November 2015 TBR

Screen Shot 2015-11-01 at 10.40.36 AM

Happy November, everybody!

I absolutely cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by! Sadly, my favorite month of the year has drawn to a close, but these next few months are just as exciting. First of all, we start the build up to the holiday season. I sing in a church choir, so we spend the next two months singing all of my favorite music of the choral season.

November, as I’m sure you all know, is also the start of NaNoWriMo. This is my sixth year doing it, but will be my first year trying to do it while also blogging, so it’ll be interesting to see how this all goes. NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite parts of every year, and I can’t wait to get started on my new novel!

As far as a TBR, I still have a few books from my previous ones that I would like to work on. However, my reading mood has definitely changed a bit, and there are a couple of books that I also need to read and review this month. As always, a TBR for me is more of a helpful suggestion than something set in stone that I really stick to. It works nicely for prioritizing my entirely too massive pile of unread books. So here are some of the books that I am most eager to read/need to get to in the coming weeks!

November TBR:

1. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

therithmatist

I still have yet to read anything by Brandon Sanderson, though the Mistborn trilogy is high on my priority list. Since I have so many books to read right now, I think I would rather hold off on The Final Empire for a little while longer until I get through some of them. However, this novel is a much more manageable size for me currently. I am also just generally very intrigued by the premise of this novel, so I’m eager to see what it’s all about.

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

sixofcrows

This is one of my most anticipated books of the year and I finally have it in my possession! I have been hearing such amazing things about this novel, which has just been making me more enthusiastic about reading it. And may I just say, the book itself is absolutely beautiful!

3. Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Ritter_BeastlyBones_jkt_COMP.indd

I read the first book in this series, Jackaby, at the beginning of the year and absolutely loved it! So of course, as soon as I finished, I put this on preorder right away. I’m excited to see where these stories go and to get back into the world of these lovable characters. It should be a fun, quick read and I am definitely hoping to get to this very soon.

Click here to check out my review of Jackaby!

4. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

wonder

This is a book I just discovered this year and have heard nothing but wonderful things about. I got it out of the library a few months back, but didn’t have enough time to get to it. So I recently picked up a copy and I’m definitely hoping to finally get to it this month. It sounds like it will be a sad but extremely good read, and I can’t wait to see what I think of it.

5. Saga, Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

sagav5

This will most likely be my first read of the month. I honestly can’t believe that I haven’t gotten around to this yet. It has been out for at least a month and a half now and I still need to read it. I’ve had it on hold at the library for quite a while and it’s finally available for me to check out, so I’ll probably be getting to this in the next day or so. I’m so excited to see what happens next!

6-8. Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale, Doctor Who: Death Riders by Justin Richards, and Doctor Who: System Wipe by Oli Smith

doctorwhodeeptime doctorwhodeathriders doctorwhosystemwipe

These are all books that I have recently gotten through Netgalley, so I would like to get them all read and reviewed by the end of the month. I’d particularly like to get those last two done because they come out toward the second half of November. They should all be quick and entertaining reads, and I’m always up for anything Doctor Who related!

Here are some of the books that I have acquired over the last few months as well as my most anticipated releases of November!

September/October Book Haul:

Ritter_BeastlyBones_jkt_COMP.indd thereluctantsacrifice sixofcrows halfaking

1. Beastly Bones by William Ritter
2. The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
4. Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

theswordofsummer doctorwhodeeptime doctorwhodeathriders doctorwhosystemwipe

5. The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
6. Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale
7. Doctor Who: Death Riders by Justin Richards
8. Doctor Who: System Wipe by Oli Smith

Anticipated Releases of November:

doctorwhotimelordfairytales winter warrenthe13th

1. Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards (November 3rd)
2. Winter by Marissa Meyer (November 10th)
3. Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio (November 24th)

What are you guys planning on reading this month? What new releases are you most looking forward to? Are any of you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

logo2

The Pastry Book Tag

I was tagged by the awesome Jesse over at Books at Dawn. Thank you so much for tagging me! He’s a fantastic book blogger, so definitely head over there and check him out.

