Top 10 Tuesday [5]: Top of TBR Pile for Fall

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish so head over there if you want more information or want to participate. This week is a list of the top ten books that are on the top of your to be read pile for fall. I created my list using books that have yet to come out yet, but will be out for the public by December 23rd. So here is my list:

1. 'Lola and the Boy Next Door' by Stephanie Perkins

2. 'Shatter Me' by Tahereh Mafi

3. 'Eve' by Anna Carey

4. 'After Obsession' by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

5. 'The Beginning of After' by Jennifer Castle

6. 'The Pearl Wars' by Nick James

7. 'The First Time' by Verday and others

8. 'Perfect' by Ellen Hopkins

9. 'Sweet Venom' by Tera Lynn Childs

10. 'Ashfall' by Mike Mullin

And there they are! I cannot wait for all of these releases this fall. Luckily I have ARCs of two of them and I planned on jumping into those very soon.

Make sure to comment below and link your top 10 so I can stop by and learn of some new releases for fall. Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading? [7]

It's Monday! What are you reading?' is a meme hosted by Book Journey and consists of sharing what you have read this past week, what you hope to read this week, and whatever else fits in too. So here are my books for this week:

Reading Now:

Currently I am finishing up reading 'Chasing Brooklyn' by Lisa Schroeder. I picked this up this past week from my Borders closing sale. I started really it since it is written in verse and thought it would be perfect for the read-a-thon I was participating in.

To Read Next:

Next I plan to dive into one of my review books that I mentioned last week, 'Eve' by Anna Carey. I really hope to read this next so I can get my review up before its release. Hopefully I will enjoy it. [:

And Then Read:

I have only heard amazing things about 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' and even though I JUST picked it up, I really want to dive in.

So there they are! Comment below if you have read any of these and let me know your thoughts on them. And also make sure to link your 'It's Monday! What are you Reading?' if you are participating this week. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

In My Mailbox [7]

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.

BORROWING

'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness
'Held' by Edeet Ravel

'Eon' by Alison Goodman

BOUGHT

'Paper Towns' by John Green

'Chasing Brooklyn' by Lisa Schroeder

'Far From You' by Lisa Schroeder

Make sure to leave a comment below with a link to your IMM for this week so I can make sure to stop by and see what books you got. [: Hope everyone had a good weekend.

'The Mephisto Covenant' by Trinity Faegen

Length: 439 pages (hardcover)
Expected Publication: Sept 27th, 2011
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Series: The Mephisto Covenant #1

I was definitely a bit unsure about this one when I started it. I believe it was about the first three or so chapters that turned me off. It jumped right into the story of Jax and within only like 30 pages already gave away so much about his world and the Mephisto Covenant that he hoped to find redemption in. I worried a bit that Trinity had exposed so many answers so early and feared that the rest would not be very surprising. Luckily, it picked up and there was still a lot of twists and turns to come.

Since this book hasn't been released yet, I don't want to give away too much of the story but I will focus on the aspects that stood out to me. As I continued to read I was a little hesitant if it would keep my attention, but luckily an aspect that I loved came in and that was the back story that linked in Sasha's family history. It added a depth that I wasn't expecting, that made the story deeper than what was just happening in the present.

Character wise, I loved Jax and Sasha. Trinity wrote them very well and vivid, as well as making their relationship real. I only aspect of the characters that I didn't fall in love with was the fact that Trinity created Jax around the cookie cutter 'brooding-guy' that wants the girl but also doesn't want to get her rapped up his world. I am getting a but sick of this character and wish she had made him to be a bit different than all these other males in YA.

I have heard some comparisons to 'Hush, Hush,' but since I have not read that I cannot really say my thoughts on the similarities. I also do want to say that this novel, and I assume the rest of the series too, had a decent amount of mature language and a pretty sexual and explicit relationship. I think that it does belong as a YA novel, but is more geared towards the higher end of the spectrum and in my opinion would suit those 16 years old and older.

