Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Horses | 2021 | Susan Mihalic | Buy |
Susan Mihalic’s debut novel Dark Horses (2021) is set in the world of competitive equestrian eventing in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It follows fifteen-year-old Roan Montgomery, a talented rider training for the Olympics whose father and coach has been abusing her for years. When Roan develops a relationship with a classmate, she begins to understand what a healthy connection looks like, and the fragile equilibrium of her family starts to collapse.
Mihalic spent decades in publishing and education before writing her first novel. She worked as an editor at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, ran an art school in Taos, New Mexico, and taught therapeutic horseback riding, an experience that gave the novel’s equestrian scenes their detail and authenticity.
Dark Horses was published by Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Publishers Weekly called it “a powerhouse,” and O, The Oprah Magazine named it one of their Most Anticipated Books of 2021.