Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

My love for this book will never end. This had been my eight time reading The Scorpio Races since it came out. I did not re-read it last year, which I very much regret not finding the time for. As this book means everything to me. It's so, so good. Always. If you still haven't read this, you are seriously missing out on the best book.

I am going to try my best to write down all the reasons for why I love this book so very much. But might also not write too much, because I have already shared so much of my love for this book before. But I can't help it. The Scorpio Races means so much to me. The book is gorgeous. The characters are beyond amazing.

This book tells the story of Puck and Sean. They live in this small island in the middle of the sea, which was all kinds of awesome. I loved reading about this gorgeous but brutal place. I'm not going to write about the plot of this book, because I want you all to read it instead. So I shall instead just talk about the things that I love. Like the water horses. Because this island isn't only beautiful, it's so dangerous too. Especially in the winter. Because that is when the water horses come out of the sea, looking for things to eat. And oh, how I loved reading about these huge and gorgeous and brutal horses. It was, as always, creepy and beyond amazing. I love this book so much, and everything in it is perfection. The writing is gorgeous. And the story is so, so amazing. Always.

What I love most about this book is the characters. It's told from the point of view of Puck and Sean. Puck was all kinds of adorable. I loved her so much. She's fierce and a bit rude yet full of heart. She's so strong and I simply love how awesome she was. Her parents were killed by one of the horses a year ago, things have been bad for her and her two brothers since then, as they are very short on money. Broke my heart reading about it all again. But it's written so well. And they are being so strong about it too. Love them so.

I very much loved Puck's younger brother, Finn. He was so special and adorable and just the best. I want to read more and more about him. She also has another older brother, Gabe. And I still do not like Gabe, even after eight times of reading this book. He was selfish and rude. Sure, I can believe that he has his own reasons for what he does, but it is still not an excuse to treat your siblings like he does. And so I just cannot ever forgive him. Hmph. But I am dealing with it. Because Puck and Finn handled it all so so well.

And then there was Sean. Sigh. I love this boy beyond words. He's quiet, yet has the biggest heart. He loves this island, like Puck does too, and they would both never leave it. Sean has been working for this kind of terrible man for years now, ever since his father died. And ahh, this story. It just about killed my heart. Sean just wants his freedom, and Corr, his dangerous but beautiful water horse. But some things are never easy. And there is so much happening, all the time. It was so perfect to read about once again.

I'm writing all of this all wrong. But having trouble finding the right words for this book. It's impossible to describe it. It's all just so amazing. The story is about how every year on November first, this island has a water horse race called the Scorpio Races. It's a deadly race. And the winner wins a lot of money. Sean needs to win, as he has done four years before, for a very good reason. Puck enters this race for the first time, for family reasons. Except she's racing with her own regular horse. Many does not approve of this.

I simply can't write more about this book. I don't know what to say. It just makes me so so happy to read it. To read about Puck and Sean and Corr and Dove. To read about Puck and Sean slowly falling for each other. The romance is not big, but it's there, and it's beautiful. Reading about everything that happens on this island is so much fun. And heartbreaking too. I love every single moment of this book. Only wish that there were more. There are many great characters in this book. I still hate Mutt. I still love Holly the most.

I feel like I have written this review entirely wrong. Probably because I have already written so much about this book before. I simply couldn't find the right words for this book this time. But I tried my best. Either way, I once again loved this book beyond words. And cannot wait to read it again and again. The Scorpio Races truly is a perfect book. It's my favorite book by Maggie. And it's her favorite of her books too, which I love so much. Just crossing all my fingers that she will write a sequel to it. I need one badly.

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Waiting on Wednesday #320

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

DEVILS UNTO DUST BY EMMA BERQUIST

Goodreads Description:

Ten years ago, a horrifying disease began spreading across the West Texas desert. Infected people—shakes—attacked the living and created havoc and destruction. No one has ever survived the infection. Daisy Wilcox, known as Willie, has been protecting her siblings within the relatively safe walls of Glory, Texas. When Willie’s good-for-nothing father steals a fortune from one of the most dangerous shake-hunters in town, she finds herself on the hook for his debt. With two hunters, including the gruff and handsome Ben, to accompany her, she sets out across the desert in search of her father. But the desert is not kind to travelers, and not everyone will pass through alive.

