A breathtaking novel set in the wilds of Ireland, from
the bestselling author of Shiver, Linger and
Forever.
Stay alive, stay astride, stay out of the water...
Every November, the Scorpio Races are run beneath the chalk cliffs
of Skarmouth.
Thousands gather to watch the horses and the sea that washes the
blood from the sand.
The mounts are capaill uisce: savage
water horses.
There are no horses more beautiful, more fearless, more
deadly. To race them can be suicide but the danger is
irresistible.
Sean Kendrick knows the dangers of the capaill uisce.
With one foot in the ocean and one on land, he is the only man on
the island capable of taming the beasts. He races
to prove something both to himself and to the horses.
Puck Connolly enters the races to save her family. But the horse
she rides is an ordinary little mare, just as Puck is an ordinary
girl.
When Sean sees Puck on the beach he doesn't think she belongs.
He doesn't realize his fate will become entwined in hers.
They both enter the Races hoping to change their lives. But
first they'll have to survive.
Romantic and steeped in legend
Maggie Stiefvater is a master at writing both romance and heart-pounding
action
Her books have consistently debuted at #1 on the NYT bestseller
list
PRAISE FOR SCORPIO RACES
"If The Scorpio Races sounds like nothing you’ve
ever read, that’s because it is. The capaill
uisce are exhilarating, frightening creations... Stiefvater has
successfully plumbed lesser-known myths and written a complex literary
thriller" - New York Times
The bestselling author of Shiver (2009)
and Linger (2010) turns the
legend of the water horse into a taut, chilling, romantic adventure. The
water horses are breathtakingly well-imagined, glorious
and untamably violent. The final race, with Sean and Puck each
protecting each other but both determined to win, comes to a pitch-perfect
conclusion. Masterful. Like nothing else out there now.
- Kirkus Review
5 ★ Audiobook⎮This book is a slow burn. I can't recall a story that has ever touched my soul quite like this one. This story managed to get under my skin in the most hauntingly pleasant sort of way. Some may be bothered by its plodding pace, but to me it was the good kind of slow. The peaceful sort of slow, like a Sunday drive. So much of this story is devoted to character development that I feel like I know them. Fondness for the characters almost creeps up on you, even with the minor characters. The plot is not unnecessarily impeded by romance (there isn't even a hint of it for most of the book). And the romance that does exist is the furthest thing from insta-love or the juvenile type of romance usually seen in YA stories. I'm not even sure I would classify this as YA. It's such a mature story and a far cry from Shiver. I can't believe this was even written by the same author as Shiver. This is the work by which Maggie Stiefvater should be judged. Her writing here is poetic. This book truly is an experience. There's no other way to describe it.
Narration review: The audiobook narrators ( Steve West & Fiona Hardingham) did an incredible job of conveying more through their narration than was present in the author's work. They excelled at creating an atmosphere for the story that whisks the listener away to Thisby. I get chills just thinking about it. ♣︎
Reading updates
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Started reading
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1 November, 2015:
Finished reading
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1 November, 2015:
Reviewed