Title: The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic
Date Published: October 18th, 2011
Edition: Audiobook
Rating:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
My Review:
The Scorpio Races totally took me by surprise. I went into this thinking that I would end up being one of the many haters because of the pure fact that it’s so different than what we get from Maggie in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. So I figured that those differences would make me not like it. But this one was so good.
I first off want to suggest that if you’re thinking of reading this, listen to the audiobook instead. I decided to try it out since I’ve been on an audiobook kick lately and it is by far the best audiobook I’ve ever listened to. The narrators chosen were perfect for the roles and brilliant at portraying the characters and the emotions going on. I especially loved Fiona Hardingham as Puck. I think she’s new to the narrator scene because there aren’t any other audiobooks on Audible with her as the narrator. But I do hope she does more because I’ll be following her and making sure to listen to all her audiobooks. Her voice is so soothing and lovely and she just sounded like I would imagine Puck would sound.
But anyways, onto the story. This was really good. I think I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have appreciated the book as much if I had read it instead though because it is a slower paced book for most of it. But listening to it had a soothing feeling to it that relaxed me and helped me to appreciate the slow pace more.
Both Puck and Sean were amazing characters, mature and brave. Even though there were times when you knew Puck felt like she was in over her head, she just has this air about her that you can’t help but admire. She has a lot of spark and life in her and I was proud of her every step of the way. Sean is the kind of character who has every reason to be cocky but isn’t. Instead he’s calm, cool, and collected all the time. At first Puck and Sean together would seem sort of unlikely. But the more these two were explored the more I came to understand them.
The romance in this one is very different from the Shiver trilogy, but not in a bad way, just a different way. The romance between Grace and Sam was more electric and fast burning. Whereas the romance between Puck and Sean is subtle and sweet and shy. They were both not used to their feelings so it was so adorable to watch them together.
Overall, this was a great book. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It adds to the beautiful story that Maggie Stiefvater has written here. For people who are not fans of the Shiver trilogy, still try this one. Although I am a fan of them, I noticed with this one that Maggie’s writing seems to have matured and the story is quite lovely.
Read more reviews & Buy it up! 
Leave a Reply