Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

21 reviews

alliereads_'s review

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

sare1125's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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 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

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

katey_'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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

ms_emily's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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

dosxhime's review

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

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

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

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

bookwormyami's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

4.5 stars.
 This book will definitely be a hard read if you been through what Roan has been through. And unfortunately, I could relate to her in a lot of ways.  So before anyone read this, more sure you read the trigger warnings from others reviews. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault