The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I had a nightmare the other night that involved the capaill uisce, huge water horses that tear up the pages of The Scorpio Races. They're not awwwwpony horses. They're horses that rise out of the water only to immerse themselves back into it - with you in tow. They want to drown you and eat you and then come back for seconds. And the characters of Maggie Stiefvater's latest book decide to ride them.

The Scorpio Races takes place on the island Puck and Sean, the main characters of the story, both live on. While Sean has ridden in the races for years, Puck is the first girl to take up reigns in them, and it's her first year entering. The stakes are high, and only one of them can win. Which is pretty problematic after they meet (cheeeeemistry.)

You don't really know who to root for in this book. It's told in alternating chapters and there's reasons you want each of them to win. But of course only one of them can.

Maggie Stiefvater can flippin' write. From reading her books from Shiver to this point, her writing has gotten ridiculously gorgeous. Her writing has always been good, but in this book I could practically experience it - I could hear the sound of the hooves on the sand and smell the iron salt water and taste the icing off of the November cakes they sell in stands. Steifvater's imagery is some of the most beautiful I've ever read. And if I'm comparing these to her last books, this is by far my favorite. I enjoyed the Shiver series (Linger in particular), but this book - this book I adore.

I've always loved mythology and folklore, and I've read a pretty wide amount of retellings and re-imaginings. When you read so many of them, they can sometimes blur together because they feature some of the same characters. The Scorpio Races was so unique and refreshingly different, I don't think it will ever mingle pages with another book.

Faerie folklore is something I've been interested in for a while, because I love the idea of glamour hiding something so dark and sinister. Faeries are wicked, and Stiefvater takes the idea of something you might know more commonly as kelpies and twists them into the real world in a way that seems entirely realistic. And hella scary.

This was just an overall fantastic book. I wish I could read it for the first time again, but I'm going to have to settle myself with having all of you read it for the first time.

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Thanks to everyone who commented during the month of August! Every comment on my book discussions entered you to win all of the books I reviewed within that month. The same goes for September. I generally discuss one book a week, and I give away a copy of each book. The winner, thanks to random.org, is Jessica, who commented on Blood Red Road! I'll be emailing you.

If you want to win a copy of The Scorpio Races alongside the other three books I discuss this month, just leave a comment. If you've already read/own a copy of any of the books I talk about, don't let that stop you from entering because we can exchange it for another book I've discussed at any time.

I'll always give a discussion question to talk about, but you can say anything you'd like.

What are some of your favorite myths, legends, or folklore? Have you read any retellings about them?

Check back weekly for more chances to win, and a new winner will be announced in October! If you don't leave a way for me to contact you (a blog link, etc) make sure you check back at the start of next month.