Overall, I definitely did enjoy this and do plan on continue the series in the future. If you are interested in the mythology trend going on right now, I would say give this a go, you may fall for Jax just like me.

Overall rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Cleaning out my bookshelf -- WINNER!!

Hey everyone! I am so sorry that the announcement of the giveaway winner is a week late. I have had a crazy first week back at school and haven't had much time free. But better late than never I guess. [:

And the winner is . . .

~~ TAYLOR C. ~~

Congrats! You have been emailed and have 48 hours to reply or another winner will be picked. (Used random.org)

And don't worry if you didn't win, I will be hosting a giveaway the second week of September as part of the Bright, Young, & Luxe Giveaway Hop so keep an eye out for that. [:

Bout of Books Read-a-thon Updates

Hey everyone! This week I am taking part in the Bout of Books read-a-thon hosted by On a Book Bender. I decided that I would just update one post everyday, instead of posting everyday and crowding feeds. So make sure to check back here to see how I am doing. Also be sure to link your update post(s) below, so when I have some reading breaks I can check on how you are doing. [:

Read-a-thon Goals:

List of Books

> 'Dash and Lily's Book of Dares' by Rachel Cohn/David Levithan

> 'Chasing Brooklyn' by Lisa Schroeder

> 'Eve' (Eve Trilogy #1) by Anna Carey
> 'Outside In' (Insider #2) by Maria V. Snyder

> 'The Girl of Fire and Thorns' (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson

Reading Time

My plan is to try to read for at least three hours everyday, but since school starts this week, I don't know how far I will get. I am guessing more of my reading will come at the end of the week and into the weekend. [:

Daily Updates:

Monday, August 22nd

Number of books finished today: 0

Number of books read total: 0

Tuesday, August 23rd

Number of books finished today: 0

Number of books read total: 0

Wednesday, August 24th

Number for books finished today: 1 (Dash&Lily)

Number of books read total: 1 (Dash&Lily)

Thursday, August 25th

Number of books finished today: 0

Number of books read total: 1 (Dash&Lily)

Friday, August 26th

Number of books finished today: 0

Number of books read total: 1 (Dash&Lily)

Saturday, August 27th

Number of books finished today: 1 (Chasing Brooklyn)

Number of books read total: 2 (Dash&Lily)(Chasing Brooklyn)

Sunday, August 28th

Number of books finished today: 0

Number of books read total: 2 (Dash&Lily)(Chasing Brooklyn)

It's Monday! What are you reading? [6]

It's Monday! What are you reading?' is a meme hosted by Book Journey and consists of sharing what you have read this past week, what you hope to read this week, and whatever else fits in too. So here are my books for this week:

 Finished Recently:

Saturday afternoon I finished up reading 'The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don't Mind' by Kirstin Cronn-Mills. Review to come in the next week or two, but I will say that I absolutely loved this and its story of discovering yourself.

Reading Now:

Yesterday I started reading one of the books mentioned in my In My Mailbox that was posted yesterday. So far I am really enjoyed 'Dash & Lily's Book of Dares' by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

To Read Next:

Next I plan to dive into one of my review books that I also mentioned yesterday, 'Eve' by Anna Carey. I really hope to read this next so I can get my review up before its release. Hopefully I will enjoy it. [:

So there they are! Comment below if you have read any of these and let me know your thoughts on them. And also make sure to link your 'It's Monday! What are you Reading?' if you are participating this week. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

In My Mailbox [6]

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.

I have put myself on a bit of a book buying ban, although I don't know if it will last every long, so I do not have any books that I have bought. But I do love my library, especially when I am broke. [: So here are my books for this week:

BORROWING

'Dash & Lily's Book of Dares' by Cohn and Levithan

'Graceling' by Kristin Cashore

'The Demon Trapper's Daughter' by Jana Oliver

'Outside In' by Maria V. Snyder

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW

'The Girl of Fire and Thorns' by Rae Carson
'Eve' by Anna Carey
'Ashfall' by Mike Mullin

Since I do still have a lot of books to read that I own, I think I am going to read one of my own, a library one, a review book, one of my own, a library... and so on.

