Violent. Briny. Determined. Formidable. Adjectives to describe The Scorpio Races. I REALLY loved the frightening and majestic capaill uisce more than anything, but I also appreciated the obstinate and compassionate character, Kate "Puck" Connolly. My only dislike would be too much world building and not as much action in the actual Scorpio races. Still, Stiefvater doesn't disappoint!

This is my favourite book ever. The atmosphere, the stunning writing, the beautifully wrought characters and their relationships with their horses. Absolute perfection.

This book is so much more than its description. It's coming of age but still being a bit immature. which, for this book, fit so well. If you are a horse lover then I think you would really enjoy this book.

One of my late Autumn rituals is to reread Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. The story takes place on a fictitious Irish island where the locals capture and race carnivorous water horses every November.

Yes. Carnivorous water horses.

For lovers of folklore, highly recommended.

This book is my heart book. I've said that before about some other titles, and though it's true, that this isn't my only heart book, it is the heart book, the one that sticks out to this day as my favourite amongst so many others that come close. It combines so many things for me, so many aspects of my life that no other book has ever come close to, and I have so many emotions swirling through me after this reread. This was one of the first books that I read that left me in tears, and because of the emotion I have invested in it, this review is probably going to get messy. Bear with me.

This is the story about a horse race, with deadly horse demons as the contenders. True. But more than that, it's about a boy who loves his horse, and a horse who loves his boy. It's about a girl who wants her family to be together again, and who will do anything to make that happen - even enter the deadly demon horse race on her island pony. It's about the culture of a tiny island that survives on horse sweat, November cakes, and tradition. It's about relationships, between people and their animals and people and people and people and their homes. It's everything, all rolled together.

Puck Connolly and Sean Kendrick are, naturally, the beating heart of this book. Sean, the quiet boy made of sharp angles and quiet determination. Puck, the fierce island girl who's as much a part of Thisby as Thisby is a part of her. Their slow burn always leaves me breathless and aching for them to be happy, and do it together. I can just picture them in a cluttered little farmhouse, dirty because they're always out with the horses and never inside cleaning it, raising a family on horseback. I need this in my life in order to move forward okay.

I was a horseback rider all my life. I grew up in stables, and on the back of a horse is where I always felt most comfortable. I had no confidence anywhere else, but put me on a horse and I could do anything. I miss it sometimes. This book feels like my childhood. It feels like the quiet moments spent in the barn just talking to my horse. Like going out to the pasture just to sit in the presence of the horses, to soak in their energy and let my mind clear. Like getting up for horse shows at 5am, full of nerves and anticipation, and ending the day feeling more alive than I ever did otherwise.

This is my heart book. It always has been. It always will be.

I love this book so much. It's one of the books that got me back into reading when I was in college. Such a well written story. I totally cried

This book is amazing. It burrows into you heart and leaves you longing for the open sky and for rain. Plus, there's man eating horses. And some romance. Basically it's got everything.

I almost don't want to type this review of it because of how much I love it. There's a special place in my heart for this book; it's writing, atmosphere, pacing, world-building, and characters all land it a place there.

Profoundly beautiful story with excellent characters. Recommended.

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

A terrific, edgy thriller with one fantasy element – the riders in the races run on “water-horses” – from Gaelic legends, horses that come from the sea to run on the land. If you can catch and tame them, they are stronger and faster than regular horses. Two problems, though: They long to return to the sea, where they might drown you, and ... they are carnivorous predators. The race is about survival as much as about winning.

The annual races take place on a small rocky island off the coast of Ireland or Scotland. Sean is a 19 old horse lover, expert at dealing with normal horses and one of the few who can handle the water-horses. He has won 4 of the past 6 races with a red water-stallion that he has a special relationship with. Kate, called "Puck," was orphaned when her parents were killed by water-horses while fishing. She wants to be the first woman in the race and she wants to race with her “normal” horse against the water-horses.

It is not a book about winning races or a romance, although both aspects have a part. It is a novel of culture and growing up and finding out “what you need.” A major winner.