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booksandladders 's review for:
The Scorpio Races
by Maggie Stiefvater
“Shhhhhh, shhhhhh, says the sea, but I don't believe her.”
Hi I was a literal puddle of tears after I finished this one last night. I went in expecting it to be good (because Stiefvater is bae) but I didn't realize HOW good until I actually started it. I listened to this as an audiobook, ps. and I do recommend you do that. The narration was really good and I didn't think it took away from the story at all. The narrators didn't try to really mimic other voices, but made them different enough that you knew who was talking. Anyway, this is a story about people who love horses and the horses that love them back.
This one just had so much goodness to it. If you like Stiefvater's writing style in [b:The Raven Boys|17675462|The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)|Maggie Stiefvater|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415182016s/17675462.jpg|18970934], then you will enjoy her writing in this one as well. I find her writing to be very unique to her character's voices and I think that Puck and Sean were just beautifully constructed. They were two halves of the same whole while still being their own individual selves. I think I really liked that neither of them wanted to leave the island because I don't like stories where someone gives up what they want for the other person. They both had end goals that were complimentary, which is nice (and rare in real life, but shhhh).
I loved the world building in this. It had enough fantasy elements to keep me interested, but also grounded enough in reality that I could picture it all very easily. I liked that everyone was aware of the "magic" surrounding the island and came all over to see it, but didn't necessarily try to take it away from the island. I also liked that it felt like the sea itself was a character in this story because I think too often people forget that you have to treat the elements with respect or they will come back to haunt you for the rest of your days.
"You leave nothing to assumption," Dory Maud says. "You swallow her with your eyes. I'm surprised there's any of her left for the rest of us to see.”
THE CHARACTERS WERE JUST SO GOOD. Even the side characters served a purpose in this and weren't just sounding boards for Puck and Sean. I also liked that Puck and Sean had some overlapping story arcs but that they also had their own direction and path to take. I think what I liked most is that Puck wasn't doing this just to say she could do it and it didn't become an "issue" book even though other characters tried to make it that way. She was just trying to do the best she could under the circumstances to keep her way of life. As I said in my status updates: Puck is bae. Sean is bae. They were both just GREAT characters. I hope you all get to know them soon.
“I didn't know," I start truthfully, "that it was the hard way when I started on it.”
Best Stiefvater book? Best Stiefvater book! This one has the delicacy and intrinsic nature of The Raven Cycle but with more romance and horses. And Puck. And Sean. So there's that too. PS I CRIED AT THE END. Does that surprise you? It doesn't surprise me.
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