Susan Mihalic’s debut had me in a mood the whole time I was reading it. It’s so dark and haunting, and reads just like a page-turning memoir. I was positive that Roan’s story was a real-life story. In fact, I forgot that it was fiction. Hence, the mood. This is a psychological thriller to the nth degree. I highly recommend just diving in and seeing where the story takes you. Don’t read the blurbs, the back cover or the book summary. It’s so shocking and compelling. It will take you on a wild ride!

Triggers: Sexual abuse, incest

Special thanks to Gallery/Scout Press for sharing with me an advanced ebook, via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

After finishing this book I feel completely drained. But that's the result of a book so well written that you feel the emotions of the characters. Make no mistake, this book tackles some dark and heavy subjects so it won't be for everyone. But I was fully engrossed and rooting for Roan, fighting for survival after being betrayed by both her mother and father. This was a haunting and powerful story that I won't soon forget.

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.

How do you talk about loving a book that is so dark and heavy? Mihalic’s debut follows Roan, an equestrian protege who aspires to make the Olympic team like her medal-winning father.

The horse competition side of the novel was incredibly fascinating and engrossing I loved everything about it. It definitely related to the fact that I went through an intense horse obsession when I was in elementary school. I adored Roan’s relationship with all of her different horses, but especially Jasper. The fact that the protagonist’s name is Roan- the color of a horse’s coat- is no coincidence.

I know some will dislike Dark Horses for it’s slower pacing. It is definitely a quiet character study and while it isn’t my normal cup of tea I found Roan and her narrative voice incredibly compelling.

Yet Dark Horses is not just about a fifteen year old athlete’s dream to compete in the Olympics and follow in her father’s footsteps, it also features the inappropriate relationship that exists between her and her father. This is where all the trigger warnings come in:

TW: sexual assault, rape, childhood neglect, all forms of abuse, animal death, death of a family member, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, etc…

Roan’s relationship with her father in public looks like a dream. He’s charming, adoring, and firm when he needs to be. But behind closed doors, the reality of their relationship is profoundly dark and infuriating to read and it’s supposed to be. Both of Roan’s parents are terrible; her father is a sexual predator and her mother is complicit, neglectful and selfish. The novel opens with Roan dealing with a UTI, when she hasn’t so much as kissed a boy her age. Yes, it is uncomfortable from page one.

Yet Dark Horses remains as hopeful as it is harrowing. From Roan’s successful competition to a developing relationship with a boy her age. During the course of the novel, Roan gradually finds her voice to stand up for herself, even if it took a little longer than I was expecting. As a protagonist, Roan reminds us that light can be found in the darkest of times.

I think so many facets of Dark Horses will be controversial, from it’s difficult subject matter to its complicated ending. But I loved this book from cover to cover and gave it 5🌟. I would recommend it to those who enjoyed novels like My Absolute Darling, My Dark Vanessa, and All the Ugly and Wonderful Things.

Awesome! I really enjoyed this read. I rarely get through a book because I tend to get bored. But I read this book in two days. I couldn't but it down. It was compelling, intelligent and well written. I loved the characters and setting. Highly recommended!

Roan Montgomery is 15 and a world-class equestrienne. She lives in a rarified world with her every need anticipated and taken care of, but with each minute mapped out and no personal life. She doesn’t care because, in Dark Horses, Susan Mihalic’s debut novel, she has only one goal: Olympic gold. Roan’s family money isn’t the only thing in her favor—her father is Monty Montgomery, one of the best-known event riders in the world and winner of three Olympic gold medals. With him as her coach and the best horses, trainers, and facilities in the South, Roan is on a fast track to achieving her dream.

Of course, this is contemporary fiction and the simple story of a girl who loves horses and has a dream isn’t deemed enough to hold a reader’s attention so Mihalic wastes no time in ratcheting up the drama. In chapter one we learn her mother is having an affair with her school’s headmaster, that Roan calls her father either Daddy or Sir, and he controls every aspect of her life. It’s an explosive first chapter, but Mihalic only keeps going from there. Soon enough, it’s clear that Roan’s father is molesting her and even more chilling, her mother knows and doesn’t seem to care.

Mihalic simultaneously amplifies and deadens the impact of Roan’s situation by making her the novel’s narrator. She relays the details of her life—having been sexually groomed by her father since the age of four—with a detached nonchalance that is both horrifying and numbing. Her careful compartmentalization of her life doesn’t begin to crack until she meets a boy at school and they embark on a relationship. This is no small feat as Roan is not allowed online and doesn’t have a cell phone. As she starts to experience a teenager’s normal feelings and desires they conflict with what she sees as her ‘affair’ with her father.