Western meets horror for this riveting story about survival, family, and inner strength. Tense, short chapters propel readers from one action-packed scene to the next, while Willie’s distinctive, introspective voice deepens the emotional stakes with every turn of the page. High concept and character-driven, Emma Berquist’s debut will satisfy fans of The Magnificent Seven, Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger, and HBO’s Westworld.'

Hardcover, 496 pages

Expected publication: April 10th 2018 by Greenwillow

Pre-Order here and here

This cover is so so lovely. The book sounds so awesome; reminds me a lot of Walk on Earth a Stranger, which is a series that I love. Hoping this will be a book I will end up loving too :D I have it via Edelweiss, just need to make myself start it. Ack. Very soon, I think. I'm pretty curious about this very gorgeous book.
What are you waiting for on this desert Wednesday?

Review: There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

I simply couldn't not get this when I saw that awesome cover and read the summary. It sounded like such an amazing thriller story. And so I was pretty excited to finally start this book now. But ah, I ended up being pretty disappointed about this book. There were parts of the book that I enjoyed a whole lot, but it wasn't enough.

My biggest issue with this book was the writing. I couldn't stand it. It bothered me from start to finish. I sadly never got used to it, or started to like it. And so it was even more difficult to enjoy this story. Not sure how to describe it, just that it was not well enough written at all. I never felt connected to the characters or the story.

I thought this book would be all about murders. With characters getting killed often, in brutal ways, and them all trying to find the killer, with it being possible that it could be anyone. It was sort of like that. But then again, not. It focused way more on the main girl, and her relationship with a boy. I actually liked the romance. But yeah, I wanted this to be a thriller book. Sigh. There are point of views from all the characters that end up getting killed, just a few pages. Sadly they weren't thrilling at all. Probably because of how I didn't like the writing. I did not feel scared, and I need to feel scared in a good thriller. Hmph. All the murders are done pretty brutally. It was not good enough for me to feel creeped out, or feel scared by it. There were a few exciting scenes, sure.

But then again, most scenes were not. And that is why I am disappointed by this book. I liked the few exciting scenes there was. And I liked most of the romance. But the writing bothered me so much. And I had issues with Makani's friends. And I even had issues with the killer. Like, how did this person have the strength to kill all those teenagers, and in such brutal ways? It didn't make a whole lot of sense. And I'm not sure I liked that ending at all. A little rushed, and could have used at least twenty more pages. Hmph.

But anyway. I'm going to talk about some of the things that I enjoyed about this book. It's a story about a girl named Makani. She's half hawaiian and half black. Which I loved a whole bunch. She moved from her home in Hawaii about a year ago, to live with her grandmother in a small town in America. I liked reading about Makani a whole lot. She has a secret past. And while I found that past to be incredibly weird and not exciting, I still liked reading about the girl. She was sweet and pretty fierce. I pretty much adored her.

But I adored her grandmother a whole lot more. She was very awesome. And I simply adored reading about her. Makani has two best friends, Darby and Alex. And ugh, I am not sure how to feel about these two girls. They were interesting to read about, and they could be great friends too. But they were also too quick to judge this one person, and I couldn't help but really dislike them for that. It bothered me. Even so, they were being good friends, despite that. Sometimes. I just could not make myself love them. Shrugs.

Then there was the boy. Because most of this book is about Makani and a boy. Aka Ollie. And oh, I did love this boy a whole bunch. He was awesome. And I loved getting to know him. And I adored reading about him and Makani together. But there was another reason for why I did not love this. The swoony scenes had no swoon. So disappointing. Makani and Ollie had a past that happened in the summer that just pissed me off. I just wish there had been more swoon. Could have been written lots better. Sad face.

