Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Series I'd Like to Start but Haven't Yet

I'm finally participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a really awesome meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Series I'd Like to Start but Haven't Yet

1

Across the Universe Series by: Beth Revis
Books: Across the Universe, A Million Suns, Shades of Earth

I heard about Across the Universe over a year before it even had a cover. I totally loved the summary and put it toward the top of my reading list, and that awesome cover only fed my urge to read it. (Really, even though the last one doesn't match, I love all of these covers.) So, why haven't I read this series yet? I haven't even heard a single bad thing about them! This is ridiculous! I WILL start it this year!


2

The Dreamblood Series by: N.K. Jemisin

Books: The Killing Moon, The Shadowed Sun

The Dreamblood Series looks so unique and otherwordly, and I'm talking about the beautiful covers and the summary. I only discovered it a short while ago, but I'm still impatient to read it when I have time.


3

 The Exilon 5 Trilogy by: Eliza Green
Books: Becoming Human

I'm a sucker for science fiction, especially when astronomy is in focus. (That's probably not surprising considering my blog header and my Sailor Moon obsession.) The summary reminded me a bit of Avatar, but it doesn't seem to be a copy-cat either.


4

Bones of Faerie Series by: Janni Lee Simner
Books: Bones of Faerie, Faerie Winter, Faerie After
**Faerie After is planned to be released this year

I remember the first time I saw Bones of Faerie at a bookstore, and I thought I would buy it soon. So much for that idea. I actually forgot about it for a little while, but after reading the summary once again, I'm sad I haven't gotten around to it. Usually stories about faeries have this inevitable lightness to it, but this one actually seems to be a bit darker than usual.


5

Warm Bodies Series by: Isaac Marion
Books: Warm Bodies

It's a rare occasion when a zombie series catches my attention, since the only zombie series I've ever read is Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth... series? Trilogy? Anyway, a couple of my friends were talking to me about how they loved Warm Bodies, and the summary they gave made me look into it. Of course, I've also been seeing TV spots for the movie, and altogether, I think this series sounds kind of cute.

 

6

 Caster Chronicles Series by: Kami Garacia and Margaret Stohl
Books: Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos, Beautiful Redemption

I'm sure I'm the last person on the planet who hasn't read these, which is insane since I've had my eye on this series ever since the first book came out years ago. Nothing about it has turned me away; I haven't heard anything bad about it at all.


7

Awaken Series by: Katie Kacvinsky

Books: Awaken, Middle Ground

 

The concept of these books have intrigued me from the start, how basically everything is done with a computer. It seems kind of realistic, with the way technology is improving and affecting how humans interact. Looks like this dystopian series has a lot of potential.

 

 

8

Nevermore Series by: Kelly Creagh

Books: Nevermore, Enshadowed

 

I really can't believe I haven't started this series yet. There are to be Poe references! POE REFERENCES! I love Edgar Allen Poe and am so interested in reading these!

9

 

 Raven Cycle Series by: Maggie Stiefvater
Books: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves
**The Dream Thieves is to be released September 17th

This new series by Maggie Stiefvater sounds promising. Though I generally liked her Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy, I wasn't the biggest fan of it, but I feel like her writing would be put to better use in a story like this.


10

Theatre Illuminata Series by Lisa Mantchev
Books: Eyes Like Stars, Perchance to Dream, So Silver Bright

The Theatre Illuminata Series is yet another series I've had my eye on ever since the first one was released. Just as I was about to purchase Eyes Like Stars, I heard somewhere that one must be familiar with Shakespere to be able to follow the storyline. Can anyone confirm if this is true? Of course, I've read some Shakespere but not enough for me to feel confident in diving into this story.


I just realized how pretty all of these covers are... I don't know how I haven't fallen into a Cover Trance and bought them already. Now, I kind of feel proud of myself for not splurging based on what's on the outside, yet so disappointed for not splurging knowing how cool these stories look! But, I think I'll be able to start tackling these within the next year or two since many of the series I've been keeping up with have ended (i.e Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy, Aprilynne Pike's Wings series, Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series, Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy... Not to mention Holly Black's Curse Workers trilogy that I've only read one book of...)

So, as soon as I complete all these, I'll start working on this list, which won't be too long.



Brother Odd | by: Dean Koontz

Brother Odd is the third book telling the story of Odd Thomas, a man with strong intuition and can see the dead who have not crossed over. But there are also more sinister things he can see that others cannot.

After months at St. Bartholomew's, the monastery Odd Thomas has been staying at in order to find refuge from the hectic supernatural life he leads, Odd Thomas sees such sinister things that may be a sign of impending death. More specifically, he sees them lingering around the disabled children at the school at St. Bartholomew's. Meanwhile, there are a couple of brothers at the monastery that Odd Thomas does not believe he can trust, for he suspects that there is much more than meets the eye.

There is something odd happening at St. Bartholomew's, and if there's anyone who can figure it all out, it's Odd Thomas.

When I began to read Brother Odd, I felt as though I would never finish this book. In other words, the start was slow. Of course, Koontz needed to give readers a good understanding of the setting, St. Bartholomew's Abbey, as many readers may not be accostomed to such a setting. This was done in a way that was a bit babbly, kind of like when historical fiction writers ramble about all the information they know about a time period and the plot suffers. Thankfully, Brother Odd did not continue to go on like this. When Koontz made the enviornment well-known, he no longer persisted and the plot was in motion.

And from then on, I rarely ever felt like putting the book down.

