The Scorpio Races Kindle Edition

What a great story. I love horses and just had to see what this was all about.The water horses are a race of beings that live in the water, emerging to feed on flesh or drag you to a watery death. The thought makes me shiver.Every year, riders mount these monstrous beasts for the Scorpio Races. It’s hard enough to win a regular horse race. In this race, you have to worry about surviving as much as winning.The character’s are numerous and very genuine. Puck is a young lass willing to risk her life in the races. She lost her parents to the water horses, and now her older brother is leaving her and her younger brother Finn to fend for themselves. The money from the race would help save their home.Sean and his stallion, Corr, are four time winners of the races. He’ll ride again this year, but the stakes are much higher.Puck and Sean have a growing attraction for each other. But both must win the race.I so loved this world and the character’s that galloped through the pages, human and other. I wanted this one to win. And that one to win. This one to stay. That one to stay. I feared the worst and hoped for the best.This story is so much more than a race. I struggle to even tell you about it. There’s desperation and hope, bravery and honor, magic and danger. And I couldn’t have asked for a better final scene.

This is book is too beautiful for words. It paints pictures that carry more emotion than emotion can carry itself.This book all the sudden means so much to me. (*hugs book to chest while sobbing*) I don't know how to cope. So many different emotions rippled through my chest. So many characters that captured my heart. But mostly Maggie Stiefvater released the essence of a heart's freedom within these pages. She told a story my heart recognized, one I identified with, and one I will cherish forever.This book opened my eyes again. It reminded me why I love my world--the country. It reminded me why I admire horses, and what freedom feels like. I have promised myself to never forget what my world means to me. The Scorpio Races has revived my spirit and I cannot thank Maggie Stiefvater enough. This book is gold.There were a bunch of conversations that really cheered my spirit--mainly because it's so unique--one of them being the statement Peg made to Puck about racing. About motive. About proving that she can do the things that the men can. About becoming a man in the men's eyes. Peg was warning her that such a choice was dangerous...and wrong. Puck knew that wasn't what she wanted, she just need to show the men that such a thing was possible (also, personal reasons). But that statement really got me thinking...about feminists. That's what they're doing. Trying to prove that they can do the things men can, better then men can themselves. It may not be their initial intention, but that's what's happening...and just as Peg was implying such a movement can have dire consequences for everyone. Anyways ... I really appreciate that view.Description ~ I cherished every moment of it. The way she helped me picture things weren't so much in words, but in visions. The images she designed carried more emotion than her stating the emotion. It was gorgeous and my heart soared. I've never read details painted in such a fashion.Plot ~ I LOVED THE PACING. IT WAS AMAZING. Just enough action to keep me excited, but not so much that it created anxiety. I really appreciated that....most of the time--in order for the reader to stay invested--the action has to be so deep the readers can't enjoy the book without being thrown from page to page. That's why I love this pacing. There's not enough of this pacing.Romance ~ Top notch. Some of the best I've ever read. I hate how all the "horse/country" storylines have to always be cliche. The MC is a hot girl who is new to the country and loves horses or learns to ride horses. Then she and "the hot ranch hand" start having chemistry. Turns out a bully girl who is the best horse woman in the town likes this guy too. The MC and the bully girl have some sort of competition and the bully girl looses. Then our MC gets everything she wants....the guy, the horse, and friends. I HATE THIS. This romance was nothing at all like the normal "country girl" style. AND I LOVE THAT. The two MC's are some of the most interesting characters I've ever met. I love how their relationship develops slowly, but completely. It's so beautiful and unique.Content ~ It's a rather violent book. Honestly the water horses are bloody creatures. The Scorpio Race is a violent thing. It literally says "Today is November first, and so today someone will die." On the first page. :P There's also some language....and religion. Some crude comments and one kiss. Overall it's clean....for YA. 😏Characters ~ They were all very realistic and true to their personality. I adored how just a few words could carry so much meaning...or how one look implied so much emotion. 💕 The dialogue was EPIC.Sean ~ The prequel allowed me to connect with him so much more. I have this strange feeling that if the prequel weren't there I wouldn't understand him very well. He just isn't a very emotion person--most men aren't--so it matched his quiet ways. His ability with the water horses made my heart warm. There's just something about his personality that makes him endearing.Puck/Kate ~ Finally!!! FINALLY!!! We have a non stereotypical country girl. I have been wanting this MY WHOLE LIFE. She loves horses, but she cares for her family, and underneath that hard shell she is compassionate. I loved how she appeared calm under pressure and how could be strong the way a woman is suppose to be strong (not the way a man is supposed to be strong).Overall ~ This book has revived my spirit. I didn't realize how much I missed by not reading it for so long. BUMP THIS BOOK UP YOUR TBR. NOW.

