Carpe Read 'Em

  Anne Brees, writer of this blog, always spent too much time reading and writing. She decided to create a blog about those topics to share with you, the lovely wordsmith.  

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The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.50) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them…

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Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★☆ (4.00) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious…

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Made You Up by Francesca Zappia A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.75) Genre - Young Adult Contemporary Summary - Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you.

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You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour, David Levithan

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour, David Levithan

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.50) Genre – Young Adult Contemporary LGBT+

Summary – Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is, until Kate spots…

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Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (5.00) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she’s a…

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The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners by Libba Bray

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★☆ (3.75) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his…

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Break Me Like A Promise by Tiffany Schmidt A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★☆ (3.75) Genre - Young Adult Fantasy (This is the second book in the…

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The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees Publication Date: January 1st, 2017 ★★★☆☆ (2.50) Genre – Young Adult Contemporary

Summary – Hawthorn wasn’t trying to insert herself into a missing person’s investigation. Or maybe she was. But that’s only because Lizzie Lovett’s disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don’t happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett,…

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The Romantics by Leah Konen A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees Publication Date: November 9th, 2016 ★★★★★ (4.50) Genre 

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Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (5.00) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

(This is the third book in the The Grisha Trilogy. You can also  find my review of the second book, Siege and Storm. Spoilers may be found below.)

Summary –  The capital has fallen. 

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered…

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Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (5.00) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

(This is the second book in the The Grisha series. Spoilers may be found below.)

Summary – Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner…

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.75) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and…

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Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.50) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

(This is the second book in the Graceling Realm trilogy. Spoilers below.)

Summary – It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where…

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Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (5.00) Genre - Historical Fiction Summary - San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St.

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The Rest Of Us Just Live by Patrick Ness

The Rest Of Us Just Live by Patrick Ness

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (5.00) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before…

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Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★☆ (3.75) Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Summary – She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there’s nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end…

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Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby A 60 Second Review by Anne Brees ★★★★★ (4.50) Genre - Young Adult Contemporary Summary - When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.