Dark Horses pulled me in two directions. Roan herself, with her love of horses and her determination to achieve her dreams, is a magnetic character. There is so much about her to be explored. But her significance is overshadowed by the sex scenes with her father—words that make me cringe to type. Dark Horses doesn’t simply graze in the pasture of incest and move on. It burrows into the soil, poisoning every aspect of the story.

My final take on the novel? Mihalic is a strong writer and I’ll read her next book, but she goes too far in Dark Horses. I did not want or need Roan’s graphic details of the encounters with her father—a suggestion was more than enough. The scenes don’t enhance her confusion about what she perceives as her complicity and her own sexuality. That they are accompanied by additional extreme elements moves the novel into a sensationalistic space. I expected something of depth from Dark Horses but was left with pulp fiction.

I am the wrong reader for this book—call it occupational hazard, as I’ve been a pediatric psychiatric nurse for twenty years, and can’t help comparing the teen protagonist, Roan, to the actual children and teens I’ve worked with in her situation. Mihalic sets up a suspenseful narrative, as far as keeping the reader on edge throughout the novel. The story is not boring--it is rather exciting--although melodramatic--and I suspect that any reader will be turning the pages with anticipation and horror, as the author intended. My concern is that the text and voice do not contain the gravitas and nuance that would be necessary to convey for a child such as this one, abused repeatedly since age six by the person she should trust the most. That is what kept me out of the realm of believing that this was credible.

A friend suggested that perhaps Roan is an outlier, with her ability to keep it together; moreover, she is able to have a healthy relationship with a loving boyfriend. He isn’t just a caring, compassionate, attractive teenager—he is wise beyond his years. Girls such as Roan are plausibly unable to have a healthy relationship, especially with no therapy, no emotional/familial support, no security, and, in DARK HORSES, the expectation to win every horse riding competition that she is in (and often does). I suppose that there are a few blind people who can drive—but is that the stakes that this author is trying to set up?

If I were a sexually abused teen, and I read this book, I would feel even worse about myself for failing to accomplish what Roan does. There’s no screed that obligates the author to write this in a specific way, but I was still hoping that she would aim at a more realistic portrait of what to expect of this protagonist. She’s more than a mere survivor in DARK HORSES. Every day, she gets stronger (and again, without the help of therapy or family support) and more capable. She hasn’t told her boyfriend about her father raping her on a daily basis, but she straddles both worlds carefully.

Roan describes the pain, physically and psychically, and some of her more complex, incongruous emotions, but it felt author-inserted rather than authentic. But, if you have never encountered someone like Roan, you may be piqued, as Mihalic excels at pacing and structure. It also leans toward a YA voice and approach, even thought the content is for mature audiences—perhaps it is meant to be inclusive.

What the author lacks in subtlety and credibility, she makes up by being more graphic as we move to the latter part of the novel. However, these graphic events happened to Roan for the past ten years (she is 16), but by saving the most harrowing scenes for later in the story, the reader is manipulated into feeling that the stakes are higher and more urgent toward the climax, when they have been just as emergent all along.

Story-wise, the only reason that Roan doesn’t report her father is that she doesn’t want to give up her goals of being a professional champion horse rider. Her father is wealthy and owns this horse farm, which allows her to pursue her dream. So—but for her aspirations, she would turn her father into the authorities? In actuality, girls don’t report their fathers for more complicated reasons of guilt, shame, and fear. This reduced it to a rich girl’s problem, even though the author didn’t intend that.

Considering Roan’s circumstances, and how damaged she is, she is way more level-headed and emotionally appropriate than most girls her age that aren’t abused. No problem with boundaries, no cutting or other self-harm, no actual suicide attempts. Even when she drinks, it doesn’t exceed amounts of many rebellious teens. It feels contrived so that Roan can possess some kind of verified self-destructive behavior. Ironically, however, when Roan is triggered, she usually gets more determined and resolute as the pages turn, even though she hasn’t had an ounce of expert help.