As an avid viewer of The Great British Bake Off, I am not only incredibly excited to do this tag, but also happy to say that I know what most of these pastries are! I have a feeling I may be quite hungry after completing this however…

Croissant: Name a popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves.

hp2The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

This is one of my all-time favorite series; it helped me discover my love of reading and my passion for writing as well. I feel like this is definitely a bit of an obvious choice, but come on! It’s Harry Potter! Who doesn’t love this series? Okay, I’m sure there are some people, but it is undeniably very widely loved and has touched many lives.

Side note: I used a picture of The Chamber of Secrets here because, though I definitely seem to be in the minority on this from what I’ve seen, this is my favorite book of the series! What’s your favorite?

Macaron: Name a book that was hard to get through but worth it at the end.

19841984 by George Orwell

This is one of my favorite novels, but it was surprisingly difficult for me to get through due to the writing style. I have always been able to read through the writing of Shakespeare with ease, and yet Orwell’s far more modern writing style was oddly tricky for me. Don’t get me wrong, his prose is beautiful, but for some reason it didn’t click quite as well with me as some other authors’ work has. It was an extremely slow read, but the story itself is an absolutely fantastic one and was well worth it!

Vol-au-vent: Name a book that you thought would be amazing but fell flat.

insurgentInsurgent by Veronica Roth

I read Divergent last year and completely loved it, so I was incredibly eager to continue on with the trilogy. However, I read Insurgent earlier this year and it fell very flat for me. It started out fairly well, but it quickly began to drag on, and I felt that it was quite repetitive at times. It lacked a lot of the qualities that I liked about the first book; I even found the characters had been negatively altered and were quite frustrating. I was really hoping to love this book and, in the end, was very disappointed with it.

Pain au chocolat: Name a book that you thought would be one thing but turned out to be something else.

10694831A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls was absolutely nothing like what I expected it to be just from reading the synopsis. I believed it would be a story about ghosts or supernatural creatures; I assumed this was going to be a typical Halloween type read. It is absolutely not. It is about a very different type of monster, and this book…oh man, this book! One of the best novels I have ever read, and one that will always remain at the top of my favorites list.

Profiterole: Name a book or series that doesn’t get enough attention.

loveandotherunknownvariablesLove and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Love and Other Unknown Variables was just released last year and is by a debut author. I always love discovering new authors, so I decided to pick it up when it was first released, and I am so glad that I did. This is not the typical type of story that I usually read and enjoy, but I completely fell in love with this novel. It is very well written, and a sad yet beautiful story of love and friendship with a powerful message. It even made me tear up multiple times, which is extremely rare for me to do when reading. I have not heard much at all about this novel since it came out, and it definitely deserves more attention than it has gotten.

Croquembouche: Name a book or series that’s extremely complex.

agameofthronesA Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

At the moment, I have mainly watched the television show, but I am just starting to get into the book series now. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite series, and it is definitely exceedingly complex. There are so many different plot lines to follow, most of which tie into or overlap each other in various ways. And the names! I have the hardest time keeping everyone straight. This complexity, however, is what makes this series so engrossing and addictive; you can’t help but get completely lost in this world.

Napoleon: Name a movie or TV show based off a book that you liked better than the book itself.

princecaspianPrince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

It is definitely a rare occurrence for me to find a movie or television show that I prefer over the original book. However, the most recent film version of Prince Caspian was one of the few movies based off a book that I enjoyed more than the book itself. I absolutely love the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, but I felt that this was the weakest of the novels and that some parts of it dragged on a bit. The movie managed to stick to the general storyline very well and include all the important plot points while improving on the aspects that weren’t quite as strong.

Empanada: Name a book that was bittersweet.

theireyeswerewatchinggodTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God is an incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking story. The main character, Janie, goes through so much pain and suffering, but gains the freedom that she has always wanted for herself. Despite all of the sad moments, there are also many uplifting, powerful, and bright points in the story as well. It is by far one of the most bittersweet novels I’ve ever read, and a longtime favorite of mine.

Kolompeh: Name a book or series that takes place somewhere other than your home country.

daughterofsmokeandboneDaughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Embarrassingly enough, I still have not yet started this series even though I’ve owned it for ages. But I figured I would use this here because it takes place in one of my favorite cities: Prague. I had the pleasure of traveling to Prague for the first time last summer, and I completely fell in love. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen in my life, and I am so eager to go back and spend more time there whenever I get the chance. My experience there has also made me even more excited about diving into this series!

