It’s not often I can say there isn’t a single thing I dislike about a book. Please note that I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham.

 

THINGS I LIKED:

 

The setting
Is it Scottish, is it Irish? Is it a little of both? I’m not sure.

 

The atmosphere
Very gloomy and oppressive. Reminded me of the north of England, where I lived for a couple of years. I also get the whole ‘living on an island lots of people want to leave’ thing.

 

The time period
Definitely set before contemporary times, due to the lack of modern technology like cell phones. I originally thought maybe it’s set in the 60s or 70s but it might have been as early as the 40s or 50s, when men still hated women doing anything they did.

 

The writing
Normally I’m not a big fan of present tense point of view, but for some reason, it worked really well in The Scorpio Races. Shorter chapters meant less exhaustion from reading (in my case, listening). Switching between Puck and Sean might have been harder while reading, because their narrative voices and actions (both preparing from this race) were basically the same, but in the audiobook form it worked.

 

Puck
Not the easiest character to like, but you have to admire her. She’s brash, snappy, and constantly irritated, all vinegar and no sugar, though she tries, and is determined and full of love and loyalty to her family and her island. Not someone I could be friends with, but someone I would admire from a distance.

 

Sean
Wonderful in the way only a book boyfriend can be without being a book boyfriend. His stillness, confidence, and sheer love for his flesh-eating water horse floored me.

 

The friendship
I wouldn’t call it a romance, though Maggie does, albeit a romance without much kissing. But I loved the slow burn, all the way through from the awkward fumblings of the early friendship to the heightened awareness of each other, to the fact that everyone else could see it but them. I think I may have liked it even better if nothing had happened and it had remained platonic, or left with a promise of something after the book ended, but this is YA and that would have caused a riot, so I understand why it had to be the way it was.

 

The bad guys
Everyone was out for themselves on this tiny island. It was believable.

 

The capaill uisce
They weren’t good or bad, they just were. They were a force of nature. A storm that brings down your house isn’t evil, it just is.

 

Dove
Just Dove.

 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

 

The female narrator
Seemed to have taken lessons from William Shatner and paused in places where pausing was not necessary.

 

The male narrator
Sounded way too old to be nineteen year old Sean, but Maggie liked him, so what do I know?

 

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Basically I think this book could have been perfect and man, I would love so much to see a TV miniseries adaptation. I’d love to see the horses leapt out of the water still as water and then kind of shimmer and shift into regular horse colours, or maybe non-regular horse colours, yeah that would be cool and whimsical.

Some race to win. Others race to survive. 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 choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. As she did in her bestselling Shiver trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive. The Scorpio Races is an unforgettable reading experience.

"Tell me what it's like. The Race."
"What it's like is a battle. A mess of horses and men and blood."

Too bad that's not actually what the book is about, at least not 95% of it.

Before reading this book I didn't understand why those I follow gave this book low ratings when it has such a good premise. How can anyone, especially an author that is respected in this genre, ruin it? Surely people were being extra harsh. I just didn't get it.

Now I do.

You can totally fuck up a fantastic idea by not actually bringing it into the book until the very last few pages of it. Which is what MS did. You thought this would be an exciting read? HA. Joke's on you, readers.

This is the story of a girl who decides to join a deadly race of horses with rabbies for a crap reason (which becomes a slightly more okay reason by mere coincidence once she had already joined) and then proceeds to WASTE her time away before the races, moping, going around describing streets, rooms and clothing and the incredibly dull island she lives in, wondering about other people's lives, wondering about Sean Kendrik, november cakes, houses and farms...oh, and being angry at her brother.

You thought you'd see some exciting moments as she *prepares* for the races. HA, WHO NEEDS PREPARING WHEN YOU'RE A SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE WITH A FIERY PERSONALITY.

HARD WORK IS FOR LOSERS.

Okay, deep breaths.

This book promises so much and delivers so little, if at all.

I don't understand the high ratings from other readers, I truly don't. The writing is nothing special, the characters are bland and uninteresting, the plot moves painfully, oh God, excruciatingly slow, and the Scorpio races don't even happen until the last couple of chapters of the book (which, on its own, is not a bad thing, except that the races took a backseat to other irrelevant scenes and minor plots for 90% of the book, that's insane), and the romance is absurd, ABSURD. There's no chemistry between *Puck* (btw, shit nickname that she says she doesn't care for but then insists other people call her that) and Sean, there's nothing there but the author forcing them to have something when she didn't bother to build anything solid for these two characters to base their "relationship" on. Listen, I usually don't mind insta-love, a lot of YA has it and I've made my peace with it because it can be good, even great if handled properly. But Puck and Sean don't even have that insta-love spark other book couples do, they meet, they seem indifferent to each other, they speak a couple of times (not even profound talks, at that) and then they're kissing and Sean is risking Corr and his future for this girl who didn't even bother to actually train before the races?

