Top 10 Book Series I Need to Finish Soon

Wednesday, December 17, 2021

    Hello friends! I started working on this blog post quite a few months ago and now I've finally finished it. I've listed out the top 10 series I need to finish soon, in no particular order of importance. I briefly talked about each of the series and the books I've read without delving into spoilers. I hope you like it and are inspired to try some of these books yourselves! 

    Here is the order in which I talked about the series, so you can skip around and read the parts you are interested in: 

1. The Dark Artifices (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) by Cassandra Clare

2. Poldark Series by Winston Graham

3. Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

4. Teen Titans Series by Kami Garcia, illustrated by Gabriel Picolo

5. Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery

6. The Kingdom Keepers Series by Ridley Pearson

7. The Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer

8. The Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

9. The Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer

10. The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels by Philippa Gregory

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1. The Dark Artifices (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) by Cassandra Clare

    The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare is a trilogy that takes place within the Shadowhunter Chronicles' world. In order to read this series, you NEED to read The Mortal Instruments. It won't really make sense otherwise and you'll get MAJOR spoilers for the first series. A few years back when Lady Midnight was first released, I read this book first without realizing it was part of the Shadowhunter Chronicles and it was a big mistake. I didn't understand anything that was going on in this book AT ALL until I really began to read the Shadowhunter Chronicles books in the right order at the beginning of 2019. 

    I understand that The Mortal Instruments series can be challenging to get through and I definitely struggled to read it myself. But, I PROMISE it gets so much better! The Infernal Devices are absolutely phenomenal and my favorite completed series by Cassandra Clare to date (and no you don't NEED to read TMI to read this one). In fact, if you're struggling to get through The Mortal Instruments, I suggest you try The Infernal Devices first! 

    Anyway, The Dark Artifices is a much more sophisticated and developed piece of work than The Mortal Instruments so it is definitely worth reading! Lady Midnight has a bit of a slow start, but, just bear with it. I promise reading on will be worth your time. I still can't get over the cliffhanger ending of book two: Lord of Shadows! That book BROKE me and put me back together about a thousand times! I can't believe I haven't read the finale: Queen of Air and Darkness yet. I think I'm holding off on reading it for two reasons: first, the book is a massive tome and I'm intimidated by large books. Second, I'm not emotionally prepared to deal with the finale of this series. I definitely plan on finishing the series at some point in the first half of 2021.

Update: I finished this series in January of 2021. While I enjoyed Queen of Air and Darkness, it was the weakest book in the series in my opinion. It was a bit disappointing compared to the other books, but, still a step up from any of The Mortal Instruments books.

2. Poldark Series by Winston Graham   

     I picked up the first book, Ross Poldark, in early 2020. I think I read it over a span of a month from February to March. The first book, Ross Poldark, begins with an English soldier named Ross returning home after fighting in the American Revolutionary War. He returns home to find that his father has died in his absence and the love of his life, Elizabeth, is engaged to marry his cousin, Francis. Now, Ross must pave a new path for himself in life. This book takes place in Cornwall, a seaside county in South West England. 

    The first few books in the series were published in the 1950s and while this made the book have more traditional ideals and outdated beliefs, it worked well with the late 1700s-1800s time period that the novels were set in. So far, I've read the first five books in this series: Ross Poldark, Demelza, Jeremy Poldark, Warleggan, and The Black Moon. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this adult historical fiction read that I knew next to nothing about. Honestly, I fell in love with this story from the first pages of the first novel. It's one of my favorite historical fiction reads to date. If you are looking for a great, long historical fiction series to read, I highly recommend that you check this one out!

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3. Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

    Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is the first of 7 books that have been published in the series so far. It follows a World War II nurse, Claire Randall, who is reconnecting with her husband, Frank, after the end of the war. They travel to Scotland to have a second honeymoon to become reacquainted; but, while on vacation, Claire visits the standing stones at Craigh Na Dun and gets transported back in time to the 18th century. She is thrust into a foreign, unknown world where her life is threatened. Throughout the novel, she must outwit her foes to survive and figure out how to return home to her own time.

