The Scorpio Races is one of those books I’ve seen everywhere on Tiktok. To be fair, I’ve seen more about The Raven Cycle from Maggie Stiefvater, but when your favorite author – Roshani Chokshi – recommends you read something, you read it. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
Okay The Scorpio Races is a book I enjoyed, but also had some mixed thoughts on. And I think that’s okay. I think we can enjoy reading a book and still have some lingering questions. I was promised a world of danger, water horses, and some sort of race. And while I feel like I got all of these, I don’t feel like the quantity lived up to my expectations. First of all, while there was plenty of danger – especially from these very vicious horses – I think the better aspect were the characters. To see what made them tick, what motivated them, and also who they are before the races.
Told in dual POV with Puck and Sean, we are able to kind of sink into why they are motivated to join the races. What they hope to achieve and the systems that work against them, whether it be sexism or poverty or just a lack of opportunity. That being said, I feel like in this aspect, the ending left a bit to be desired. That beings me to the second point – the races. I felt like the pacing was a little wonky where there was so much leading up to the races, and then the actual race and aftermath was relatively light. It almost felt like I had invested all this time and then was like huh?
Overall,
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But besides both of those, I did enjoy the characters of Puck and Sean. To see what this world was like for them. Sinking into their characters at the beginning allows us to establish a stakes. And I kept wanting to read to figure out what would happen, who would win. Something The Scorpio Races does a great job at is establishing stakes and why we should care about our characters. Even though I had those other qualms, in general I enjoyed this book and how it examines sacrifice, family, and the future. Find The Scorpio Races on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.