They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

“Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course.

The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. Mila was the top runner on her team back home and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been lookigfor a friend. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted.

With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.” - taken from Goodreads.

The Steckler sisters are opposites in every way except for their love of cross country running. Striving to be the best, the two are out to impress the college scouts who have taken notice. This year is poised to be the best until fellow runner and competition Mila Keene moves to town. Before too long, both Stella and Ellie begin to see Mila as more than competition; Stella as a friend and Ellie as a confidant. With regions living on the horizon, Mila goes missing. Even though years have passed since the unsolved murders of some female teenage runners, the town of Edgewater begins to fear that its notorious nickname, Deadwater, is being revived. Soon all eyes of the town have landed on Stella and Ellie as suspects even though they also wonder what happened to Mila. 

What secrets are Stella and Ellie holding close? And what happened to Mila Keene?

Visit Jessica Goodman’s website.

Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge

 

“On an island built from ash and shrouded in fire, phoenix racing is a sport just as profitable as it is deadly.

Seventeen-year-old Kel Varra and her team of underdogs, the Crimson Howlers, are desperate to win the annual races and the fortune that comes with it. But the Howlers need a new rider, which leads Kel to join forces with Warren “Coup” Coupers – an arrogant rival she can’t get out of her head.

As tensions rise on and off the track, Kel's home is mistakenly burned down, and she’s forced to take a job from a mysterious tech mogul with an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. This sets in motion a conspiracy that threatens everyone Kel cares for, especially Coup, for whom her embers of resentment are quickly igniting into something dangerously new.

Heart-pounding pages full of steamy romance, fiery confessions, political scheming, and volatile magic culminate in a final twist readers will never see coming.” - taken from Goodreads.

This was an incredible read that was full of nonstop action, great worldbuilding, political intrigue, and a mutual attraction that cannot be denied. Having to join forces with a rival to save her farm and phoenix, Kelyn Varra soon finds out that everything isn’t what it seems. In a race to save everything that she holds dear, will she make it on the other side unscathed? 

Visit Mikayla Bridge’s website.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

“Some race to win. Others race to survive.”



On the tiny, rocky outcrop of an island known as Thisby, every November brings the Scorpio Races. The island fills with tourists to see the capaill uisge race across the beach. The capaill uisge, better known as kelpie in folklore, are dangerous fairy horses from the water who want nothing more than to drag their prey back to the water and devour them. During October to the first of November, Thisby becomes a maze of safe and unsafe zones from the capaill uisge. As October progresses, the more capaill uisge emerge from the sea. Islanders wishing to compete in the future races, hunt down the horses when they are the most dangerous; hungry and sea mad. Those competing in this year’s race train the horses they caught years earlier. They are somewhat docile until they smell the fall sea and the magic inside calls to them.


For nineteen-year-old Sean Kendrick; horses, especially the capaill uisge are his life. A four time champion of the Scorpio Races, Sean watched hi own father die during the Races at the age of nine. His mother left for the mainland so he has lived and worked for Benjamin Malvern at his stable training both horses and capaill uisge for the past ten years. All he wishes for in life is a roof over his head that he can call his own and Corr, the red stallion capall uisge he has rode to victory. Somewhat of a horse whisperer, Sean is respected and a bit feared on the island but the Malverns’ own son, Matthew better known as Mutt, despises Kendrick with a passion. Sean has a lot on his mind with the upcoming Races and mainland horse buyers wandering through the stables before a local girl turns his world upside down.


The past year has been difficult for the Connollys. Kate, better known as Puck and her two brothers; Gabe, six years older and quiet, sensitive younger brother Finn have struggled since their parents’ death at the hands of the capaill uisge. When Gabe announces he is leaving for the mainland, Puck says she is entering the Scorpio Races. Gabe will stay until the race is over. With Gabe slipping through their fingers, Puck goes forward with her intentions to enter the race. The first girl to do so, she soon realizes that no one will take her seriously and allow her to be the rider of their capall uisge. In looking over the rules, Puck realizes that she can enter and ride her own dun mare, Dove. When Ben Malvern comes to the Connolly house, the news is not good. Delinquent on their mortgage since their parents’ death, he has come to evict them.


As Puck gets thrown into the competition, she soon runs into Sean Kendrick. She knows who is but having grown up in a family who was never involved in the Races; their paths haven’t crossed until now. With everyone on the island telling her she has no business racing; Kendrick tries to help her obtain a capall uisge for the Race. She eventually declines because of her parents’ death. One day while training with Dove, Sean privately tells her to get her pony off of the beach. At other times in public, his manner is aloof but he stands up for against the other competitors. Soon thoughts of Sean Kendrick begin to creep onto her mind, especially when he gives her a few pointers one day.



As the day of the Races draws closer, Puck and Sean continually find themselves in each other’s company. Sparks begin to fly as they share each other’s hopes and fears for the future. But only one person can win the Race and inevitability someone will die. Why is Gabe leaving the island for the mainland? Will Puck be successful in the Races? Can Sean escape from under the thumb of Benjamin Malvern and be on his own? Who will die during the Races? And will Puck and Sean’s dreams come true?

Visit Maggie Stiefvater's website.