Hello!

I cannot believe we are already at the end of December — where has this year gone? And so begins the end of year content. As we all know I am a series reader so I thought I would do the Best and Worst series tag to get the chance to talk about some books that might miss out of my best book lists.

This tag was originally created by booktuber, Mara from Books Like Woah.

So without further ado, lets get onto the questions!

What is the best series that you caught up with this year that is still a work in progress?

This was so hard to choose just once, especially since 85% of of reading this year as been reading series. For this question I decided to go with the Fae of the Roaring Lands by Marilyn Marks because this book was pure perfection. It gives off The Great Gatsby meets The Cruel Prince which is vibe that I adore. I love the way Marks has been able to include traditional Fae lore and make it make perfect sense for the 1920s setting. We did end on a doozy of a cliffhanger so I need to sequel stat to know what’s going to happen to Adeline and Jack.

What is the best work in progress series that you are still catching up with?

For this one I am going to say The Duskwalker Brides by Opal Rayne. I am obsessed with this world and these characters. I adored the first two books I’ve read in this series and am seriously trailing behind. Currently there are 5 books in this series, so I am a few behind. This series will be a priority of mine in 2024. If you love monster romance with a compelling world and an overarching marco plot, this series is for you.

What was your favourite first book in a series this year?

So I have 11 first books in series 5 stars this year, but the two are stand out are Half a Soul by Olivia Awater and Drown the Sea by Elisha Kemp. Half a Soul is a wonderfuly cozy fantasy romance filled with fae and set in Regency England. It gave me all the Howl’s Moving Castle and fairy tale vibes that I couldn’t not be enchanted by it. Drown the Sea is a time travel romance where our heroine, Adrienne, is banished from her home to spend time with her estranged mother after a party went wrong. Adrienne is convinced she is wasting her summer before college in small Greek Island, Santorini. She is not expected to be transported to Bronze-Age Greece where people think she’s a goddess come to life.

What is a first book in a series you read this year that you think should have just been a standalone, not a series?

There is only one series which comes to mind which is Something Wicked by Sian Ceinwen. Don’t get me wrong I’m enjoying this smutty, why choose rockstar romance however there isn’t too much plot and the number of steamy scenes is a lot. I think Wicked Opportunity could’ve been a standalone by condensing the smut and combining the plot of the series into this one.

What is a series that you DNFed this year?

I’ve only DNFed one series this year which was the Eden Academy series by Grace McGinty. I picked up the first book, Rebles and Runaways as part of my reading as many authors attending RARE as possible. However I was super lost in the book, I didn’t realise that this is a spin-off series which features characters from for at least two of her other series. I was just confused as hell. There was way too many characters and I did not understand the world. I might pick this up again, if I get to those other series but for now I will not be continuing.

What was your favourite series finale of the year?

While I’ve managed to finish over 20 series this year, the series finale that is living rent free in my head is Despair by Lana Pecherczyk. We finally get to learn about Daisy and getting to see her finally have a happy life make me so happy. The way the macro plot wrapped up left me heartbroken and in tears. It 100% make sense for the story even if it did put a dent in my HEA.

What was the biggest cliffhanger you had in a series this year?

A Crown of Oaths and Curses by J. Bree. I’m picking this one because while there a ton of authors who love a cliffhanger ending – here’s looking at you Penelope Black, Elle Thorpe, Meg Anne and K. Loraine  – but unlike those other authors’ books the sequel is not out yet! So I’m still dying to know what happens. A Crown of Oaths and Curses is the first book in J.Bree’s MF fantasy romance. In here we follow witch Rowan, who has finally returned home after feeling for her life as a teen. She’s escaped her fate for too long and her country is suffering for it. Rooke will do what she’s set out to do, even if The Savage Prince, Soren, wants nothing to do with her or their fate.

What is your favourite spinoff series you read this year?

Hands down this has to go the The Mate Games: Pestilence by K. Loraine and Meg Anne. I discovered this author duo this year and their books are my perfect cup of tea  – paranormal romances with fates mates and why choose which are wildly dramatic and full of steam. I keep going back and forth but I think I might prefer this spin off to the original  – mostly because I enjoy the characters dynamics more and Caleb from the first series grates on my nerves after a while.