The interval that she keeps her boyfriend at arm’s length is to keep the secret, and she keeps the secret so she can be a champion. There’s compartmentalizing, sure, but that survival instinct that kicks in often leads to disassociation in girls suffering this ritual abuse; but with Roan, it keeps her externally poised, sufficiently enough to continue the charade. The author wants too reductive a dissonance between her truth and the fiction she lives. To depict contrast? She’s just too unflappable to the wider world. Notwithstanding the abuse, she successfully achieves at just about everything. It doesn’t bleed over messily as it should to be convincing. No adults see any signs—the social worker at the hospital was a plot ploy more than substantive.

I don’t know who to recommend this book to, other than young, naïve teens, to introduce them to this subject matter. I’m conflicted there, too, since I didn’t feel it was genuine—Roan had the cynosure of all eyes. The author was attempting to demonstrate that Roan was perceived as an envied teen although a victim of daily assault--the contrast. And then a Hollywood ending, a Cinderella finale, which is disingenuous and undermines the subject matter. I just didn’t buy it. Mihalic has talent, and I would like to read a novel by her with a different premise. She certainly has a gift for pacing, rhythm, and structure of a suspense story.

Thank you to Scout Press and Netgalley for an advanced digital copy

Dark, Amazing & Passionate

That is what Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic is. What a FANTASTIC Debut novel.

Dark Horses is about a teenage girl who would do anything to follow her passion to become an Olympic Horse rider.

Going up on Rosemont Is everything Roan loves. Maybe, because that is all she has ever known. Roan's dream is to become an Olympic Horse rider like her father. But, in order to accomplish that, she must spend every waking moment in the zone of horses. With no Social media, hardly and friends, and no contact with boys, Roan's life is on Rosemont Ranch. With her daddy being her coach, and three time Olympic champions him self, he expects nothing more than the best. However, After her mothers departure, Roan feels stuck. She has gave up everything she ever knew (or didn't) and even her innocence to keep riding the horses. But, When her mother's resentment becomes to much, She abandons Roan with the person who Roan comes to fear.

After her fathers tragic accident, Will Roan finally be free?


*** WARNING*** This book is no for the light-hearted. It involves unspeakable relations between a father and daughter, One that no daughter should have to endure.

DARK HORSES by debut author Susan Mihalic is a book that necessitates a lot of trigger warnings. In fact, the ARC came with a cover over the real cover, warning readers of the delicate nature of the story. I’d read up on the book, so already knew what to expect, but for those of you unfamiliar with the book, the story involves incest in truly the worst possible way. (This is made clear very early on, so I’m giving nothing away.)

Knowing that, Dark Horses is a story of a teenage girl, on the brink of qualifying for the U.S. dressage Olympic team. Her father/ coach, an Olympian himself, is every bit as driven as she is and her mother is largely absent. Though I found parts of this story very uncomfortable, I also understand that things like this do happen, and I found much to like about Roan’s journey. I especially enjoyed learning about the sport of dressage and all that goes into it. (A horse made me cry!) I liked the relationships between Roan and several of the side characters and appreciated this as a much more intense coming-of-age story than you typically read. If I were to change one bit it would be the ending. I thought it was just a little too neat and tidy. I know exactly what I’d want to see differently, so message me if you’ve read this

I've seen a lot of pre-publication buzz and reviews of this one, so I was quite interested to read it for myself. But I can see why this one is so controversial - it opens up with narrator, Roan, at fifteen and suffering from a bladder infection. As the book progresses, the reader is enveloped in Roan's dark world - a performing facade at both school and in the fields of her horseback riding competitions. Her dominating, abusive and manipulative father controls every aspect of her life. The violence and emotional blackmail makes this frequently a downright nauseating read. But, it is vividly written, tense and still compels the reader to keep going. I could hardly tear myself away from this - the latter half in particular.

Roan - really all of the characters - comes to life and though this book will make your stomach churn, there are also some satisfying moments - especially as she starts to break free from the chains of her life. I wish that there had been a bit more to explain and truly explore Roan's mother and her actions, but I think that the ending will incite just as much conversation amongst the book's readers. The horse element, at times, eases some of the darkness here (though it adds to it as well). It's an impressive debut, though I can see some not finding Roan's relationships to always be the most plausible. A bit more backstory on her parents would have really been nice, but I couldn't put this one down and I am definitely curious to see what Mihalic will follow this one up with!

Dark Horses is just that---incredibly dark. When thinking of how to review this book, I struggled with the idea of giving it 5 stars, given the heavy content it contains. However, I came to the conclusion that sometimes the hard-to-hear stories are exactly what we need to hear. Make no mistake, this book is impossible to put down---I read it in two sittings and couldn't keep my mind off the story. Before I go any further, I feel obligated to give some very serious content warnings to anyone considering reading this: physical, emotional, & sexual abuse; incestuous rape; and child abandonment.