Comment below though if you specifically want to see a review of one of these and I will try my hardest to read it before the due date. [: And make sure to link your IMM for this week, so I can stop by and check out your books!

Dream Catcher Trilogy by Lisa McMann

Right before I started blogging I read the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann. Since I wasn't blogging, I never did a review of it or anything. But since it is still pretty fresh in my mind, I thought I would do a mini review of the trilogy for those that are interested.

So the first book was by far the best to me. I really enjoyed reading the story about Janie, who unwillingly would be sucked into people's dreams. I had never read a book like it before and loved how original it was. I also really enjoyed how realistic and raw her relationship with Cabel became. Overall, I almost became absorbed into the dreams with Janie and wanted to pick the next two up right way.

Next came 'Fade,' which left me disappointed. I felt the development of the story and execution just wasn't the same. I overall just didn't enjoy the story as much and felt it wasn't as fresh and original as the first.

Lastly there is 'Gone,' which I enjoyed at first but then when the story took a turn, I started to not enjoy it. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I just didn't enjoy the aspect that she decided to focus the whole book on. The whole storyline just came off as depressing and not as hopeful as the first two.

Looking back I can still see what I loved so much about the first book but just wish that the next two stayed at the same level. I would say that I recommend 'Wake' but think it would be better as a stand alone book. I cannot go back and stop after the first book, but would recommend that to people that want to read it.

'Wake' Rating: 4 / 5 stars
'Fade' Rating: 3 / 5 stars
'Gone' Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Bout of Books Read-a-thon [8.22-8.28]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to announce that I will be participating in an upcoming read-a-thon. Hopefully so of you will sign of as well, if you love an excuse to just read and read. :]

So the Bout of Books Read-a-thon is hosted by On a Book Bender and starts on Monday. So here are the details about it:

> Read as much as you can from 12:00am August 22nd to 11:59pm on August 28th. This is based off of your personal time zone.

> Sign up even if you don't think you'll be able to read more than one of days, so pressure at all.

> There will be challenges and giveaways throughout the read-a-thon.

> Keep everyone updated on your progress throughout by posting on your blog, Goodreads, or even Twitter.

So what are you waiting for? So sign up! Everyone loves a good reason to read as much as they can. [: Click here to be taken to the original post to get get any questions answered and then sign up yourself.

And make sure to let me know in the comments if you are participating! [: Happy Reading!

Waiting on Wednesday [4]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This meme highlights a future release that you are eagerly waiting to come out.

'Shatter Me' by Tahereh Mafi
Length: 352 pages (hardcover)
Expected Publication: Nov. 15th 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen


Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.  
  
A lot of people have been featuring this for their WoW, but for the people that haven't heard of this, this is for you! [: I cannot wait for this to come out and hopefully it will be as amazing as it sounds. Comment below on your thoughts about 'Shatter Me' and link your WoW, if you participated this week.

Synopsis and Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429045-shatter-me

Top 10 Tuesday [4]: Favorite Covers

The past few weeks I have been participating in this meme and loving it. So when I saw what the list topic was for this week I knew I wanted to continue on once again. So this week it is actually a list that you come up with yourself and looking back at the lists the meme has done before, I found one that I would love to do. And I am sure from the title you know already that it is favorite covers.

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish so head over there if you want more information or want to participate. I have linked the title to its Goodreads page so click there if you are interested in seeing the cover. First is a photo of what are currently my top four and then underneath is the list of my top ten::

1. 'Revolution' by Jennifer Donnelly

2. 'Ruined' by Paula Morris

3. 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory

4. 'Fall for Anything' by Courtney Summers

5. 'Entwined' by Heather Dixon

6. 'Betrayal' by Mayandree Michel

7. 'The Mephisto Covenant' by Trinity Faegen

8. 'Amy & Roger's Epic Detour' by Morgan Matson

9. 'Dash and Lily's Book of Dares' by Cohn and Levithan

10. 'Unlovable' by Sherry Gammon

So there they are! I would love it if you leave a link to your top 10 so I can see what list you decided to compile. And if you have any covers that you absolutely love, please leave those below as well. Thanks! And happy reading!