Pate a Choux: Name one food from a book or series that you would like to try.

hpPumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter

There are so many different types of food in novels, particularly the Harry Potter series, which sound absolutely delicious. However, as I’ve managed to mention in all of my fall themed posts lately, I’m pretty certain I have an addiction to pumpkin! I absolutely love all things pumpkin related, so pumpkin pasties have always appealed to me ever since I first heard them mentioned in these books. I’d love to try one…or twenty…

I Tag:

Cátia @ The Girl Who Read Too Much

Bea @ Confessions of a Pinay Bookaholic

Panda @ Panda’s Books

Nick @ The Paper Dragon

Leslie @ Confessions of a Bookaholic

Cristina @ My Tiny Obsessions

logo2

Top 10 Tuesday – October 6th, 2015

toptentuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for the first Top 10 Tuesday list of October. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s topic is the top ten bookish things you want to quit or have quit (such as books or series, tropes, habits). Since this leaves some room to get creative, I decided to do a two-part list: four overused tropes that I would like to see less of and six books or series that I quit.

Four Tropes

There will always be common themes and plot elements among stories, particularly those of the same genre or target age range. Not all tropes detract from the overall story or are necessarily negative qualities, especially when they are executed well; and everyone’s opinion about them will be different. Because of this, the four tropes that I picked for my list are ones that, personally, I particularly dislike reading about and believe always severely hurt a story. For me, there is just no good way to write these.

Let’s start out with the bane of my existence…

  1. Love Triangles/Squares/ Multifaceted Shapes

tumblr_ntfff1cFhF1sl7gx3o6_500

Thus far, I have only ever been able to stand this in one series, and I hated every moment it was addressed. This is by far the most frustrating trope in literature to me, particularly when the triangle begins morphing into larger polygons. This is the one trope that can actually lead to me stopping in the middle of a novel or completely refusing to read it in the first place if it is mentioned or implied in the synopsis. It is one of the most unnecessary plot elements ever, and the drama that it creates leads me to stop caring about the characters involved and sometimes even the story itself. Which brings me to our next trope…

  1. Excessive Romance/Romantic Angst

I admit I can be incredibly picky when it comes to romance in novels. And while I am totally a hopeless romantic in real life, I tend to prefer when it is kept to a minimum in most novels that I read. This is simply because, many times, a plot can become overpowered by an excessive amount of romance, particularly one that is tumultuous. Sometimes a little tension can be good, as to not make it seem unrealistic, but this can easily be overdone. When it is overdone, this takes attention away from what should be the main plotline in favor of something that may make it look rather sophomoric. Overdone romance or romantic angst subtracts from the significance and impact the story would otherwise have on the reader.

hpangst

  1. Perfect Main Characters

I can’t stand a main character, or any character really, who is essentially flawless. For me to really care about a character they need to have obvious faults. They need to grow and mature, to make mistakes and learn from them. As a reader, it is impossible to connect and feel for someone who seems inhumanly perfect, and this leaves you wondering why you should spend time becoming invested in their story. On the other side of this, I get really annoyed by…

  1. Cookie-Cutter Villains

I love a good, complex villainous character; one that leaves you constantly intrigued and on your toes, never sure of their motives or what they will do next. They can many times be my absolutely favorite aspect of reading a story, and they are certainly my favorite part to write in my own work. However, a cliché, one-dimensional villain, who is just evil to be evil or because the story requires an antagonist, is incredibly dull, and can really put me off a novel. A villain’s plotline and backstory needs equally as much consideration as the hero’s because the audience needs to care about that villain just as much in order for the overall plot to be successful. A recycled, “cookie-cutter” villain can get on my nerves like nothing else.

giphy

Six Books/Series

This was a surprisingly difficult list to make. No matter how I feel about it, once I have started a series, I don’t often stop in the middle of it, and it is even less likely for me to stop in the middle of a book. But I manage to compile a list of what I believe are the only six books/series that I have ever stopped partway through.

  1. Eclipse/The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

twilightseries

This may either be a controversial or common opinion, but I do fall into the category of people who did not like the Twilight series. Now, I did not completely hate the first two novels and did make it through them; however, they never really clicked with me. I figured I would finish up the rest of the series since I’d gotten so far, but I could not get through more than half of Eclipse. I do see why people like the series, but these kinds of stories are really just not my cup of tea.

