Bright, Young & Luxe Hop -- GIVEAWAY!

Hey everyone! For those of you that follow Let's Evaluate, I am hosting a giveaway for the next 10 days as part of the Bright, Young & Luxe Giveaway Hop. For those of you that found my blog through this giveaway, feel free to look around, through using the Pages links above. I hope you enjoy. [:

So for those of you that haven't heard of this hop, it is being hosted by the wonderful Tiffany at For Those About to Read and Lea at LC's Adventures in Libraryland. This hop is in celebration of her newest book 'Beautiful Days' and its release later this month.

I will be giving away a copy of 'Bright Young Things' by Anna Godbersen which is the first book in her Bright Young Things series. In case you are not familiar with this series, check out the Goodreads page to see if it interests you. The second book of this series is set to come out on September 20th, the same day that this and all other giveaways in this hop will be ending.


So here are the rules for this giveaway:

• open to US only (sorry INT!)
• must be 13 or older
  (13-17 must have parent/guardian permission)
• must be a follower of Let's Evaluate
• ends September 20th, 2011
  
  > I am not responsible for lost or damage to item
  > winner picked using random.org
  > posting announcing winner up within week of ending

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is fill out the form below!

And do not forget to check out all the other giveaways going on during this hop, as well as interviews and discussions.

P.S: I have another giveaway going on right now, so make sure to check that out here.

Want to win other great prizes? Go check these blogs out:

Bright, Young, & Luxe Giveaway Hop

1.	For Those About to Read...(HOST)	8.	Morgan (Smitten With Books)
2.	LC's Adventures in Libraryland (HOST)	9.	Live To Read ~Krystal
3.	Erin @ Let's Evaluate	10.	Gilbert & Gomez
4.	Jessica @ Chapter Chicks	11.	Amanda @ Not Another Book Blog
5.	Michelle Madow	12.	Katrina @ Novel Nonsense
6.	Theresa @ The Book Nook	13.	Diana @ Little Miss Drama Queen
7.	Brenna @ Esther's Ever After	14.	Rebecca's Book Blog

(Submissions close in 9h 42m)

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Name:
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TGIF [4]: 09/09/2011

TGIF was started over at GReads! where the blogger re-caps their posts during the past week and answers the question that is proposed for that specific Friday. If you would like to check out my post from the last Friday I participated, you can do so here.

Books to Television: Which books would you love to see made into a tv series? Or a movie?So this definitely is not a hard question for me because I would love to visually be able to see almost any book I've read. But there is definitely a difference for me in ones that I would want to see as a tv series and as movies. I have decided to separate them by those two aspects and just as a heads up, for all I know the movie rights may have been bought for some of these. [:

Books => TV Series
1. Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine
2. Dream Catcher Trilogy by Lisa McMann
3. Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong
4. Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson

Book(s) => Movie(s)
1. 'Candy' by Kevin Brooks
2. 'Looking for Alaska' by John Green
3. The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
4. 'The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don't Mind' by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
5. 'Dash & Lily's Book of Dares' by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
6. 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry
7. 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

And now for the re-cap of my last week of posts. Sadly I didn't have a lot of posts this past week, school is already overwhelming, plus I went home for Labor Day weekend. So I promise to right a few this weekend to have some to post next week. Click on each one to be taken to that post, if you wanna check it out.

1. Review: 'Inside Out' by Maria V. Snyder

2. Meme: In My Mailbox [8]
3. 21st Birthday -- 21 Questions
4. GIVEAWAY: Birthday Month Giveaway
5. Review: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' by Libba Bray

And that's it! Make sure to leave a link to your TGIF or post in the comments your answer to the question! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

'A Great and Terrible Beauty' by Libba Bray

Everyone had been telling me lately that I needed to pick up this book and I recently caved in and bought myself a copy. As I started I was a little hestiant though because I wasn't really relating to the main character, Gemma. Luckily, about half way through I found her to be a bit deeper and more real.

This is actually the first Libba Bray book I have ever read and can now say that I love her writing style. She makes things seem so real and vivid, that you cannot help getting wrapped into her world. I definitely need to dive into my copy of 'Beauty Queens' very soon.

I really enjoyed how much of a roller coaster this was while I read it. At times it broke my heart, especially parts with Gemma's mother, while the next scene was still mysterious and suspenseful. The characters definitely make this story though, it is very character development driven. I also loved that it took place in London, somewhere I have always wanted to travel to and every time an author describes it makes me want to jump on a plane.

There were a couple of aspects that I didn't enjoy as much though. One of those being the pace, like I mentioned above. I loved the ending of the book but felt it was very slow getting there. There were also scenes and things that the characters did that I found very repetitive, something that felt me wanting a big plot change. Luckily the end did deliver on that though, I just wish that it started a bit earlier.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and have picked up the second book in the trilogy to dive into, hopefully, soon. If you enjoy the typical YA historical fiction with aspects of paranormal, I would definitely say give this a go. [:

Overall rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Birthday Month GIVEAWAY -- US only

Hey everyone! So yesterday I did a post of 21 questions that had to do with books and reading, inspired by my 21st birthday that is later this month. If you would like to check out that post then click here, but don't forget to come back to this post. But, I also wanted to do a small little giveaway to go with that. [:

The book up for grabs is a paperback copy of 'A Certain Slant of Light' by Laura Whitcomb. If you are not familiar with this book, then make sure to stop by its Goodreads page to learn some more and see if you would be interested in it.