   Outlander is a very long tome and the initial chapters of the book were a bit slow-paced. It took several chapters and a couple of hundred pages for the plot to really get moving, but once it did, the story was absolutely enthralling. The world-building and character development were well integrated into the plotline and there were few sections that felt info-dumpy. I formed a very strong attachment to the main characters, Claire and Jamie, throughout the book. I just wish we could've gotten some more character development for Frank to understand what attracted Claire to him in the first place. It was nice to enter Claire's mind and have memory flashbacks to the 20th century which depicted her life before falling through the stones. The book was absolutely phenomenal with a perfect blend of historical and fantastical elements, reminding me of just how much I love both the historical fiction and fantasy genres. Fair warning, it is an adult novel which means it has some mature themes and sexual content. 

         

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4.  Teen Titans Series by Kami Garcia, Illustrated by Gabriel Picolo

    Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia is the first graphic novel I've read. The illustrations created by Gabriel Picolo were beautiful and complementary to the story. When I first read it in September of 2020, I didn't know that this graphic novel was actually part of a series or that there were DC comics that were written decades ago under the Teen Titans name. There's also a Teen Titans tv show that was released in the very early 2000s which I plan on watching after I catch up and read the next two Teen Titans graphic novels, which are the only ones that have been released in the series so far.  

    This story basically follows a girl named Raven who has just lost her mother and discovers she has special powers. The book was really short as it was a graphic novel and it was only about 100 pages, so I won't go into too much detail so as to not spoil it. I think part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much was due to the fact that the illustrations in this graphic novel are beautiful. Anyway, Raven ends up having to fight this demon with her aunt and cousin and is able to destroy it, but it's clear this is not the end of her story. I can't wait to continue on and discover the rest of the story through the character's dialogue and the beautiful illustrations.

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5. Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery

    Anne of Green Gables is probably one of the most adorable books that I've ever read. The first book especially was very atmospheric and reminded me of my own childhood with the giddiness of the book. Anne is a highly imaginative character and it really makes me think of the wildly imaginative little girl I used to be. I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time from the end of April to early May of 2020. So far, I have read the first two books in the series: Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. I think this is the first book I've read that's based in Canada and I can't wait to dive back into this world.

    This series is definitely one of the most whimsical middle-grade series I've ever read. There's such a feeling of joy and happiness that really permeates the novels, even when difficult or sad things happen. I don't think I'll ever read about another character who is like Anne. She is a one-of-a-kind, unique character that will definitely leave a lasting impression. The only thing I wish this series had done, was to delve more into her childhood and her early years at Green Gables. The first book is absolutely masterful and basically a perfect piece of children's fiction and while the second book can't match the perfection of the first one, it is still definitely worth the read to continue on with the series.

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6.  The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson 

    It's been such a long time since I started the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson. I picked up the first book, Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, several years ago when only the first three books had been released around 2010 or 2011. It has basically been a full decade since I read this book and I'm not sure why, but I never continued on with the series after the first book. I loved it and had always planned on continuing with the series but I just never did. Hopefully, this is something that will change in 2021. I'd definitely like to re-read the first book and I'm curious to see how my perception of this series will change. It'll definitely be interesting to see what my 18-year-old self will think of a story that my 8 or 9-year-old self loved. 

    Since I don't remember too much about this book, I'll keep this section brief. What I do remember is that the Kingdom Keepers series takes place in the Disney World Parks after the parks' operating hours are over. I remember that it was about this group of teenagers that entered the park (I can't remember how or why they did this). The villains on the different rides within the park would come to life and they tried to kill the teenagers and I remember they had to face off. I don't really remember any of the details of what happens beyond that or how the story even concluded, but, I would definitely love to re-read it to remember what happens. 

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7. The Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer

    This series is another one that I haven't read in years, although I have read these books more recently than the Kingdom Keepers. I've read the first three books in this series, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (which absolutely made me fall in love with it), The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns, and The Land of Stories: The Grimm Warning. I actually have a hardcover copy of the third book in the series, but I don't physically own any of the other books. The 6th and final book in the series was published in 2017, and the first book was published in 2012, so this is a more recent series. The author actually played a character on the hit tv show, Glee, which I thought was pretty cool. 

