Series I've Completed (As of May 1st 2015)

Sometime back I saw this awesome post over at Jessie Reads Everything. I knew immediately that I wanted to do something like this. Basically what I did was searched my Goodreads shelves as well as my memory and came up with a list of series that have ended that I have read in the entirety. I'll be getting to other topics later (such as 'series I need to finish') but this seems like the best place to start. Also, I'm going to list all the series I've finished, regardless of how much I actually liked it. Because, by the time I finished some of these series, I was wondering 'why did I bother'. Actually, at the time I think it was more like 'why didn't you do that in the first book, then I wouldn't have read this trash'. Ah, good times...

Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger

Sherlock Holmes Series by Arthur Conan Doyle

Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters

Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Vatta's War Series by Elizabeth Moon

The Sellswords Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore

Shandril's Saga by Ed Greenwood

Finder's Stone Trilogy by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb

The Moonshae Trilogy by Douglas Niles

Shadow of the Avatar Trilogy by Ed Greenwood

Councilors & Kings Trilogy by Elaine Cunningham

The Empyrean Odyssey Trilogy by Thomas M. Reid

Ice Age Cycle by Jeff Grubb

The Dreaming Dark Trilogy by Keith Baker

The Blade of the Flame Trilogy by Tim Waggoner

The Dragon Below Trilogy by Don Bassingthwaite

Heirs of Ash Trilogy by Rich Wulf

Legacy of Dahkaan Trilogy by Don Bassingthwaite

The Chronicles of Abraxis Wren Duology by Paul Crilley

Dragonlance Legends Trilogy by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

The Dark Disciple Trilogy by Margaret Weis

Kang's Regiment Duology by Margaret Weis

Defenders of Magic Trilogy by Mary Kirchoff

Elven Exiles Trilogy by Tonya C. Cook and Paul B. Thompson

Dragons of a New Age Trilogy by Jean Rabe

War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard A. Knaak

The Dreamers by David Eddings

Mage Storms Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey

Tommy and Tuppence Series by Agatha Christie

Ariadne Oliver Series by Agatha Christie

The Passing of the Techno-Mages Trilogy by Jeanne Cavelos

Eureka Trilogy by Chris Ramsay

The Riyria Revelations Series by Michael J. Sullivan

Lindy Haggerty Series by Shelley Freydont

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders Duology by CLAMP

The Emperor's Edge Series by Lindsay Buroker

Ladies of Distinction Series by Jen Turano

Wish Series by CLAMP

Blank Slate Series by Aya Kanno

Something I've discovered, I've not completed nearly as many series as I thought. Used to be that I'd skip around in the series (you can totally do that when you read as many mysteries as I use to) and never complete any of them. This was really awesome though, I love that there are so many complete fantasy series/trilogies on this list.

Why I Don't Read ARC's

Back when I first started blogging, I heard about these mythical creatures that only a few saw, called advanced reader copy. When I heard that I immediately thought 'free books! How do I get them?' Recently I even joined NetGalley in the hopes that I could get them - but that was before I found out all the hoops you have to jump through. Does it bother me? I don't know, really. One of the things that they need, however, is a picture. I don't even have one on my blog - so the likelihood of me putting one on another website? Yeah, slim.

To me, reviewing ARC'S is more of a tradeoff than most (especially publishers) seem to think. They each have something the other wants and…well, that's not what this topic is really about.

You see, once I found the requirements for NetGalley, I started thinking more about ARC's. The reason behind them as well as the reason to read/review them.

First up, they generate hype. If no one received ARC's, few people would be rushing to the store - or the internet - to buy the book the day it releases unless it was by an author you love. I know for me, I usually wait with most books until after they have been out for awhile - long enough to read reviews both good and bad - before buying it. So, ARC's give me opinions of people before the book has actually released. In that respect, I like people reading/reviewing ARC's.

For me personally though, I've thought about ARC's and… A couple of times I accidentally bought ARC's off the internet. Besides feeling ticked off - after all, it says right there 'do no sell' - I wasn't willing to read them. Yeah, I'm kind of odd that way. But then I got thinking about why exactly I wouldn't read it. 

I feel that ARC's aren't the finished story. They're like watching a deleted scene for a movie or TV show that wasn't actually finished. They're up against the green screen, or they have those little black with white writing placeholder cards. Or like playing a beta version of a game that might have bugs. The full story is there, but it's not finished with all the bells an whistles.

After all the work the author and publishers did, I want to read the finished work - not a version where things could still change.

How about you? Do you read ARC's? Why or why not?

May TBR Jar

Yeah, I know, this post is late. Ugh. This was the first free day I had. No, that's a lie. This was the first day I had that I could move my scheduled post to another day. I won't tell you how much of these books I've already read.

For this month, I did something slightly different. You see, I've got three books that have been sitting on my shelf for awhile (some longer than others) that if I don't get to read them soon, I'll scrap my TBR and read them instead. They don't seem to ever be coming out of my jar so I decided to just go ahead and tack them to this month's TBR. (Drawn on April 25th.)

Republic by Lindsay Buroker
This is the actual final story to the Emperor's Edge series. Really, because the main plot is already over, this is basically an epilogue. All 572 pages of it.

Prudence by Gail Carriger
I wanted so badly to read this book in April, but it didn't come up and I would have had to pass on one of my other books to get to read it. (Which I almost did after picking it up and reading the first paragraph.)

A Match of Wits by Jen Turano
The finale of this series too. I've been waiting for this couples story since I read the first book in the series and I simply want to read it so badly. (Besides, Jen has another series out that I have to get!)





Okay, so, now I'm going to draw four books to go with these.