But anyway. Enough about all of that. This book was supposed to be about a bunch of murders. And it was. There are a lot of teenagers in their school getting killed. And some parts of it were a bit freaky, but yeah, I wish it had been written better, so that I could have loved it more. Aw. But even so. There were parts of this book I liked a lot. Only wishing it had been better. And so I'm giving There's Someone Inside Your House two stars. It wasn't perfect. But I liked parts of it. Think I would recommend reading it, though.

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In My Mailbox #316

I have been pretty behind on things this week. I just have not had the energy at all. Not to read, not to catch up. Just done nothing, most of the time. I got a new medicine at the hospital on Tuesday, but I am not feeling any better at all, because this new medicine might take up to 14 weeks before it begins to work. Ahhh. I am not pleased. But it was the only one that might have any effect at all. But yeah. It sucks. Because I am still in pain, all the time. But yeah, hoping the medicine might start working sooner. Fingers crossed. Besides this, I have been a bit lazy too. Just haven't felt like doing anything. I will start reading a book today. Then start reading more. I hope, at least :D My pictures from now on will be a bit darker, with light from inside, as the sun is now gone here for many weeks. How rude. But it's almost Christmas now, eee. I'm super excited. Because I didn't do much this week, I also didn't blog much. But I did post twice, so yay for that. I shared my review of Renegades :D Which I loved. This week I'm waiting on Everless. <3 I also got the most awesome mail this week. A bunch of books that I have traded for. Eeee. Cost me a lot of money, gosh, but worth it. They all look GORGEOUS. I'm dying a little. So so so happy with them all.

Giveaway over at Instagram: Win a Nevernight Bookmark set. Enter here.

Taylor Swift. Yesss. My gorgeous magazines+cd has arrived :D They look gorgeous. Love the songs.
Supernatural Coloring Book. Another Supernatural coloring book :D Yesss. Love this show so much.
Frozen. I couldn't resist buying this cute coloring book. Super excited about the new Frozen short movie.
Hotel Transylvania. I adore these movies so so much. And I cannot wait for the third one next year. Yess.
One Dark Throne. Finally got the international paperback version of this :D Collection almost complete.
47 Meters Down. I loved this movie. Ordered in September; but didn't get shipped until now. Hmph.
Taylor Swift: Reputation. Also got a regular CD version of this soundtrack :D I love it so so much. Sigh.
Pop Figures + Plush. Yay for Snow White :D Adorable. And eee, new Bukowski plush. It's so so precious.
Rosemarked + Invictus + Unearthed + The Map to Everywhere + City of Thirst. Ahhh :D Thank you so much God of Wax for trading these books with me. And to Becky, for helping me get them to Norway. Eee. I am dying. They all look SO PERFECT. I have read and enjoyed them all; love that I now own all.
Tess of the Road. EEE! Thank you so much for trading this with me Kelly :D I am dying. It's so perfect.
All Our Yesterdays + Here Lies Daniel Tate + Deception + Deliverance + Daughter of the Siren Queen + Vengeance Road + The Raven Boys ARC Box + Reign the Earth. Oh my god. I am dying of amazing books :D Eee. Thank you so, so much for trading with me Kelly :D I'm so happy. They are all so perfect. Ahh. So happy to add them all to my collections, eee. I already have a Raven Boys ARC, so I am thrilled with this box :D And gosh. Just all of these ARCs. I'm dying. Love them so so much. Thank you Kelly. <3

More Instagram photos here. <3

Waiting on Wednesday #319

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

EVERLESS BY SARA HOLLAND

Goodreads Description:

In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself. 

Hardcover, 336 pages

Expected publication: January 2nd 2018 by HarperTeen

Pre-Order here and here

I'm both excited and nervous about this book. I have had it via Edelweiss for weeks now, but have yet to start it. Ack. I wish so badly to love it, because it looks gooorgeous, and sounds pretty awesome too. But nervous even so, as I kind of peeked, haha. But yess. I will be reading it soon. Hope I will love it lots :D
What are you waiting for on this timeless Wednesday?