'Heist Society' by Ally Carter

So not too long ago I was at my library just looking around, not really seeing anything that I was dying to read. But, as I walked through the YA section one last time, I saw 'Heist Society.' I had been hearing a lot about it lately and thought I might as well give it a go.

I ended up starting it that night and finished in like three days since it was so short. There were definitely aspects that I liked about this book, but there were also things that stuck out and bothered me.

I really loved the aspects and storyline that Allie Carter created for this novel. I have always been a fan of heists and the intelligent minds behind them. I also really loved the characters, especially Kat and Hale, and found them to very likable and realistic. I have also always been a fan of history and traveling and I really appreciated how she pulled so much of that into the novel. For example, the museums and history of the art really absorbed me and strengthened the story.

Although overall I did enjoy the novel, I was disappointed in the lack of twists, something I expected from a heist novel. It may have just been me, but I completely predicted how it would sum up and end, making the second half very boring and unsurprising for me.

I also found it to be a bit young for me. I love YA but feel this, along with her Gallagher Girls series, fall more in the younger end of the YA spectrum. This is only my opinion though, since I do know a few people older than me that have enjoyed it.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this and would say give it a go. But, I am glad I just borrowed it from the library since I don't plan on continuing the series any time soon. Comment below and let me know your opinions if you have read it, I love hearing the thoughts of those that see things differently than I did while reading. [:

Overall rating: 3 / 5 stars

It's Monday! What are you reading? [5]

'It's Monday! What are you reading?' is a meme hosted by Book Journey and consists of sharing what you have read this past week, what you hope to read this week, and whatever else fits in too. I have participated in this meme a few times and really have enjoyed reading everyone's list of books. I find this meme, as well as others, are great way to learn about new books, as well as blogs. I haven't done this specific one in a couple of weeks so I thought I would jump back in this week. So here are my books:

 Finished Recently:

A few days ago, I finished re-reading 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry. It had been quite a few years since I read this one and thought it would be a great way to start a read-a-thon I was participating in. I absolutely loved it this time around and still recommend this.

Reading Now:

I am currently reading 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' by Libba Bray, the first book in the trilogy. I don't know why I delayed reading this so much because I really am enjoying it, just like everyone told me I would. I should be able to finish tonight.

To Read Next:

I really like to mix up the lengths of my books that I read because I find it hard to get through a 500 page book after 400 page book. So, next I plan to start reading 'The Sky Always Hears Me: And the Hills Don't Mind' by Kirstin Cronn-Mills.

So there they are! Comment below if you have read any of these and let me know your thoughts on them. And also make sure to link your 'It's Monday! What are you Reading?' if you are participating this week. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

In My Mailbox [5]

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 past week I have only bought three books, but did recieve some in the mail. So here they are:

~BOUGHT~

'One for the Money' (Stephanie Plum #1) by Janet Evanovich

This is the first book in the Stephanie Plum series that has around seventeen books out right now. This is an adult fiction series but it has been really recommended to me. I decided to pick up the first at Walmart when I saw it was only $4. If I continue with the series though, I will probably end up borrowing them from the library.


'Shadow Bound' (Shadow #1) by Erin Kellison

Honestly I had never heard of this series before, but as I strolled across B&N it caught my eye. Whenever I go into an bookstore I usually check out the clearance section, since you never know what you might find. Luckily this one was on clearance for $2 so I thought I might as well give it a go. All I know about it is that it is a dark fantasy series with aspects of romance and paranormal.