Green (fantasy) and it is Sora's Quest by T.L. Shreffler
I  just downloaded it. Seriously, the day before I drew these papers I downloaded it for free on my kindle and only put the paper in the jar like ten minutes before I drew it out!

Red (contemporary) and it is Heist Society by Ally Carter
I'm not the biggest on contemporary, but, yay! I've been wanting to read this book. Very, very excited for this book.

Orange (audio/kindle) and it is The Sorcery Code by Dima Zales
Hmm… This has actually been on my kindle almost since I got it (I think it was one of the first books I downloaded). I honestly don't even remember what the book was about…

Green (fantasy) and it is Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
Cool! I've been hearing such great things about this book (as well as the series and author in general) that I'm kind of excited about this. Besides, I can always read another fantasy.







Well, that gives me quite a stack of books and they are heavy. Plus two books on my kindle so that'll be interesting. What will you be reading in May? Do you use a TBR Jar? How does it work for you?

Review: The Vindico by Wesley King

The Vindico by Wesley King

Series: The Vindico book one
Genre: Sci-Fi/Contemporary
Add on Goodreads

The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they’re not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire—after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .

Top Ten Books I'll Probably Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Wow, this is a very interesting topic this week. Several thoughts went through my mind in deciding how I would answer this. Should I do books that it's obvious (for anyone that knows my reading preferences) I'll never read? Or, maybe, similar to that TTT post some time back with 'my genre books I've not read' and pick fantasy books I won't read. Or just go with the books that I know I won't read - ever? The fact is that I don't love these type topics for TTT because, while I have plenty to say, I don't like the depressing vibe that these lists tend to get when I make them. But I decided to go ahead and do this list because I think books you won't read can tell just as much about a person as books you want to read. I decided to go with books that everyone has heard of (and that are really, really popular) that I will probably never read.

Those of you that have read the books and love them, don't hurt me!

Save the Dates: Sync 2015 Schedule

This is so awesome. Sync is back for another year. If you don't know what it is, it's a program that gives away two free audiobook downloads a week for the summer. One is a current young adult title and the other is a classic/required reading title. For more information you can visit Sync's website here. I'm really excited to see Sync back for another year. Below is a schedule of the books and when they'll be free to download.

Week of May 7th
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Week of May 14th
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Week of May 21st
X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz & Kekla Magoon
Here in Harlem by Walter Dean Myers

Week of May 28th
The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

Week of June 4th
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Week of June 11th
The Living by Matt de la Pena
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

Week of June 18th
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold

Week of June 25th
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Week of July 2nd
Echoes of an Angel by Aquanetta Gordon
Buddah Boy by Kathe Koja

Week of July 9th
The Explorers Club by Nell Benjamin
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Week of July 16th
Crows & Cards by Joseph Helgerson
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Week of July 23rd
March by Geraldine Brooks
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Week of July 30th
Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone
John Ball's in the Heat of the Night adapted by Matt Pelfrey

Week of August 6th
Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliot
The Old Brown Suitcase by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz

May Releases

Okay, this list this month is just crazy. When I started this feature, I thought I might have two or three books each month. *giggles uselessly* EIGHT! *ahem* I mean, I might have a grand total of eight books on this little list of mine that releases in May that I somewhat want.

The Novice
Summoner book 1
Taran Matharu
Releases: May 5th
When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.


As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

Can I be totally shallow, because look at that cover! Seriously, it's my kind of book right there. Add the word 'battlemage' and I want it.

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The Isle of the Lost
The Descendants book 1
Melissa de la Cruz
Releases: May 5th
Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it...who will it be?

Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.

Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent's daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon's eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.

Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, doesn't know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she's a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal's little tricks.

Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he's not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon's eye.

Carlos: Cruella de Vil's son may not be bravest, but he's certainly clever. Carlos's inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon's eye and ending the banishment for good.

Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon's eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the dragon's eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

I heard about this one while doing Fairy Tale Fortnight last month and I was all 'ooh...I think I want it now, please' about this book.

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Crimson Bound

Rosamund Hodge

Releases May 5th

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

Okay, see, I've been wanting this book since I finished Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge and May 5th cannot get here soon enough.

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The Wrath & the Dawn

The Wrath & the Dawn book 1

Renee Ahdieh
Releases: May 12th
Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

While the book sounds awesome, I'm worried the source material might be a bit problematic because...well tell me that a girl forced to marry a ruler just so he can kill her the next morning sounds like the best way to start a relationship.

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The Artisans
Julie Reece
Releases: May 19th
They say death can be beautiful. But after the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Raven Weathersby gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands.

To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.

Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad's drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.

But Raven's stepdad's drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she's ever known out of jail, or worse.

Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries' clothing line, signing over her creative rights.

Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can't imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.

But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?

Blah, blah, blah, Beauty and the Beast retelling. I want it, Yes, I do. Besides, I've seen what the author imagines Raven's clothing to look like. Steampunk goodness!

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A School for Unusual Girls
Stranje House book 1
Kathleen Baldwin
Releases: May 19th
It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts...

Historical with a science minded lead? Yes, please. Oh, and spies? Very, very, yes please.

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Illusionarium

Heather Dixon

Releases: May 19th

What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.

Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own.

I've been wanting this book since December. Basically the thought process went like this: Look at that cover. What's it about? Steampunk? Did someone say 'steampunk'? Give. However now...I'm really not a fan of hallucinations so...

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Uprooted

Naomi Novik

Releases: May 19th

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.


But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

I love Fairy Tale Fortnight. Because of that awesome event, I found this book. Granted, I had heard of it before, but never really gave it a second look. (The cover practically screams 'too young for you' at me.) But that synopsis? Seriously, all I had to do was read that little excerpt and I was getting excited for it.

What books that you want to read are releasing this month? Are you interested in any of these? Why do I have five fairy tale retellings on this list?