard, one of her school peers, she begins to question everything that she’s accepted as normal and inescapable in her life up to this point and starts challenging the status quo - something that doesn’t sit well with her rules-happy “Daddy”.
I won’t sugar-coat anything: this book is graphic ... repeatedly. While some may feel offended or find it inappropriate, there’s really no way this story would’ve had the impact it did if it was cleaned up and kept in the proverbial closet. It’s seeing the love-hate psychological and physical dynamic between Roan and her father and being privy to his tactics and manipulations that allowed me to feel her pain and understand why she wouldn’t say anything to anyone for so many years. Like all abusers, he found every potential weak point - usually the things she loved the most like her horse and riding career - and used them as leverage to get what he wanted and keep her quiet. Seeing her begin to recognize her father’s abuse in a proper light and overcome it, as well as watching her relationship with Will grow, kept me riveted to the pages to the very end.
If a story can be bitter and beautiful at the same time … this is that story.
★★★★★ ❤
Trigger Warnings: Animal deaths, sexual abuse/incest, rape
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that is so compelling, emotional and raw that I quite literally didn’t want to put it down. At the same time, it’s really uncomfortable and has a lot of potential triggers (listed below), so be warned. In this story, author Susan Mihalic pulls back the veil on a taboo subject that no one wants to think about, much less look at in such a stark and unflinching light.
Roan Montgomery is the 15-year-old daughter of a renowned Olympic medal-winning equestrian who is now coaching her in his footsteps toward the same goals. Monty, who Roan refers to as “Daddy”, is highly respected in this world - strict, smart, capable and in control. Unfortunately, he uses these same qualities to manipulate, control and abuse her, which he’s been doing unchecked since she was a very young child. When she catches the interest of Will Howard, one of her school peers, she begins to question everything that she’s accepted as normal and inescapable in her life up to this point and starts challenging the status quo - something that doesn’t sit well with her rules-happy “Daddy”.
I won’t sugar-coat anything: this book is graphic ... repeatedly. While some may feel offended or find it inappropriate, there’s really no way this story would’ve had the impact it did if it was cleaned up and kept in the proverbial closet. It’s seeing the love-hate psychological and physical dynamic between Roan and her father and being privy to his tactics and manipulations that allowed me to feel her pain and understand why she wouldn’t say anything to anyone for so many years. Like all abusers, he found every potential weak point - usually the things she loved the most like her horse and riding career - and used them as leverage to get what he wanted and keep her quiet. Seeing her begin to recognize her father’s abuse in a proper light and overcome it, as well as watching her relationship with Will grow, kept me riveted to the pages to the very end.
If a story can be bitter and beautiful at the same time … this is that story.
★★★★★ ❤
Trigger Warnings: Animal deaths, sexual abuse/incest, rape
ohemgitsal's review against another edition
4.0
”What did I give a man who always got what he wanted?”
This book is not for the faint of heart: it’s dark, gruesome, disturbing, and disheartening. However, amist all the darkness between the pages, it’s also a story of light, perseverance, and survival.
Dark Horses follows Roan Montgomery, a teen equestrian aiming for the Olympics, following the footsteps of her father. As the blurb hints, the story details Roan’s abusive relationship with her father: mentally, physically, sexually, etc. Reading some of the passages made me physically ill, because the truth is that this does happen in real life, and so many real stories of abuse victims go unread.
Roan’s mature voice sometimes caught me off guard, but I had to remind myself that this was a child who was forced to grow up way too fast. I wish we had more in-depth introductions to the secondary characters who seemed to be thrown at us, i.e. the housekeeper and her husband, the grooms, etc.
Overall, this was a really important story, and I advise anyone who considers this book to check out the trigger warnings.
This book is not for the faint of heart: it’s dark, gruesome, disturbing, and disheartening. However, amist all the darkness between the pages, it’s also a story of light, perseverance, and survival.
Dark Horses follows Roan Montgomery, a teen equestrian aiming for the Olympics, following the footsteps of her father. As the blurb hints, the story details Roan’s abusive relationship with her father: mentally, physically, sexually, etc. Reading some of the passages made me physically ill, because the truth is that this does happen in real life, and so many real stories of abuse victims go unread.
Roan’s mature voice sometimes caught me off guard, but I had to remind myself that this was a child who was forced to grow up way too fast. I wish we had more in-depth introductions to the secondary characters who seemed to be thrown at us, i.e. the housekeeper and her husband, the grooms, etc.
Overall, this was a really important story, and I advise anyone who considers this book to check out the trigger warnings.
kateyoutka's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
This was so hard to read, and yet, I couldn't put it down. I was desperately rooting for Roan in every moment, unsure what would happen next. It's horrifying, and I can't necessarily say I liked or enjoyed this book, because every second of it was gut-wrenching. But it's incredibly well-written and emotional, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has the emotional bandwidth to read it. Look up all the trigger warnings before. picking this one up, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death
kjurewicz's review against another edition
1.0
I did not finish this book. Actually, that’s not accurate - I COULD NOT finish this book. Although the book was compelling, the subject matter (especially the unspeakable and frequent violence toward Roan) was more than I could take. This book actually affected me emotionally so much that I had to skip to the end just for my own peace of mind - and what I found was not what I expected.