Roan is a famous professional horse rider. She prepares and trains for shows at her wealthy farm, with her Olympian father. Her life is anything but normal, as her father’s public persona is completely different than the abusive father that Roan sees.

Wow, this was a difficult but very engaging read. I’ll tell readers right from the beginning that there are some trigger warnings: sexual abuse, rape, incest, and animal death. The latter is something I won’t typically read, but it wasn’t that bad.. I just still want to put the warning out there. This was a look into a wealthy, famous, and severely dysfunctional family, including a narcissistic, neglectful mother and an abusive, manipulative father. Surprisingly, Roan is very well adjusted and mature. Reading how she copes and the defense mechanisms she has learned to survive are very interesting, but of course depressing as well. I really enjoy books that have a strong dedication to a sport or hobby. I love getting insight into the inner culture that I wouldn’t typically have been exposed to. I learned a lot about professional horseback riding and horses. The abuse in the story was done very well. It was very slowly introduced, getting the readers toes warm before diving in... not unsimilar to the grooming process involved in abuse itself.

“As always, he was invincible. No house keeper appeared in the entrance hall to catch up. No boy in a white truck rode to my rescue.”

Dark Horses comes out 2/16.

I did not enjoy this book very much, partially because of the subject matter, partially because of the writing. I could not really get into it. The first few chapters were so involved with detailed equestrian lingo, to the point of boredom. Then the whole story of Roan’s relationship with her mother and father. I don’t know, I will have to chalk this one up to it was not for me, since it seems like there are many rave reviews on this one.
Some books click, some don’t. This one didn’t click with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was a tough read that should come with a long list of trigger warnings. I thought the author did an amazing job of capturing the pain, trauma, and conflicting emotions of the main character. I finished the entire book in one night because even though the subject matter was incredibly difficult, I could not put it down. I had to know that Monty got exactly what he deserved in the end.

Amazing book-- I could not put it down! I felt as though it were almost sadistic to keep reading, but it was very well written and a disturbing story line that probably happens way too often. I will definitely recommend it to patrons looking for some psychological fiction.

Not since Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone, has a book affected me so deeply. I alternated between feeling horrified by the behavior of some of the characters, to being in awe of the courage and strength in the characters as well. This is a book that will stay in my head for several months. What an amazing debut by the author. I look forward to reading her future books.

Published: February 16, 2022

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 an advanced reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

Here's the thing: I don't know how to honestly review this one. I don't know how many stars I would give it.

You know what I would give it? A GIANT trigger warning.

I flew through it, but then I cried after and they weren't happy tears.

I'm giving 2 stars because the NetGalley requires stars, but I honestly don't know if that is true. I want to give it more for how "can't put it down" it was and I want to give it less for the trauma dredged up by it.

I just don't know, so in the meantime, I don't recommend.

I was appalled when I realized that Roan, the main character of Dark Horses, was a seemingly willing participant in her father’s abuse. I almost stopped reading, but I found the writing style to be compelling, and I had to know what happened.

This novel is sure to cause much discussion among book groups bold enough to tackle it!

What an intense debut novel from this author! I like to toss in an occasional work of fiction to keep things different now and then, and this was quite a random choice, wow. It started off rather easy and built the tension throughout. There are some difficult, painful things going on in the story, to be sure, and I was curious to see how the various storylines would play out. Very readable, some shock factor built in. Not for the faint hearted. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Susan Mihalec, and the publisher.

Trigger warning for sexual trauma survivors this book is intense but I couldn’t put it down. It was twisted and heartbreaking but also a tale of a hope.

"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.

I read this book a few weeks ago and boy, has it stayed with me! DARK HORSES tells a compelling story about a dysfunctional, disturbing relationship between 15-year-old Roan and her parents. Her mother is distant, and her father, while outwardly loving a supportive, is controlling and abusive behind closed doors. But this is not the typical abused child story. Roan is her own person. She lives to ride her horses, particularly Jasper, in equestrian eventing competitions. And while there is no question that Roan is a victim of her father's abuse, DARK HORSES explores the relationship with candor how complicated such relationships can be. Roan's self-discipline and drive prevent the abuse from dominating her spirit as she navigates her way toward adulthood. Although the ending was contrived, it was ultimately satisfying. Milihalic displays great talent both in character creation and setting the scene. I felt as though I was the rider with each race she described. Great book!

Dark Horses could have been a compelling novel if it had rung true or let readers think for themselves. Every response to horrific acts of sexual abuse were described graphically and the narrator exhilarated in giving the reader the 'correct' emotional and rational response to each incident.

