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 chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
I’ve avoided reading The Scorpio Races for years now. Why do you ask? I don’t like horses. They smell, they are usually surrounded by flies, and they are big and scary! I fell off one when I was young. So yeah, not a fan.
I bought the ebook while it was on sale, but it has sat on my kindle forever. I’ve been inching my way towards starting it, but never quite getting there. Then I saw it was only $2.99 for Audible. Jen and Heather swore by it, told me it was one of the best Audio books ever, and boy were they ever right.
Now I’ve only listened to the Audio, so I can’t give a full comparison, but just from listening I can say the audio adds so much to this story. The accents are amazing. The Narrators fit the parts so perfectly, and I think I’m in love with Sean Kendrick now. Holy shit, that voice. It’s … *sigh*… foreplay in my ears.
The story is just incredible. I knew Maggie Stiefvater was brilliant before I started this, but now I feel like I truly didn’t know and I was just guessing at it. The Water Horses scared the living crap out of me. I felt like I was on that island and those horses were breathing down my neck. I had dreams! Nightmares! Never listen to this book and watch an episode of The Walking Dead in the same day. I was being chased by zombies and freaky fish smelling horses the whole night long. I was never so glad I had to wake up and pee, as I was that night. Wheeew… saved by the bladder.
It’s really hard to describe, The Scorpio Races. It’s kind of one of those stories you just have to experience. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I didn’t think it would be for me and it was. I highly suggest giving it a try, especially the Audio. I’m so glad I went that route.
I think this trailer is the coolest thing ever.
About the author:
New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio
Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
On Wednesday night, I was lucky enough to attend the Maggie Stiefvater signing and Q&A session at the flagship Half Price Books here in Dallas. For the last few releases of her books, I've pre-ordered Maggie-doodled copies from Fountain Bookstore, and the release of The Dream Thieves was no different. I own all of Maggie's books, though -- with the exception of the anthologies that her work appears in -- so I had quite a collection that wasn't signed. And, well, we can't have that.
This was my first time to ever meet Maggie, so I was a lot excited and a little nervous. But I had no reason to fret. Maggie is just as personable and approachable in person as she is online. She's this little ball of energy that just won't quit, and it's no wonder she writes some of the craziest, most unique books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Oh, AND she recognized the name of my blog! Squeeeeee!!! :D
Maggie read a scene from The Dream Thieves, with some help from the audience, and it made me want to read the book all over again. I've just about determined that it's my new favorite Maggie book, barely squeaking past The Scorpio Races on its way to the top.
In addition to the signing and reading, Maggie also took questions, and here are some things that were mentioned:
Every character she writes starts from a blank human mold and then she changes it as she writes. In fact, she and Ronan share some DNA...she based Ronan's character on herself at that age. Except he has reasons for the way he is and she really didn't at that age. =)
Kavinsky's character in The Dream Thieves was a challenge for her to write because she always tends to write her villains bad "but with a heart of gold" and he had to be all evil.
Maggie writes by scene count, not by word count. If she sets out to write a certain scene for the day and it only takes her twenty minutes, she's done for the day. Conversely, she'll still be pecking away at the keyboard until the wee hours of the morning until said scene is finished.
She had just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife for the second time when she decided that that's the type of book she wanted to write. One that left you ugly crying no matter how many times you read it. And soon after, Shiver was written. Maggie is diabolical.
Her favorite scene to write in The Raven Boys was the one where "Adam gets the shit kicked out of him by his father." She said it had "action and cars...what's not to love?"
She actually started writing The Raven Cycle when she was nineteen, and at the time, Ronan was the main character.
The Scorpio Races was the book she wanted to read as a teen. Maggie says to write the book YOU want to read.
When asked if she'd ever write a sequel to The Scorpio Races, she responded that the characters got to the end of their story arcs so she has no plans to, but maybe in fifty years or so she'll revisit them if the whim hits her.
The Scorpio Races used to be Maggie's favorite book that she'd written, but that changed with The Dream Thieves. (Seriously, it's that good. If you haven't read it yet, well, you'll get your chance below. :P)
Hope you learned something new about one of my favorite authors! :) It was rough rearranging schedules and such so both Mendy and I could attend, so I want to give M a big shout-out for coming with. [She also wants Emily to know that she totally owes her for pretending to be her and getting her books signed so I didn't look like a total ass with like 20 books to get signed. =)]
So, I was totally thinking of you guys while I was there, and I picked up an extra signed copy of The Dream Thieves to give away to one lucky reader!
