Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

32 reviews

keishbby's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent

Several horses die violently. One cat is harmed, several sheep are killed off screen. Several humans die on and off screen.

billyjepma's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Misogyny, Death, Blood, and Bullying

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

bi_n_large's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Bullying, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Sexism

Minor: Religious bigotry and Sexual content

seforana's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Violence

dananana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism

phantomgecko's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexism, and Bullying

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

While this may have been an incredibly dark book, the bright beams of hopefulness shined through. Puck was admirable as she attempted to do everything within her power to save her family's house - even if it puts her in immense danger and could be the death of her. I also appreciate how Sean never resented the water horses for their nature and how that lead to the death of his father. He spent all of his efforts devoted to training and ensuring the safety of the water horses they brought into their facility. 

The dual POV was really nice and left the story feeling very balanced. I absolutely anticipate a re-read in the future. After reading so many of Maggie's other books I can't believe the horse girl in me didn't pull this off my TBR earlier. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Alcohol

Like I mentioned in the review, this book is pretty dark. The water horses are carnivorous and predators. This leads to some very graphic injuries/gore from situations involving them.

nikki_haug's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent