The Scorpio Races (ARC)

We have a review of a very action packed, anticipated book, The Scorpio Races. by Maggie Stiefvater!

Summary: 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: I was really looking forward to this book. I loved Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. The idea of super dangerous water horses really sounded cool and original. And I was surely not wrong!

For me, the setting was the most outstanding aspect of this book. It takes place on an island where some of their ways seem from an earlier era, although they do have cars. I really enjoyed that steampunk-ish style of the book.

I also loved how the relationship between Puck and Sean was always in the background and not the main premise of the novel. Unlike a lot of YA, they're is no instant love. Puck and Sean weren't from the second they met soul mates. It developed over the story but never took the front seat. It added a sense of realism to an otherwise totally fantasy world.

Puck and Sean were both very interesting main characters. Like The Wolves of Mercy Falls the book switches narration between the two. Puck was a very strong and stubborn (in bad and good ways) heroine. And though Sean seemed a little boring and he got much more interesting in the second half of the novel that made me root for him all the way! The antagonists in this book were also very well depicted.

The water horses were amazing. Horrifying yet beautiful. These horses had me on the edge of my seat, during the race and at all parts of the novel.

My favorite part of the novel was actually hearing about Puck and Sean's day to day lives. From the summary it sounds like the book is going to take place mostly during the races, but I was surprised to find out that it takes mostly during the build up apposed to the actual event.

The Scorpio Races is supposedly a stand alone novel, which is uncommon these days in YA. Even though Stiefvater's said that, I'd enjoy a sequel and there would be plenty of room to build the world bigger and more detailed.

The Scorpio Races takes a mixture of horse raising, man killing, realistic life stories and blends them all into one stunning novel of beauty and action. This book will appeal to fans of a wide mix of genres.

5/5

Cover Comments: It looks very dashing, I love the red and gold.

Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Scorpio Races is out now. Hurry to the stores to get your hands on it!

This book counts in the following reading challenges:

111 in 2011: 85

Forever

Tonight I have a review of the final book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater-- Forever!

Summary: The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

My review: I loved Shiver. I loved Linger even more. But I've heard a bunch of people HATED Forever and said this book spoiled the trilogy for them. I was not one of those people.

Forever was very different from the other books in the series, that can't be denied. That doesn't mean it wasn't good though! One, the first two books were more about the love aspect but in this one that takes a back seat to the action. But as a boy (we don't go for the gushy romance, if you haven't noticed) I didn't really mind that too much.

One strong point of Forever is that the characters all develop a lot more. Especially Cole and Isabel. Cole is so funny and Isabel's logic is hilarious. Besides a few dramatic moments involving these two, they provided the comic relief when all the other characters were pulling their hair out. I really enjoyed these two.

Forever was different (in a good way) from the other two because it also had the characters narrating as wolves as well, it was really interesting to get in the mind of the wolves, and was a plus to the story.

There were a few flaws to Forever though. The main being the lack of getting going, the first 100 pages was basically everyone crying about everybody else and I didn't enjoy that. At all. It bored me to tears.

Maggie Stiefvater's writing style is, once again, beautiful and dreamy. It felt like I was reading poetry. Man, does that girl have some skills!

Forever was a great novel. Though the story felt climatic, it ended with plenty of room for more... you can always hope, right?

5/5

Cover Comments: This one goes well with the other two, they look great together on my shelf!

This book counts in the following challenges:

111 in 2011: 81

2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge: #2

Teaser Tuesday 10/4

Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” lines from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away, you don't want to spoil the book for others!

This week's teaser is from:

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

And the teasers are:

1.So now I was a werewolf and a thief.

2. My bones felt as if they'd been rolled into Play-Doh snakes and then back into bones and then back into snakes again.

Linger

Here with another review...the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy but Maggie Stiefvater, Linger!

Summary: In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

My review: Shiver was awesome. I thought it would be impossible for Linger to be better. I was wrong. I picked this book up right after finishing Shiver. And I couldn't put it down! It was SO amazing!

At the start of this book everything is going right for Sam and Grace. They're both human. And they're both madly in love. But that doesn't make for a very interesting book, now does it?

The only flaw I found in Shiver was the slow start. Linger did not have that problem. By page 20 there was already a ton of action, and a brand new and super awesome character: Cole. Cole, the ex member of a famous teen rock band, EXTALICA or something like that (honestly it was so hard to pronounce and remember). Cole's sick of his rocker life and just wants to forget, he saw becoming a wolf as the perfect opportunity. But when he starts to cause a lot of problems for the pack, he becomes not so sure.

I liked how both Grace and Sam were the narrators in the last book. In this book I was thrilled to find two new narrators, Cole and Grace's friend and brother of dead werewolf, Isabel. In the last book I found Isabel just a snobby, rich girl who only cared about herself. In this book she was totally different and a lot cooler. She cared a lot about the wolves and helped Grace out a bunch. Well done on Isabel's part.

In Shiver I saw Grace's parents as just eccentric, maybe a bit on the non caring side, but nothing major. In this book all you want to do is punch them. They're characters you love to hate. They were being so mean to Grace I was like "SOMEONE FRICKIN' OFF THESE JERKS!!!" I sure wouldn't want her parents!

Maggie Stiefvater's writing style is amazing. It's so poem like and romantic. It made my jaw drop and say "How the heck does she does this? Is she on writing steroids?"

Fever is a book that will leave you yelling "OMG OMG OMG, I NEED MORE." It ends on quite a cliffhanger. Good thing I have Forever, come to me oh holy precious awesomeness!

5/5

Cover Comments: This cover compliments Shiver quite well. I like the green, well done!

This book counts in the following challenges:

111 in 2011 Challenge: Book #80

2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge: Book #1

Shiver

Hello guys! I'm back from my trip, and with a review of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Summary: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I have been wanting to read this book for just about ever. So when I was in Denver at The Tattered Cover I picked up a copy... then when I saw Maggie Stiefvater was coming to Poulsbo (a 45 minute drive from where I live) in mid-October I figured I better start reading... and I loved it!

Grace was super cool. Loads better then Bella from Twilight. Grace wasn't a follower. Or a leader. She's the artistic one who's doing her own thing off in the corner. She's had an "obsession" with the wolves that live in the woods outside her house. But never did she know that the wolves weren't really wolves. Nope, they're humans who change into wolves when it gets to cold.

I loved Maggie Stiefvater's version of werewolves. Who would of thought that they change because it's too cold out? I thought that part was very cool. At the start of each chapter they had the temperature. That was neat.

Besides Sam, I loved the other wolves as well. They were all really cool and interesting. I loved hearing their story before they became wolves as well.

The only flaw I can find in this book is probably that the book didn't getting going fast enough for me, but once it did it was heaven

Shiver is a great novel. I started reading Linger (the second book in this series) a few minutes ago and can't wait to get started with that novel. You must read Shiver. You must!

5/5

Cover Comments: I love the simplicity of this cover. The blue works quite nicely.