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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Satisfying Book Series
This was a dangerous topic for me; I ended up reminiscing about so many of these series and wanting to reread them! Plus, it also reminded me of many series I haven’t finished and now I have more books on my TBR!
Top Ten Satisfying Book Series
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Whether you count this series as just the original trilogy, or also include the two prequels, this is one of my favorite series that only gets better with every reread. I get more out of it and see things I missed before every time I read it.
Super Powereds by Drew Hayes – I had so much fun with this series. The writing is definitely not sophisticated at all, but the storytelling is so immersive and I love all the characters! It was fun and thrills all the way from start to finish.
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni – Objectively, this isn’t as well known as the other books on the list but I have fond memories of reading it, and I think maybe one of the reasons I loved it is because I came in without any expectations and ended up loving it.
The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee – This series is incredible in a way I’m not sure how to describe. It feels real. It feels important. It feels like an epic that should be in the realm of LOTR but for urban fantasy. It is intense, and just so good.
Rook & Rose by M.A. Carrick – I love the world-building and magical system in this series. I also really love the characters and their chemistry with each other. It’s one of the newer series I’ve finished (that wasn’t a reread) and that I know I will love even more with every reread.
Oz: The Complete Collection by L. Frank Baum – This is my first time reading the Oz books and I was so surprised at how much more there is to them compared to the movies and Wicked retelling. I’m sure I would’ve loved these stories as a child, but honestly, they are pretty incredible reading as an adult too!
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery – These are books I read as a child and they have remained one of my favorite series ever since. They are some of my favorite comfort reads and I know I can never go wrong with them.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – It’s been a while since I read this series but I remember loving them so much at the time. I’m definitely feeling the itch to reread!
Dragonlance: Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – I just reread the first three books and have put it on hold because I’m missing the fourth book. I’d forgotten so much of the details and was quite surprised, and shocked, by some of the things that happened, but they are still amazing!
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer – Another series I haven’t read in a while. I love fairytale retellings and I loved the different perspectives this series offered. It’s time to schedule a reread for these books too!
I’m usually good about limiting my TTT list to ten, but here are some notable ones I loved but didn’t put on the list because they are still ongoing or unfinished, or some other reason. They are all still worth reading though, imho!
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman – Currently reading for the first time and I’m on the 6th book. It’s still ongoing but I love every book so far!
Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown – If you count only the first three books, they’re finished and very good on their own, but the story that started from Book 4 onwards isn’t finished yet and I’m still waiting anxiously to find out what happens to my beloved characters!
Wayfarers by Becky Chambers – This series is finished as far as I know, and I love it more than some of the other books in the TTT list, but every book is pretty much only tangentially related and can be read as standalones, so I decided to keep it off the TTT list.
Fred, The Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes – This is also a finished series and one I loved, but I already have a series by the same author on the TTT so this one only gets a notable mention.
The Murderbot Dairies by Martha Wells – Still ongoing, and there’s also a TV series out! I am loving it so much so far!
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman – This series has my heart. I love it. I was so sad to hear the TV series has been cancelled, but I’m glad there’s still a book to look forward to.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin – I know, I know! But I was already listing unfinished book series, so I might as well, right?! Thing is, whether this series ever gets finished or not, the ones that are already out are amazing, and I honestly think they are still worth reading even if we never get an ending. These books helped me through a tough time and I can’t imagine never having them in my life.
Have you read any of these series? What did you think of them? Would you read any of them?
Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Will truth and virtue triumph over the deadly darkness of an all-consuming evil?
The war against the dragon minions of Queen Takhisis rages on. Armed with the mysterious, magical Dragon Orbs and the shining, silver Dragonlance, the Companions of the Lance lead their people in a desperate final battle. Knight and barbarian, warrior and mage, dwarf and kender—no one has reckoned how high the price of defeat, or even victory, might be.
But now, in the dawn of a new day, the dark secrets that have long shadowed the hearts of the Companions come to light. If they are to truly defeat the five-headed dragon goddess, they must find a way to overcome their own personal conflicts and doubts. From betrayal and treachery to fragility and weakness, the greatest battle now lies within each of them.
