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The Scorpio Races Reread Review

It’s the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.

The first line of The Scorpio Races has captured my attention since I first read it a few years ago. I’ve always wanted to reread it in November, and this year when I picked up the book just to read the first little bit, I found myself reading further (even though I had already started another book… and I don’t do multiple fiction books at once unless one’s on audio).

In full disclosure, I did want to reread it this year via audiobook, but while it had been readily available from the library suddenly wasn’t right before November 1 when I checked again. I put a hold on it and figured I’d probably finish reading it before it became available, but I actually had not gotten very far and switched over a couple days later.

I found my review from when I read The Scorpio Races the first time, and it was interesting to see both the similarities and differences of opinion I had this second time.

The short version: I loved it more this time.

The Sean & Puck Relationship 

The first time I read The Scorpio Races, I didn’t really feel the developing relationship between Sean and Puck was all that romantically inclined, and when they kissed for the first time (pretty late in the book), it felt sudden to me. (At the time, I was still kind of a newbie to the modern age of YA and I was floored by the lack of a define-the-relationship talk before the kissing.)

This time, the opposite was true. The romance is really subtle, but there is such a sweet, slow development between them that makes the reader really long to see something happen. When Sean grabbed Puck’s wrist and her heart was racing, I was so ready for them to kiss! But they didn’t! It happened later! It’s so funny to me now that before I thought they kissed too soon, and this time it was later than I wanted (though not later than I think it actually should have been, to be clear).

While I had remembered a decent amount of the book from before, one scene I had completely forgotten about was when Sean comes over for dinner. I super loved that scene this time around and doubt I’ll be forgetting it again.

I say, “I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.”

Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, “It’s late for that, Puck.”

Secondary Characters

In my first review, I touted my love for George Holly and I definitely stand by this after my second read. What’s interesting, however, is that the other secondary character who stood out to me in my first read was Dory Maud, but this time it was Sue Gratton instead. I’m not sure if this was due to reading the book in another format or if she’s just who I connected with more this time around, but regardless, it’s interesting to see the shift nonetheless.

“I think you’re right, Mr. Kendrick,” George Holly says, eyes closed. His face is to the wind, leaning forward slightly so that it doesn’t tip him. His slacks are no longer pristine; he’s tracked bits of mud and manure up the front of them. His ridiculous red hat has blown off behind him, but he doesn’t seem to notice. The wind has its fingers in his fair hair and the ocean sings to him. This island will take you, if you let it.

I ask, “What am I right about?”

“I can feel God out here.”

I brush my hands off on my pants. “Tell me that again,” I say, “two weeks from now when you’ve seen the dead bodies on the beach.”

Holly doesn’t open his eyes. “Let no one say that Sean Kendrick isn’t an optimist.”

Pacing

The Scorpio Races is a very slowly paced book. That was definitely harder for me the first time, but it didn’t go unnoticed the second time. I think both times I was really ready for Sean and Puck to meet, so it could feel like their story together could begin, but they do have very important individual arcs, which is part of what makes this book so rich. This slow pacing also really matches the tone of the island and helps set the atmospheric aesthetic of it. Maggie Stiefvater says she wants readers to feel like they’ve visited Thisby and weeks later still feel like they need to shake salt from the water out of their hair. I think she did a pretty good job with that.

Shhh, shhh, says the sea, but I don’t believe her.

The Audiobook

So I ended up listening to at least 3/4 of the book on audio, and it took me a moment to get used to the narrators who clearly sounded like adults instead of teenagers. But over time, I really warmed up to the narrators and thought they did a wonderful job of portraying their characters. I think Sean’s voice specifically is going to stick in my mind over time.

Author’s Writing Style

The only other book I’ve read by Maggie is her other standalone, All the Crooked Saints, and upon rereading The Scorpio Races I was surprised to find more similarities between the two stories than I would have expected. They’re most definitely two very different books in many respects, but having read them both definitely gives me a sense of Maggie’s writing style. She writes very clever and beautiful metaphors that I only dream I could one day concoct. Her main characters are often misunderstood but they feel deeply, even if they’re trying to hide those feelings from others and sometimes even themselves. There are religious references and broken-down cars and other little things that feel just distinctly Maggie to me (because in addition to reading these two books I have also heard her speak on a panel).

Rating

My original rating for The Scorpio Races was four stars, but after this reread I would bump it up to 4.5. It’s beautiful and quiet and raw, and I find very little to complain about it.

Have you read The Scorpio Races once or multiple times? Did your feelings change with rereading?

For Jane Austen Fans: A Few Thoughts on Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

I recently took a little trip to the beach, which of course meant I got to read a little more in a short period of time than normal. One of these books, which I read from start to finish in a single day was Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal. This book has been on my radar for a while now since I’ve listened to Kowal on the Writing Excuses podcast, but when Charlene fangirled over the entire Glamourist Histories series, it piqued my interest even more.

Things I loved…

It reads like Jane Austen… but more accessible.

If you know me, it’s no secret that I’m a fan of Jane Austen’s stories, but I do struggle with her writing style (which is 99% due to the time period she lived in). This is like reading about Jane Austen’s time period and with her stories’ sensibilities with modern accessibility, while staying true to Austen’s tone. Plus magic.