This book was a HUGE let down. It felt like a waste of time and I kept hoping it would get better because I had the same feel of boredom and nothing happening when I was reading "The Raven Boys" but then it picked up and things got so good I forgot about the painfully slow first couple of chapters. Sadly, nothing of the sort happened in the Scorpio Races, it just got worse, picked up the pace a lil bit at the end and then it was over and I was furious.

The ending, which was kind of okay (and the sole reason I added a star to my original rating) was cut off abruptly, as if the author couldn't be bothered to give you an interesting moment for all your effort of sticking with this mess of a plotless story.

Now, I know it makes sense that the races would take place toward the end of the book as it is what the whole story is supposedly building up to, the problem is... that wasn't really the case? You can't say there was any build up as Puck didn't even bother to actually get ready for the races.

We spend over 300 hundred pages of the book reading about Puck doing everything BUT prepare, if she even TRIED training a couple of times, that's a couple of times too many. Instead, we have to read 300+ pages of Puck complaining about her brother's imminent departure, how poor and hungry she is, having random/irrelevant flashbacks, and describing her surroundings in painful detail even if NOTHING was happening. Wait, but she was watching other people actually train, which the author makes a point of mentioning is just as important, probably because she was too lazy to actually write an action scene.

Puck's negligence towards the races was infuriating. Then a day or two before the races, and ONLY through Sean's advise, is she like "Oh, yeah, I should probably train on the beach and get used to the other horses around me" .... TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, moron... and it was just that, because conviniently (God forbid we get some exciting moments before the actual races) something happens and she's robbed of that last training day. UGH.

Maybe my anger is too fresh for me to be writing this review but I just know if I leave it for another time I won't bother at all, because part of me thinks this book doesn't even deserve the effort.

I'll just list off the problems I had with this book.

1- Puck Connolly and how different and special she thought she was with her nickname, and her abusing that damn trope that makes a girl in tune with what boys think just because she grew up with brothers *rolls eyes*, her crap initial reason to join the races (and btw, why did she want her brother to stay longer if they talked a grand total of two times before the races anyway, what was the damn point?) and the fact that she didn't bother to prepare for them and still won . Screw that so much. Also, what was with that ominous first bit of the book when she makes a big deal about being a Connolly. Her family was no more special than any other on that island so why the big speech about Connolly's coming first and how they were different. Oh right, Special Snowflake syndrome, I almost forgot.

"I'd always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself"

Puck in a nutshell.

2. Gabe Connolly and his weak reason for wanting to leave, and just being a crap brother and excuse for the MC to do something stupid.

3. Finn is just there to fill up space. Actually, several characters are there for the sake of being there and probably just helping the author fill the book with more about nothing. Perhaps his sole purpose was doing that one thing at the end of the book that made him slightly relevant. I liked him but I don't see why he was absolutely needed.

4. Puck is the only girl her age we ever see around. Every other woman is older. What's up with that? Maybe she should've been given another sister if we absolutely had to have the extra characters, right? Or maybe a best friend. Oh but that would make her too normal and girly. Who needs more girl characters standing up for themselves and changing the rules when Puck is more than enough for the entire island? My bad.

5. The races. The races make no damn sense, they're just there for the sake of of deadly entertainment, which is what any dull island needs, and probably for bringing tourism and money to the dull people of the dull island (which the characters address and try to make the races sound like they're so much more than that, yet the story doesn't really provide anything substantial to think otherwise). The rules around the horses and the whole spitting deal and drawing lines on the sand seemed more like the author dumping random ideas that had no real reason behind them. They were weak, uninteresting and ridiculous (especially the spitting bit).

6. The romance. Or rather the fact that there was actually none and they didn't really interact until halfway through the book, spoke a couple of times, had a couple of dull moments together and then suddenly, because fuck logic, they will do anything for each other and Sean would RISK his beloved horse so that the idiot girl would have a chance in the races.

7. The ending. The fact that a lot of those people put time and effort into taming their horses, actually preparing and risking their lives, just so Puck could win on the author's whim. If anything, at least Sean should have won. But who cares about hard work and consistency when you're the main character and a GIRL against stupid men who treat you as an inferior. Winning through sheer dumb luck and fiery righteousness will show them.

I don't recommend this book to anyone. Not unless you have the patience of a saint, and don't mind only a few pages of action.