Finally armed with dragonlances, a group of heroes, composed of a knight, barbarian, dwarf, and half-elf, faces a deadly showdown with the evil dragons and Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness.
“The darkness might conquer, but it could never extinguish hope. And though one candle, or many, might flicker and die, new candles would be lit from the old. Thus hope’s flame always burns, lighting the darkness until the coming of day.”
“Theros Ironfeld said once that—in all the years he had lived—he had never seen anything done out of love come to evil.”
“Flint snorted. The kender was beginning to make sence, a fact that caused the dwarf to shake his head and wonder if maybe he shouldn’t lie down somewhere out in the sun.”
The Narrator(s)
Paul Boehmer. Still perfect!
My Thoughts
This is the third book in the Dragonlance Chronicles and there are more books in the series but they happen after the events in the first three books, so this book is effectively the conclusion of the story that started in the first book. The thing that surprised me most with the series is how things get progressively darker and more serious with each book. In the first book, it felt like this would be a low-stakes, feel-good type of story, but by the third book I had lost all hope in everyone and everything. This series is actually a reread but the last time I read it was decades ago and I do not remember it being so bleak, I had such good memories of it that I probably blocked out the trauma.
There are so many things I want to say about the story and characters but I would need to go into detail and they would need to be spoilered. I may write a password-protected post with all the spoilers for these books if I can find time to do them before I forget the details! I still love it this time around though, it made me feel so many emotions, including disbelief, but oh, what a journey!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
The First Week of School
I was quite overwhelmed this first week of school! It wasn’t so much the courses, but all the setups and signups and logins, and apps and softwares I had to install for the courses. It’s been such a long while since I went to college as a young adult and now everything has been digitized! I don’t necessarily have a problem with technology, and in fact, I like having the courses available online, but I don’t like having so many different apps for so many different things!
Maybe this is karma; I used to complain about my parents being technology dinosaurs when I was a teenager and this is the Universe’s way of paying me back! 😂
It was a really busy week nevertheless, and I wasn’t able to read as much as I wanted but I did manage a couple of books! Plus I caught up on a few reviews! Hopefully, things will settle down once I get all the setups done, but I know I also have a lot of study and assignments and exams ahead of me. Is it too soon to start complaining? 😅
The Books
Books I read last week:
Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – The second book in the Dragonlance Chronicles series. Things escalated a lot faster than I expected but I am still very invested in the story and the characters. The ending was crazy but I started the next book already because I needed to find out what happens next!
Taste by Stanley Tucci – I loved listening to Tucci talk about his relationship with the people in his life through the lens of food and the meals he has with them. He’s such a personable character and I love his work in the acting world as well.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami – I picked up this book because of the subject matter and not the author. I’ve never read a single book by Murakami before this one, but I’m very impressed and inspired by his dedication to everything he does in life, including his running, and it has made me curious and wanting to read his books.
Books I’m reading:
Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – Just recently started so there’s not much to say yet. I just really want all my favorite characters to be okay!
If I can, I’ll get the rest of the Dragonlance Chronicles finished this week. It’s been so many years, I just want to feel that resolution to the story. But I do have a couple of other series in the Dragonlance universe to read after this, though I will try to finish other series I’ve started before starting a new one!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
With the return of the dragon minions of Takhisis, the Queen of Dragons, the land of Krynn has become more dangerous than ever. But as the nations of Krynn prepare to fight for their homes, their lives, and their freedom, longstanding hatreds and prejudices interfere. When fighting breaks out among the races, it seems the battle is lost before it even begins.
Meanwhile, the heroic Companions have been torn apart by war. A full season will pass before they meet again—if they meet again. Raistlin has made an ominous prediction, one that implies not all of the Companions will survive the fight. His warning, along with sinister dreams, haunt the friends as they search for the weapons that will stop the Dark Queen in her tracks: the mysterious Dragon Orbs and legendary Dragonlance.
Another riveting tale in the Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragons of Winter Night is an action-packed adventure in which the true value of love and friendship is measured against the backdrop of a catastrophic war between good and evil.