The main character, Jane.

I really liked Jane a lot. She’s smart, great at glamour (referring to magic, not putting together her look, though that can be part of it), and is just a good person. She cares about the friends and family in her life so genuinely but she isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right, even if that means it might temporarily hurt someone she cares about. Her relationship with her sister Melody is a big focus in the story, and while I don’t know anything about having a sister ten years younger than me, I felt the up’s and down’s of their relationship seemed realistic; they care for each other but the age difference (and other general differences) do cause friction between them. And any time Jane feels this friction, she hopes to fix it.

The other characters… even when they drove me a little crazy.

Akin to the characterization in Jane Austen’s books, Kowal’s MC Jane is the most sane person around (well, in addition to her father and misunderstood love interest). Jane’s mother is so much a Mrs. Bennett, and then of course there were the uppity gossips, people with tragic pasts that blinded them to sense, etc. Yet despite the fact they aren’t the best people and are very much based off of Jane Austen character archetypes, I still found them well-rounded and interesting to read about.

On the flipside…

The romance read like Jane Austen… meaning a little too downplayed.

The romance just felt a smidge rushed. The characters vaguely know each other the entire book, but by the end they’re married. When Vincent proposes to Jane, they have barely had a civil conversation. Now, Jane does make the statement that because she knows his art/glamour she essentially knows him, which I get, but I still think maybe they could have had a short courtship or at least one semi-romantic moment together before I could fully buy that they were ready for marriage like a week later. I do like them together and think it plays out nicely, but I needed just a *little* bit more!

The action seemed… uncharacteristic?

Since everything else felt so much like Jane Austen, even the magic somehow fit in nicely, I was a little shocked by the crazy action-packed ending that didn’t feel very Regency-era to me. Yes, duels were a thing back then, but it still felt a little out of left field for me, most particularly the threats that are lobbed at Jane by the Willoughby-esque character.

Moments that were unresolved or TOO resolved.

Now I’m getting nit-picky and these shouldn’t really hinder anyone’s enjoyment of the book, but I felt like mentioning them. There are two things that stand out to me as unresolved: one was a very minor thematic element and the other is the title. Let me tackle the latter first: I have no idea why this book is titled Shades of Milk and Honey and it bothers me. I like to feel like I caught the title’s reference, even if the exact words aren’t in the story, but I’m clueless on this one. Also, there is this minor element of the story where Mr. Ellsworth is requesting Jane wear certain things, but I never saw an explanation as to why he requested those certain things. Maybe it was just the general sentiment to catch a husband, but I expected that the requests were specific for a reason but I never understand why.

On the other end of the spectrum, the ending was way too specific and resolved. I’m sure this book was sold as a standlone with series potential and Kowal wanted her readers to be assured of the happily ever after, but even if I didn’t know there were four more books I think I still would have been like, “OK, I don’t need to know about Melody’s wedding AND the Ellsworth grandchildren AND Jane + Vincent in their old age.” All this is only a few paragraphs, but I would have preferred the book simply resolve with knowing Jane and Vincent got married and were going to travel to do glamour work, the end. Then I can draw my own conclusions or read on.

Read this if…

You’re looking for a good adult fiction read.

You’re a fan of Jane Austen stories. 

You’re a fan of a little magic in the everyday.

I highly recommend Shades of Milk and Honey!

If you’ve read Shades of Milk and Honey, what are your thoughts?

Book Review: Nora & Kettle

I had seen some blogging friends express interest in Nora & Kettle, but when the e-book was on sale and I contemplated buying it, I checked Goodreads and noticed none of them had actually read it. The reviews from others on GR really piqued my interest though, so I bought it and read it not too long after. And I’m glad I did.

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The pacing of the story is very slow, but the writing is beautiful. It also weaves in some elements from Peter Pan, though it is definitely not a retelling or an adaptation.

In the beginning we meet Nora, a girl who, to the outside world, seems to have a good life, but she’s harboring the secret of her father’s abuse. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to mention the inciting incident, as it happens so quickly, but her mother dies in a freak accident, and suddenly Nora is even more terrified because this means she has to endure her father and shield her sister from him alone.

Meanwhile, Kettle is a poor homeless boy doing his best to take care of other poor homeless kids alongside his friend and “brother” Kin. He takes his life in stride but is haunted by the past he barely remembers – the family who might not have wanted him, his childhood in internment camps, his mysterious mixed heritage. And he deals with the overwhelming burden of trying to provide for himself and others at the young age of 17 and no place to call home.

For more than half of the novel, we go back and forth between these two’s individual lives, with them skimming each others’ paths, but not properly meeting for a while. It’s very drawn-out and not a lot happens, and yet I was invested in these characters. I cared for them and wanted to know what would happen to them and how they would finally meet up.

When Nora and Kettle are finally involved in each others’ lives, it’s interesting to see how they compare and contrast to one another. I will say, however, that this portion of the story was more rushed and didn’t feel fully developed. Nora and Kettle grow interested in each other quickly, which is fine, but it felt more vague than sure, and then suddenly towards the end it seems to get very serious very quickly. However, the climax was really compelling and I think it played out perfectly. I just wanted maybe one more chapter afterwards for more of a final resolution.