I just finished this. I like the plot alright. I really like Sean and George and Puck (in that order) and the relationship between Sean and Puck, and Sean and George (in that order). Sometimes i liked the writing, but more often i thought it was confusing. I don't think i like how it ended. It didn't seem right to me, but i don't want to spoil it, so i won't say any more. Mostly, i'm angry with Maggie Stiefvater because she can't make up her mind on how to pronounce "capaill uisce". I'm reading the book and i keep coming across this phrase and i don't know how to pronounce it, but i'm patient, so i keep reading. And i keep reading. And i keep reading. And i keep reading. (Surely, she's going to enlighten me any page now...) Finally, i ask Forvo how the heck to pronounce this phrase because, up 'til this point, i'd been pronouncing it my own way (which was wrong). And then i reach page 83 and she finally tells us that it's pronounced "copple ooshka". Page eighty-three, though? Really? It'd be better for her to not tell readers how to pronounce it at all if she's going to wait that long to tell us. By page 83, i imagine most readers will have already chosen their own way to pronounce it. So, i was ticked off with her about that and then i read some of the extra stuff in the back. On page 406, she tells us it's pronounced "CAPple ISHka" which is definitely different than "copple ooshka". Then, on page 418, she writes "As Sean tells George Holly, 'copple ishka'". No, Maggie, Sean told George "copple OOshka". Make up your mind. (And, technically, Sean didn't "tell" George that; that's just how we're told that George pronounced it.) Also, she waited a heck of a long time to tell us in what way "fate hasn't given [Puck] much of a choice". For quite a while, i didn't understand what on Earth Puck expected to gain from joining this race. She did eventually reveal that (on page 105 and later, when she gained another reason), but i had a hard time connecting with her or rooting for her because i didn't understand why she would risk her life the way she did. Okay, my rant's over now. Basically, the characters were what i liked most about "The Scorpio Races" and Maggie Stiefvater is what i liked least. Haha. *Review written on July 11, 2014.*

So I absolutely cracked up during some of the brainstorming sessions I had with Moonlight Reader regarding the squares.

Believe me, we wanted to put a ton more in and we swapped some out. I am glad that we stuck with "Fall" into a good book though.

As we have discussed on the discussion boards for Book Bingos, "Fall" into a good book can mean the book takes place during the Fall, that the word "Fall" is in the title. I even went so far as saying that a character could take a great fall (a la Alice in Wonderland) but I am still waiting on a ruling from my partner on that one.

 

Here are some suggestions for you!

 

Moonlight Murder

 

So, "Fall" into a good book is full of possibilities! Here are 3 suggestions for everyone:

1. September by Rosamunde Pilcher: This is for the romance/women's fic readers among us. Pilcher writes sprawling family sagas set in England/Scotland, and this book is entirely non-scary. However, the entire book is built around a family in Scotland that is getting ready for a big party in September, so in my opinion, it definitely qualifies for the square!

2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: This is one of my favorite YA books of all time. It begins in mid-October, when Puck, the main character, decides to race her Island pony Dove in the Scorpio Races, which happen on the first of November, when the blood-thirsty water horses make landfall and the bravest men ride them to victory. If they survive. Puck is the first girl to claim the right to race in the Scorpio Races. This book is remarkable and lyrical, and the relationship between Puck and her pony is tender and lovely. The entire book takes place in the fall, which is why it qualifies for this square.

3. The Fall by Bethany Griffin: I have to admit I have not read this book, so take the recommendation with a grain of salt. It is a YA re-imagining of The Fall of the House of Usher. The reviews are all over the place. Some readers love it, others complain that it is boring.

My planned read, however, is Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. I was recommended this book by my friend Frank Tuttle (who writes rather lovely books himself, as an aside), and I bought it last year when I found that it had been reissued in print by the Chicago Review Press. The format is interesting - each chapter represents a day in October, and it is my plan to read it as written - one chapter per day, concluding on Halloween.

 

Obsidian Black Death

 

My suggestions for those that are still having some problems.

1. Angelfall (Penryn & The End of Days #1) by Susan E. I noticed that a lot of fellow Booklikers have read and reviewed this book and I was tempted to read this one too for my square, but ended up going with something else instead. It is YA fantasy and paranormal so it definitely fits the overall theme of our bingo.

2. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness. This first book takes place during the Fall term at Oxford. The rest of the book takes place during Fall and particular scenes take place during Halloween for those of you still looking for a book for the Halloween square. Since this book is about vampires and witches (oh my) this will also fit the supernatural square as well. I really loved the first book in the series so I always recommend it to other people.

3. Darkness Falls (Darkness Falls #1) by Jessica Sorensen. I ended up choosing this book for this square. I see that it had some good reviews on Goodreads, and I wanted to read something I had not read before as much as possible for the Halloween Bingo.

 

Prior joint posts:

 

Magical Realism

Supernatural

Locked Room Mystery

Mystery

Diverse Authors

 

And tomorrow's post is scheduled to be "It was a dark and stormy night". Stay tuned!