Rules:
This giveaway is US only. Sorry, international peeps, but I do have another giveaway open that's international.
One entry per household.
Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!!
Along with drinking green beer and partying it up at the St. Patty's Day parade, I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day by giving away a book set on the cliffs of Ireland itself. I just recently listened to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and though many reviewers have given this book a lukewarm reception, I absolutely fell in love with the story. You can find my review HERE. If you're a fan of Maggie's, or you're just curious to see how she handles a stand-alone story after the wonder that was The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, read on to enter to win your own copy of The Scorpio Races, plus a signed postcard from Maggie.
Title: The Scorpio Races Author: Maggie Stiefvater Series: n/a Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication Date: October 18, 2011
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 chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
I listened to the audio but I have a hardcover of my own. You won't be getting that one, though, because I loved the audio so much that I'll definitely be going back for a re-read. :)
Title: The Scorpio Races Author: Maggie Stiefvater Narrator(s): Fiona Hardingham and Steve West Series: n/a Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication Date: October 18, 2011 Source: audiobook, purchased
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 chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
So, I’ve had The Scorpio Races sitting on my shelf since it was released in October. Being that it’s a Maggie Stiefvater novel, I imagined I’d need to read it immediately, but since it wasn’t the continuation of a series, I guess that pressing need to read it wasn’t, well, pressing. That’s not to say I wasn’t excited to read it…far from it. I even kept it at the top of the stack “to be read in the very near future”. Alas, life and other obligations happened, and so it still has not been read.
I did, however, purchase the audio in a BOGO sale on Audible.com, along with Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, another novel I’ve been meaning to read since its release but just haven’t found the time. I am so very glad I listened to the audio for The Scorpio Races, not simply because I can now pronounce capall uisce – the name for the deadly Irish water horses – but also because the accented rendering by both narrators made the whole experience feel more authentic. (Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that the yummy voice of Sean has a yummy face to go with it.) (By the way, the pronunciation of capall uisce is something like this: kah-pull ish-kah. Yeah.)
Now, having heard this tale of a race where the contestants ride killer water horses, I wish I’d found the time earlier to read the novel. I wish when it was first released, and there were naysayers and those complaining about the lack of action, etc., I could have said to all of them, “You have entirely missed the point of this story.” Yes, every reader is different and every person wants to take something different away from a story. What I took away from The Scorpio Races was not a new concept: every action has consequences. Every choice we make in life can take us down any number of paths and lead to many more possibilities. I loved the open-endedness of this novel. I never tried to guess where the story was headed; I was just happy to be along for the ride.
The love story in The Scorpio Races isn’t really a love story, at least not in the traditional sense. There is plenty of love amidst the pages of this novel; it’s just not always romantic. When love does finally find its place between Puck and Sean, it’s not all-consuming or immediate. It develops slowly over the course of their training for the races. It’s a quiet, somber thing that happens between these two characters, but it’s real and very much befitting the circumstances with which they came together in the first place.
Kate “Puck” Connolly is an honest and forthright young woman, still dealing with the loss of her parents and facing the loss of her older brother, though each to different circumstances. Puck was such a breath of fresh air in a genre ripe with stereotypes and unimaginative characters. Her decision to ride in the race isn’t heaped in feminism or her need to prove herself. Instead, it stems from her earlier loss and the need to keep her family’s house, even if Gabe is set against the whole idea. Her older brother has already given up and made other plans, but Puck will not give in so easily.
Sean Kendrick is an enigma. He, too, has lost a parent to the dangerous capall uisce, though his loss is no result of a mere accident. His father rode in the Scorpio races and died doing so. And now, Sean competes in the race each fall. In fact, he’s won for the last four years. He is a loner but also lonely. Sean’s only real friend is his red water horse, Corr. But Corr is not his, not really. Just as Puck is trying to save her home from the clutches of Benjamin Malvern, Sean wants to make Corr his own horse, much to the dismay of his owner, Mr. Malvern.
And, so, Puck and Sean are united against a common foe. But only one of them can win the race. Regardless, they stand by each other, even when warned against it…and despite an awkward first encounter. It’s hard to believe that on an island of 4,000, they never made each other’s acquaintance, though maybe they never needed each other before this.