'Shadow Fall' (Shadow #2) by Erin Kellison

As I dug through more books in the clearance bin, I noticed a familiar author, Erin Kellison. And just my luck, it happened to be the second in the Shadow series! This too was only $2 and I knew if I end up loving the first, I would regret not picking up. I probably won't get to this series for awhile though, since I have so much on my tbr pile.

~WON~

I want to give a huge thanks to Casey @ The Bookish Type for sending an ARC of 'Beauty Queens' to me. She was one of the hosts of Once Upon a Read-a-thon and had a mini challenge giveaway during the read-a-thon. I was fortunate to randomly win and receive the prizes.


Along with the ARC, she sent the first 50 pages of 'The Death Cure' and some swag. Many of you probably already follow her blog, but if not, definitely stop by, she has amazing reviews and interviews.



So there they are! Not too many this week, but with my huge to be read pile, I definitely don't need to be buying a crazy load of books. [: Make sure to link below your 'In My Mailbox' so I can stop by and check out your books from this week.

On My Wishlist [3]

'On My Wishlist' is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It involves a list or post of some sort where are highlight books you are desperately wanting. They can be old, new, or even future releases. I have decided that I may not do this meme every week, but each time I do decide to participate I will highlight two books that I hope to get my hands on in the future.

So here are the two books for this week and feel free to click on each image to be taken to its Goodreads page, if you would like to learn more and read a synopsis.


 
'Amy & Roger's Epic Detour' by Morgan Matson

So there is a lot that has driven me to this book and even though it has been on my wishlist for awhile, it continues to stay there. I love the cover, the premise, and the adorable fact that it has parts of their journey within it, whether it is drawings or maps. Hopefully I'll get me hands on it soon.




 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness

This just sounds amazing. I have only heard good things about this series and with a cover like that, I cannot turn away. Just reading the synopsis, I love how original and suspenseful it sounds. I have never read a book even slightly like this but for some reason it completely intrigues me. This seems to have aspects of dystopian in it, making me want it even more.


Make sure to let me know in the comments if you have read either of these and what you thought. Also make sure to link your 'On My Wishlist' so I can make sure to stop by! Happy Reading!

'One Day' by David Nicholls

I have been debating back and forth since I finished reading this about if I should write a review about it. I went from 'I LOVE this and want everyone to know it,' to 'I don't know if I can actually express in words why I love it.' But finally I decided I would try to put some thoughts together on it and here we are!

I am going to try to express why and what I loved about this book, but as a forewarning, I am not sure I will be able to. =D But here it is anyways. *cringes*

First thing that comes to mind is how absorbed I was from the beginning, something that happens to me in only about ten percent of books I read. But, for some reason, I think a combination of his writing and how real the characters were, I already could not put the book down even just 30 pages in. The characters of Emma and Dex felt as though they were jumping off the page and like I knew them. I thought that the fact that he could capture them so well was amazing for a book that only has 30 to 50 pages to capture a whole year where aspects of each of them definitely changed.

Another aspect I loved was how real their relationship was. It was happy and romantic as times, while still breaking your heart and being able to make you laugh. Their was never an unrealistic resolution to an issue and they made mistakes like real people do.

I do want to warn that this book does not have a perfect, fairy tale ending and if you really thrive off of that, you may not enjoy this novel. But to me, that is what made it continue to be real, even though the ending wasn't a fairy tale. If he had gone for the cookie cutter ending, he would have done an injustice to the rest of the story and in my opinion, it wouldn't have left an as big an impact on me.

As of now, that is all I can seem to express in words for this book, but feel that it is probably better than nothing. I highly recommend this one and especially to read it before seeing the movie. I cannot wait to see the movie though, the trailer looks amazing. Although I am not too sure about Anne Hathaway's accent, what do you guys think?

Overall rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

TGIF [3]: 08/12/2011

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 last Friday, you can do so here.

