I don't know if I've said it before, so I'll do it now: fantasy and/or dystopian novels are *that* much better on audio. With the right narrators, the tension is fantastic, and this story is no different. The adaptation of Irish mythology into this YA book was absolutely fantastic. Me hit the "stop" button? Nah, I don't think so. The Scorpio Races was one of those audio books I would made excuses to run errands so I could be in the car. I needed to know what happened next!

The remote (fictional) island of Thisby, off the coast of Ireland, has an annual event unlike any other. Each year in November, the elusive and dangerous water-horses, known as the capaill uisce (pronounced capell-ishka), are ridden in fierce horse races sometimes resulting in death, either for the rider or for the horse. There is a magic to these incredible beasts, who easily hypnotize a rider before bringing them back to their beloved sea and drowning them. Capaill uisce are flesh-eating horses: they will fight, attack, bite, and devour a human, but to many it can be worth the risk since the winner of The Scorpio Races collects an extraordinary amount of money.

Told from two perspectives, Puck (Kate) Connolly and Sean Kendrick are riding the races this year. It's the first for Puck, but Sean, a four-time winner of the races, has a bigger win on his hands. Nineteen-years-old with no family or friends, Sean Kendrick is the water horse expert, and can easily calm a beast down with his quiet and calm manner. His veteran winning status, combined with a mysterious and brooding personality, assures him to be the likely winner, but the win for him is even greater this year. His one love is the water horse he'll ride again, Corr. Majestic, tough, and most definitely still wild, Corr is only calmed by Sean Kendrick and their bond is easily felt throughout the story. Corr is owned by Sean's boss, Benjamin Malvern,  and Benjamin's son, Mutt, maintains a deep jealousy that eventually corrupts everything around him.

Not only has Puck decided to not ride a water horse, but instead ride her own personal horse, she is also the first female to ever ride the races. She consistently presents the island residents with more reasons to attempt to bar her in any way they can, but a win for her could save her home for both her older brother Gabe, who has decided to fend for himself and move to the mainland, and younger brother, Finn. Losing their parents to a capaill uisce has made the races even more frightening but this is Puck's chance to keep her remaining family together.

Both stories for Puck and Sean are so compelling and the ending tugged at my heartstrings considerably. I ask myself, why have I not read/listened to any other Maggie Stiefvater story before? That'll have to change, and quickly.

This is an exceptionally well-told tale of despair, hope, adventure, and first love. Sean Kendrick was sexy and brooding, and Puck was petulant and feisty. At odds initially, Puck's horse causes chaos on the beach and it's up to Sean to calm all the beasts down, but it initially sets the stage of yet another obstacle to overcome for both Puck and Sean to become friends and ultimately much more. The setting of this tiny Irish island was brilliantly described, and in audio form, it was beautifully magical. It wasn't difficult to smell, feel, and breathe the sea air. Thinking back on the story now, I honestly cannot imagine reading the printed word since the setting and narrators were so mesmerizing. I fell in love with Sean Kendrick and found myself conflicted with whom to root for. My only complaint was I expected much more to be shared in the evolution of Puck's actual training, but it ended up being a bit quiet on that subject. Let's be honest, though. That's a minor quibble compared to the meat of this story, which was thoroughly fantastic.

An entrancing tale of adventure, family, hope, and love, Maggie Stiefvater creates magic once again in The Scorpio Races. This was my first Maggie Stiefvater story, and I'm pretty sure I'll be selecting more of her works, especially in audio.

Audio Notes: As a fairly new listener of audio books, I couldn't have been happier with both of the narrators cast to voice Sean Kendrick and Puck Connolly. They were equally masterful in the emotions, the characters, and each event that transcended standard tension and crafted an experience that was extremely absorbing. Click here to listen to the sample on Audible.com (click the "play" button below the cover). You may need to have an Audible.com membership, so check it out on iTunes. On her blog, Maggie Stiefvater has an incredible interview with both of the narrators and includes pictures of the cast (Steve West as Sean Kendrick!!), so click here to read.

Additionally, Maggie Stiefvater plays the instruments throughout the audio which was wonderful, and her Afterword was a delight to listen to, particularly as she trails off with laughter in the end...

Others said:

Alita.Reads

Books I Done Read

Girls in the Stacks (podcast discussion)

The Perpetual Page Turner

Rhapsody in Books

Publisher: Scholastic Audio

Release Date: 10/18/2011

Audio Time: 12 hours, 6 minutes

Narrators: Steve West, Fiona Hardingham

About the Author

Maggie Stiefvater is the best selling author of The Shiver Trilogy and The Scorpio Races, among others. She is an award-winning color pencil artist, and also plays the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes. She lived in Virginia with her husband, two children, two dogs, and a cat.

Follow the author:

• On her website
• On Twitter
• On Facebook
• On her blog

This is another selection for the 2012 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa and also a selection for Carl's 2012 Once Upon a Time Challenge. Reviews from Once Upon a Time Challenge participants can be found here.

