I don't think I cared for this book as much as the Fire and Flood series, but I still loved the idea of mechanical horse racing!

3.5 stars.

GENRE: Young Adult
THEME: Fantasy, Science Fiction
RECEIVED: Tour
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
I’ve been a huge fan of Victoria Scotts since I was introduced to Dante Walker, her writing is very character driven and clever. I was super excited to read Titans, the original story line that adds a futuristic feel where real horses aren’t needed but now technology and mechanics are the main attraction. However this is very different from the romance I loved in Dante Walker, as its main focus is the determination of one girl trying to help her family, while discovering her love and friendship for a machine aka Padlock her Titan.

Astrid has had it rough since she was young, her grandfather put them on the streets due to his gamboling debt. And even though they got back on their feet, they were still poor. After her fathers loses his job and loses money to gambling, Astrid is determined to get a job. Astrid is given the chance to do something only the rich have done, join the races, a try a prototype of a Titan. She wants to win, so that she can help her family had her best friend Magnolia who is also dealing with her father losing his job.

What I love most about this story was the friendship and bon between Astrid and Padlock. Who knew you could love a machine so much, but Padlock is very different from other Titans. The races were a huge part of the plot, I really felt like I was in the races with Astrid.

The secondary characters who supported Astrid carried the story along perfectly. Each added a touch of something that was needed to guide Astrid through the races. Her best friend Magnolia was her big supporter. Her manager Rags, who may be grouchy but changes Astrid’s life for the better. And Lottie who is her sponsor for the races, she teaches Astrid about the rich.

Overall I really enjoyed the unique take on horse racing, focusing on family and friendship. I have read its similar to a book called the Scorpio Races, however I haven’t read that so I cannot compare. I have to say that this one is a must read and the characters are what really hooked me. The only bit I missed from Scotts other books, was the romance. I love romance and usually need it in book that I read, but I was still able to enjoy the creativity of the plot and awesome world building.

3.5

Read for library challenge.

Interesting book. I liked it, but I'm not sure folks who don't enjoy horses... even mechanical horses.. would like as much as I did.

I did struggle with some of the Detroit area references. I would have preferred they either be completely fictional or completely accurate, but they are partway and it makes me cringe and want to correct. It's Woodward AVENUE. And Warren is a city, not a county. Those kinds of things come off as continuity errors in my OCD brain.

But overall, a quick read, enjoyable premise YA book.

Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*.

Horses, Horses and even more horses! After reading "Riders" by Veronica Rossi I knew that the next book which was going to win me was this one. I can admit in all seriousness that Victoria Scott is the only author capable of writing amazing animal characters in YA. If you have read her other series "Fire & Blood" you'll understand my statement.

In TITANS, Astrid lives with her family in Detroit, where the games of the metal horses are held. Riders participate and bets are made just like in any other horse race. And because of betting Astrid and her family are facing enviction. Her father has almost lost everything and Astrid's sisters are not faring better.
When Rags offers Astrid a chance to participate in the games she will take it, even if it causes her already strained family relationships to become worse.

The biggest part that takes place in this book is not the races, though Padlock was a kick ass TITAN, but how Astrid grew as a character, as also how her family relationships envolved too. It's obvious that Astrid loves her family, though I would expect her mother to be stronger and more supportive, and there are also issues of violence and gambling.

She finds support in Rags who she compares to her grandfather and to Padlock. I loved that horse. Really. Horses, dogs and dolphins are the animals that have shown so far how close to human love can come. The race was a thrilling experience and the other participants had their own small place in the story.

The only part that didn't bother me, and trust me it does when it's not present, was the romance. Astrid DOES NOT fall in love with anyone of the other characters, though there were some pairings in the secondary ones. Those moments were sweet and felt like gems.

Victoria Scott is one of the top authors, I make sure to follow and add her books in my TBR list even before knowing the blurb. TITANS is one of those gems and I recommend it with all my heart! ;)

Ruige races en vriendschap

Titans is het achtste boek van auteur Victoria Scott. Ze schrijft in verschillende genres, haar eerste jeugdboek voor 8+ verschijnt dit voorjaar en ze is bezig met een psychologische thriller. Titans is een onvervalste YA met veel actie. Zelf zegt ze over haar keuzes: “Alles wat ik al heb gedaan voelt aan als een ex-vriendje, leuk op dat moment, maar nu geschiedenis”.