  1. Shiver/The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series by Maggie Stiefvater

thewolvesofmercyfalls

I’m not exactly sure why I attempted these novels; they are not at all the type of story I like to read. I think I had heard a lot of the praise and hype surrounding them and thought maybe they would surprise me. I made it about halfway through Shiver and gave up. I do intend to give Maggie Stiefvater’s other novels a try despite not liking these stories; some of them seem a bit more suited to my personal tastes.

  1. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

songofsolomon

This was a book that we read in high school, but I switched schools a of couple months into the year and was no longer required to read it. I could not get into this story at all and was not interested in seeing how it wrapped up, so I just ended up putting it down. I do not, at the moment, have any intention of trying to finish it off, however, I would like to give some of Toni Morrison’s other work a try one day.

  1. Hush, Hush/The Hush, Hush Series by Becca Fitzpatrick

hushhush

Again, not sure what my reason for trying to read this series was, other than the fact that I was hearing a lot of positive things about it. I only made it about 100 pages into the first novel before I had to put it down.

  1. Fallen/The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate

fallen

By this point, I’m sure you are noticing a trend! I do really like to give every type of story a try, even ones I’m sure I won’t like, because you never know what you might find. Unfortunately, I was correct in thinking I wouldn’t like these ones; I only made it about halfway through Fallen.

  1. The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 10.52.38 AM

This is a bit of a cheat because I am not 100% certain that I will never finish this trilogy. I absolutely loved Divergent, but Insurgent fell rather flat for me. After that and hearing spoilers for Allegiant, I’m not certain that I am invested enough to continue on. This is the only series from this list that I could still be persuaded to finish, however.

What are some bookish things you want to quit/have quit? What are some tropes that you are tired of seeing in novels? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

logo2

Top 5 Wednesday – September 30th, 2015

topfivewednesday

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

Since we are in the middle of Banned Books Week (September 27th-October 3rd), this week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top 5 banned books you’ve read. I am extremely grateful to have grown up around people who love reading equally as much as I do, and who always encouraged me to read anything and everything.

And that is exactly what I did! During my childhood, I read any book I could get my hands on, and I still do that to this day. My reading has never been censored; therefore, I have read not only a lot of books in general, but also a lot of banned books. It was a hard list to narrow down, but here are some of my all-time favorite novels.

  1. 1984 by George Orwell

1984

Banned/challenged for sexually explicit content and its social and political themes.

  1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

theireyeswerewatchinggod

Banned/challenged for sexually explicit content and offensive language.

  1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

thekiterunner

Banned/challenged for offensive language and violence.

  1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

harrypotterandthesorcerersstone

Banned/challenged for occult/Satanism, violence, religious views, and for being anti-family.

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

tokillamockingbird3

Banned/challenged for offensive language and racism.

This is only a very small fraction of the long list of books that have been banned over the years. It is a shame to see so many beautiful and important books being challenged and banned. These are books that educate us and shape our world. These are books that captivate and inspire millions of people. So I encourage all of you to be a book rebel! Go pick up a banned book, this week and any week.

What banned books have you guys read? Let me know some of your favorites in the comments!

-Ariana

logo2

Top 10 Tuesday – September 15th, 2015

toptentuesday

It’s Tuesday once again, and that means it’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week was a freebie, so we were able to select our own topics for our lists. I wanted to do something related to my favorite novels; however, I didn’t want to simply make a list of them. It took me a while to come up with a topic, but I finally decided on listing my top 10 favorite Sherlock Holmes stories that I have read so far.

I attempted to read one of the Sherlock Holmes novels when I was far too young, and I ended up not liking it. So for a long time, I put off reading any of the others. I even stayed away from any movies and television shows based on the stories, as I was certain that I would not like them. Boy was I wrong!

dingen-die-vermoeide-ouders-doen-7

(This may or may not also be how I react when people say they don’t like Sherlock Holmes…)

Last year, after completely falling in love with the BBC television series, I decided to give them another try, starting with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. And thus, the obsession began. I’ve only read two of the novels so far, but they have become two of my all-time favorite books. These stories are so captivating and such a joy to read; I’ve been flying through them. I went from thinking I didn’t like these novels to, every time I am about to pick one up, reacting somewhat like this:

tumblr_inline_nqpsfkIuXS1rbq6qy_500

Now, without further ado, here is the list of my top 10 favorite Sherlock Holmes stories (in no particular order)!

