Let's Talk About Love: A 2012 Romance Reading Challenge

The Let's Talk About Love: A 2012 Romance Reading Challenge is hosted by Kathy at I Write, I Read, I Review, and is challenge #12 for me for 2012. I really like the idea of this challenge because it includes YA romance, and a lot of other romance challenges don't...and since 3/4 of what I've been reading lately is YA, this is perfect. Plus, I love all the different categories...it just sounds like a lot of fun!

The Challenge:

The goal of the Let's Talk About Love Reading Challenge is to read twelve different books and consider them from a romance point of view. Give twelve books, over a variety of categories, a bit more consideration in the romance department. 

Challenge Levels:

Amethyst Heart -- Read and talk about four books / categories
Emerald Heart -- Read and talk about eight books / categories
Sapphire Heart -- Read and talk about twelve books / categories
Ruby Heart -- Read and talk about sixteen books / categories

Categories: 

Contemporary
Romance that takes place in a book that happens in the 'real world'.

Fantasy
For the sake of clarification, this category is for books that don't happen on our world. (They *can* happen on a world similar to ours, historically or through time travel or alternate universes, though.)

Urban Fantasy
Fantasy that takes place within our world, in a generally modern setting.

Science Fiction
Aliens, spaceships, steampunk, mad scientists... The sky's the limit, pretty much.

Dystopian
Apocolyptic fiction, dystopian fiction or utopian fiction applies here. They're falling in love while the world is going to Hades in a handbasket. ;)

Paranormal
Vampires, werewolves, shifters, zombies and anything else that is creepy / scary.

Angels & Demons
Good angels, bad angels, demons... Anything that falls into the above will work.

Beautiful Creatures
Faeries, mermaids, nymphs... Anything that is pretty, even if it can be dangerous.

Fairytale Retellings
Retellings of fairy tales, myths or legends.

Historical
Stories that happened in our world, but that are from the past.

LGBT Romance
Romance between characters who are gay, lesbian, bi, etc.

Romance from a Male POV
Romance where we get to see the guy's point of view. This can either be fully a male pov or a book where both the male and female pov of the hero and heroine are used.

There are also four bonus categories. If any of the above really don't work for you, you are allowed to swap for one of these instead:

Romance in a 2012 Debut
Talk about the romance that happens in a 2012 debut that you read.

Romance in the Classics
Take a look at a classic book -- and I'm leaving this one very open for you -- and talk about the romance in it.

Romance in a Sequel / Series
Talk about how the couple(s) inside one of your favorite series are growing from book to book. (If you do this one I would suggest a spoiler warning.)

Romance that involves a love triangle. 
Love them or hate them, they happen. Talk about a love triangle in a book you read this year.

Rules:

1. The Reading Challenge will begin on January 1st, 2012 and continue until January 31st of 2013. The reason for the extra time is to make sure that people who want to read a December '12 book for their debut book can do so.

2. A book can only be counted once, even if it is technically able to fulfill two or more slots. For instance, Insurgent by Veronica Roth could count as dystopian, science fiction and a sequel. But you would have to pick which category you want to use it for.

3. There is no need to select a challenge level. All you need to do is come back for the appropriate badge(s) as you earn them. (Badges coming soon.)

4. You need to write and post a review for each book in this challenge. If you do not have a blog, you are welcome to link GoodReads reviews. Remember that the point of the challenge is to examine the romance in books you are reading. :)

5. Books read for this challenge are welcome to be used in other challenges as well. You read the book. As far as I'm concerned you've earned the right to use it in any challenge you desire. (At least in mine.)

6. The books for this challenge can be YA or adult. You may have noticed that I did not include any type of categorization that would make someone have to read a book that has a specified level of sensuality / sexuality. This was on purpose, because I feel we all have our own comfort levels with this. If you *do* read and link up adult books on my challenge linky once the challenge starts, please put (not YA) after the book name so readers will know. Thanks!

Prizes:

People who reach at least Emerald level by the end of the year will be entered into a draw for a prize. People who reach between Emerald and Ruby will get +1 entries for each additional book that they got closer. People who reach ruby (crazy, crazy people!) will be entered for a bigger and better prize.