Review: The Scorpio Races
Okay, so lately I’ve been pretty much binge reading historicals (holla at Lisa Kleypas), and I thought that it was time to change it up a bit. I’ve had The Scorpio Races on my ‘to-read’ shelf for quite a while actually – thanks to Goodreads for recommending it to me. So I’ve been so absorbed in the romace-y department, that this read was quite a breath of fresh air, and I loved it. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has an interesting title, and an interesting cover.
This story is unlike any other that I’ve read. It involves a mixture of the legends of the flesh-eating water horses and the magic that accompanies such a thing. Although the story did not focus on romance (there was a kiss or two), I actually didn’t mind it. Okay fine, I would’ve liked some hot make out scenes and maybe a little more, but that’s not what the story was about and maybe if it was there, it would’ve brought down the story? I don’t know. The namesake of the novel is indeed the entire story – the lead up to and the Scorpio Race itself.
Moving on to characters, Kate “Puck” Connolly is not only the first girl to ever enter the race, but the first to use her own land horse instead of the bigger, stronger, faster, more vicious capall uisce. The reason she enters the race is not for selfish reasons such as fame and whatnot, but to save her house with the money won. Puck is a determined girl who doesn’t need to rely on anyone but herself. She is strong willed and tries her hardest to ignore everyone and overcome the odds.
Sean Kendrick is four-time winner of the Scorpio Races, and to him, this next race is an easy win. I don’t really know how to describe Sean, he’s a man of few words, but he has this bad-boy kind of aura, where her just breathes power and control. The only thing that Sean cares about is the red capall uisce; Corr, who is his in everything but name. Enter Puck, who he takes a liking to and now his goals for the race change. Sean Kendrick is known among everyone on the island, and on an island filled with the love of horses, he is the man to go to with your questions or troubles.
So slowly, Puck and Sean develop some sort of relationship. Puck needs the money to save her family home, and Sean needs to money to finally be able to buy Corr. You can’t have both right? Wrong. The race itself is dangerous and many go down, but [SPOILER ALERT], Puck beats all odds and wins the race with her land horse. Without giving away too much, it’s a happy ending and there was also a little suspense as to what might happen in the end. I did like the slow burn build of the relationship between Puck and Sean, I just wish that there was more of it. Also, I thought that there could’ve been more at the end of the book, like another page or so or an epilogue. I turned the last page and expected more and I was slightly disappointed when there wasn’t any, but oh well.
Anyways, I really did like this book and I would re-read it again. I recommend this to those who enjoy reading about ancient legends morphed into something slightly more modern, and also those who have an affinity for horses. All in all, it’s:
