Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Scorpio Races

This is one of those books that sweeps you into a world you never knew you longed for. It revels in the folkloric—yet no-less believable—place it creates and breathes life into every one of its characters, no matter how fleeting their time on the page might be. Stiefvater's writing is just gorgeous, too, and her voice is poetic without being distracting, blunt without feeling shallow, and so precise that there were countless lines or turns of phrase that stopped me in my tracks. She has this way of describing things in a way you've never heard before and yet somehow feel like you grew up hearing them. I relished every moment spent in the story, every tensely held breath, every embarrassing gasp at the warm embers of an emerging romance, every profane word I shouted when the book threw another heartwrenching twist at me. I’m going to be coming to this one for a long time.

Update (12/28/23): Somehow, it might be even better on a re-read? It’s such a rich, ferocious, and lived-in story, with a vividly persuasive sense of place that I can’t help but get immersed in. I love how genuine the nervy, anxious relationships are, and how much restraint Stiefvater shows in a lot of the pacing. It’s a patient, rewarding book with a raw, earthy quality that occupies you as much as you occupy it. I’m glad I went for the audiobook this time, too. Both narrators are perfect and give the characters the exact voices I always imagined. Love, love, love this book.

Content Warnings

vhispas's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A ver solid 3. I struggled to get on board. It might be a little long. But I really love how the author builds and describes the evironment, small detalls about the charcaters and the water horses.

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phantomgecko's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I read a lot of horse books in elementary school. In hindsight, they're usually boring. (Sorry Marguerite Henry) But idk, I kept reading them because horses are cool?

This is a horse book, even a RACE horse book, that for real isn't boring. Possibly because the horses in question are mythical creatures that kill.

A cute little love story wrapped in adventure. Also with frustrating undertones of misogyny. Also paganism? There's kinda a lot in this one. Maybe part of the charm is the ambiguous imaginary world created.

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erinwolf1997's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Content Warnings

smhawks's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

marieketron's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was expecting the plot to take a pattern similar to the hunger games, with the races taking place around the mid point. As instead the race only happens at the end, I felt like the plot dragged a bit. But in the end I also feel like the slow village life and romance made for proper worldbuilding and atmosphere setting, so if you’re into that this may be the book for you.

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