Plot: 15-year-old Roan Montgomery is a future Olympian in equestrian eventing---horses aren't just her hobby, they're her life. Her father, former Olympian & eventing expert, makes absolute sure of that. He controls every aspect of Roan's life, discouraging extracurricular activities, forbidding her from having a cellphone or social media, and shutting down any thoughts of dating boys. While Monty Montgomery may be the most knowledgable eventing trainer out there, he doesn't know all he presumes to about his daughter. She has found a boy at school, Will, who has become her sanctuary & confidant. He doesn't know Roan's father is abusing her, but he understands her deepest desires, motivations, and goals in life. Will sees the confident, self-assured Roan who has had to grow up very quickly. While Roan puts on a brave face, inside she struggles immensely to come to terms with the fact that if she confronts her father about his ongoing sexual abuse of her, he will take away everything that's important to her---competing, her favorite horses, and her freedom.

One of the themes in Dark Horses I loved most is how Roan chose to define herself & her life. She did not want to be known as a victim or a survivor. She was a conqueror. She found the strength to take the single most excruciating bind on her life and break it to set herself free. This book was alarming in the sense that it wasn't an outlandish, unbelievable tale of hypothetical abuse---Mihalic shone light on an issue that is invisible to many, but more prevalent than it should be in our society. Her writing is enthralling---pulling the reader in and giving them no choice but to be consumed by her words and awestruck by the message. Dark Horses is about the monsters who may not look like monsters; the abusers who lurk not the night, but in plain daylight; the "trusted adults" who take advantage of their position; the thieves that rob children of their joy and identity. This novel will stay on my mind and my heart for a long time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Gallery Books, Scout Press, and Susan Mihalic for the ARC of Dark Horses in exchange for my honest opinion!

I want to be up front that this book deals with really hard stuff (incest and child abuse), if you are in the right headspace to read this though, I highly recommend it. This is a stunning debut novel that will make you feel so so many things!

Dark Horses is a piercing debut about a young girl who has unshakeable dreams all while experiencing frightening levels of violence.
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I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and urge you to look at the CW’s for this book before picking it up. The publisher had some at the beginning which I strongly appreciated! This book took me quite some time to read and I honestly believe the book necessitates it. The content is not ‘easy’ and the writing is so straightforward that it was difficult to read about Roan’s experiences. It felt like I was being told outright what she was going through, and immediately after being told how I should feel about that moment. I like when a book allows the reader to really ponder what just happened, and what they think about it. I was brought to tears multiple times and had to sit the book down repeatedly because it was incredibly difficult to read.
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This book is not just one traumatic scene after another. Just like Roan’s life, it is interspersed with her passion: horseback riding. I learned so much about horses and found the competitions to be extremely engaging! Roan’s spirit and love for horses shone through the pages of the book and I was cheering her on through each and every competition. I don’t pretend to assert that there is an ‘ideal’ survivor or way to process trauma, but I found the ending of the book and Roan’s thought process about the “finale” of the book to be somewhat troubling. If you have read the book I’d love to discuss the ending with you! When I reached the second half of the book I couldn’t stop reading and needed to reach the end! Overall, I’d cautiously recommend this book.
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CW: sexual assault, incest, sexual abuse, rape, death of an animal (non malicious), pedophilia, drug and alcohol abuse, body shaming, disordered eating

From the outside, Roan Montgomery seems to have the perfect life. She comes from an affluent family famous in the highest circles of the insular equestrian community. She dreams of riding in the Olympics like her father. She has the drive, the resources, and the talent to capture the gold. No one could guess that Roan’s home life is less like a dream and more like a never-ending nightmare.

“In my room, I crawled into bed fully dressed. He didn’t often make threats, but his coaching style wasn’t all positive affirmations, either. He reserved his charm for the public. It drove me crazy sometimes, the man I knew versus the man everyone else saw.”
Every day is a new mine field to navigate. One misstep could result in separation from the one thing that makes her life tolerable – her horses.

Forced to cope with the jealousy of a drunk mother, the vicious barbs thrown by classmates and the unthinkable abuse at the hands of her father, Roan waits for a reprieve that never seems to come.

But everything changes when a beautiful boy named Will shows her what love really is. And with his help, Roan finds the courage to finally move from the darkness into the light.