Here are the rules for this giveaway:

• open to US only, no PO boxes
• must be 13 or older
  (13-17 must have parent/guardian permission
• must be a follower, old or new!
• ends September 30

> I am not responsible for lost or damage to item
> winner picked using random.org
> posting announcing winner up within week of ending

All you have to do is enter is fill out the form below. There will only be one extra entry for this giveaway and that will be being my friend or following my reviews on Goodreads. Link to my Goodreads page can be found under the about me tab or in the sidebar to your right.

Email me or comment below if you have any questions. [: Thanks and good luck!!

21st Birthday -- 21 Questions

In honor of my 21st birthday later in the month, I decided to compile a list of 21 book/reading related questions and answer them here on my blog. These questions are compiled of ones that I wonder about other readers and I would love it if you would like to answer these as well, but no pressure.

Feel free to link to a post of your answers or answer in the comments below. So here they are:

1. Paperback or Hardcover? paperback
2. Brand New or Slightly Used? brand new
3. Female POV or Male POV? doesn't matter to me
4. Vampires or Werewolves? vampires
5. Cassandra Clare or Suzanne Collins? no competition...Collins
6. Amazon or Book Depository? Book Depository
7. Physical Copy or Ebook? physical copy
8. Goodreads or Shelfari? Goodreads
9. Stand Alone or Series? usually series
10. Romance or Action? a little bit of both please [:

11. Favorite place to read? in bed or on a couch
12. Favorite book to movie adaptation? Fight Club
13. Favorite bookstore? right now it would be Half Price Books
14. Favorite non-fiction book? The Butterfly Garden by Chip St. Clair (a memoir)
15. Favorite cover you own? Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
16. Favorite 2011 read so far? Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk or The Hunger Games

17. What book are you currently reading? Eve by Anna Carey
18. Are you okay with significant characters dying in the end of a book? yes, in the right context
19. Do you have more than one copy of a book? nope
20. Can you have background noise while you read? a little, but not a lot
21. Do you like listening to audio books? I have only tried one, but so far not a fan

So there they are! I would love it if you would like to answer these for fun, but no worries if you don't! I hope everyone had a good weekend!

In My Mailbox [8]

In my mailbox is a weekly meme created and hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren and consists of a post/video about books you have either bought, received, or borrowed during the previous week.

This week I actually only have one book to report. I guess that means I am doing quite well on my book buying ban. [:


'Ripple' by Mandy Hubbard
So I actually won this book from a giveaway that Ruby from Ruby Reads hosted. I'm sure many of you are already familiar with her blog, but if not, definitely stop on over there. So thanks again Ruby! I cannot wait to read this since I have been hearing so much good about it. [:




And that is actually all I have for this week. I may crave in and buy some books as Borders is closing, so I may have more to report next week.

Sidenote: I will be hosting a giveaway next week for the Bright, Young & Luxe Hop so make sure you keep an eye out for that! [:

'Inside Out' by Maria V. Snyder

For months I had been hearing so much praise for this book, but for some reason didn't pick it up until recently. I ended up borrowing it up from my library and diving in shortly later. Overall, I flew through this book, really wanting to know what was going to happen and understand this world more.

One aspect that I really loved was this crazy, mixed up world that Snyder created. I loved the mystery to world, not only to the reader but also to the characters of the story. It left you wondering throughout, about their society and was really original how she made the characters as uncertain about the truth as the reader.

I did at times feel as though it was a little slow, with many scenes being the same as the one before. Luckily though, it did pick up for the second half of the book and really started to make the reader invested in the world.

The only aspect that I was a bit disappointed in came through the characterization. I never really related or connected to Trella. I did find her to be very unique though, since she was one of the out casts and loners within Inside. I just wish I felt a bit one connected to her and some of the other characters, like Riley, a character that I wish she devoted more time to and developed further. Hopefully that will come in the next book though, 'Outside In.'

Overall, I definitely did enjoy this read and cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I often got so wrapped in the world of Inside, since it was described so vividly. I have really been loving books with setting so unlike our own, that the world of Inside really drew me in.

Overall rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

2011: August Recap & September TBR

Hey everyone! I first just wanted to say sorry that I am not posting as much as I was over the summer. *sad face* College started back up for me last week and I am already boggled down with school work. Hopefully I will get better at managing it as the semester goes on, but for now you may not be seeing as many posts from me. :[ But, hopefully I will still be able to get up between 3 and 5 every week. [:

I randomly decided the other today to start a monthly recap when a month comes to a close. So each, hopefully, first of the month, I will be posting a recap of the previous and a to be read list for the upcoming month. Of course what I read in September may be a bit different, but I thought it would be fun to post what I hope to read.

For the monthly recap, I will be listing the books I read that month and linking to a review if one has been posting on my blog. And the tbr will be linked to its Goodreads page, in case you want for info on that book. So here it goes:

AUGUST RECAP

'Carpe Corpus' by Rachel Caine
'Heist Society' by Ally Carter
'Inside Out' by Maria V. Snyder
'The Giver' by Lois Lowry
'A Great and Terrible Beauty' by Libba Bray
'The Sky Always Hears Me...' by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
'Dash & Lily's Book of Dares' by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
'Chasing Brooklyn' by Lisa Schroeder

SEPTEMBER TBR PILE
'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness
'Eve' by Anna Carey
'Held' by Edeet Ravel
'Beauty Queens' by Libba Bray
'Ashfall' by Mike Mullin

Just as a heads up, my review of 'Inside Out' is actually scheduled to go up on Friday, so keep an eye out for that. Also comment below if you have read any of the books on my tbr pile and which ones I should start with. Hope everyone had a good August and has an even better September. [: