The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The water horses are hungry and wicked, vicious and beautiful, hating us and loving us.

It is time for the Scorpio Races.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater wasn’t a book I was initially interested in. I was not a fan of the Shiver series, so I figured I’d just be passing this one by as well. Then I saw Melissa at i swim for ocean’s review saying that she wasn’t a Shiver fan either – but loved this book. I thought hmm. Then Holly at Book Harbinger and Angie at Angieville both gave it rave reviews which pretty much guaranteed that I’d be reading it. So – was it worth picking up? Well…

YES! Thank goodness I have such great taste in blogging friends, right? Without them I’d have passed The Scorpio Races by. And I’d have been missing out on a lot.

The island becomes a living breathing thing – perhaps the strongest of the characters. I felt pulled into the magic of the capall uisce, the deadly horses from the sea. They were always both terrifying and mesmerizing, which is, I imagine, exactly how the characters in the book felt about them as well. It was the island that made the entire book feel real. Because I was so immersed into this place, Sean, Puck and everyone around them became real as well. I tasted the November cakes (I really really want one for real y’all, I may have to make that happen. Angie posted the recipe.), I both felt the punishing winds and tasted the salt they carried with them…reading this book was a very sensory experience.

Also – while there are no sexytimes, there was amazing breathless tension. The progression of Sean & Puck’s relationship was very slow and subtle, a definite rarity these days. They rode a horse together and I think it was one of the sexiest scenes I’ve ever read. No romantic physical contact whatsoever and still – wowza. When an author can bring you so fully into a world and connect you in such a real way to the people inside it, it is definitely time to be impressed. Maggie Stiefvater has definitely impressed me in a big way.

The relationship between Sean and his horse, Corr, was also brilliantly handled. Incredibly complex and layered. Getting through all the tangled emotions in the book made that ending incredibly stirring. I will be incredibly sad to leave Sean, Puck and Corr behind. (In fact, I’m writing this review about five days after finishing  the book and I am still feeling the loss.)

Whether or not you’ve loved Maggie Stiefvater’s books in the past doesn’t matter you guys, trust me. Don’t pass on the chance to experience this one! It now has a nice comfortable spot on my all-time favorites list.

Check out The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater on Goodreads / Amazon