A review by candacesiegle_greedyreader
Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

5.0

"Dark Horses" is a hard book to read as well as a hard one to review. The subject matter is as dark as they come, and the novel is hard to put down.

Gifted equestrian Roan is fifteen. Her father and grandfather were Olympic champions, and now she is on the same path. Her father is demanding, controlling. She has no friends and barely notices until she meets a nice boy named Will and starts a friendship with him. As she grows older Roan has been pulling away from her father's orbit in the tiniest ways and with the harshest results--he kills a beloved pet, sells her favorite horse, threatens to fire employees she has come to love. Her mother has left, saying that she can no longer be a third wheel in the family. Because her father has trained her body in all ways, he tells her that she likes having sex with him. And because she now has a friend, he focuses his sights on Will.

Yes, this is tough stuff, and her father's methods of control are especially vile. I don't think I've ever read a book so upfront with and issue so disturbing. Don't stop reading though. The ending is not what you expect.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for approval to read this novel.