Weekend Recommendations #10

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: fiction

Part of a Series: No

Rating: 5 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys, fourteen and up, great for fans of stories with the isolated, ancient British Isle feel - and horses!

Why I Like It:

I love stories that take place on obscure, isolated British Isles, and I love stories that incorporate creatures from Celtic legend - in this case, kelpies. And I also happen to really like horses. Add to that some super awesome characters, and you have the sort of book that I positively drool over. Sean Kendrick is an "old soul" - he embodies the heart of the spirit of the little island of Thisby, and he understands the water horses in a way that few do. He's quiet and reserved, but he has tremendous passion. While Puck Connolly at times grated a tiny bit on my nerves due to her temper, I never disliked her. She's tough, confident, and without Attitude. And the romance in this is very slight - double win! The "villains" of the piece are also super-fun to hate, so there really wasn't anything about this book that I disliked.

 Title: The Raven Boys

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: fantasy/supernatural/adventure

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys, seventeen and up (due to lots of strong language), fans of The Scorpio Races.

Why I Like It:

The only reason this book didn't get a five-star rating is because it had a ton of strong language, and I couldn't ignore that when it came to its final rating. But aside from that, I adored this book. Filled with lots of great characters, all with distinct personalities, and with a very intriguing storyline, I was hooked the moment I opened this book. Gansey, Adam, Noah, and Blue all struck a chord with me. And though Ronan wasn't my favorite out of the four boys, I still appreciated what he brought to the story itself, and in the end I really did end up liking him in my own way. Blue was a great girl character; she managed to be "one of the boys" without having an Attitude. And the plot . . . the plot was just amazing.