Despair Speaking's Reviews > The Scorpio Races

Okay, I admit I was taken in.

I hadn't expected much from the author of Shiver, but she really wowed me with this book. I have to warn you though, if you have yet to read this, that the actual Scorpio Races doesn't last more than fifty pages. In fact, it's less I think. The book is focused on Puck and Sean's lives and what pushed them to really want to win the race.

The setting of the book is in an island that somehow has water horses coming out of the ocean to come to land time to time. These water horses are fast and beautiful, but also extremely deadly. They are stronger than normal horses and eat meat, may it be from a land horse or a human. They can be tamed through various ways, but they can never be trusted and they must not go near water or the ocean will call to them and drive them crazy. Every year, in November, a yearly race takes place where people ride water horses in the beach, which means the horses will be half-crazed the entire time. There are sure to be dead participants every year and yet a lot of men still join the Scorpio Races.

Puck is a normal girl who lost her parents to the water horses, leaving her with two brothers who never fail to make her cranky (not that she needs much help with that... her temper is bad). She has a land horse named Dove and is rather content with her lot in life. But her older brother, Gabe, isn't and wants to leave the island. In an attempt to convince him to stay and to pay for their debts, Puck decides to join the race.

Meanwhile, Sean is the consecutive winner of the Scorpio Races for four straight years. He works for a rich and influential man who owns the water horse he would gladly risk his life for, Corr. He has a talent with water horses and can calm them down easily without using any tricks like magic (it's not really magic but that's what they call it). He has been dreaming of claiming his father's house and Corr for years. Winning isn't important to me at first, but eventually an irresistible offer pops up and winning becomes crucial.

You can tell right away that these two would meet soon and there'd be sparks flying. It may put you off and convince you that this is nothing more than the typical YA romance with a little action and fantasy. But that's not true. For once, the heroine is strong and quite fun to read about. Her love interest is attractive, not only in looks but also in personality. They help each other out and complete each other. They are good for each other. Their romance is actually romantic.

Still, my favorites are among the other characters: Finn, Holly, and Corr. Finn and Holly were the ones that supported Puck and Sean and they added more depth to the couple. Holly even went out of his way to push Sean to Puck and make him realize his feelings. Corr was Sean's whole world until Puck came along and his bond to his "master" was wonderful, especially in the last chapter. I'm not going to spoil what happened but it made me almost cry. It must have been so hard for him to do and yet he did it anyway.

I definitely recommend this book. I am now looking forward to Maggie's other works... that aren't about werewolves.