2012 Challenges Wrap-Up

So if you looked at my sidebar sometime in the past year, you probably noticed my giant challenges list (as seen below).

Since it's the new year I'm going to recap all of those challenges, so here we go!

1st in a Series Challenge

I didn't find this challenge until later in the year, but I rocked it nonetheless with 38 books. The highest challenge level was 25 books, though I shot for 35, because I was at 18 in July. My top 5 favorite books from my list of 1sts are (in no particular order):

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers
3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
5. Rift by Andrea Cremer

50 Book Pledge

My goal for the year was actually 100 books, but I figured this challenge would be a good way to keep track of the books I read. Picking favorites is SO HARD, because this is from ALL the books I read this year—I can't do it, I can't pick my favorites. Most of the books I read I LOVED.


A-Z Book Challenge

I knew I was going to have trouble getting X and Q, but I didn't realized how frequently titles start with V, A, B, C, S, and R. Though, I didn't really go out of my way to find books with the letters I was missing. Below is the list, so you can see what I was missing.

Now this list is much easier to pick favorites from (And, again, in no particular order).

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
3. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
4. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
5. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Debut Author Challenge

When it was May, and I'd only read 3 debuts, I figured I wouldn't make my goal. But around August I hit a debut "boom", and just about completed my goal. Then, of course, I read 1 or 2 more to complete my goal.

My favorite debuts (as always, in no particular order):

1. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
2. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
5. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Monthly Challenges

I started this to help me stay on track for my goal of 100 books in a year, and as you've noticed, I only reached 92. For some reason, I really slowed down in the summer, and that's what hurt me.

No favorite for this one as well.


TBR Pile Reading Challenge

I really didn't do well in this challenge, there were just so many new books coming out!

My 3 favorites of the 8 I read:

1. Fallen by Lauren Kate
2. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
3. My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

Blue Bloods Read-a-long Challenge

I didn't do so well with this either. I read the first 3 books in the series, but I only reviewed book 1. I also completed 1 mini-challenge.

No favorites, because it was all one series, but the Blue Bloods series *is* one of my favorite series ever!


That's all! Soon I'll have a 2013 Challenges post up with all of the challenges I'm doing, most of them different from the ones I did in 2012.

Book Thoughts: Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Blue Bloods
Series: Blue Bloods, Book 1
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Publisher: Disney*Hyperion
Format: Paperback
Pages: 302
Source: Purchased

Synopsis: Schuyler Van Alen is confused about what is happening to her. Her veins are starting to turn blue, and she's starting to crave raw meat. Soon, her world is thrust into an intricate maze of secret societies and bitter intrigue. Schuyler has never been a part of the trendy crowd at her prestigious New York private school. Now, all of a sudden, Jack Force, the most popular guy in school, is showing an interest in her. And when one of the popular girls is found dead, Schuyler and Jack are determined to get to the bottom of it.

Schuyler wants to find out the secrets of the mysterious Blue Bloods. But is she putting herself in danger? Melissa de la Cruz's vampire mythology, set against the glitzy backdrop of New York City, is a juicy and intoxicating read.

My Thoughts: This was my third time reading this book, and I still enjoyed it as immensely as I did the 1st time around. De la Cruz offered a very lyrical and in-depth 3rd person POV of the glamorous (and not-so-glamorous) lives of New York's teenaged vampire elite. 

Something I loved, though at times felt was unnecessary, was being told what brand the important characters were wearing. Most of the time I don't really care what brand characters are wearing—any characters in any book—but because these characters are New York elite, they are supposed to be fashionable, and how better to get that across than to include top name designers in your descriptions.

I love the mythology of the whole story, and how all the committees work to keep the Blue Blood identity a secret. I absolutely loved where the book ended, with Sky discovering part of the Van Alen legacy, and deciding what she needed to do, even in the midst of tragedy. 

I give it. . .

Buy it here:

Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | IndieBound

Find it on Goodreads.