Roan is 15 years old, almost 16, and lives with her parents on a large Virginia horse ranch that specializes on breeding the best of horses. Roan's mother is an substance abuser and alcoholic and is emotionally absent. Roan's father has sexually abused Roan since she was six and no one has intervened to put a stop to in. Roan even told her mother about the abuse but her mother chose not to act.

Roan's goal is to be a fantastic horse rider and someday make it to the Olympics. Her father is her coach and she obeys him with fear and loathing.

Of course, I found the graphic sexual scenes disturbing but what I found more disturbing was the 'rational hat' that Roan wore as she analyzed the outcome of each act, exploring what she might gain or lose based on her father's action and mood. Her father is a malignant narcissist whose self-worth comes from illusions of how grand and wonderful he is.

As a clinical social worker, I found the whole book troubling. The writing was melodramatic and, for the most part, did not portray what real victims of abuse go through.

Victims of abuse become so traumatized that they become confused about the role of their abuser. I have worked with hundreds of sexually abused people and Roan demonstrates that she is different from all of them. She maneuvers her father for her own gain and her pain appears superficial except at the end.

I wish the author had allowed me to make my own assumptions about the book rather than have Roan endure her abuse and then tell me what she felt afterwards and what it all meant. It was almost like a Greek chorus.

I have recently read My Dark Vanessa and that novel spoke more to the truth of sexual abuse than Dark Horses did.

Simply excellent. (Also a rare book that gets most of the horse details right!) A recommended first purchase for all fiction collections. Definite crossover appeal for YA/HS audiences.

There is no arguing that this book is deeply disturbing, along the lines of MY NAME IS ALICE or even LOLITA without the humor. And yet...and YET, if you can handle the material, the rape and incest, I highly recommend reading it because it's a rare thing to fall in love with a character the way you're bound to fall in love with Roan. She's a teen girl, master horseman (even after reading I have no idea of the nomenclature so it is what it is) bound for the Olympics, and is carefully guarding her family secret, her incestuous relationship with her father (not biological). After her mother has an affair and is paid off by "Daddy", the noose tightens around Roan's neck and she has to fight like hell to make it out.

This is one of those books that is so terrible to read that you feel guilty about the thrill it gives you. Every word is electric, carefully chosen, and shoots straight for the gut. If you're looking to be sucked in and spit out a little worse for the wear and also terribly impressed with the force of the human spirit, I highly recommend.

*I was sent a free ARC of this book by Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review*

Soapy and melodramatic, Susan Mihalic’s Dark Horses follows Roan, a high school junior and equestrian prodigy navigating an absent mother and a long history of sexual abuse at the hands of her father in the midst of preparing to join the olympic equestrian team.

I have a few issues with this book, rooted in its being pretty clear-cut tragedy porn, a la Flowers in the Attic for over 90% of its (very long) duration. The rape is graphic, the sex is graphic (and unrealistic), the conclusion is graphic - but these images don’t lend much to the story other than shock value and fall flatter the longer they go on. This book really wants to illustrate sex, but never seems to really want to discuss or explore the depths of why Roan is so troubled with her sexuality, what it means for her truly.

The prose falls flat and deprives the story of much nuance, so while the subject matter is incredibly adult the writing feels very YA, in a bad way. Roan’s clear and certain shirking of the so-called “victim mentality,” a dismissive and violent word in itself, feels annoying and unsympathetic given the emotional turmoil that this story drags its reader through. The situation of the mother seems all too convenient, not to mention that I don’t believe for a second that a fifteen-year-old, no matter how dedicated they are to their sport, would have genuinely no interest in having a cell phone or social media, I mean come on.

I was going to say this book is 100 pages too long, but ultimately, it’s 350 pages too long if you’re looking for more than a weak horse-girl-trauma-porn romp.

I know this is the stark reality of what happens to some children/teenagers, but it was to dark and disturbing for me. I ended up skimming the last half just to get to end because some parts were too much for me. Though a different relationship but also just as twisted and wrong, it reminded me of My Dark Vanessa.

Dark Horses is not for the faint of heart. It takes the topic of child sexual abuse and spins it to a nearly cringe-worthy and teeth grinding level, but you won't be able to look away.
The main character is a teenage equestrian prodigy, groomed by her father to please him in every possible way, with devastating consequences, while her mother and acquaintances do nothing to stop it.
Mihalic is a not necessarily an extraordinary writer, and some readers may find the narrative too graphic, too awful. But Mihalic is insistent, leading the reader to power through to the end and find some sort of comfort in a resolution where there are no real winners.

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

Wow I couldn't put this book down. It was so emotional, I've never cried reading a book but I did with this one. If you love V. C. Andrews then you will love this. After years of abuse she finally put an end to it herself