They won their first real battle in the war for Krynn, but the war has only just begun for the Companions! Friendships born in conflict will be torn apart. Hope will rest on the shoulders of a disgraced Knight and his two inexperienced companions. Worlds long divided by hatred and prejudice will either band together in a last struggle against darkness – or perish for all time.
“If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear the pain of loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater.”
“Do not enter with defeat in your heart for that is the first victory of evil.”
“Why insult the door’s purpose by locking it?” is a favorite kender expression.”
“Be thankful you can feel pity and horror at the death of an enemy. The day we cease to care, even for our enemies, is the day we have lost this battle.”
The Narrator(s)
Paul Boehmer. Still perfect!
My Thoughts
This second book in the series was so much darker than the first one! It surprised me because there are two more books in the series and this seemed like a huge escalation from the first to second book as opposed to gradual escalation throughout the books. The stakes are higher now, and the Companions’ lives are very much in peril. I was very invested in everything that happened to them; I didn’t like the fact that they kept getting separated, and that there was so much internal conflict between themselves. There was some levity, as there always is with a kender in the mix, and that at least kept me sane! You know I love Tasslehoff!
As of this writing I haven’t started the next book yet, but right now I am completely devastated by the ending. I am hoping that we’ll get more clarity in the next books because I don’t see how we can move forward like this! I have forgotten everything about the books because it’s been decades since I read them but I am completely enthralled by the story once again and I’m excited to finish the series!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
This Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy adventure is the first installment in the beloved Dragonlance Chronicles, set in the magical world of Krynn.
Once merely creatures of legend, the dragons have returned to Krynn. But with their arrival comes the departure of the old gods—and all healing magic. As war threatens to engulf the land, lifelong friends reunite for an adventure that will change their lives and shape their world forever . . .
When Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff see a woman use a blue crystal staff to heal a villager, they wonder if it’s a sign the gods have not abandoned them after all. Fueled by this glimmer of hope, the Companions band together to uncover the truth behind the gods’ absence—though they aren’t the only ones with an interest in the staff. The Seekers, a new religious order, wants the artifact for their own ends, believing it will help them replace the gods and overtake the continent of Ansalon. Now, the Companions must assume the unlikely roles of heroes if they hope to prevent the staff from falling into the hands of darkness.
Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.
“Say that our lives are measured not by gain but by giving.”
“People want to believe in something—even if, deep inside, they know it is false.”
“He said kenders were small because we were meant to do small things. ‘If you look at all the big things in the world closely,’ he said, ‘you’ll see that they’re really made up of small things all joined together.’ That big dragon down there comes to nothing but tiny drops of blood, maybe. It’s the small things that make the difference.”
“We do not mourn the loss of those who die fulfilling their destinies.”
The Narrator(s)
Paul Boehmer. I really like his narration and the different voices he makes for the different characters; they really bring the characters to life!
My Thoughts
It was so nice to revisit this story and some of my favorite characters. Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the kender, I’m sure would be an annoying friend to have in real life, but he’s so funny and adorable in the book and I always look forward to scenes with him and his antics! Raistlin is another standout character; I don’t necessarily like him as a person, but he is the most fascinating character and I want to know more about him.
We also meet a couple of non-main characters in this book; Fizban, an absent-minded wizard, and Bupu, a sweet gully dwarf, that are hilarious and I love reading about them! The plot is also really good, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that the characters are the best part of the series. The first time I read this series was decades ago so I was more easily impressed and although the details of the story didn’t stay with me, the impression it made on me certainly did, and I’m glad to say I still love the story and the characters decades later!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
So Many Buddy Reads
Last week I mentioned that I joined this book community that does a lot of buddy reads. Well, the inevitable happened; I got caught up in the excitement of shiny, new things, and I signed up for so many buddy reads, and now I’m contemplating my life and all my questionable life choices. 😅
Don’t get me wrong, I love buddy reads and buddy reading and book discussions and all that come with reading, but now I just have the added pressure of doing so many within a certain time frame. Which might not even be a bad thing, except I signed up for so. many. chonkers. And I don’t know why I do this to myself!