  1. Silver Blaze (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)

In this story, Holmes is called in to investigate the disappearance of a famously talented racehorse right before an important race, as well as the coinciding murder of the horse’s trainer. I was completely absorbed in this horse’s tale, and loved the many bewildering events and layers in the storyline; like many of the tales, it was not at all a straightforward plot. In my opinion, there is also a particularly good depiction of both Holmes’s and Watson’s individual talents.

  1. The Red Headed League (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

This is the story of a man who comes to Holmes for advice after he receives a peculiar, high paying job, solely due to the fact that his hair is the perfect shade of red. There are a number of stories throughout these collections that center around people being hired under perplexing or suspicious circumstances; for some reason, they always tend to be my favorites. The outrageous situations are so intriguing, and I love trying to guess why the employers have created these jobs.

tumblr_m8iyh70GrC1rtvj17o1_500

  1. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

Here, Holmes is approached by an acquaintance after the man finds the Countess of Morcar’s priceless blue carbuncle in the throat of his Christmas goose. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is one of my top favorites because of the wittiness of the storyline and dialogue.

  1. The Man with the Twisted Lip (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

In The Man with the Twisted Lip, the wife of a missing businessman comes to Holmes after she thinks she has seen her husband looking out the window of a nearby opium den. This was a very engaging story with lots of twists (no pun intended!) and turns. Not only did I love the resolution to this mystery, but it was also one of the few that I was able to solve myself!

elementary-my-dear-watson

  1. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

In The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, a woman asks for Holmes’s help after taking a job as a governess that comes with some unusual requirements regarding her appearance and daily routine. I found this case to be extremely complex and well plotted, and I had no idea where the story was headed; I was completely puzzled up until the very end.

  1. The Adventure of the Yellow Face (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)

In this case, a man hires Holmes to discover, by any means necessary, why his wife keeps secretly and frequently visiting a nearby cottage. I enjoyed this because I found the themes that it dealt with to be uncharacteristic of the stories thus far and, delightfully, dealt with in a very open-minded way that was surprising for the time period this was published in. It was quite a unique story and had a very touching ending. It is also one of the few cases that Holmes does not solve correctly, and contains one of my favorite quotes: “Watson, if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little overconfident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you.”

tumblr_inline_npqmbfbPbG1szv8oy_500

  1. A Scandal in Bohemia (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

Holmes is hired to stop the woman who is blackmailing the King of Bohemia, and thus save his upcoming marriage from being called off. This is the story that introduces the iconic character, Irene Adler, a woman who very nearly matches Holmes on intelligence and quick-wittedness. Watching them face off was utterly fascinating.

  1. A Case of Identity (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

This story has another theme that is common among these accounts: the disappearance of a significant other. Here, a woman’s husband makes her promise to remain faithful to him no matter what, then disappears later that morning, which just so happens to be their wedding day. I loved this one because not only was I puzzled all the way through, but the revelation at the ending was absolutely shocking.

giphy

  1. The Adventure of the Speckled Band (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

Arguably the most well known of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Adventure of the Speckled Band tells the story of a woman who enlists Holmes to solve the mystery of her sister’s sudden death in the night. She believes her stepfather to be the murderer, and that she herself will be the next victim. Not only is this a bizarre and enthralling adventure, this was the first of the short stories that I read, and I credit it with making me decide to give these stories another try.

  1. The Final Problem (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)

This is the first story to introduce another iconic character: Holmes’s arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty. It is also the first story to make me cry. A criminal mastermind with an intellect on par with his own, Moriarty was Holmes’s greatest adversary. The pair matches wits as Holmes attempts to bring him and his organization to justice, but neither can best the other. This causes a stalemate, which ends in the famed fight at the Reichenbach Falls. The Final Problem is one of the most well known Sherlock Holmes stories, so I was prepared going in. I don’t cry easily at books and movies; however, I must admit, those final couple of pages hit me right in the feels.

3fe

Well, those are my top 10 favorites so far. I can’t wait to continue on with the rest of the stories! Let me know in the comments if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan and, if so, what your favorite story, movie, or television episode is.

40c674c88606b351e6b0df07a4bfc734e7c1326b97eb7ee502d6304a6523b5a3

Check out my full reviews of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes!