Astrid kijkt al haar hele leven naar de races van de Titans. De mechanische paarden zijn onbetaalbaar voor het gewone volk, en al helemaal voor Astrid en haar vriendin Magnolia. De twee vriendinnen zitten in hetzelfde schuitje: hun vaders gokken, waardoor ze dreigen uit huis te worden gezet. Dan krijgt Astrid de kans om mee te doen aan de race en zo al haar financiële problemen én die van Magnolia op te lossen. Ze grijpt deze kans met twee handen aan, maar de races zijn niet zonder gevaren.
De plot heeft een duidelijke opbouw: de spanning komt voornamelijk van de Titanen-races. De races hebben verschillende afstanden en soorten banen, waardoor ze nooit hetzelfde zijn. De races worden steeds ruiger en er komen altijd onverwachte effecten om de hoek kijken, waardoor je ook als lezer verrast wordt. Hierdoor leef je extra mee met Astrid, die niets anders wil dan winnen. Scott weet het gevoel van rijden op de titaan tot in de puntjes te beschrijven. Astrid voelt zich onoverwinnelijk op haar titaan: “Ik heb me nog nooit zo vrij gevoeld. Zo snel. Zo sterk. Zo mooi.” Wanneer je Titans leest, voel je de wind door je haren wapperen en de stalen machine bewegen, het is bijna alsof je er zelf op zit.
Maar Astrid is niet de enige die per se wil winnen. Haar titaan is een ander model dan die van de andere jockeys, waardoor hij ook andere eigenschappen heeft. Een van deze eigenschappen is het hebben van emoties. Soms gedraagt de machine zich als een echt paard. Hierdoor bouwen Astrid en haar titaan Vrijbuiter een band op. Ook Vrijbuiter moet en zal winnen, en is bereid om alles te doen om dit voor Astrid mogelijk te maken, als ze hem maar vertrouwt.
Vriendschap is een heel belangrijk thema in Titans. Astrid’s beste vriendin Magnolia steunt haar door dik en dun, ondanks haar eigen problemen. Magnolia is ook verantwoordelijk voor de hoofdaccessoires van Astrid tijdens haar races: het liefste zou ze een bedrijfje openen in deze accessoires. De accessoires zijn meestal geel met zwart met een bij en vormen het logo en de kleuren van Astrid en haar team. Grappig feitje: geel is de favoriete kleur van de auteur! Niet alleen haar beste vriendin is van groot belang tijdens de races: ook de rest van Astrids team is dat. Rags en Barney hebben de titaan gebouwd en leren Astrid om er op te rijden, terwijl haar sponsor Lottie zorgt voor de lessen in elegantie. Het is verfrissend dat Astrid en Magnolia ook die lessen met veel plezier oppakken in plaats van afwijzen.
Familie is ook erg belangrijk voor Astrid. De problemen bij haar thuis – en haar schuldgevoel erover – zijn de reden dat Astrid de kans om te racen met twee handen aangrijpt, ondanks de gevaren. De familie dreigt uit elkaar te vallen, ondanks dat je merkt dat ze wel om elkaar geven. Iedereen ontvlucht de benarde thuissituatie op zijn eigen manier. De sterke familieband en deze bij elkaar willen houden is een van de belangrijkste motieven voor Astrid om mee te doen.
Al met al is Titans een spannende en snelle YA-roman. De prominentie van vriendschap en familie boven romantiek is verfrissend, en de vriendschappen worden mooi uitgelicht. De titanenraces zijn heel spannend en je zit er helemaal in als Astrid aan het racen is. Titans is als een race – vol spanning en eentje waarvan je niet wil dat hij eindigt, maar waar je wel het resultaat van wil weten.

Ook verschenen op: https://www.hebban.nl/recensies/iris-windmeijer-over-titans

Titans and it’s mechanical horses raced into my heart. I absolutely loved the book. Victoria Scott’s writing is flawless as always and I of course always adore her characters. This book is not just about the races but also about relationships. I’m not talking about the romantic kind but the kind that make people family whether they are blood related or not.

Victoria has a way with characters. I loved that they never seem to fit into a specific mold and can manage to surprise me and endear me. Astrid is a strong girl and even though her father doesn’t want anyone to support his family besides him, she carries a lot of the burden of taking care of them in her small ways. She feels like she needs to hold things together and I think sometimes her family lets her not even realizing what they are doing. I loved her personality and how she is described perfectly as being both stubborn and having a big heart.

Magnolia is Astrid’s best friend and it’s such a great bond between the two of them. They are true friends that are always there for the other. It became a comfort thing for me to have Magnolia by Astrid’s side because she is just supposed to be there. You can have a great partnership without it having to be romantic.

I had a strange soft spot for Astrid’s mom. I thought she was hysterical going around to other people's yards in the middle of the night to take care of their plants. I know it’s a coping mechanism for her but I still keep laughing at Rags comment about her one night. I feel like all the people in the neighborhood should be paying her or giving her vegetables or something.

So many characters to go on and on about. Rags and Barney, which not only are a couple of awesome guys once you get to know them. They also have a great friendship. Lottie is just fun and well I guess technically there is romance in the book, just not with the MC. The Titan Jockeys, the frenemies, the enemies and of course Astrid’s family. Her sisters and her dad and the complicated relationships they all share while dealing with hard times.

Of course as we learned from the Fire & Flood series (if you haven’t read it you should), Victoria Scott has a way of writing thrilling race competitions. I loved reading about the challenges of each track and the way Astrid uses her head to strategize through them. I also really love that Astrid is not great right out of the gate. She might be a natural but she’s not a prodigy and we see her really develop her skill though the story. I loved that.

So Padlock. Where do I get my own Padlock. I loved everything about him.

I loved Titans. The plot is fast paced and different. It has such great characters and a surprisingly large number of adults for YA. I enjoyed everything about the story and of course I want a Titan.

5 stars

My first 5 star read of 2019 and I am wondering to myself why I put off reading it for so long after loving Victoria's Fire & Flood duology. This had me laughing, crying, and cheering on Astrid. I adored Astrid and Magnolia's friendship and I loved that there wasn't a strong romantic aspect to the story. Instead it focused on her friendships, her true family as well as her new found family, and her relationship with her Titan. SOOOOO GOOD!

3.5? Somewhere around there. This was a good book. Definitely. But it was much slower than I thought it would be, and sometimes I will admit I was a little bored. I went into this book thinking that it was about 1 long race that lasted a week or something. But it's about multiple short races. Like regular horse races, except the horses are robotic, and the races have traps and stuff in them. The races didn't start until about halfway through the book, and even when after they started, there was less interesting stuff in between them.
But I LOVED the races. The races were SO MUCH FUN and they were SO EXCITING and the last 100 pages or so of the book was fantastic. There were definitely parts before that that I enjoyed at well, don't get me wrong, but the last 100 pages were super easy to just plow through because it was so intense.
Also I cried twice.