“[A] heart-pounding, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it debut novel.” —O, The Oprah Magazine “Roan Montgomery’s sweeping and raw story of courage, resilience, and clear-eyed grace will never leave me.” —Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author A darkly gripping debut novel about a teenage girl’s fierce struggle to reclaim her life from her abusive father.Fifteen-year-old equestrian prodigy Roan … abusive father.
Fifteen-year-old equestrian prodigy Roan Montgomery has only ever known two worlds: inside the riding arena, and outside of it. Both, for as long as she can remember, have been ruled by her father, who demands strict obedience in all areas of her life. The warped power dynamic of coach and rider extends far beyond the stables, and Roan’s relationship with her father has long been inappropriate. She has been able to compartmentalize that dark aspect of her life, ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider heading for the Olympics, just as her father had done. However, her developing relationship with Will Howard, a boy her own age, broadens the scope of her vision.
At the intersection of a commercial page-turner and urgent survivor story, Dark Horses takes the searing themes of abuse and resilience in Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling and applies the compelling exploration of female strength in Room by Emma Donoghue. In much the same way that V.C. Andrews’s Flowers in the Attic transfixed a generation of readers, Susan Mihalic’s debut is set to a steady beat that will keep you turning the pages.
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This was a hard book to put down. The horse side of the book was interesting. The other side of the book, the abusive side from her mother and especially her father was hard to read. I so wanted to reach inside the book and shake Roan and make her see it didn’t have to be that way.
As for her father, he pretty much got what he deserved
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
I can’t say I enjoyed this book. It is too real and too raw to really enjoy. I can say that I’m glad that I read it. Roan is a girl I recognize living in a horse-centric world that I also recognize. The story isvividly told and the characters, both good and bad, ring true. The author got the details of the horse show world and the workings of a commercial stable are spot on. And any reader who doubts that a teenager is capable of making the decisions and taking the actions that Roan does has never been held hostage by love for a horse.
Life has difficulties for some people, and you never know.
****Trigger warning this book deals with physical and sexual abuse as well as some trauma to animals.
This was a great book but a heavy read. I finished a month ago, but I had to take a moment before writing a review because it just hit me so emotionally. This story will have your mind reeling and your heart aching for Roan the main character. Roan is a 15 year old girl who is a competitive equestrian following in the footsteps of her famous Olympian father Monty and the legacy of her Olympian grandfather as well. Roan loves her horses and riding is the only solace she has living with her alcoholic, distant mother, and her abusive father. Ronan’s father is hard on her and accepts nothing but the best out of Roan. Monty portrays himself as a loving, caring father who wants to do all he can to help his daughter succeed however behind closed doors he is an abusive tyrant who wants complete control over Roan’s life. Roan gets noticed by the popular “bad boy” Will in class one day and a relationship starts budding. Roan has to keep her relationship with Will a secret from her father, as she knows he will not accept or approve of it. Roan is caught in the middle learning about first love, training for competitions and trying to gain control of her life from her father.
Thank you @scoutpress and @simonandschuster for this ARC
Be prepared, this book is very intense about the subject of parental sexual abuse. I felt the pain and shame of the main character. Then to contradict that was the devotion she felt for her horses as a 15 yr old girl driven to win. It’s tense, but it’s a story that needs to be read.
Couldn’t put it down
Manages to portray a Catch22 situation very well. Extremely accurate regarding equestrian sport.
An extremely sad and emotional story about a 15 year old teen that loves horses, riding and competition but has a father and mother that are extremely abusive.
Published: February 16, 2021
Gallery/Scout Press
Simon & Schuster
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Susan Mihalic has worked as a book editor, curriculum writer, writing instructor, freelance writer, and editor. She has also taught therapeutic horseback riding. She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and now lives in Taos, New Mexico.
“Every time she looked at it, I wanted her to see the ten-year-old girl who’d told her mother—a mother who’d done nothing.”
Roan is a champion equestrian destined for the Olympics, just like her award winning father. Her father strictly structures her world. She has a short scheduled school schedule, a strict riding schedule. Her father controls everything she does. Even her body is under his control. Her mother is an addict and takes no interest in anything except herself. Everything changes when Will comes into Roan’s life. Suddenly she wants normal things. She wants to say no. To take control of her life. And her father is not happy.
This book is heavy. Really heavy. I have to start this review with a trigger warning; this novel contains sexual abuse towards a minor. Not necessarily in graphic detail, but enough to know what is happening. That may disturb some readers. Be aware.
This was a beautiful broken novel about a girl who has been controlled and broken her entire life until suddenly she isn’t under her father’s control anymore.
This is a story of redemption and forgiveness, of growth and success. This novel will mean different things to different readers. But mostly, this is a novel of healing. Of growing and learning to ride on your own.
Roan spends most of her life trying to please her father in every sense of the word. She spent her life trying to make him happy. To earn his praise. And she never considered what that cost her.
Until it hits her full force, and suddenly she wants to break free of the man who has been building her to be a champion. Secrets weigh a ton, and secrets this heavy are sure to cause some trauma, but Roan is strong. She is smart, and she is tired of being a victim of her circumstances.
She has tried and failed to find her footing previously, but now she is ready to break free. With the support of Will, she knows she will find her freedom. But at what cost?
I received a gifted copy from Simon and Schuster and am providing a review.