What is your most anticipated next book in a series that you read this year that will come out next year?

Keep on the Mate Games theme, my most anticipated next book in a series is Haunted Beast by K. Loraine and Meg Anne. I have just recently devoured the first book, Haunting Beauty, and I need to know what happens next! In this series we are following romance author, Dahlia, who’s been pushed to go to a wellness retreat after she has a panic attack on the red carpet of her movie premier. Turns on the wellness retreat is more like an asylum for the supernatural worlds more dangerous and deadly creatures. And maybe Dahlia isn’t as human as she once thought she was.

What is your most anticipated series to catch up with next year based on what you read in that series this year?

I am going to cheat and give you three series I want to catch up and finish next year and they are Saint View Prison, Saint View Rebels and Saint View Strip . After reading Saint View High and Saint View Psychos I am completely hooked on this world and love the brand of dark, romantic suspense Elle Thorpe. I really want to read these spin off series so I will be up to date with the new releases that will be coming out next year.

What is your favourite series that you finished this year?

This has to go to The State of Grace series by Colette Rhodes. This was another series that I picked up for RARE and I completely fell head over heels in love. We follow Grace, who is an agathos and considered a disgrace to her kind as she has no soul bonds where at her age she should have found all 4 bonds. Her family are threatening to send her away on a charity mission which Grace knows will mean she is a social outcast. She stumbling into Riot, a daimon and the agathos’ mortal enemy, and learns that maybe all she’s taught isn’t correct. I adored the relationship between Grace, Riot, Bullet, Dare and Wild and loved the way Colette twisted greek mythology to fit this world. If you are a fan of paranormal romance, you need to pick up this series.

What is your favourite episodic series of the year?

My favourite episodic series this year was The MindF*ck series by S.T. Abby. This gave me the Criminal Minds vibes I’ve been looking for in a book. The series follows Lana as she is dishing out the revenge to the men and town who destroyed her after years of planning. She’s make her list and is checking each man off after she’s killed them. After years a feeling nothing but rage, Lana meets Logan and shows her that maybe she can have a life after her revenge is done. The only downside is that Logan is the FBI profiler sent to capture her. The twists and turns in here were unforgettable and I couldn’t put it down I needed to know what happened next.

What is a series that you finally bailed on after holding onto it for a long time?

I don’t DNF a lot and currently there isn’t a series I have finally bailed on. Two series that I will have a think about in 2024 and will DNF if I don’t make any progress are the Dragon Keeper series by Carole Wilkinson – I’ve read the first three but haven’t read the spin off books – and The Phoenix Pack by Suzanne Wright – this was a paranormal series I was enjoying but I wasn’t giving any books in this series more then 4 stars so might be worth DNFing.

What is the series you were most surprised that you liked this year?

I don’t think this counts but I wasn’t expecting to finish the Green Creek series by TJ Klune and I certainly wasn’t expecting to love the final book, Brothersong as much as I did. This was a series I was petty sure would just sit on my TBR until I finally decided to DNF it. Thankfully I ended up buddy reading the final two books with my brother. Heartsong was such a disappointment and my least favourite in the series. But Brothersong managed to capture the magic of the first book and wrapped up the macro plot nicely.

What is the series that you meant to catch up with or finish this year that you didn’t?

There are so many series that I wanted to finish this year but didn’t make any progress, the first one that comes in mind is the Salacious Players Club by Sara Cate. I adored the first book, Praise, and then just haven’t pick any more in this series. This series is on my series to finish in 2024 TBR so I have my fingers and toes crossed that I will actually get to it. There you go Siobhan, I will finally be making progress is this one. This series follows the relationships of the co-owners of a sex club and features a ton of taboo kinks and tropes.

What is a series you finished this year that you think is greater than the sum of its parts?

The Saint View Psychos series by Elle Thorpe. I gave each of the books in this series 4.5 stars but series as a whole is a 5 star. The way Elle is able to weave together this suspense plot, which I never see coming, along with a steamy and satisfying why choose romance never ceases to amaze me. I adore her Saint View world and hope she never stops writing in it.

That’s all for me today. Comment down below and let me know which 2023 releases you are hoping to get to before the end of the year.

Until next time, happy reading!

Dearna