Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

18 reviews

chris_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I wasn't expecting to get much out of it because I'm not really a horse person, but this was so much more than that. Stiefvater has such a way with words. She creates such a gorgeous atmosphere and sense of setting, and she always nails characterization. Yes, even the horses. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Classism

Minor: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

jmcampbell57's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death of parent

unicornrhyfedd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying and Death of parent

carys_ene's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

a horse gets injured and a character's boots are peed in as a way to humiliate them

kommatator's review

emotional

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

delvie's review

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Scorpio Races is a book that takes place on a fictional island on which the men race water horses, once a year. For a book entitled Scorpio Races though, the actual races last not even 10 minutes out of the 12 hour audiobook. It would be more appropriate to call it Thisbe, after the fictional island on which the book takes place. I'm fine with 12 hours of world building, I'm fine with the book setting being mostly set in the real world, save for one fictional island, but I am not fine with both of those things at once. 

I think this book could have cut down on the clutter. It feels like it introduces side-characters for no other reason than literal kelpie fodder to remind the reader about how dangerous the water horses are. Other than that, it's just an insider's guide to Thisbe: a fictional island where life is rough, the people are poor, and the men are misogynistic (groundbreaking territory, really).

Here's the thing: I'm a horse girl; this book should have been a slam dunk. The fact that it isn't, and that I only consider it to be "alright" speaks volumes, I think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, and Blood

atamano's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I fucking love everything about this book.

Reread 2024: Just realized that this book is about a stubborn second child, mad at her older sibling for not loving their family in the “right” way. Much to think about. 
I also think this book is just a masterclass in character motivations. Every single character, even minor ones, have some driving action behind their actions that is clear in the text without it being overexplained. The whole crux of the book for every single character is “What do you want and what are you willing to do to get it?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity