Book Series I Want To Finish In 2020

I am terrible at keeping up with book series. I will hold my hands up and admit it. I have a minimum of ten already listed on my phone that I know that I need to finish. And those ten I am sharing with you today. Now not all of them are because I just haven't got round to them but some just haven't had the next part or the finale released and I'm waiting on them to be released before I can finally finish the series. However a few of them are books that have been sitting in my collection for a while now and I just haven't bothered to pick them up. I think it's best I start with them.

The first series I need to finish this year is The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I started rereading the series last year but quickly lost interest after Book Two. Yet I desperately need to read the next four books to finally complete the series, something I've been aiming to do since I was a teenager. Plus I have The Dark Artifices trilogy staring down at me from a shelf and I can't start that until I finish The Mortal Instruments. Anyone who's read the series probably knows why I'm hesitant to continue with Book Three but I just need to suck it up and read it, otherwise I'm never going to be finished with the series and I'll never be able to catch up with Cassie Clare's books.

Another Cassandra Clare series I have to both start and finish again is The Infernal Devices Trilogy. I started this series back in 2018 and just never finished it. And I don't know why. I loved Clockwork Angel but just never got round to picking up Clockwork Prince afterwards. And again, I can't move forward and read Chain Of Gold (I am buying it though) when it's released because it features characters from the Infernal Devices series that I wasn't introduced to in Clockwork Angel. I think I'm going to just start this trilogy again as it's been so long since I read the first book and I don't think jumping head first into the second would be a wise move.

Harry Potter is up next and before you all die of shock, I have read Harry Potter in it's entirety, I just haven't finished my reread of it. I started this reread last year and read the first three books in the series but just haven't got round to picking up the rest. I definitely want to finish my reread of these but I'm torn between dragging it out and reading the illustrated editions as they're released or just carrying on with the copies I already have and then buying the illustrated editions to add to my collection. And then I think I'll be rewatching all the movies and I believe there's another trip to the studio tour in my future as well.

Last Summer I read the first book in what promises to be an amazing middle grade series but haven't finished yet. And that is the Perfect series by Helena Duggan. I literally devoured A Place Called Perfect in a day but for some unknown reason I waited until recently to pick up Books Two and Three. I loved the first book, I know I'm going to love the last two books so I don't know why it's taken me so long to even consider finishing the series. Thank god, these are quick reads as I think I need to reread A Place Called Perfect before I continue with the series.

Chris Carter quickly became one of my favourite crime writers after I stumbled across one of his books back in 2018. And in 2019 I read two more of his books but they were in fact books eight, nine and ten in his now ten book series following LAPD Detective Robert Hunter. Now luckily you don't need to necessarily read this series in order but ideally I'd like to read books one through seven before 2020 is up. If you're in the market for a well written, somewhat gory and addicitive crime series to read, I highly recommend reading this series. I didn't think anyone could beat Karen Rose crime writing wise but Chris Carter did just that and what I've read so far just knocks it out the park.

 A duology I need to finish is the Prosper Redding duology by Alexandra Bracken. I read the first book in this duo back in October but didn't purchase the final book until January this year. I absolutely adored The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding, it was extremely well written for a middle grade series but life just got in the way which is why it's taken me so long to purchase the second book. Yet I'm really looking forward to reading The Last Life Of Prince Alastor and am aiming to read it at some point in March.

Three Dark Crowns is a series I started in February but am already eager to continue with and I'm aiming to have read it in it's entirety by the end of 2020.  It has the most amazing premise, following three queens that are training to not only take the throne but to kill two of their sisters in the process. All three queens are complexly written and each has their own dark secret that's constantly hinted at but never truly revealed until it's absolutely necessary. I've already brought the continuation One Dark Throne and am dying to just forget about all the other books in my TBR pile and just dive back into that world.

The last series that has been released in it's entirety that I want to finish this year is the Charlotte Holmes series by Brittany Cavallaro. I adore this series, it's the most amazing reimagining of a classic tale that I've ever read. Following Holmes and Watson's great great great grandchildren, each book follows another life threatening case that sucks the new generation of mystery solvers. It's a YA crime/thriller style book but does feature very heavy topics such as rape, drug abuse and eating disorders. I've read A Study In Charlotte and The Last Of August and loved them and The Case For Jamie is currently sat in my Amazon saved later section waiting for me to buy my Mother's Day gifts so I can then buy that and several other books I've got my eye on.

Now these last two are series that I'm waiting for the final book to come out in paperback so I can complete my collection. The first is the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson. This follows Stevie a true crime lover who's attending the infamous Ellingham Academy to follow her passion. And while she's there she's trying to solve the Ellingham case from 1936 whilst simultaneously trying to stay out of the sights of the killer that is lurking on the campus. I read Truly Devious last year and waited a good few months before I read The Vanishing Stair but I easily fell back into the world and I can't wait for The Hand On The Wall to be released so I can finish this series and complete my collection on the shelf.