    I love the fairytale aspects of these stories or rather the twists the series takes on the traditional fairytales that we all know and love. It follows this set of 12-year-old twins, Alex and Connor Bailey. On their 12th birthday, they receive an old book as a gift from their grandmother which turns out to be a portal that sends them straight into the fairytale world. You basically end up exploring the fairytale world as you follow their quest to get back home to the real world. The books are definitely action-packed and interesting all the way through. I highly recommend you pick this series up and read it, even if middle-grade is not your cup of tea, it's just that thrilling and exciting. I definitely want to re-read the first three books in the series before continuing on to finish it.  

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8. The Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

    The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard was one that I was really late to jump on the bandwagon of and start reading. The first book in the series: Red Queen was released in 2015 and the last book, War Storm, came out in 2018. I only read the first book in the series a few months ago, in July of 2020, the same month I started my bookstagram account. As of writing this blog post, I have read: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King's Cage, and recently finished reading the last book, War Storm. Technically, this series no longer belongs on this list as I have finished it, but I'm still going to include it anyway. I added this series to my list of "Top 10 Series I Need To Finish Soon," a few months ago when I was about to start reading War Storm, so I've decided to just keep it in this list. My review for War Storm will be up on my blog soon.

    Red Queen was such a great read for me. While the series is pretty formulaic and similar to a lot of other young adult fantasy series out there, I was sucked into the first book. I thought I was going to love the entire series just as much as the first book, but unfortunately, that just wasn't really the case. I think my favorite book of the series was definitely Red Queen and my least favorite has to be War Storm (I'll go deeper into exploring why I disliked it the most in my review post). It was the classic YA story about a group of oppressed people rising up against their government, but that's an oversimplified description of what the series really was. It was so much more than that. This series gave me some serious Hunger Games and The Selection series vibes, especially throughout the first book. I just think that somewhere along the way, Aveyard lost her sense of direction and the story ended up diverging away from the original plot and conflict that it was exploring. Anyway, if you want to see more of my thoughts, just read my reviews for Red Queen, Glass Sword, and King's Cage, and my upcoming review for War Storm (all of them can be found on my Instagram or Goodreads and will be added to my blog soon).

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9. The Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer

    I read Renegades by Marissa Meyer at some point in the second half of 2019 and I have yet to pick up the next two books in the trilogy: Archenemies and Supernova (which came out in October of 2019). For a long time after I read the first book, I wasn't sure if I was actually going to continue on with the series. It was an interesting superhero and villain book, but there were other series and books I was more interested in reading at that time. I don't think I'm one who particularly enjoys books or movies that follow superheroes or villains and that reduced my enjoyment. However, I loved the two main characters, Nova and Adrian, and I decided a few months ago to continue on with the series in the hopes that I will like it more. 

    I loved that this book contains many morally gray characters and the line between good and evil is very thin. I also love the fact that Nova was undercover throughout this book as a superhero which was how she met Adrian. I think there will definitely be lots of drama and conflict in the two sequels that follow this book. Her (Nova) undercover act was one of the things that most intrigued me about this book and one of the reasons why I've decided to continue on with this series. I've just been hesitant to pick the next book up because I didn't enjoy the first book as much as I hoped I would. Hopefully, I will be able to finish this series in 2021 and make my final verdict on what I think of it as a whole.

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10. The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels by Philippa Gregory

    The Plantagenet and Tudor novels by Philippa Gregory were originally separated into two different series, but they became linked together, merged into one series. There are so many books that have been written and form part of this series, I think in total there are 15 books. It is probably the longest series I've ever read followed by the A Series of Unfortunate Events Series by Lemony Snicket which contains 13 books. I think I've read 13 out of 15 of the books, I only have 2 books left to read: The Virgin's Lover and The Last Tudor, books 13 and 14 of the series. I started reading this book series in 2019 and hopefully, I will finish in 2021.  My favorite book from the series was definitely the first book, The Lady of the Rivers, pictured above. 

    I definitely would say that this series is far from my favorite. Many of the books in this series are quite problematic especially in their depictions of sexual relationships. My favorite in this series was definitely, The Lady of the Rivers, but things really go downhill after this book. If I hadn't already invested so much time and energy into reading this series, I definitely would've DNF-ed the series by now. It is highly problematic, even more so than can be expected or tolerated in most historical fiction, and honestly, I can't excuse it or try to move past it. The characters are often mediocre at best or absolutely horrifying at their worst and I'm not sure that I want to read any of Philippa Gregory's other novels after I finish this series.

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