“Okay,” I said slowly, “but if we’re going to see each other, there are conditions.”
He laughed.
“I mean it. I train all the time. Nothing can interfere with that.”
“We’ll work around your schedule.”
“And Daddy can’t know.”
“Obviously. Do you feel bad about going behind his back?”
“Not if I don’t get caught.”
“What else?”
“That’s it, I guess.”
“Well, future Olympian Roan Montgomery, I agree to your conditions.” “Future Olympic gold medalist Roan Montgomery,” I said. “I’m ambitious.”
“I stand corrected.”
“What about you? What are your conditions?”
He shrugged. “Reckon I’m not the type of person who goes into a relationship with conditions in mind.”
“Yeah, what kind of asshole does that?” I said.
“Someone who’s not very trusting,” he said. “Or someone who’s afraid.”

With Dark Horses, Susan Mihalic delivers a story so atmospheric and raw that it’s impossible to put down. Her vast knowledge of the highly competitive show world blends seamlessly into the relationships that bind her unforgettable characters together and makes for a reading experience that feels just like a shot to the heart.

Bold, unsettling and poignant – Dark Horses is a book that will be with me for a very, very long time…

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy of "Dark Horse".

While reading "Dark Horse" I found myself horrified by what Roan experiences by the hands of her father and mother while cheering her on to find her voice and power. As someone with limited knowledge about equestrian lifestyles, Mihalic did a fantastic job of writing about a world of prestige, Olympic dreams and putting fame and status above all else.

While this book has intense moments, that could be very triggering, the writing was simple and clear, from the POV of 15 year old Roan Montgomery, making this a binge-worthy read. The title of the book itself has less to do with the topic of horseback riding and more to do with the "dark horse" that comes to light when made to fight for freedom.

A stunning powerhouse of a book.

Young Roan Montgomery is a top competitor in the privileged and tight-knit world of equestrian "eventing. "Her father Monty is a brilliant, rigid and controlling man who literally wrote the book on the subject, and who is revered within the sport, including sportscasters, sponsors and other riders. Roan lives with her parents in the lush Virginia horse country and hopes to one day compete in the Olympics. Trigger warning: she has suffered sexual abuse by the father since she was a little girl. And her mother knows.

“You think it’s a secret?”
Not a secret, but the thing we never talked about. I wanted her to make him stop, not ruin everything. Just fix the broken parts.

Roan has taught herself to compartmentalize the severe abuse as a way to cope. Her father holds all the power in the family, and Roan truly loves competing. Her father holds all the cards: financial, physical and emotional. Her mother absents herself as a way to cope. Roan obeys her father because she doesn’t know any other way. When she finally enters high school and tries to begin a normal, healthy dating relationship, the tensions rise bitterly in her dysfunctional family life.

“In many ways, I didn’t understand, either, so why should I expect anyone else to? I’d chosen cooperation and obedience, and I had to live with everything that meant, including keeping the secret. I would not allow my carefully constructed life to fall apart. The only people who needed to know were Daddy and me.”

The author’s intimate knowledge of horses is very compelling and brought me back to my horseback riding youth. I owned a horse until I went away to college and the bonds between horse and rider can be very strong. I understood Roan’s drive and her passion for her horses.

This book tackles an ugly, difficult subject matter in a stunning and brave way. It is very similar to ‘My Absolute Darling’ in its brutal descriptions of incest. With that said, there are many moments of beauty. In addition, Roan’s blossoming relationship with Will is the high point of the story. In some ways this book reads like a Young Adult novel and it was a good balance to the otherwise painful subject matter.

Roan is a strong, beautiful character and despite the trigger warnings, this book is just a stunning, mesmerizing story. The setting and the supporting characters are all fantastically written. Roan does not want to be seen as a victim and when she finally sees a way out of her impossible situation, she is brave enough to act. She is most definitely a fighter.

"I’d found my own path to justice, and the only person I needed to protect was myself."

‘Dark Horses’ is an intense and brutal story that is without question one of the most unforgettable books I have ever read. If this is Susan Mihalic’s first novel, I cannot wait to see what she writes next. Don’t miss this powerhouse of a book!

This was a very difficult read due to the subject matter (which is discovered at the beginning of the novel to be incest) but, at the same time, I couldn’t put it down as I was so concerned about the main character. This is a coming of age story like no other. It is intimate, agonizing, and remarkably frank about the confusion and guilt involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the ARC to read and review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books Scout Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the amazing debut novel by Susan Mihalic. 5 stars for a tough to read but absolutely must read book!