And the final series I want to finish this year is the Folk Of The Air series by Holly Black. This is one of the most hyped book series around and I adored both The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. If you haven't heard of this series it follows Jude who was kidnapped and taken to the land of Fae when she was a little girl. From there she's grown up being mistreated by her peers, especially the heinous Prince Cardan. And Queen Of Nothing when it's released in July is going to be the last part that's going to hopefully wrap up a lot of what happened in The Wicked King and hopefully give us a somewhat happy ending. I am a little worried though as I've seen the hardback and it's miniscule. I'm hoping that it's not too fast paced for it's size or that Holly Black has left a few plot lines hanging but I'm still looking forward to adding it's exquisite cover to my book shelves.

What I Read: February

For most people, not just readers, February isn't the most productive month of the year. The problem with February is that it's just such a short month. You start the month with high hopes and before you know it, you're welcoming in March wondering just where February went. As a reader I always find this month is my least productive reading month but surprisngly I've managed to fly through a ton of books this month.

To start the month I read The Night Country by Melissa Albert. This is the sequel to The Hazel Wood which I read last year. It follows a young girl called Alice who's spent her life running from the omnipresent bad luck that's followed her and her mother Ella for their entire lives. The Night Country picks up where The Hazel Wood leaves off and follows Alice as her and Ella attempt to settle down and have a normal life. Yet when Alice's fellow Stories start being gruesomely murdered and all fingers point at Alice, it's up to her to find out the real culprit without falling down the dark rabbit hole that's threatening to swallow her up. I enjoyed The Night Country more than I did The Hazel Wood but for me it was still missing that little something that made it a rememorable book. It's obvious that Melissa Albert's writing style has matured since she wrote The Hazel Wood but both books had this slightly rushed feeling towards the end. If you liked The Hazel Wood's dark, creepy style then you'll love the darker feel The Night Country has.

Another sequel I read this month was The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson. This is the second book in the Truly Devious Series and by god it was a fantastic book. I found Truly Devious very hard to get into but I literally flew through The Vanishing Stair. Picking up from the end of the first book, this follows Stevie as she returns to Ellington Academy to solve the infamous Ellingham kidnap/murder case as well as the death of her fellow student. I could not put this book down, it was fantastic. Each chapter had a new twist, a new clue, a new revelation that ended on an amazing cliff hanger that's left me anticipating the third and final book in this series. If you haven't already read this series, I recommend you do, you won't regret it.

A book I didn't think I was going to love as I did was The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I rad Circe by her last year and whilst I enjoyed it, I found it very hard to stay focused on. The Song Of Achilles on the other hand I flew through and thoroughly enjoyed. It tells the tragic tale of Achilles from his upbringing as a young boy through his growth into Greece's greatest solider until he's defeat and death during the Battle Of Troy. And it's all told through from the perspective of his sworn companion and lover Patroclus. This book had me hooked from their upbringing as young boys, learning what their love for each other meant to both of their untimely ends during one of Greece's most infamous battles. If you like yourself a bit of Greek Mythology then Madeline Miller's novels will be right up your street. I'm hoping she releases another soon because her writing style is phenomenal.

Onto book four, yes I said book four. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is a book that's been on my radar for a while but I only brought it last month. After finishing The Song Of Achilles, I wanted something a little dark to continue with and this seemed perfect. I was starting to get a little disheartened that only two books I'd read so far this year were five star books but this opening book in the series has restored my faith. This follows a new generation of queens who are born as triplets but kept apart from each other for sixteen years until it's time to coronate a new queen. And decide who is to take that mantle, the triplets must spend a year planning, scheming and honing their powers so they can successfully kill their two sisters. This book is dark and I love it. It had so many twists, so many schemes and a setting that gave me major Golden Compass vibes. I thought maybe I'd find it easy to work out which sister would come out on top but as the book progresses, I found that I couldn't choose and just wanted each sister to at least finish this first book alive.

Then I finished Tales Of The Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green. I owned this book as a child and loved it but unfortunately lost it so I decided to repurchase and reread it. This is an anthology of sorts that depicts the tales of the might Greek Gods and Heroes of Greek Mythology. It's a little more dramalized than the actual events but it still has the facts that are depicted in every book of Greek Mythology. Sadly I did not enjoy this book as much as I did when I was a kid. I picked it up thinking it would be a quick read over a weekend but it took nearly a week to read because I found it to be very slow and hard to get lost in. I think after reading books such as Circe and The Song Of Achilles, my perspective of what good Greek Mythology retellings has grown and this book fell just short of that. It certainly wasn't as good as I remember it being and for nostalgic reasons, it makes me just that little bit sad.