Author Block Party: If you could gather a handful of authors to hang out with, who would you choose?
This is definitely not a hard question for me. Instead it is just a combo of my favorite authors that I love and some influential ones mixed in too. In terms of favorite right now that I love to just meet, I am going to go with Sarah Dessen, Chuck Palahniuk, Richelle Mead, JK Rowling, and John Green. It is definitely quite a strange mix, from contemporary YA to paranomal fantasy, to even an adult fiction author as well.

Although I love all of those authors right now, there are definitely classic authors that I worship. I think for that list, I would want to hang out with Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and George Orwell.

I must say that having all these authors in one place would definitely be interesting and something I would want to see.

And now for the re-cap of my last week of posts. Click on each one to be taken to that post, if you wanna check it out. I didn't have a lot of time to write reviews this week, that's why you will find a lot of memes  and updates below. But I promise to get back in my swing of reviewing soon. =]

1. Meme: On My Wishlist

2. News: I got a blog award!

1. Review: 'Shadow Kiss' by Richelle Mead

2. Meme: Top 10 Tuesday on Underrated Books

3. News: My first giveaway winner announced

4. News: New Look to Let's Evaluate!

5. News: Read Dangerously Read-a-thon Updates

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!

Read Dangerously Read-a-thon Updates

So for the next three days, I will be participating in All BY MySHELF's read-a-thon. I absolutely love an excuse to read a lot so I cannot wait to get started! I have also decided that instead of doing a post for each challenge and day I participate, that I am going to continue to update this post throughout the read-a-thon. So make sure to stop back here the next few days and see how I am doing.

The starting line for the read-a-thon goes by each readers time zone and starts at 10am. So as my starting line update before I start reading I wanna let you know some books that may make an appearance.

> 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry
> 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' by Libba Bray
> 'Homefree' by Nina Wright
> 'One for the Money' by Janet Evanovich

DAY ONE - THURSDAY

Mini Challenge #1
Pick 1 to 3 songs that fit your current read:
> 'Runaway' by Linkin Park
> 'What is Love' by Haddaway
> 'Singled Out' by New Found Glory

Mini Challenge #2
Give a short excerpt of your current read:
> (Pg 26: 'The Giver') Jonas rode at a leisurely pave, glancing at the bikeports beside the building to see if he could spot Asher's. He didn't often do his volunteer hours with his friend because Asher frequently fooled around and made serious work a little difficult. But now, with Twelve coming so soon and the volunteer hours ending, it didn't seem to matter. The freedom to choose where to spend those hours had always seemed a wonderful luxury to Jonas; other hours of the day were so carefully regulated.

How I am Doing:

> Total Books Read: 0

> Total Pages Read: 193

> Total Reading Time: ~3 hrs

> Book Reading Now: 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry


DAY TWO - FRIDAY

Mini Challenge #3
Answer the question, What are you reading? But only using 7 words and not including the title:

I am reading a story about Sameness.

Mini Challenge #4
Cast one of the characters from your current read, as if a movie was being made:
I think that I would cast Jeff Bridges as The Giver. The cover of the book makes him seem older, but as I just re-read the book, I really didn't perceive him much older than like 60. I think the aspects of the memories and his life gave him the wisdom and pain of being older, when he really wasn't very old.

How I am Doing:
>Total Books Read: 1

>Total Pages Read: 231
>Total Reading Time: ~4 hrs
>Book Reading Now: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'

DAY THREE - SATURDAY

Mini Challenge #5

Take a picture of your bookcase:

I do want to say that this is just a small amount of my books. I am currently away at college and most of my books are back home, especially the ones I have read. So, these are mostly books I have not read or in the case of the Hunger Games, ones that I absolutely love. I slowly hope to fill up a big bookcase here are my apartment, but for now, this is all I have down here and these books make up the top of my tbr pile.

