Shelf Candy Saturday (3)

Shelf Candy Saturday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews where each Saturday bloggers defy the saying "never judge a book by its cover" and showcase one that really catches their eye. Covers play a huge role in the books I choose so it's great to have the opportunity to showcase the pretties :)

My shelf candy for this week is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

Every year, the Scorpio Races are run on the beaches of Skarmouth. Every year, the sea washes blood from the sand. To race the savage water horses can mean death, but the danger is irresistible.

When Puck enters the races to save her family, she is drawn to the mysterious Sean, the only person on the island capable of taming the beasts.

Even if they stay together, can they stay alive?



I love this cover! It is beautiful and simple, and it feels nice. It isn't matt or glossy, it falls somewhere in the middle and feels more like neoprene (the stuff wetsuits are made of). I've had a couple of books recently that feel like this and I think it's brilliant. It's different to the normal cover feel and is very soft and strokable.

I love the drama of the cover. It captures the danger and beauty of the capaill uisce (water horses) really well. It looks like they've captured the moment one emerged from the ocean, and not to be too gory the red really reminds me of the blood mentioned in the book. Several mentions have been made to people being torn apart and the sand stained red with their blood, so the cover really fits with this.

I'm a bit torn between the UK and US covers. Below the UK cover is on the left, with the US on the right. Both are gorgeous covers, but I think the UK one is more dramatic. I'm still reading the book, but I think the UK one shows the danger of the capaill uisce better though the US shows the bond between rider and horse. I think I'm going to call this one a tie.

So what's your shelf candy this week?