Book six, I can't believe I'm saying book six but the sixth book I read this month was The Last Of August by Brittany Cavallaro. This is the second installment in the Charlotte Holmes quartet. It picks up exactly after the events of A Study In Charlotte and sees Holmes and Watson travel to Europe, investigating an underground art forgery ring to find Charlotte's missing uncle Leander. It also sees them join forced with August Moriarty; a figure from Holmes past, who's loyalties lie on the fence. I devoured this book like I did the first one but I found this one to be lacking towards the end. It was good, the mystery was good, Holmes and Watson's relationship development was good but the ending lacked something to me. It felt a little rushed and left a couple of unanswered questions in the air but it's set up for book three perfectly and I hope that these unanswered questions I have are answered in the next book.

What I Read: July

Pinch, punch first of the month. Welcome back to another What I Read that consists of actual books I've finished and more than just one which is what I've been offering for the last couple of months in these posts.I've been bitten by the reading bug again; also the shopping bug, and I managed to fly through five books in July alone. And whilst they weren't all five star books, there wasn't bad one in this bunch.

The first book I finished in July was Chris Carter's Hunting Evil. This is the tenth novel in his Robert Hunter series and each one just keeps getting better. Hunting Evil followed Hunter and his partner Garcia as they teamed up with the FBI and Homeland Security to capture one of the most dangerous men on the planet. If you've been reading these posts for the last year then you'll know how much I adore this series and how finishing one has me wanting to read what follows. And with how Carter ended this book, I'm dying to know if he's planning an eleventh book to tie up the major plot twists he created in Hunting Evil. Definitely one of my favourite reads this month.

At the beginning of the month I was in quite a murder mystery/thriller mood which is where this next book comes in. Twisted by Steve Cavanagh is singlehandledy one of the hardest book plots to try and describe. I'm not even going to try. All I'm going to say is that whilst I took a while to really get into this book, when I did get into it I was hooked. I literally couldn't put it down, I was dying to see where the next twist was coming. Definitely one for those of you who like you a good thriller that makes you think.

Circe is a book that had popped up a lot during BookTuber videos and everyone who had read it was raving about it. I'd picked it up on a whim thinking that my love for anything to do with the Ancient Greeks would make this right up my street. And I wasn't wrong. I liked Circe, I didn't love it but it was a very enjoyable read and I'll definitely be picking up Madeline Miller's other novel The Song Of Achilles. Circe follows the goddess Circe as she grows up, different from her siblings, peers and father the great Titan Helios. Then after discovering her talent with magic, she's exiled to an island where she's expected to remain for the rest of her years. The majority of the books follows her as she adjusts to life on the island of Aiaia and works on growing her powers. It also plays well into the tale of Odysseus and gives a look into the tales of Greek Gods, Titans and Heroes in a different way to other retellings. I liked this but I sometimes found myself losing interest as it was heavy of describing actions, conversations and scenery in a way that was sometimes unnecessary. I understand that it's written as it would have been written then but for me, I found it to sometimes be too heavy where it didn't need to be.

The fourth book I read this month was one I actually started in June, put down and then picked back up this month. And as I look through GoodReads to see what I rated this, I actually believed I underrated it but was quickly reminded of why it didn't get that top five star rating. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson is another hyped YA novel that I wanted to desperately read this year. It follows Stevie who attends Ellingham Acadmey, a school that allows students to focus on their passions outside of the normal curriculum. And Stevie's just happens to be crime, murder more precisly, which makes Ellingham Acadmey the perfect school for her as the founders own wife and daughter were kidnapped from the school in the 1930's and no one's ever been able to solve the case. But Stevie thinks she may be able to crack it, if Truly Devious doesn't get to her first. I wanted to love this book, I really did but unfortunately for me it just fell a little flat. The first two thirds of the book were spent painting the picture and creating bonds and friendships that were necessary for the last third of the book. It was really only the last ten chapters of the book I thoroughly enjoyed and the cliffhanger that it left it on. I will definitely be picking up The Vanishing Stair when it's released in paperback later in the year but as a opener for this trilogy, Truly Devious just fell a little flat.

And the last book I read was the first in a long overdue reread that I'm now dying to fly through. City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare is one of my all time favourite books. The Mortal Instruments Series is on of my all time favourite series but alas I've never actually finished it and having recently acquired The Dark Artifices Trilogy, I thought it time I did. City Of Bones is the first of six books that follows Clary Fray as she learns to become a Shadowhunter alongside Jace Wayland and the Lightwood siblings, Alec and Isabelle. Throw in a undead, unknown father who wants nothing more than mass genocide to create his own pure Shadowhunter army and you're in for a wild ride. And that's before the gut punch of twist this book throws this way. I adore this books but found it hard to get into City Of Bones for a good third of the book but I was constantly comparing it to the movie when in fact the movie misses out a lot of what Cassandra Clare built in this book. I may have the slightest book crush on Jace but that's only because everytime I imagine what he would look like in my head, I picture Jamie Campbell Bower who played him the movie but apart from that when I shook of my movie induced daze, I flew threw this book and am dying to crack on with the next five. I know for a fact that each one is going to be even more of a punch to the gut twist wise and whilst I'm not sure if I'm ready for them, I'm also eager to get to them.