Roan is a young lady who rides horses. Roan has a secret. Mama knows her secret and chooses not to do anything about it. Mama decides to leave Daddy, leaving Roan truly alone until she meets Will, a boy at school. Daddy (Monty, by name) holds everything over Roan’s head. If she goes in the opposite direction of what Daddy wants her to do, the consequences are far too great. Roan loves her horses. She wants to tell her secret but finds that when she has the opportunity, several times, she clams up. She could tell the social worker at the hospital after an accident, she doesn’t. She could tell Gertrude, the housekeeper who has been with the family for years, she doesn’t. Gertrude knows something isn’t right, she stays silent. People know something isn’t right with the relationship between Roan and Daddy, but they stay silent. That’s how much “power” Monty apparently has.
I found the character Roan to be an extremely strong young lady.
I have to commend the publisher for putting warnings on this book. I also have to commend Ms. Mihalic for taking a chance and writing this book. While it is “just a book,” I suspect that this sort of thing happens more than we ever hear about, to both men and women.
I am putting trigger warnings on this book. It is very dark. If you are a victim of abuse, whether it be emotional, physical, or sexual, be careful if you choose to read this one. While the scenes depicted are not graphic, I suspect they can be quite triggering as there is just enough to let the reader know what is happening. There are some thoughts that Roan has that I suspect could be quite true of other people who have suffered the same things that she has in this book. Again, I commend Ms. Mihalic for writing this story.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Wild Horses by Garth Brooks – It doesn’t really have anything to do with the book but the fact that the titles are so close together has had this song stuck in my head for days.
There are some books that you love so much it makes them hard to review, and that is where I am at with Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic. This debut novel completely blew me away and I listened to the entire book in one day because there was no way I was going to put it down. It is dark and a heavy-hitter, but I also saw so much strength in Roan. I also loved learning more about competitive riding and seeing how horses were such a big part of her life. She felt much older than fifteen to me, and I guess you have to be when you go through the things she was going through. This was a different take on an abusive relationship that I haven’t read before and while it was heartbreaking and hard to read, I was also rooting for Roan the entire time and really hoping for something to save her from her dad. Her mom was a piece of work as well, and between her family and the horses, I was a puddle by the end.
The audiobook was fantastic and is narrated by Alex Allwine. I am so glad I went this route and found a new narrator I like. I haven’t listened to her before, but I did notice she has narrated a few books which I am happy to see, and I will definitely be checking them out since they are almost all books I want to read. She was an excellent choice for voicing Dark Horses and I thought every single thing about her narration was spot on. I was drawn in by Mihalic’s writing and am just floored that this is a debut novel. It’s hard to say too much about this book without giving anything away, but if you want a great psychological fiction novel and don’t mind triggers, this is an excellent choice. Like a lot of readers, I would suggest making sure you know what the triggers are before going into it, so you know what you are getting yourself into. I didn’t do this, but I also won’t not read something due to triggers so take from that what you will. I loved Dark Horses so much and I really hope to see more books from this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I listened to the audiobook of this one and wow guys, that was a tough story to read/listen to. So many trigger warnings with this one, so I knew that it was going to be hard but my heart was breaking for Roan. I felt such anger towards Roans father and the abuse that she endured! I thought this was so well written, but if you have trouble with abuse/rape…this may not be the book for you. This was narrated by Alex Allwine and it was really well done.
This is not very much a story about a competitive high-level eventing rider, which I initially thought it was. Instead, it’s a very gritty story about a father’s abuse of his daughter. From my understanding of sexual abuse, this book is VERY realistic and may bother some readers. However, the author really had the competing forces within a sexual abuse dyad accurately portrayed. Disturbing but real and informative for anyone wanting to understand how that sort of thing can go on for years.
Dark Horse is one of the reads that feels like a punch to your gut but in a good way. There’s a lot of emotions being felt. They range from sorrow to anger and it sort of just stays there. I felt for Roan. That sense of hopelessness she was feeling, transferred over to me and I wanted to jump into the book and save her. I wanted more for her. This may be a hard read for some readers. It has triggers and I say proceed with caution. Roan’s story a hauntingly beautiful. The characters were well written. Some I loved and some I wanted to choke. A twist and an ending I didn’t see coming. I was not disappointed.
This is an emotional and dark read. It deals with abusive and that is not something that’s easy to read about. The author did a wonderful job on the story telling. Her writing is brilliant and I look forward to reading more books by her. I give this 5 stars.
Dark Horses is a pulse-pounding, unflinching tale of one teenaged girl’s iron-willed determination to wrest control of her life from her abuser. Roan Mongtomery’s sweeping and raw story of courage, resilience and clear-eyed grace will never leave me.
Roan Montgomery is a pretty 15-year-old, living with her parents on a rural Virginia horse farm.
Her father is a charismatic, near-legendary Olympic Gold Medal horseman, trainer, and media personality.
He’s also a control freak of the highest order. He runs Roan’s life as though she is his slave. He tells her what to wear, how to wear her hair when she will do her chores, her homework, and most of all when she will train on one of her three horses.
Because Montgomery is training his daughter to follow in his hallowed footsteps as an Olympic champion.
He’s also been sexually abusing her since she was scarcely out of diapers.
So Daddy does not allow Roan to date. He does not allow her to use the telephone unless he is present. He monitors her calls.
Roans mother and Monty’s wife is a lush who leaves in the first half of this stunning, frightening but wonderfully written work.
What will Roan do, trapped between her love for her horses, her desire to be a champion equestrienne, her desire to free herself from her father, and to live a life of her choosing?
Sorry, no spoiler. Read it, enjoy the author’s skill, and marvel at the world she has created.