I didn’t realize that I was a person with a lot of series in progress until I started making this post. Since I know it’s likely to get worse (you’ll see), I thought I would make a post for my sake about the series that I need to finish or get caught up on in 2018 so that somewhere, there’s a comprehensive list before I start adding many, many more books to this list. Some of these I’m not sure I want to continue and I’ve indicated that so you all can let me know your thoughts in the comments to help me decide. Let’s get into it!
1. The Divinersby Libba Bray
No worries on this one as I am currently listening to Before the Devil Breaks You, which is why I put this series first so I could feel some measure of accomplishment early in the year. Although once I finish, I’ll be beginning the long and agonizing wait to the next one so… Bittersweet.
If you haven’t heard of this series, it is amazing. It’s a historical set, paranormal-esque series with unique and diverse characters showcasing New York City in the 1920s from perspectives we don’t always get (like Chinatown and Harlem) and what we normally see (flappers). I am obsessed with this series and the audiobooks are absolutely fantastic, so if you haven’t started, I would highly encourage you to do so.
2. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I just got the second book, China Rich Girlfriend in the mail the other day. I am so excited to continue this series. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and even though the pages aren’t quite as soft in China Rich Girlfriend (what gives, Atria?), it still feels nice and floppy. This is a trilogy so I’ve got a couple of books to go, but I can do it!
If you aren’t aware of this series, basically, Rachel gets invited by her professor boyfriend to be his plus one at his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Turns out, her boyfriend is from THE richest family in Singapore and woah buddy. His mom is none too pleased about how serious Nick and Rachel’s relationship is because she wants nothing to do with this American Born Chinese woman. Lots and lots of shenanigans ensure and I was so enthralled.
3. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison
The good news is that I only have The Stone Sky to go and that I have a copy! The bad news is that once I read it, the trilogy ends. Seriously though, I am in love with this trilogy and I’m so glad that Joce picked it for the November StorytimewithSquibbles pick. I still have no idea how to explain this series to you, so… I’m just going to have to send you to Goodreads. Sorry, y’all. I will say that the second book blew the first out of the water to me, because the new POV characters? Yeah, just… Woah. And some of the things we learned? An intense read. I’m very excited to pick this conclusion up!
4. The Grishaverse Series by Leigh Bardugo
Originally called The Grisha Trilogy, I think, The Grishaverse series by Leigh Bardugo is set before Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. It’s generally considered to be a weaker trilogy than the SoC duology, but I read the first book (Shadow and Bone) two years ago and I would really like to continue the series. The problem is that I got rid of the first book and remember very little from it because I wanted matching editions of the new covers. The struggle is real. Hopefully I remember enough to dive back into the world. I certainly remember the ending of Shadow and Bone, so that’s something, I suppose. We also may as well throw Language of Thorns in here as well, which I really desperately want to own because of how gorgeous it is.
5. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
I read Passenger in 2016 when it came out and was so excited to pick up Wayfarer when it came out in 2017, but, uh… Yeah, still haven’t actually read it. Y’all. Why do I do this? A lot of people have talked about how slow the book is, but given how slow Passenger was and how much I enjoyed it, I don’t think that should be a problem for me? We’ll see. I really need to pick this book up.
If you haven’t heard of this story, it’s like Doctor Who if Doctor Who was being blackmailed and maybe someone is trying to kill him? And the main character is a wonderful teen girl. At the time it was a very unique premise (to me) and I enjoyed Passenger immensely. It is a bit of a slower read, but also the covers are gorgeous.
6. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
And again… Truthwitch was a book that I really enjoyed in 2016. I love the female friendship portrayed in this book. Safi and Iseult are fantastic and true friends. And yet, when it was time for Windwitch, I picked it up, even read a couple of chapters, and then just never picked it up to finish it. I adore Susan Dennard as a person and a writer so this is definitely a series I want to continue. With Sightwitch (a prequel) coming out in February, I definitely want to get it together and read Windwitch and Sightwitch to regain my love for the world.
If you haven’t heard of the series, Safi is a Truthwitch, which means that she always knows whether someone is telling the truth. This power is intensely coveted so Safi’s skills are kept a secret. When Safi and Iseult come across a Bloodwitch though, Safi’s skill set is discovered. There are a multitude of other precipitating factors, but Safi and Iseult wind up separated and on the run. Such a cool premise and it was really well executed.
7. Shadowshaperby Daniel José Older
I really enjoyed Shadowshaper, but I got it as an ebook deal and couldn’t convince myself at the time (I was unemployed) to splurge on the sequel so I haven’t continued the series. I just looked though and it is available on Overdrive (there’s a hold list) so I’ll be able to continue it that way soon, hopefully!
This is another fantasy series that I honestly cannot begin to explain, but it’s heavily influenced by Older’s Latinx culture and is a very fun (kind of scary) series. I really enjoyed the characters in it and am excited to continue.
8. Red Queenby Victoria Aveyard
I’ve talked about how I’m so far behind in this series that I need to re-read the first book before I continue, haven’t I? I really am overwhelmingly far behind and I blame it on me trying to read Cruel Crown, a novella that has nothing to do with the main plot (I don’t think). I didn’t enjoy the novella so I was super not motivated to pick up Glass Sword. Bad call on my part. Hopefully I can remedy that this year. We’ll see.
Basically, the premise of Red Queen is that silver and red bloods do not mix. Red bloods are second class citizens, then Mare displays a power that only silver bloods should have while she’s in the palace (where she isn’t supposed to be) and things take off from there.
9. And I Darken by Kiersten White
This is where I really need your help. It took me so long to read And I Darken that I’m having issues convincing myself that I need to continue the series. I’m intrigued by the premise and I like where And I Darken left off, at least in terms of Lada’s storyline, but also… It’s so slow. While I can sometimes get past that, I really struggled to do so in this case. Have any of you read this series? What do you think?
If you haven’t heard of the story, it’s a gender bent Vlad the Impaler retelling, more or less. And there’s at least one character who identifies, well, I think is still reluctant to identify, but is attracted to men (and is a man). The premise is what drew me to the book, but I have to admit to being less pleased by the writing style.
10. The Dark Artificesby Cassandra Clare
I re-read City of Bones not too long ago and am honestly just so impressed that I’m sitting here today saying I need to continue another Cassandra Clare series. City of Bones is full of characters that I have outgrown so much. Clary in that book is incredibly… full of internalized misogyny to put it mildly. However, in Lady Midnight, the magic of the world Cassie created was back with characters that I actually liked? Or at least enjoyed enough? The problem is, everyone keeps talking about how Lord of Shadows destroyed them and I don’t want to be destroyed. And also, I want a physical copy of the book and instead I just keep checking out the ebook online and not reading it.
If you don’t know about these books, there’s not a lot I can tell you because you kind of need the background from The Mortal Instruments. I’m not here to tell you it’s worth reading all of those to get to this series, but you do you. (Tbh, I’m not sure I read the last book in TMI, but I think I maybe own it? Who knows. I couldn’t get through a series read through because Clary was too annoying.)
Okay, we’re calling it quits at ten even though I’m pretty sure there are more. I just can’t commit to more than ten! I can’t do it. Anyway, what series are you behind on that you want to catch up with? Let me know in the comments.
xx
firewhiskeyreader 