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this audio book on Audible.com

Let's get this out of the way first. You know me, do I ever highlight technical things? Nah. Never. So let's get this out and move on because I want to get to the good stuff. My only technical issue is that this book occasionally shifted perspectives and it could be a little bit jarring. That's it. That is my only issue. Moving on.

Snickering, shrieking, supernatural abilities and bumbled confusions, hilarity...this is The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. I admit, I had no idea what to expect from this book (I sometimes don't read the jacket, I just read the first few pages) and initially walked into this taking it extremely seriously. I mean, the cover made me think that this was a very thriller-esque book and I needed to pay attention, possibly take notes because it would be confusing. Instead, what I subsequently realized was that this book is a lot of fun, serious in some ways and delightfully funny in most, and actually made me think that this is what the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter's world would be like if told from a very important, regularly frightened, but well-meaning adult working in the government of magic. Once I accepted that, this book ended up being so. much. FUN.

Myfanwy (sounds like Tiffany) Thomas has opened her eyes and has no idea who she is. While a plethora of letters await her, (written by herself to herself when she was told by random psychics that she was going to lose her memory), she learns that she works at the Checquy (pronounced Shek-eh), a secret organization that has been around for hundreds of years, and whose sole objective is to protect the British Isles by fighting supernatural forces. Oh, and one other thing she's learning about herself is that she's got a seriously deadly ability to connect into others' nervous systems and control them. She could make you turn that gun around (the one that you decided to threaten her with) and shoot yourself in the face. Or perhaps she'd instead make you put the gun down and claw your insides out of your body through your mouth. Yes, she could make you do that. Which is probably a good thing, considering she just learned from her own letters that someone within the organization has betrayed her and will try to kill her. It is an exceptionally good thing she's got this supernatural ability.

In the days before she lost her memory, she was a meek little church mouse who rose to the rank of Rook within the Checquy because she was a brilliant administrator, but she was absolutely not someone who could do battle. Now she realizes she's a lot tougher than she's ever given herself credit for. No one else gives her that credit either, so this newly found confidence becomes the perfect defense. Who would ever think this little mouse would bite back?

All right, I also admit there is a sad side to this whole extraordinary ridiculous story. Myfanwy's letters to herself before her memory loss truly ache at the knowledge that someone within the team she's worked with her whole life will betray her, effectively killing her by destroying her memory and personality. While the letters are extremely helpful and informative, there are moments in which they clearly reflect her denial to believe she will no longer be who she is at that exact moment when she was writing the letters to her future self. It's a quandary to be in, and had this story not been so fun, I might have felt really, really bad for her. But then the next section begins with some insane-tentacles spilling out of a blob that is consuming a police station and people are breaking walls by resting their hand lightly on it, and it all becomes insanely and boisterously pleasant and lively yet again.

Good gracious, this was an absolutely FUN reading experience! I soon found myself hooked right into this absurdly bizarre and hilariously fun journey for confused Myfanwy. I'd say she boggles and flubs along, but not really. She uncovers a new side of herself and that was the best part of it all. Daniel O'Malley's story was fantastic and I cannot wait for the next installment!

Others said:
Books I Done Read
Fantasy Book Critic
The Guilded Earlobe (Audio Review)
Linus's Blanket

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Release Date: 1/11/2012
Pages: 486

About the Author

Dan O'Malley graduated from Michigan State University and earned a Master's Degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He then returned to his childhood home, Australia. He now works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats.

Follow the author:

• On his website
• On his blog
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On Myfanwy Thomas's Twitter

This is my first selection for the Once Upon a Time Challenge hosted by Carl. Reviews for all challenge participants can be found here.

I've really enjoyed the challenges Carl hosts and just recently, I concluded the Science Fiction Experience, which I loved. It motivated me to try books I never thought I'd dive into, even though I loosely played with the genre every now and again. It was great to explore my previous limits and try something new, which is what I wanted 2012 to be.

Now, I'm motivated again, as Carl is hosting the sixth annual Once Upon a Time Challenge, a celebration of experiencing four categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy, and Mythology, "including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum," as Carl writes. The challenge runs from now until Tuesday, June 19th.

I'll be digging my toes into the sand with The Journey, which means I'm committing to read at least one book from now until June 19th. I hope to read more, but work is busy now, so I want my experiences to be fun and stress-free.

The rules are pretty simple: have fun, more fun, don't be afraid by the word "challenge," and share your journey with others.

Here are my options, and I think I'm going to dive into the fantasy and fairy tale:

• The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (because I have heard this is ah.may.zing)
• The Dark Tower, by Stephen King (which also continues my year-long The Stephen King Project co-hosted with Kathleen and also fulfills my first step at Leighanne's Dark Tower Reading Challenge)
• The Complete Fairy Tales, by George MacDonald (Victorian fairy tales)

And as always, Carl has fantastic artwork to select from. While I'm going to use the adorable fox button, I wanted to include the other options below so you can see artist Melissa Nucera's insanely kick-ass artwork for this challenge. Her Etsy shop absolutely rocks.