How I am Doing:
>Total Books Read: 1
>Total Pages Read: 303

>Total Reading Time: ~5 hrs

>Book Reading Now: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'

ENDLINE

The read-a-thon has officially ended and is time for a re-cap of the last three days:

• How many books did you read? about one and a half ]:
• How many pages did you read? 343
• What books did you read? 'The Giver' and half of current read
• What was the best book you read? 'The Giver'
• What was the worst book you read?  -
• Did you enjoy the read-a-thon? yep, but wish I could have read more
• Is there anything you think I should change if I host another read-a-thon? nope [:

New Look to Let's Evaluate! +Update!

New Blog Design
Hey everyone! Just wanted to do a quick post since some big changes have been happening on my blog. The most obvious of those changes is my overall blog template and design. I have already changed it twice since I started blogging, but being the restless person I am, I decided I wanted to do something new again.

This template was created by the the amazing Blogaholic Designs, so make sure to swing over there if you are interested in design or a new template. Emily, the creator, has everything from backgrounds and templates to even buttons and tutorials. And like this one, some are even free!

I will definitely be tweaking little parts here and there so it may continue to change, but for now I am just glad it is mixed up again.

Update
Here is a quick update on what is coming soon to Let's Evaluate:

> Thursday - Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Read Dangerously Read-a-thon hosted by All By MySHELF so I will have a post up during the day that I will continue to update on how that is going.
> Friday - Will have a TGIF post up focusing on authors (check out GReads! for more on this meme).
> Saturday - Review of 'One Day' by David Nichols will be posted.
> Sunday - Posting an In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren, as long as I get around to putting it together.

Yeah and that is about it. I just feel as though I have been slacking a bit on this blog so I think an update will help keep me on track and post everyday. Hope everyone is having a good week and happy reading! =]

My first giveaway ---WINNER!!!

I am so sorry that I didn't get this announcement written and posted as the giveaway ended on the 5th, but I guess better late than never.

So I am going to jump right to it..

The winner of a copy of 'Stargazer' by Claudia Gray is:

Lyssa Anne

Congrats!! Please just respond to my email as soon as you can! =D

Sorry to those that did not win but I do have another giveaway going on that ends 8 / 19 so go check that out through clicking on the image on my left sidebar advertising the giveaway!

Top 10 Tuesday [3] : Underrated Books

So I have really enjoyed participating in this meme the last two times I've done it. So when I saw what the list would be for this week, I knew I wanted to participate again. So this meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and involves doing a top ten list on a certain topic that is posted.

This week is a top ten list of books that you feel are underrated. My list is of books that I don't notice getting a lot of attention, but still may be ones you are familiar with. So here is my list:

1. 'Sold' by Patricia McCormick

2. 'A Separate Peace' by John Knowles

3. 'The Glass Castle' by Jeannette Walls

4. 'A Northern Light' by Jennifer Donnelly

5. 'Survivor' by Chuck Palahniuk

6. 'The Butterfly Garden' by Chip St. Clair

I could list a few more, but thought I'd stop with these because I feel they are the top of my list. Make sure to leave a link below to your top ten Tuesday so I can make sure to stop by and look at your recommendations. If you aren't up for doing a post, or don't blog, please leave at least a few below in the comments. Thanks!

'Shadow Kiss' by Richelle Mead

So I have already reviewed the first two books in the Vampire Academy series and as I go I realize that my reviews get shorter since I don't want to give anything away. I definitely don't want to spoil this or the previous books, so just as a heads up, like review will be kind of like a mini review and I assume the rest in the series will be the same way.

As a whole, I loved this book and thought it was definitely better than the first two. I adored how action packed and realistic, in terms of the struggles as a society of vampires.

The two main points of this that I loved was the development of two very different but amazing relationships. First, there is Rose and Dimitri, and without giving away much, I will just say I loved the growth in their bond and feelings. Secondly, I really enjoyed how Mead developed the relationship of Rose and Christian. I found them to be amazing together and they really worked well as a team.