Overall, it’s a beautiful story, and I would love to read more about these characters. I know so little about the Japanese internment camps and while this didn’t teach me much more, it did humanize those events for me through Kettle and Kin.

Rating: 4 stars

Trigger warning: domestic violence/abuse

Content advisory: Domestic violence described but not too graphically, some language.

Have you read Nora & Kettle? What did you think? 

“I Did Love You Once”: Thoughts on Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Don’t Touch is a quiet book in the world of YA. I didn’t hear a lot about it before asking for it for my birthday, but I’m pretty sure my interest in it was piqued largely thanks to Kayla. It focuses on Caddie, whose parents have recently separated and is subsequently dealing with extreme anxiety, which is fed by a rule or mantra she has created for herself: don’t touch. Caddie feels that if she touches someone, or them her, skin to skin, she will be responsible for her parents’ divorce. As someone has never experienced anything like this, it was interesting to get inside her mind see her thought process.

dont-touch

The book felt very genuine, from Caddie’s anxiety to her friendships and her experience as a new student at a performing arts high school (in Birmingham, Alabama! Bonus points for the Southern setting!). She reconnects with her old friend Mandy, but for me, the highlight was definitely her friendship with Peter, who she adores, but a potential relationship between them is very much complicated by don’t touch. (Bonus points for Peter being such a nice guy! I loved it!)

Part of the plot involves Caddie playing Ophelia in her school’s production in Hamlet, and I promise you I read this book in high school, but all I remember is, “To be or not to be,” and not liking it at all. Talk of the play in the book almost made me want to revisit it and see if I could appreciate it more this time around. But the key word is almost, because in the end I decided I was fine without ever reading it again.

This book felt like a 4.5 star book most of the time; I was really enjoying it but it wasn’t quite 5-star read for me, but the ending almost lowered my rating to a 4. I don’t want to say too much to spoil it, but one aspect doesn’t really wrap up at all, but that felt realistic and appropriate for the story. The other aspect I think wrapped up a little too nicely. I understood that she had struggled a ton already, but it seemed some things happened a little too quickly, but I have no expertise on the matter, so maybe it could be that way. Also, the ending didn’t really drag after the climax, but I feel like there was maybe a little more to it than necessary. I would have preferred something a little more open-ended.

dont-touch-quote

Overall, I would definitely recommend it for a realistic look at mental illness, interesting friendship dynamics, and a sweet romance.

Content advisory: Some mild to moderate language. Some talk of sex, nothing real descriptive.

Have you read Don’t Touch? What are your thoughts? What was a book that, for you, did a good job of portraying mental illness?

“So I Write it to the Sky”: The Wrath and The Dawn

It’s always a little intimidating going into a book with so much hype. And honestly, The Wrath and the Dawn started off slow for me. You are dumped into a whole new world with no background information or explanation as to what is happening or who any of the characters are. I spent probably the first 25% of the book trying to keep everyone straight and trying to figure out why I should care about any of them. I felt disconnected from all of them, but since I was reading this for book club, there was so much hype, and I wasn’t completely bored or uninterested, I kept reading. Thankfully, it really picked up for me.

gr-thewrath&thedawn

Possibly because of this disconnection at the beginning, I didn’t believe in Shahrzad’s growing attraction towards Khalid at first. She hated him and she never really said anything positive about his looks (not negative either, but she didn’t seem to be drooling over him), so I didn’t understand why her heart would flutter around him early on in the story. Does she feel connected to him because of their marriage? Is there something else about him that evokes this in her, maybe even nervousness or fear? I would have liked to have gotten some more insight into Shahrzad’s thoughts, but we’re provided with very little. This disconnect in the beginning and how it affected my view of the characters is my definitely biggest complaint of the book.

However, as the story developed and I grew to understand the characters more through their words and actions, I did find myself caring more and more. And on the night when Shahrzad learns the truth about why Khalid does what he does, I was definitely a lot more on board with them as a couple and with the story as a whole.

wrathdawn-quote

The ending left me with a lot of questions, but I know most of them are definitely going to be brought up in the next book (since they’re mentioned in the synopsis), but one thing I really want to know is why Khalid sought Shahrzad out that first night, but never did with any of the other women. Because without him having done that, the rest of the story would never have happened. I really hope this comes up again, and wonder if this is somehow connected with her abilities she seems to have. Speaking of which, the element of magic and abilities was brought up later in the book than I personally felt it should have been. I wish we could have learned that about her earlier, as it seems to be an important part of her character.

The writing overall in this book was beautiful. It was written very cinematically; I could picture each scene in my mind with all the rich description given of setting, clothing, food, etc. There were multiple senses being evoked in each scene, yet I never felt it bogged down the pacing of the story, and that is masterful writing in my opinion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and definitely plan to continue the series!

4stars2

What are your thoughts on The Wrath and the Dawn? Was it slow for you at first too or did you fall in love right away?