Roan Montgomery was born and raised to become an Olympic equestrian, following in her grandfather's and father's footsteps. Monty, her dad, controls every part of Roan's world from her school schedule to chores to coaching, riding and even the most personal aspects of her life. But her father's attention has long veered towards the horribly inappropriate. Her mom drinks to escape their home life and ignores Roan when she tries to confide in her. Roan is trapped with no escape if she wants to continue her dreams of competing. When she starts developing feelings for a boy at school, Will, she starts seeing that there could be a different path for her.

This book deserves all the wonderful hype it is receiving and I can't wait to read more from this author. Even though it is a dark and troubling story, it is so beautifully written that you will not be able to look away. This book will make you FEEL so much - fear, anger, disgust, suspense, hope. It is a painful coming of age story fueled with such well-developed characters and a storyline set in an environment that will transport you. You will be rooting for Roan long after you turn the last page.

Highly recommended!

Dark Horses is a shocking, heart-pounding debut; it's both a coming-of-age novel and an unflinching story of resilience and survival. Fifteen-year-old Roan Montgomery is an equestrian prodigy; she attends a private high school, where she is given a special schedule allowing her to miss afternoon classes to train for her horseback riding events, which are a stepping stone to her plan of one day riding in the Olympics. In spite of her shortened class schedule, Roan receives straight As, and isn't allowed to date or attend any social events outside of school. The reason why, the reader soon finds out, is disturbing and sinister: Roan's father, also her riding coach, is in complete control of every facet of her life, and on top of the daily emotional abuse he inflicts on her, he has been sexually abusing her since early childhood.

It's an uncomfortable book from start to finish, and I would strongly advise that you exercise caution in deciding whether the rewards of reading this sound like they will outweigh the costs. It's graphic at times, and it will make your skin crawl, though it's never gratuitous. The world that Susan Mihalic creates is insular and suffocating as she skillfully places the reader entirely into Roan's life. We see the abuse play out firsthand, and we also see the extent of Roan's inability to fight back. Mihalic includes a number of shocking, unpalatable details, right down to Roan's mom — who is, perhaps surprisingly, in the picture for a large part of the book — knowing about the abuse and turning a blind eye. It's a horrific element that almost stretches the reader's suspension of disbelief, but it also adds a layer of complexity, reminding us of the cruel, harsh reality that adult relatives are not always an automatic ticket away from abuse, especially when that abuse originates from within the nuclear family unit.

Roan, too, is a tremendously complex figure. Early in the book her mother accuses her of choosing her father — of choosing the abuse, and all the benefits that come with living under his thumb (his invaluable coaching being her one-way ticket to the Olympics) — and Roan agrees. It seems like an absurd conversation at the time, because suffering abuse is never a choice. But throughout the novel, Mihalic shows us the subtle ways in which Roan does seem to choose her father, notably sighing with relief when her parents get a divorce and her mother renounces all custody, and deciding not to disclose her secrets to a social worker who approaches her when she's hospitalized for a riding accident. That these choices are made in the context of enduring a lifetime of assault naturally negates their agency, but it's an interesting decision by Mihalic to show the reader a darker side of Roan, a side singularly focused on ambition. It makes for a more unforgettable and hard-hitting book than if she had stuck to a more comfortable, less nuanced blueprint of an abuse survivor in crafting her protagonist.

Partway through the novel, things start to change for Roan when she meets Will Howard, a boy with whom she feels an immediate romantic spark. Roan initially denies the attraction, but more and more Will becomes an impetus for her to challenge her father and push limits in a way that she never has before. From this point on, the tension is palpable as Roan begins to wrest control of her life out of her father's clutches, and the stakes are so high that it's nearly impossible to put the book down until you reach the conclusion.

Dark Horses is not for everyone, but in its harrowing yet sensitive portrayal of abuse and resilience, it's a beautiful and memorable novel for the right reader.

This book is dark in many ways, the most serious being the sexual abuse, elite equestrian rider, Roan, experiences. Her abusive father has great power over her. He’s caused Roan’s mother to flee the marriage because he refuses to share his teenage daughter with anyone. Her life is spent going to school, studying, and preparing for the Olympics. When a young man shows interest in her and Roan realizes how her life is not her own, she begins to fight back, but the power her father has over her is immense. This is one of the most powerful, intense debut novels I have read.