So overall, I am still adoring this series and cannot wait to dive into the next soon. And as I said in my review of 'Frostbite,' YA fans of vampires need to add this to their collection and I need more of Dimitri right now! Why can't every series have a man so perfect?! ;-)

Overall rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

My review of Vampire Academy: click here
My review of Frostbite: click here

On My Wishlist [2]

'On My Wishlist' is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It involves a list or post of some sort where are highlight books you are desperately wanting. They can be old, new, or even future releases. I have decided that I may not do this meme every week, but each time I do decide to participate I will highlight two books that I hope to get my hands on in the future.

So here are the two books for this week and feel free to click on each image to be taken to its Goodreads page, if you would like to learn more and read a synopsis.



'The Demon Trapper's Daughter' by Jana Oliver

So I have been wanting this book ever since it came out this past February, but still don't have my hands on it just yet. I absolutely love the cover (probably has to do with my obsession with red) and since the second book is coming out relatively soon, I need to get my hands on this soon. It is in my walmart.com shopping cart so hopefully it will make to the next check out. =D





'Die for Me' by Amy Plum

Every review of this that I have read makes it seem like either you love it or you hate it. But, it is still one I want to give the benefit of the doubt since I love the synopsis and idea of it. I actually borrowed this from my library a little while ago but since it is due soon, I don't think I will get to read it this time around. But with a cover like that, I am hoping to get to it again in the future.






So, there they are! Two books I hope to add to my collection soon. =] Comment below if you have read one of these and let me know your opinions. And make sure to link your 'On My Wishlist' if you participated this week so I can make sure to stop by.

♥ I got a blog award! ♥

Hey everyone! So I just wanted to post real quick today because I received a blog award from another book blogger. So thanks Steph for nominating me and make sure you all stop over at her blog, Steph Likes Books and check out her. She is a great UK blogger with great reviews so you all should follower her too! =D

The award is called the Liebster Blog Award and is out there to recognize, mostly new, bloggers who have less that 200 followers.

 

And here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger that gave you the award

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers

5. And most of all -- have bloggity-blog fun!

And here are the blogs/bloggers I nominate

(ignore me if I didn't realize you already received it):

1. A Story to Love

2. Enchanted Reads

3. Books are Precious Gems

4. Excitement in Words

5. Book Sniffers Anonymous

I hope you'll stop by their blogs and take a look. They are all great bloggers, with well written reviews. =D

Reminder: my giveaway ends tomorrow!

Just wanted to post real quick today a reminder about my giveaway that I having going on right now. I actually have two right now, but one ends tomorrow so I wanted to reminder anyone that wanted to enter. It is my first giveaway and is celebrating the 50 follower mark. YAY!

Below is the link to the post about the giveaway and where to enter if you want a chance to win 'Stargazer' by Claudia Gray. You can also click the same image link on my sidebar that is advertising the giveaway. And quick reminder, it is US only and you must be a follower! (=

Good luck! And a post announcing the winner will be up sometime this weekend, when I get a free minute. (=

And fyi: there are currently 36 entries, so that gives you an idea of your chances of winning! (=

Read Dangerously Read-a-thon hosted by All By MySHELF

This post is very important. This post means I am an official participant in...

This read-a-thon is only a small part of an even bigger event at All By MySHELF, celebrating Ren's 20th birthday. And everyone knows: big event + blogging = PRIZES!

Here are the important details about the read-a-thon:

The Read Dangerously Read-A-Thon will start at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 11, and end at 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 13. There will be mini-challenges on each day, so you'll have something to amuse yourself during your reading breaks. You can participate on all days or just a few, whatever you feel like or your schedule allows.

But that's not all! Everyone that participates in the read-a-thon will be entered to win $15 to The Book Depository! One winner will get their choice of any already released as of August 20) YA book, and because it's BD, the contest is open to anyone that lives in one of these countries. And if you say Erin @ Let's Evaluate sent you, we'll both get an extra entry! All you have to do to be eligible for the giveaway is sign up for the read-a-thon and post an end of day update on one of the read-a-thon days. Yep, that simple.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go sign up!