I have lived a good long time...longer than I will admit to here, and I have been reading voraciously since before kindergarten. I have read a lot of books. Many of them have been good, and a precious few have been great. The Scorpio Races is as good a book as I have read in many years. It was so good, in fact, that once I finished it, I mourned for a few minutes and then promptly started re-reading it.The story is intriguing...the Scorpio Races are races set on a small island (fictional, but it feels a lot like an Irish offshore island) between Cappaill Uisce, the water horses of Celtic folklore. These are no Disney water horses...they eat meat, drink blood and kill. Each other, and humans. But the island, Thisby, and the horses are connected in ways modern man has trouble understanding. They have ancient blood ties past remembering. Two of the contenders in this years race are Sean Kendricks, and Puck Connelly.Sean has been working with the Cappaill Uisce since he was a boy. Described by the islanders as having "one foot on land, and one in the sea" he has won the races for the past four years on a stallion named Corr. He loves Corr deeply, and the horses in his charge love him and his magic.Puck is an orphaned girl who is riding in the races for the first time, as the first woman to compete. She is also riding her mundane island horse, Dove, rather than one of the Cappaill Uisce...another first. She is hindered in her efforts by almost everyone on the island. Everyone but Sean, who is drawn to her for reasons he cannot explain.The two face many obstacles. Chief among them is Mutt Malvern, the cruel son of the richest man on the island (and Sean's employer). Another hurdle they must face is that each has desperate reasons for needing to win the race, but to do that, they must beat the person they are growing to love. The love story is awkward and terribly sweet.I can't really put my finger on what I find so compelling about this book. The story is unique, and the slight tinge of magic over everything on Thisby adds a delightful air of mystery. Its written by a YA author, which may be the reason the love story is so muted and delicious. We don't have sex to rely on making the story interesting. The writing must carry the story.And the writing is superb. The suspense simply never lets up. One is completely drawn in by the two immensely likable main characters, and many of the lesser characters deserve their own book: Finn and George Holly are two I would love to read more about. The rituals and traditions surrounding the races are unsettling, yet have the feel of ancient rhythms and rites. Stiefvater has an unswervingly deft hand in her timing and the pace of the story feels just right. The conclusion is a surprise, albeit one that satisfactorily resolves the dilemma of the two protagonists.I was rather haunted by the story. I found myself thinking a lot about the story and the characters during the first read, and even the second. Sean, in particular caught my imagination. He is mysterious and magical and immensely attractive. Again, Ms Stiefvater reveals just enough of his background to help explain him, but we never fully understand him.I will definitely read more by the author. I don't usually read YA novels, but this one is so exceptional that I too will make an exception.