-Ariana

logo2

Top 10 Tuesday – September 8th, 2015

toptentuesday

As you can probably tell by this point, I quite enjoy making lists! I promise I’ll be doing other types of posts soon; in fact my first review will be Thursday’s post. But since it is Tuesday, I couldn’t resist giving Top 10 Tuesday a try for the first time. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

Today’s topic is the top 10 finished series that I have yet to finish. It is also my “look at all these TBR books I need to read but haven’t yet” guilt trip. Or maybe the “you need to stop buying so many books you crazy person; you’ve gone insane” list. All I can say is, I’m glad this topic is specifically finished series or we would be here all day!

Anyway, this was a fairly easy list to create because, as you will soon see, I discovered that I have way too many series that I haven’t gotten around to finishing yet. I also realized that I’m actually not in the middle of many series at the moment. So this is a mixture of series that I have already started, and ones that are simply on my TBR and that I would like to begin soon.

  1. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

daughterofsmokeandbone

In my opinion, this is probably my most embarrassing unread series from this list because I’ve owned Daughter of Smoke and Bone since it was first released. I’ve now also recently purchased the other two books so I can marathon the trilogy. I’ve been keen to read these ever since I first heard the synopsis, and I know that I’m going to love these stories; not to mention the fact that they take place in Prague, one of my favorite places. I really need to get going on them!

  1. The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

divergenttrilogy

I read Divergent for the first time last year, and it has definitely become one of my favorite books of all time. However, I continued on to Insurgent earlier this year and it was okay, but I didn’t love it nearly as much. That, coupled with the mixed reviews I always hear about Allegiant (plus the fact that I’ve been majorly spoiled) have sort of slowed down my progress through the trilogy. I do plan on trying to finish it soon though.

  1. The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

Chaos_Walking_Trilogy_Patrick_Ness

After reading A Monster Calls, I instantly fell in love with Patrick Ness’s writing, and I have been extremely eager to get to these books. I’ve owned the entire trilogy for a while now, but for some insane reason I have not yet started it. I need to get moving on this!

  1. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan

percyjackson

This one is definitely another embarrassing one since it’s a series that I’ve been meaning to read for about a decade! I finally started it at the end of last year; I’m three books in and absolutely loving it. I’ve already bought the final two and I’m hoping to finish them off this year so I can move on to The Heroes of Olympus series.

  1. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

mistborntrilogy

I have been meaning to read something by Brandon Sanderson for the longest time, and the Mistborn trilogy is what has been recommended to me the most. But really, as a massive fantasy fan, it’s quite shameful that I have not yet read one of his novels! I do feel slightly less guilty about this one because I intend to read The Final Empire this month.

  1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams

hitchhikersguide

This one is just insane because I absolutely adore these stories! I’ve read the first book multiple times and seen the film more times than I can count. My dad got us a box set so we can both finish the series, and I’m hoping to continue on with it in the next month or so.

  1. The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

thedarkestmindstrilogy

This is yet another trilogy I have, but have not gotten around to starting yet. And I cannot believe that I haven’t because it is basically everything I could ever want in a book series. These books have my name written all over them. I mean, a dystopian series about kids with super powers? Um…YES. Soon.

  1. The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

legendtrilogy

I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Legend last year, and my dad got me a box set of the trilogy this past Christmas. My only excuse for not having finished this trilogy already is the fact that I may or may not be slightly terrified of the feels I know are coming in the last two books. I will get through them soon though, because I am dying to know how the story ends!

  1. The Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima

thesevenrealms

I’ve known about this series for a while now and I still have yet to begin it. It’s another fantasy series that I have always heard wonderful things about. I recently purchased The Demon King, and it is high up on my TBR, so I’ll hopefully be diving into it soon.

  1. The Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

shattermeseries

This is a difficult one. It is another trilogy I own, and I have read the first book, but the other two remain unfinished. To be honest, I did not love Shatter Me. I had a really hard time getting into it, and I’m not in a mad rush to move on to the next book. However, I hate leaving series unfinished and I do hear that it keeps getting better, so I think I will try to finish it off at some point.

Well, as you can see, I am downright atrocious at finishing series! I think this may call for some marathons. Let me know in the comments what series you guys still need to finish.

-Ariana

logo2