I was told in elementary school, that reading is fundamental (did I just date myself?) and I took it to heart. When I was a kid and I was grounded, I didn’t get to watch TV or play games but I was allowed to read and I developed a voracious appetite for books. One might say I morphed into a bookwyrm. I read books faster than my parents were willing to buy me new books so I became best friends with my school and local library. I also reread all of my books until my parents had to replace each book because I read them so much. That and I have a younger brother and sister. Buttheads.
Needless to say, I have read a lot of books and many of those books are parts of trilogies and series. I skipped Nancy Drew and The Babysitters Club but read Sweet Valley Twins instead. I wasn’t allowed to read the Goosebumps series, but I was allowed to read Christopher Pike, which makes no sense. I love me some Christopher Pike. My favorite book by him is Whisper Of Death. I wore that one out too.
As an adult, I continued to read. I have read half of the Goddess Summoning series by P.C. Cast as well as a few of her others and Christine Feehan’s Dark Carpathian series. Harlequin romance was my jam for the longest time. I particularly like the Harlequin Intrigue line. Well, and the Historical Romance one, too. I read Neil Gaiman and Anne Rice and you can find so many of my reviews of books on this site. I have the reading credentials, so let’s get into my favorites and a few that are on my TBR list.
First, My Top 5
Merry Gentry by Laurell K. Hamilton– Anyone who knows me would think that Ms. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series would be on here for me but I prefer the Merry Gentry series. Merry Gentry, aka Princess Meredith NicEssus, is the first American-born fairie princess. Neither the Seelie nor the Unseelie Courts want to claim her though she is a daughter of both. It turns out the Unseelie Court is dying and someone who is fertile needs to take the throne so Merry must race her cousin Cel to pregnancy in order to secure the throne and save the Unseelie Court. The goddess Danu is a big part of this series which I absolutely love. The men are *chef’s kiss*. This is the series that got me started on reading smut. Well, Merry and Anita both did. Doyle is my book boyfriend in this one, even though there are so many to choose from. Both women have reverse harems so you can’t go wrong with either one truth be told.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher– Harry Dresden is a wizard and a practicing PI. He takes the weird cases. Ghosts, werewolves, and murder, Oh My! Harry is a powerful wizard with powerful enemies. Thankfully he has equally powerful friends and allies. Harry stands up for what is right even if that means he’s gonna take a beating. He is goofy and awkward but cute while being ruggedly handsome. He gets into some of the worst situations and has to make some shady deals. This series has a sprinkle of romance but nothing like Merry or Anita. Not even close, but that is part of why I like it. I get to be awed by Harry’s power and stupidity, not his sexual prowess, or lack thereof. I know he is engaged now but Harry is my book boyfriend.
The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith– I read this and L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries once a month each at least when I was a teenager and still love them as an adult. I have often spoken of my disdain for the Vampire Diaries CW show but my love of the books. (I liked the Originals but hated Vampire Diaries) but have not talked about Secret Circle. I think I connected with The Secret Circle more because I was still brand new in my ‘becoming a witch’ journey and this book is about witches. And no, I did not like the show either. In this trilogy, Cassie Blake moves to New England with her mother to live with her grandmother in the family home. They live in a cul-de-sac with other family and they are all reviled by the townspeople. To Cassie’s surprise, she is from a family of witches and she inherited power, too. She must learn how to navigate her coven and save the town. Nick is my book boyfriend here.
A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas– I read this with my sister-in-law in our book club and I fell in love. I fell in love with Tamlin only to end up despising him and land firmly on Team Rhysand. I have seen that ACOTAR has seen a resurgence in popularity on TikTok. I love the beauty of the world of Prythian. The difference between the human lands and Prythian is like our world and the land of OZ in The Wizard of Oz. I loved the spice and I love the inner circle of the Night Court, both their acceptance and support as well as their ruthlessness. I could see the mythology of our world reimagined for ACOTAR and I am jealous Ms. Maas thought to do it this way before me. Oh, and I think Amren is an angel.
Fear Familiar by Carolyn Haines– Last but not least, the cat known as Familiar. He is a sleek, black, genius cat who has a penchant for solving mysteries. This is a Harlequin Romance series so the spice is red pepper flakes spicy, but that doesn’t take away from the fun of the book at all. Sometimes I miss the key I get of notable characters in the book in the front that you get in the Intrigue gooks.
Honorable mentions: Sweet Valley Twins/Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal, 43rd Light Street by Rebecca York, Highgate Preparatory Academy by Rosa Lee
Now, 3 On My TBR
Never After Series by Emily McIntire- These are updated reimaginings of fairytales from childhood. The first one, Hooked, is Peter Pan. The second, Scarred, is The Lion King. There is also Wretched (The Wizard of Oz), Twisted (Aladdin), Crossed (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), and Hexed (The Little Mermaid) is coming November 5th, this year. I actually have Hooked downloaded on my tablet right now.
Crescent City by Sarah J Maas- This is a series with humans, fae, angels, and demons at least. I am hoping there is spice in it and that I don’t have to wait a whole book to get to it. My sister-in-law and I are going to read it but I have to wait a while because she just read it recently with her other book club.
All Souls series by Deborah Harkness– Another book about witches. I know this was made into a show series too but I haven’t watched it because I want to read it first but maybe I can do it the other way. I am more apt to pick apart the show if I read the book first, but I won’t pick apart the book if I watch the show first. Does that make me weird?
I could have easily done a Top 10 and five on my TBR list but I thought I would keep it down for you. I must say though, I don’t think I would be able to tell you what my favorite book is. It changes sometimes. I remember when I thought Harlequin books were the height of romance novels. I am not saying they are bad. Some of the authors I love write for Harlequin, or at least have written for them. I just meant they are tame. When I look at my reading history like have for this article, I can watch the evolution. It’s interesting. Think about yours.
What are your top five series/trilogies? Do any of the ones from when you were young still make the cut? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