There are books you read where you can see the author at work - you feel that it's been 'written'. Maybe because the prose doesn't flow or feels contrived. Maybe it's because it feels too plotted or not plotted at all. Or the characters seem cliched or wooden. Then there are novels that you get lost in because the place and people jump off the page and the author themselves remains hidden. This is one of those books. Maggie Stiefvater is, as far as I'm aware, American. The Scorpio Races is set in Thisby (its main town is Skarmouth) and although this is a fictional setting, it has a very British or maybe Irish feel to it. I'd say maybe Irish, as Thisby is an Island (which put me very much in mind of the Aran Islands off Galway Bay. Given that the place is, in any event, fictional, Thisby is brought to life so well, it becomes almost like a third character in the book, alongside Puck and Sean.Told in alternating first-person chapters from Puck and Sean's perspective, we get a true insight into what drives them. The character building is superb and I loved Puck, who was often very witty in a dry way. There are also insights that are wonderful and profound. Like Puck's observation that 'there are moments that you'll remember for the rest of your life and there are moments that you think you'll remember for the rest of your life, and it's not often they turn out to be the same moments'. For me, as a reader, those 'ohhhh' moments, when you're gifted something truly beautiful and relatable to mull over are wonderful. And then there are Puck's amusing observations - for example, her description of two sisters: 'Annie looks dreamy, but she always does because she can't see further than a metre away. Elizabeth looks vaguely angry, but she always does because she can see further than a metre away.'These musings by Puck bring her to life in an amazing way. By contrast, Sean, is quiet and self-contained but no less developed as a character for being such.For me, this book wasn't really about magic (although there are allusions to it - bells and circles in the sand, iron, spit - things designed to 'tame' the mythical and deadly water horses that emerge each November and are rounded up for the Scorpio Races). Rather, the novel is about overcoming adversity, being true to oneself, loyalty, tenacity and finding meaning in the here and now. Not looking for something more or 'other' but being present in the moment, and being happy with that and with your place in the world. I don't want to say much about the plot - this isn't plot-driven in a 'and here's the next twist' way type of a novel. What drives this novel is the development of Puck and Sean as individuals and, then, as two people who begin to care for more than just their own situation. The relationship between Sean and Corr (his water horse) was also beautiful and intriguing - and contrasted wonderfully with Puck's more conventional (but no less committed or affectionate) relationship with her horse, Dove.I think this novel will definitely appeal to horse lovers - but also readers who enjoy being transported to different places. There are some shocking scenes in the book (the water horse are deadly after all and enjoy taking bites out of people and other horses!) but there are truly beautiful scenes too. There aren't many books where I'll go back and re-read the ending - but I have with this one a few times. And although I finished the novel a couple of days ago, the characters and place are still with me. I feel that I'd love to visit there. I only hope that, one day, there might be a follow up to this novel.

Oh how I loved this story! Sure it was a little slow off the starting blocks but once I was hooked that was it, I read all night to see how it all turned out.I enjoyed getting to know the main characters, Puck and Sean, who were well developed, as were the supporting cast. Mutt and his father were excellent bad guys, Dory and her sisters entertaining, and Puck's brothers well drawn.The island was a character too - wild and pagan with the tourists uneasy visitors from a more secure world. Then there were the capaill uisce, who should dispel any fantasies of faeries as twinkly little charmers. Sean's relationship with Corr, his water horse, was poignant and led to one of the most moving endings I've ever read in a novel. It was perfect.The race was a wild ride indeed. I had no clue who would win or if the racers would survive... I tore through the story at that point I can tell you!Some have said this book was too slow for them. I think the slow start suits the season when the book is set, a strange and dangerous autumn when death is only too close for the islanders of Thisby.Full marks to Maggie again! I am so happy to have found this writer :-)

