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It’s been an absolute age since I’ve done a set of series reviews, but I really wanted to talk about my thoughts on Wheel of Time and I figured that I might as well go ahead and throw together a quick series review of the three most recent series I’ve finished! So today I’m going to give y’all a quick glimpse of my thoughts on Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, and later Brandon Sanderson, The Edge series by Ilona Andrews, and the Fitzhugh trilogy by Sherry Thomas. So, let’s dive in, shall we?

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson)

The Wheel of Time is a series that I technically first read at least the first two books as a kid, but I can’t say I remembered much beyond Rand was important when I picked it back up after falling head over heels for the show on Amazon Prime. As you’ll see on Wednesday in my review of Fevered Star, I have a really bad habit of picking up high fantasy books and reading them for the romance even when explicitly told not to do so (thank you, Bree, sorry for not listening). But there was something about reading this series with a community that made it so worth it no matter what. I had company reading with the first five books and the prequel and part of the way through Lord of Chaos because I read the chapters and then listened to Wheel Takes and The Wheel Weaves podcasts. I joined their Patreons and Discords. And most importantly, throughout the rest of the series I had Bree and Donna’s Discord keeping me company as I flailed and got confused and aggravated because truly what is with the spanking, Robert? Do I think I’ll return to re-reading these books again and again like so many do? I’m not sure, but I know that these books and the show will have a special place in my heart for the community they gave me for a very long time. Probably forever. Now to pray Season Two gets here sooner than later and also that the Show Version delivers better romance ARCs than the books did. In the meantime, I’m going to pretend Perrin and Faile are completely healthy and non-toxic living a happily ever after forever because I adored them. (Do you see what I mean? I’m always going to read for the romance even if you tell me not to! I can’t help it.)

The Edge Series by Ilona Andrews

My second fully completed Ilona Andrews series! I’m so proud of myself. Also, I loved books one and four a whole heck of a lot and really liked book three. Book two was an up and down, but the Swamp book is really set in just the grossest sounding place, which made it a bit of a struggle. As far as re-readability goes, I’m much more likely to re-read this series than I am Kate Daniels (aside from the two spinoffs) so for me it rates above that. And now that I know there’s a link between The Innkeepers and The Edge, I’m really excited to circle back to The Innkeepers and to try and actually finish that series next. Or catch up on it, since I think they’re still writing books in the world.

I’ve gotten distracted though and have told you nothing about what the books are about. Essentially, there is the regular world that we live in called The Broken, then a world with some magic but it’s weird called The Edge, and then finally a world with full magic and aristocracy etc. called The Weird. Rose in book one lives in The Edge and it is through her book that we are introduced to this world of magic and then the world keeps expanding through the rest of the series as we meet the Mar family. Each romance is really well done, as all IA books are (in my opinion), and the settings are vibrant and come to life. I really enjoy this series and all its weird quirks. The political landscape is really fascinating and I really would like more books set in this world, if I’m being honest. So, I definitely recommend this series if you haven’t tried it yet!

The Fitzhugh Trilogy by Sherry Thomas

I thought I’d finished this series in full when I read the three books that comprise the trilogy only to discover there was also a short story and a novella set in the same world so I read those real quick too so I could give you a true re-cap of the entire series. Sherry Thomas writes some of the most angsty historical romances I’ve ever read and she breaks my heart so well, it feels amazing. Is that logical? Perhaps not. But basically, if you’re tired of the rom coms and need to feel with the safety of the HEA net, pick up a Sherry Thomas. Beguiling the Beauty does such fascinating things with beauty standards and really just makes you think, while also desperately making you wish you could give these two a hug. Ravishing the Heiress is one of my favorite historical romances of all time. It’s a marriage of convenience where eight years later, Fitz and Millie still haven’t consumated the marriage, but now it is time. And then, oops, they have feelings. But!! Fitz’s first love is back in town and she’s widowed. (Don’t worry, you can find her HEA in A Dance in Moonlight, which has the most bonkers premise in the world, but is actually so sweet and well done.) And then Tempting the Bride, which is the type of enemies to lovers where secretly one of them was pining the whole time, paired with whoops, we’ve got to get married because you’re compromised, and then OMG AMNESIA was seriously, truly, one of the best most magnificent books. It’s trope-tastic in the best of ways and I really wanted to give poor David a hug. Anyway, I highly recommend the whole series, including the very short story Claiming the Duchess, which is adorable, and has a mention of honeybees if you still need to fulfill that prompt in #SpringIntoLoveBingo!

Alright, there you have three mini reviews for these three series that I really enjoyed! I think I have two other series I’ve completed and not reviewed in this format so only one to go before I can do another. But please let me know if this type of review is helpful because if it’s not, I can (maybe) come up with other content. Also, have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? And since I really loved them, do you have any recommendations for other series?

xx