2013 in Review

2013 was a big year for me. Even though I started blogging in 2012, I didn't really get into it until this year. Over the course of the year, my reviews got longer, posts got noticed, I got a Twitter account, and so much more. I've met authors, held giveaways, and made blogger friends from all over the place.  For the most part, 2013 has been pretty cool.

In honor of it's awesomeness, I'd like to do a couple top tens. Top ten books I've read, top ten releases, top ten blog posts, top ten Facebook posts. I hope you have fun checking out my top tens, and please, leave yours in the comments! Please note that I read almost 200 books this year! Having to pick only ten is one of the hardest things to do!

Top Ten Books I've Read:

Books in this category are ones NOT released this year.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

4. Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

5. Half-Blood by Jennifer L Armentrout AKA Woman-Who-Can-Do-No-Wrong

6. Legend by Marie Lu

7. Crave by Melissa Darnell

8. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles AKA Magic-Fairy-Goddess

9. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

10. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Top Ten Books Released in 2013

Books that have been released in 2013 ONLY!

1. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

2. Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

3. Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

4. With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

5. Apollyon by Jennifer L Armentrout

6. Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

7. Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

8. Crown of Midnight by S.J. Maas

9. United We Spy by Ally Carter

10. Endless by Jessica Shrivington

Top Ten Blog Posts

1. Authors Are Rockstars Blog Tour Featuring C.C. Hunter!

2. The Blog is One Year Old!

3. Thanksgiving Giveaway!

4. Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

5. Series Sunday: Ruby Red Trilogy

6. With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

7. If I Should Die by Amy Plum Giveaway

8. Blog Tour: Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes

9. Happy Birthday Giveaway

10. Blog Tour: Godsland Series by Brian Rathbone

Top Ten Facebook Posts:

1. For those of you who missed it last night, I'm about to start two new giveaways! One is for Facebook and one is for Thanksgiving.So, today, I'll try to put up the Thanksgiving one ASAP! The winner gets a signed copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas!

The Facebook giveaway will take a little more time. As of right now, the Facebook page has 43 likes. This contest depends on YOU! When you can get the page to 100 likes, I will giveaway a signed Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett AKA Author Anna Banks booklet and bookmark!

So get cracking! As soon as the page reaches 100 likes, I will select a winner from one of those likes. Most likely, I will set up a post that you have to comment on, so keep your eyes open and the likes coming!

2. It's that time of year! Thanksgiving and then the winter months are fast approaching! In celebration, I'm running a Thanksgiving Giveaway! What can you win? Well, a signed copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas! Check it out and share with your friends for chances to win!

http://www.tween2teenbooks.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-giveaway.html

3. So, I've been thinking about giveaways. So far, I've had two. I like giveaways, you like giveaways, and I have a boatload of stuff to giveaway. At this point in time, I have two giveaways in mind. First, I want to do a Thanksgiving giveaway for a signed copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I also have a collection of signed Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett, AKA Author Anna Banks booklets and bookmarks. So, when this page reaches 100 likes, I will giveaway one of eight Degrees of Wrongs booklets and bookmarks. I also have copies of Carrier of the Mark, Shadow of the Mark, and leftover exclusive Amy Plum bookmarks to giveaway in the future! So, when this page reaches 100 likes, check back for a giveaway!

4. I've heard a lot about these books and how amazing they are. So, one day, I decided to pick up the first one and see if it lived up to the hype. It wasn't as good as I'd been told it was, but it was better than I expected. Which is always a good thing. Both book one and book two I had trouble getting in to. They would start off slow, but then about halfway through, they'd pick up and I wouldn't be able to put it down. Skimming became a very close friend of mine, as I struggled through POVs that I didn't enjoy. And yes, there were multiple POVs.

http://www.tween2teenbooks.com/2013/12/double-review-raven-boys-and-dream.html

5. Just got signed copies of Carrier of the Mark and Shadow of the Mark byLeigh Fallon as well as a signed ARC of The Offering by Kimberly Derting! So excited to start reading!

6. If the page can get the 100 likes by the end of December, I'll give away a second Degrees of Wrong signed booklet and bookmark!

7. Check out Deadly Crush by Ashley Stoyanoff - The Soul's Mark! I don't know about you, but I'm dying to read it!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Crush-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00EPX8NPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388278931&sr=8-1&keywords=deadly+ashley+stoyanoff

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-crush-ashley-stoyanoff/1116758451?ean=2940045223379...See More

8. It has been brought to my attention that I have not reviewed The Hunger Games. I plan to remedy that now. I first discovered the books at my birthday party a few years ago. My friend had brought over the first book, so I 'stole' it since it looked good. Before that, I had never heard of the series. So, that night, I read a good chunk of book one. I flew through the rest of the books afterwards. At the time, I was in love. Now? Not so much. Looking back, I see many faults with the Hunger Games that I missed before.

http://www.tween2teenbooks.com/2013/11/series-sunday-hunger-games-by-suzanne.html

9. Here's one for the best books of 2013! Which ones have you read?

10. What do you think?

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog, whether via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or right here! Thank you to all the people who share my posts and follow the blog, you have no idea (or maybe you do) how amazing it feels. The blog has grown tremendously. From 100 page views a month to 100 page views a day. As of now, the blog has almost 1800 page views total, 60 likes on Facebook (remember, if you can reach 100 likes, there's a chance to win a signed Degrees of Wrong booklet and bookmark!), 237 Twitter followers, 18 Instagram followers, and 15 followers via GFC. It's amazing to know that people are looking at my insane ramblings about the stuff I love most.

I feel like the post wouldn't be complete without a few resolutions for 2014. One, I hope to review not necessarily all, but more of the books I read. I've posted about 84 reviews this year after reading almost 200 books. Not exactly an awesome ratio (though better than I expected). So lets get reviewing! This is something more out of my control, but in 2014, I hope to get to 100 Facebook likes and 50 Instagram followers. Think we can make that happen? I am also a writer. In 2014, I hope to finish the first draft of one novel and edit the heck out of another one. Just because that was my resolution last year doesn't mean I won't accomplish it this year instead! So thank you again for checking out my measly little blog amongst the sea of other bloggers. I hope that you like it and continue to come back!

What about you? What are your top tens of the year? Any New Year's resolutions?