Top 5 Tuesday: Series I Need to Finish (ft. Series I Have One Book Left to Read)

This week I decided to switch back over and participate in Top 5 Tuesday, originally hosted by BionicBookworm, now hosted by MeeghanReads!

This week's theme is: Unfinished Series

For this week's topic, I've opted to share some series that I only have one book left in the series to finish, but just haven't gotten around to it yet for one reason or another. This feels like a major call out for my weird penchant for not finishing series in any sort of timely manner, but it's okay–maybe I need that! 🤣And I think I have the full series on my shelves for most of these as well, so... there's very little excuse for me! Maybe one of these days I'll make a post featuring all the series I've started and need to finish, but it might be a bit long...

 I'm only going to include series that are fully published and have all the books readily available to read. This narrowed it down quite a bit since I'm reading so many ongoing series, but it was still hard to choose only five! Now, let's see what series I'm procrastinating on.

The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker

I don't actually feel too bad about this one because I just read the second book last wee and it would really be wisest of me to just jump right into the third book soon before I forget what happened in the second book... but is it likely I will do that? It is not. Probably. 

The Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey

I don't know why I haven't read the third book yet?? I have enjoyed this series and have no problem continuing... but apparently I do? I have a copy of the third book on my shelves, but for some reason I just haven't grabbed it. Hopefully I will this year! (Also, I never realized how cool these covers look altogether with the plants sort of slowly overtaking the text. Very neat!)

The Legacy Trilogy by Matthew Ward

I know the reason that I haven't picked up this series' finale and it's because it's such a big book. Like not only is it a chunky book, it's also just... big. And I struggle holding big books sometimes, haha. There is really no good excuse, I think I've just been too intimidated to pick it up because there is so much going on in this series and I'm worried I won't remember everything I need to, but I will get to this one.

The Queen of Hearts Saga by Colleen Oakes

I've loved this series! I have no idea why I haven't continued it, but I think it may partially just be because: 1) I don't want to finish it; 2) I've really enjoyed the first two books and I'm worried the next one won't fulfill my expectations. What a non-problem, right?

Warrior Bards by Juliet Marillier

I actually started the third book a month or so ago, but got distracted by other books and never finished... so, yeah. I do really want to finish this series, though, because I've really enjoyed it!

and last but not least, a series I'm not sure if I'll finish so I figured I'd include it as a bonus...

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

I actually don't know if I'll ever finish this series... I feel like I don't really care about it, but at the same time I hear anything people rave about it that I'm curious to see the ending. So we'll see. 

Have you read any of these books/series? What are some book series you want/need to finish?

Books that Conquered the Sequel Slump

Sequels: equally the most loved and hated by book lovers everywhere. Sometimes they are a fantastic, mindblowing addition, and sometimes it'd be better off if they weren't ever made. Today I thought I would look through some of my favorite sequels and share them with you all, so below I present to you just a few of the sequel that I felt were just as good - if not better! - than the first book. (And in the next month or so I plan to feature some of my least favorites... so stay tuned!)

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss: I loved The Name of the Wind and I thought that the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, continued on this trilogy beautifully! I am still patiently awaiting the third installment, though I don't mind when authors take their time with a series -- I'd rather the book be exactly what they want it to be than rushed to a finish because fans are breathing down their necks.

The Sandman Vol. 2: Technically this came out as a comic initially, but since I read the Sandman graphic novels as individual volumes, I have to say that volume two was even more exciting than the first one, Preludes and Nocturnes. The Sandman series was the first graphic novel series I ever read, and to this day it remains my favorite; it is incredibly inventive and impossible to put down.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson: I'm not quite if this one needs an explanation! Sanderson is a master at world-building and character-development, and his expansion on his world and the plot of this series was astounding. I can't wait for Oathbringer (#3) this fall!

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo: I love these characters. ❤  I love the dynamics, the story, everything. Crooked Kingdom was such a fantastic addition. As much as I would love to have more in this world, I am incredibly satisfied with this duology. Review.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab: So I liked A Darker Shade of Magic, but I wasn't quite on board. I didn't like Lilah that much in the first book - I actually found her quite annoying - but the second book is when I fell in love. The characters became stronger, the world became more wide-ranging and complex, and the magic system flourished. Definitely stick around for book two. Review. 

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray: The Diviners was fantastic, Lair of Dreams was also fantastic. That's all I have to say. (Also, the third book is coming this fall!)

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas: I really loved ACOTAR when I first read it. I had been going throw a pretty rough patch in my life and it really helped me through things and helped me have an outlet for all my difficulties. I wasn't sure if future books could be as good as I hoped ...and then I read ACOMAF, and I realized that the first book was nothing compared to this one. Review. 

Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman: Illuminae was brilliant and fortunately Gemina completely lived up to all expectations!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: I went into Cinder, book one, extremely skeptical because nothing about it seemed that interesting to me... and I ended up really enjoying it! I then decided to dive into Scarlet and found it to be a solid addition.

What do you think of these sequels? What are some of your favorites?

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