The chonkers:
11/22/63 by Stephen King (which I managed to finish last week, whew! One down!)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Stand by Stephen King
And these are just the chonkers. I also signed up for several other regular-sized buddy reads!
To be fair, there’s a pretty good timeline for each of the buddy reads and I’m quite sure I can get them done in time. Most of them are books I’ve been wanting to read anyway, and there’s more motivation to read them when they are buddy reads, so I am pretty excited about them but I’m just also nervous!
I’m also going to curb my enthusiasm for all the buddy reads! I’ve slowed down a little now, and I’m sure once the excitement has worn off and I’ve finished some of these buddy reads, we’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled reading. 🤞
All the happy things:
There is a Little Free Library near my neighborhood and I scored some really great books! I’m a Dragonlance fan and I’m so stoked I found Preludes Vol. 1 to 5! Vol. 2 is mismatched but I’m still really happy about finding the books at all!
We’ve been making homemade avocado milkshake and it’s so yummy! I even added some cocoa to it a couple of times and it’s good either way.
I’m up-to-date with my book reviews! I’m very happy and just a little surprised that I managed that again this time.
I made some chili oil and have been putting it in everything! I didn’t choose the spicy life, the spicy life chose me!
A bunny has been visiting my garden and it’s been so lovely to see it lounging around.
The Books
Books I read last week:
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery – I was surprised with the trajectory of the book series because it’s been a while since I read them. I expected more of Anne and Gilbert but this book focused on Anne being a teacher and her relationships with her young charges. I’m not complaining! I loved it! I’m just also looking forward to more Anne and Gilbert!
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio – I ended up really disappointed with this one. Perhaps someone who’s more familiar with Shakespeare will enjoy it more, but I personally think that books should be able to stand on their own regardless of their sources of inspiration.
11/22/63 by Stephen King – This a reread, and I remember loving it when I read it the first time, but this time around, it was even better because it was a buddy read and I enjoyed reading other readers’ thoughts about the book!
The Girl from the Other Side Volumes 1-3 by Nagabe – This is a new-to-me manga. The link takes you directly to the website where you can read it for free. I’ve only read up to Vol. 3, which is up to Chapter 15. I’m loving it and really looking forward to reading more!
Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower – I came across this book when looking for bookish books for my reading challenge. This one is a series with a magical bookshop and I’m really enjoying it so far!
Books I’m reading:
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris – I meant to read this last week, but didn’t get around to it. I have to read it this week because it’s for my in-person bookclub and we’re meeting this weekend!
Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower – The second book in the magical bookshop series!
Other than the books I’ve already started, I also plan to continue reading The Girl from the Other Side up to Volume 6 this week. There’s also a buddy read for Solaris by Stanislaw Lem starting this Monday, and it’s relatively short so I can probably finish that too.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books on my Spring 2024 TBR
Well, it’s time for the Spring 2024 TBR list! I only finished 4/10 of my Winter 2023-2024 TBR list, so if I was a good girl, I would’ve brought them forward to this list. But I’m not a good girl, and the heart wants what the heart wants, when the heart wants it.
Disclaimer: This Spring 2024 TBR list is non-binding and I reserve the right to change my mind and this list at any time.
I would like to finish all of these if I can because at the time of compiling this list, I assure you, I am very excited for all of them, but I am constantly distracted by new and shinier books all the time, so we’ll see how I end up doing!
Top Ten Books on my Spring 2024 TBR
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – Because I loved the first book and want to continue with any and all sequels!
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – Same as above, and even more so because I love it so much!
The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin – I’ve read two of the author’s books and loved them. I’m sure I’ll love this one too.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson – It sounds so intriguing and I must know what everyone is raving about!
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed – I need this book, it sounds right up my alley. It gives me chills! In a good way.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman – This would be a reread, but I’ve been wanting to reread the whole series.
Funny Story by Emily Henry – I am very, very, impatiently waiting for this one to be released!
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – My online book club seems to be having a disagreement about whether this book is good or not, and we are required to choose sides, so I have to read it before making my decision!
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan – A story set in Malaysia, written by a Malaysian author. I must support my countrywoman, and besides, the book sounds really good!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What’s on your Spring 2024 TBR?
