Personally, I'm not a huge fantasy reader, nor much into horses. When I first picked up The Scorpio Races, I thought I would lose interest quickly. However, I was hooked after the first few chapters.

The Scorpio Races delves into the world of a tiny island, where wild water horses, or capaill uisce (pronounced "copple ooshka"), rise out of the beach waters every October and reign down on inhabitants with murderous ferocity -- they enjoy killing and eating humans. However, some of them are captured, tamed, and trained for the titular races every November 1, where the horse creatures race on a stretch of beach though they long to go back into the ocean.

The heart of the story lies in the two main teenage characters, Kate "Puck" Connolly and Sean Kendrick. Both of these characters have point-of-view chapters through the book, and they each have desperate and intense reasons for needing to win the dangerous race and the prize money. They also strike up a friendship brimming with romantic chemistry -- they see themselves in each other and their quiet, growing relationship is beautifully formed through the book. I especially championed Puck as she forged through the race training to be the only woman to ever participate.

The author Stiefvater's descriptions immersed me in the island's scenery and inhabitants. From the main characters to the villainous and intriguing supporting characters -- all are fully realized portraits. The brutality of the horses and their nature is on full display as well; nothing here is smoothed over or made pretty. When a horse's "dull teeth clamp shut on his cheekbone" -- well, that's exactly what's written. The horse lore is based on Celtic legend, and you get the sense this island is somewhat Irish in origin though it's just known as "Thisby."

My only qualm with the novel is that the end seemed a bit rushed. On second perusal, I realize this may be because I read through the heart-pounding climax so quickly. I was flipping the pages so fast just to know what happened, and when I closed the book after it ended I was sad to say bye to these characters, but truly loved this book.