Even if I couldn’t stand the two main characters, the remaining cast would have been enough to make me love this story. From Finn, the tinkering, laughable younger brother to Dory Maud and the flirty American George Holly, who tends to make everything his business…well, I’m not sure I could pick a favorite character. There was certainly a lot of love to go around, even if it wasn’t the kissing sort. And the story was so much better for it.
I love when a story, no matter how dangerous or sad, makes me want to live it myself. I can’t immediately identify with what the characters have gone through or what they’re going through at the time of the story, but I still felt so connected to them. Maggie’s lyrical, haunting prose strikes again, I suppose. No matter what critics or even fans of her previous works have to say about it, I adored this story immensely and would recommend it to readers who can keep an open mind and those who find all facets of a story engaging, not just the action or the romance.
I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
{Audiobook} Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator: Steve West, Fiona Hardingham
Series: n/a
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Publication Date: October 18th, 2011
Source: purchased audio
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible
I bought the ebook while it was on sale, but it has sat on my kindle forever. I’ve been inching my way towards starting it, but never quite getting there. Then I saw it was only $2.99 for Audible. Jen and Heather swore by it, told me it was one of the best Audio books ever, and boy were they ever right.
Now I’ve only listened to the Audio, so I can’t give a full comparison, but just from listening I can say the audio adds so much to this story. The accents are amazing. The Narrators fit the parts so perfectly, and I think I’m in love with Sean Kendrick now. Holy shit, that voice. It’s … *sigh*… foreplay in my ears.
The story is just incredible. I knew Maggie Stiefvater was brilliant before I started this, but now I feel like I truly didn’t know and I was just guessing at it. The Water Horses scared the living crap out of me. I felt like I was on that island and those horses were breathing down my neck. I had dreams! Nightmares! Never listen to this book and watch an episode of The Walking Dead in the same day. I was being chased by zombies and freaky fish smelling horses the whole night long. I was never so glad I had to wake up and pee, as I was that night. Wheeew… saved by the bladder.
It’s really hard to describe, The Scorpio Races. It’s kind of one of those stories you just have to experience. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I didn’t think it would be for me and it was. I highly suggest giving it a try, especially the Audio. I’m so glad I went that route.
Friday, September 27, 2013
{Event} Maggie Stiefvater Signing at Half Price Books + Giveaway
On Wednesday night, I was lucky enough to attend the Maggie Stiefvater signing and Q&A session at the flagship Half Price Books here in Dallas. For the last few releases of her books, I've pre-ordered Maggie-doodled copies from Fountain Bookstore, and the release of The Dream Thieves was no different. I own all of Maggie's books, though -- with the exception of the anthologies that her work appears in -- so I had quite a collection that wasn't signed. And, well, we can't have that.
Maggie read a scene from The Dream Thieves, with some help from the audience, and it made me want to read the book all over again. I've just about determined that it's my new favorite Maggie book, barely squeaking past The Scorpio Races on its way to the top.
In addition to the signing and reading, Maggie also took questions, and here are some things that were mentioned:
Hope you learned something new about one of my favorite authors! :) It was rough rearranging schedules and such so both Mendy and I could attend, so I want to give M a big shout-out for coming with. [She also wants Emily to know that she totally owes her for pretending to be her and getting her books signed so I didn't look like a total ass with like 20 books to get signed. =)]
So, I was totally thinking of you guys while I was there, and I picked up an extra signed copy of The Dream Thieves to give away to one lucky reader!
I hope you all get the chance to meet Maggie one day. She's so much fun and just so witty and weirdly charming. :D
Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop
Along with drinking green beer and partying it up at the St. Patty's Day parade, I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day by giving away a book set on the cliffs of Ireland itself. I just recently listened to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and though many reviewers have given this book a lukewarm reception, I absolutely fell in love with the story. You can find my review HERE. If you're a fan of Maggie's, or you're just curious to see how she handles a stand-alone story after the wonder that was The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, read on to enter to win your own copy of The Scorpio Races, plus a signed postcard from Maggie.