The story in this book revolves around an island where deadly man-eating horses come out of the sea each November and are raced by the inhabitants. The location (probably somewhere off Ireland) and the period (probably mid-twentieth century) are left purposefully vague, and the gritty realities and romanticism of life on the island are just as important as the supernatural elements. There's a romance between two desperate entrants in the races, but it's incredibly slowburn. The love of the main characters for their horses and the details of how they care for them are spelt out. Whatever else, good or bad, I think about this book, I admire the way the author has written something genuinely original and unusual, with little regard to genre boundaries or recent conventions of YA lit. This reminded me a little of some of the seventies and eighties teen books that merged magic and reality, such as Elidor or the Dark is Rising, which I've always loved. I read this straight after devouring the final three books of the same author's Raven Boys series, and to some degree, this feels like an early attempt at the tone that book does so well.On the whole, I enjoyed this - the well-drawn characters, the island, the horses. However, it was very slow, which sometimes built up atmosphere, sometimes made it drag. And while it was nice not to have an "insta-love" plot, the romance took a seriously long time to get going, and didn't have as much spark as I'd have liked. I suspect that to fully appreciate this book, you need to really, really like horses, as they are so integral to the plot and the mood.Worth a read as something a little different, particularly if you like the author's other books, but didn't quite hit the mark for me.

I finished reading The Scorpio Races while I was on holiday in Llandudno, Wales, during an incredible thunderstorm. The thunder and lightning only added to what was already a terrifying ride, and if I thought I heard the pounding of hooves outside, or a scream from the sea… well, I ducked under my blankets and prayed!Maggie Stiefvater knows both how to weave a story and craft characters so real they practically leap off the page and shake your hand. Strong-willed Puck makes me proud to share her nickname, and Sean… well, I liked Sean a lot. Though I don’t often like the way boys are portrayed in YA, Stiefvater manages to make me feel for everyone involved in each story she writes.The action is fast-paced, but once again the characters step forward to lead the way with the usual Stiefvater flair; attention to detail, emotion, and humour. Stiefvater takes an awesome idea – racing water horses – and turns it into something altogether breathtaking in its depth. It is simple yet complex and I will read it again and again.The ending was perfect. Part of me ached for something more at the end of The Raven Cycle (a Thing that I believe was intended) but the last page of The Scorpio Races made me think: “Yes, this is how it should be.” Of course the characters and even Thisby itself will live on, as they should. But this chapter of their lives has come to a satisfying, magical close.

16-year-old Kate ‘Puck’ Connolly has lived her whole life on the island of Skarmouth with her brothers Gabe and Finn ever since their parents were killed by a capall (a fierce, carnivorous water horse indigenous to the island). When Gabe announces that he’s leaving the island to seek work on the mainland, Puck discovers that they’re behind on the rent for their house and it’s up to her to find a way to pay it. The only option is to enter the Scorpio Races held on 1st November each year where riders race their capalls along the Skarmouth beaches and the winner takes a fat purse and the promise of fame. But Puck doesn’t have a capall of her own and even if she did, she isn’t sure she can control one.Her only hope is Sean Kendrick, a boy not much older than her who’s won the Scorpio Races numerous times and works as a horse and capall trainer for the crafty Benjamin Malvern. But Sean has his own reasons for wanting to win the Scorpio Races and although Puck finds herself drawn to him, there’s no way that each can get what they want … is there?Maggie Stiefvater’s critically acclaimed standalone YA fantasy is a well-crafted, exciting read that really conveys the magic of horses (both real and fantastical) while also establishing a credible romance between the two main characters. The story is a little predictable and I found Skarmouth veered at times towards being distinctly Oirish in flavour while Kendrick’s main antagonist Mutt (the cruel and vicious son of Benjamin Malvern) is two dimensional, but Stiefvater’s skill as a writer means there are still some surprises in the plot together with some beautifully observed and touching scenes. What really sets this book apart though is the fact that the romance is so well written – you see Puck and Sean grow towards each other and the love they share for horses. In lesser hands this could be clichéd but Stiefvater gives it life and a sweet intensity (and I say that as someone who doesn’t like a lot of romance). Also good is the relationship Puck has with her brothers, especially the sweet and fearful Finn who isn’t quite able to deal with the real world. Ultimately this was an interesting and entertaining read and I really look forward to seeing what Stiefvater does next.