A Year In…Sequels
Welcome, welcome. This particular “A Year In” is dedicated to sequels. There were quite a few sequels out this year, which is always exciting. And it is only May, which means there are more yet to come. This post discusses the sequels I have read so far this year in hopes of finding out if I have any desire to read the remaining series, or give them a second chance.
The term sequels is for second books and beyond. So third and fourth books apply in this category of sequels as well. Now, down to business!
Not yet released…sequels
I’m going to start off with an easy section. Books that aren’t out yet and that I intend to read.
- Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow#3) – Rainbow Rowell
- A Psalm of Storms and Silence (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #2) – Roseanne A Brown
- The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves #3) – Roshani Chokshi
- Flash Fire (The Extraordinaries #2) – TJ Klune
- Girls of Fate and Fury (Girls of Paper and Fire #3) – Natasha Ngan
- Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Outlander #8) – Diana Gabaldon
- Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) – Shelby Mahurin
- The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2) – Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Kingdom of the Cursed (Kingdom of the Wicked #2) – Kerri Maniscalco
- Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) – Chloe Gong
- Redemptor (Raybearer #2) – Jordan Ifueko
- Rising Like a Storm (The Wrath of Ambar #2) – Tanaz Bhathena
- The Seventh Queen (Warrior Witch #2) – Greta Kelly
- Untethered (Shielded #2) – Kaylynn Flanders
- Witchshadow (The Witchlands #4) – Susan Dennard
A long list…and I’m sure I forgot some as well. These all come out in the year 2021!
The Ones That are out…that I haven’t read
I have a bunch that are out…that I haven’t read yet.
- Bone Crier’s Dawn (Bone Grace #2) – Kathryn Purdie
- The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) – R.F. Kuang
- The Crown of Gilded Bones (From Blood and Ash #3) – Jennifer L Armentrout
- The Forgotten Kingdom (The Lost Queen Trilogy #2) – Signe Pike
- Grace & Glory (The Harbinger #3) – Jennifer L Armentrout
- Illusionary (Hollow Crown #2) – Zoraida Cordova
- The Memory of Souls (A Chorus of Dragons #3) – Jenn Lyons
- Mister Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy #2) – Maggie Stiefvater
- Soul of Cinder (Heart of Thorns #3) – Bree Barton
- Stormbreak (Seafire #3) – Natalie Parker
Yeah…I’m a little behind.
And now…onto the main event!
The ones I’ve read so far…
Let me preface by saying I always seem to have issues with sequels…generally speaking. But this year really took a toll on me in terms of sequels. The majority of them I did not enjoy.
Ones I didn’t Like as Much as the Original
- All The Tides of Fate – just this one…was lackluster. It was mostly boring for me and I struggled with the ending. I didn’t feel like the ending made sense in the grand scheme of things. Especially since it was so focused on queenship. It just felt off and odd to me. Overall just not that good.
- Bitterblue – I like Graceling so much more. I honestly don’t have much to say on this one.
- A Queen of Gilded Horns – while I tend to mostly fall on the side of I like this, I did have a few problems. I felt it wasn’t overall as strong as book 1, but I did like the addition of Isa’s POV.
- The Queen Will Betray You – yeah, it was cute. A firm cuteness level, although I don’t think I liked it as much as book 1!
- Red Tigress – the first was GOOD. This one just left a meh kind of taste in my mouth. I felt it was too long and mostly with nothing happening.
- Rule of Wolves – oh, Bardugo! Why??? Like your rep in this book was GOOD. But I ABHOR Nina’s storyline and relationship in this. I felt it was too sudden and intense after Matthias. I am team Nina/Matthias and anything else is unacceptable to me. Also it was just…again I felt too much going on in this book. I did love Zoya and Nikolai though.
- Steeltide – I feel like this was very much a midseries book, that went on too long and I just didn’t love.
- To Love and To Loathe – eh. Again, just not as strong as the original.
- A Vow So Bold and Deadly – Lia Mara and Gray remain the best along with Harper and Jake and Nate and Tycho. I like everyone but Rhen. Not overly compelling as a final novel, I was satisfied with the end.
Ones I Really Enjoyed
- A Court of Silver Flames – what hasn’t already been said about this book? I love Nesta and Cassian and the new women in this!
- A Sky Beyond the Storm – SUCH a satisfying conclusion to this series overall…although I did cry a bit.
- As The Shadow Rises – honestly, while this has three stars I did enjoy it! I am excited for book 3
- Chain of Iron – usually I don’t like Clare’s sequels. But this was just as good as the first book. Except the ending.
- Covet – any surprise here? Covet was SO DAMN good.
- Fire – a GREAT sequel. Fire was more a prequel, but I LOVED it so much.
- Namesake – UGH SO GOOD. This book was delightful.
- The Queen’s Weapons – another Black Jewel’s novel? HECK YES. This was almost as good as the originals.
in the end…
Okay, so it’s about half and half with sequels this year so far. Suffice to say I’m nervous about the remaining year. About November or December I’ll do a second one of these addressing the sequels that have been published since!