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: n/a
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
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 chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
I listened to the audio but I have a hardcover of my own. You won't be getting that one, though, because I loved the audio so much that I'll definitely be going back for a re-read. :)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Audiobook Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Narrator(s): Fiona Hardingham and Steve West
Series: n/a
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
Source: audiobook, purchased
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 chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
So, I’ve had The Scorpio Races sitting on my shelf since it was released in October. Being that it’s a Maggie Stiefvater novel, I imagined I’d need to read it immediately, but since it wasn’t the continuation of a series, I guess that pressing need to read it wasn’t, well, pressing. That’s not to say I wasn’t excited to read it…far from it. I even kept it at the top of the stack “to be read in the very near future”. Alas, life and other obligations happened, and so it still has not been read.
I did, however, purchase the audio in a BOGO sale on Audible.com, along with Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick, another novel I’ve been meaning to read since its release but just haven’t found the time. I am so very glad I listened to the audio for The Scorpio Races, not simply because I can now pronounce capall uisce – the name for the deadly Irish water horses – but also because the accented rendering by both narrators made the whole experience feel more authentic. (Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that the yummy voice of Sean has a yummy face to go with it.) (By the way, the pronunciation of capall uisce is something like this: kah-pull ish-kah. Yeah.)
Now, having heard this tale of a race where the contestants ride killer water horses, I wish I’d found the time earlier to read the novel. I wish when it was first released, and there were naysayers and those complaining about the lack of action, etc., I could have said to all of them, “You have entirely missed the point of this story.” Yes, every reader is different and every person wants to take something different away from a story. What I took away from The Scorpio Races was not a new concept: every action has consequences. Every choice we make in life can take us down any number of paths and lead to many more possibilities. I loved the open-endedness of this novel. I never tried to guess where the story was headed; I was just happy to be along for the ride.
The love story in The Scorpio Races isn’t really a love story, at least not in the traditional sense. There is plenty of love amidst the pages of this novel; it’s just not always romantic. When love does finally find its place between Puck and Sean, it’s not all-consuming or immediate. It develops slowly over the course of their training for the races. It’s a quiet, somber thing that happens between these two characters, but it’s real and very much befitting the circumstances with which they came together in the first place.
Kate “Puck” Connolly is an honest and forthright young woman, still dealing with the loss of her parents and facing the loss of her older brother, though each to different circumstances. Puck was such a breath of fresh air in a genre ripe with stereotypes and unimaginative characters. Her decision to ride in the race isn’t heaped in feminism or her need to prove herself. Instead, it stems from her earlier loss and the need to keep her family’s house, even if Gabe is set against the whole idea. Her older brother has already given up and made other plans, but Puck will not give in so easily.
Sean Kendrick is an enigma. He, too, has lost a parent to the dangerous capall uisce, though his loss is no result of a mere accident. His father rode in the Scorpio races and died doing so. And now, Sean competes in the race each fall. In fact, he’s won for the last four years. He is a loner but also lonely. Sean’s only real friend is his red water horse, Corr. But Corr is not his, not really. Just as Puck is trying to save her home from the clutches of Benjamin Malvern, Sean wants to make Corr his own horse, much to the dismay of his owner, Mr. Malvern.
And, so, Puck and Sean are united against a common foe. But only one of them can win the race. Regardless, they stand by each other, even when warned against it…and despite an awkward first encounter. It’s hard to believe that on an island of 4,000, they never made each other’s acquaintance, though maybe they never needed each other before this.
Even if I couldn’t stand the two main characters, the remaining cast would have been enough to make me love this story. From Finn, the tinkering, laughable younger brother to Dory Maud and the flirty American George Holly, who tends to make everything his business…well, I’m not sure I could pick a favorite character. There was certainly a lot of love to go around, even if it wasn’t the kissing sort. And the story was so much better for it.
I love when a story, no matter how dangerous or sad, makes me want to live it myself. I can’t immediately identify with what the characters have gone through or what they’re going through at the time of the story, but I still felt so connected to them. Maggie’s lyrical, haunting prose strikes again, I suppose. No matter what critics or even fans of her previous works have to say about it, I adored this story immensely and would recommend it to readers who can keep an open mind and those who find all facets of a story engaging, not just the action or the romance.
Rating:
Current Giveaways
A Starry-Eyed Prize Pack!
Subscribe by Email
Follow Via Bloglovin
Follow Jen on Instagram
Jen's Currently Reading
Sabrina's Currently Reading
2019 Reading Challenge
Followers
Search This Blog
Ratings
Twitter
Quotes We ♥
Blog Archive
Labels
About Me
-
starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
View my complete profile