Dean Koontz's writing is descriptive and humorous as Odd Thomas narrates, but there are definitely some heartfelt moments in the midst. For one thing, Odd Thomas is an interesting and sympathetic character. Each time he spoke of losing Stormy, my heart sank a little. He seems like such a nice guy with good intentions, and it sucks when bad things happen to kind-spirited people - even if they are fictional.

Speaking of which, while Odd Thomas is at the monastery, he talks to a couple of the disabled children there as the plot progresses. Being an overly sympathetic person, some of the backstories of these kids really felt like a knife in the chest. Especially Jacob and Florrie (aka Christmas). Those two contribute to why this novel is as good as it was; they gave this story so much more meaning to it. Honestly, without Stormy, Florrie, and Jacob, I probably wouldn't have seen quite as much in this novel.

Still, there are even more standout characters involved. All the characters are carefully crafted and likeable, and each of them had a backstory (which could be a bit tedious at times, but I think it's generally a positive factor). Brother Knuckles was a favorite of mine because of his troubled past and toughness, while Brother Romanovich stood out more and more as the story progressed. Readers will definitely be amused that Elvis Presley is a character, and an enjoyable one at that.

Despite all of the lightness previously mentioned, this is a suspenseful novel where creepiness was always a factor. Though it was indeed a bit eerie, there's nothing particularly frightening about this book. I couldn't really feel the suspense as much as I would have liked to. In the end, the who/what/when/where/why was surprising to a degree, but I must say the way to finally stop the antagonist was very predictable.

Though Brother Odd hit some good notes, I do feel it could have been better if the suspense factor was more potent. But overall, it wasn't bad at all and was indeed more than entertaining.

3.5/5 Stars


Koontz, Dean. Brother Odd
New York: Bantam Dell
2006

The House of Night, Books 1-6 by: P.C Cast + Kristin Cast (Brief Reviews)

*Note from Critica: For whatever odd reason, this is the most popular post by far on this blog, and it is a terrible representation of my review style. So, check out my full-length reviews for the newest House of Night novels:

Burned by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast
Awakened by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

I started reading this book series around the time the fifth House of Night novel, Hunted, was first released. (I know, I got a late start.) I'm not very good at reviewing at critiquing after its been awhile since I've read the book, or saw the movie, etc. So, since the seventh installment in this series, Burned, is coming out soom I've decided to breifly post what I thought of the first six. Chances are, I'll put out a normal extended review of them individually after I reread them.

So, here goes.

Marked - I think the first thing that caught my attention was all of the humor from the leading charecter, Zoey. It was a rather pleasent reading expirience, but nothing too over the top, let alone too near the top. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good. But, it was good enough, or I liked it enough, to give this one a 3.5/5 star rating.

Betrayed - Better than the first, but not by a remarkable amount of betterness (is that a word?). What happens in the plot with Stevie Rae is what really made intrigued. But, though it's a bit better than its big sister book, Marked, I still give it the same rating. (3.5/5 stars)

Chosen - The worst book in the House of Night series, to my belief. I could not take Zoey seriously. Three boyfriends at once, Zoeybird, is indeed a problem. This whole story is a bit of an orginized mess. Everything works out somewhat okay in the end, but the middle just broods on and on about Zoey's boyfriend problem. Since it still managed to entertain me, which is what a book should do, but isn't exactly that wonderful, I gave it 3/5 stars.

Untamed - Great save! Brilliant save! Now, that's what I'm talking about! After Chosen, I was wondering if this one was going to bomb, but it ended up being my favorite of the series. The action starts right away and it ends in a great way, and I found what was going on to be much more interesting and more my thing. I enthusiastically grant Untamed 4.5/5 stars!

Hunted - The Cast women are really keeping it going. This one might have been as good as Untamed if they didn't keep remind us readers of everything that's happened 24/7. Excellent follow-up to Untamed, 4/5 stars.

Tempted - Three House of Night novels in a row that haven't recieved a rating lower than a four! The writers change things up a little with narration changes. Sometimes, like in the rest of this series, Zoey is narrating (first person). In Tempted, there is also third person narration, following multiple other charecters. 4/5 stars.

Evermore and Blue Moon by: Alyson Noel

Last night I just started reading Shadowland, the third installment in The Immortals book series by Alyson Noel. I'll be done with it sometime soon and leave a review here, but I figured it would be best to quickly review the first two books in this series, Evermore and Blue Moon.

I read Evermore a little less than a year ago. My first impression (based upon the way the main young man of the series, Damen, acts) was that it was too much like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. I loved Twilight, and I feared that this was going to be a bad copy-cat. That opinion didn't last long. Evermore turned out to be a great novel in more ways than one. The romance element wasn't the only element of the story, but more touching things as well. For example, Ever's dead sister, Riley (whom she can still see in the form of a ghost/spirit) and their relationship and things they had to deal with almost left me in tears. The tragedies included into this story make you feel for Ever and everything that happens to her. 5/5 stars for this series starter.

Since I was so pleased with Evermore, I was more than excited to read Blue Moon. However, I found Blue Moon to be a disappointment. Sure, the main idea was great, but I couldn't take Ever seriously this time. I felt like the whole book was wrapped around Ever sitting around and complaining about her problems. I am aware that this makes the book more realistic to some degree, but... I don't know. I just didn't like this one as much for that reason. The ending still managed to leave me wanting more, but that's mainly because of its sudden and abrupt ending. I give Blue Moon a 3.5/5 stars as a rating.

If Shadowland fails (to my opinion), I may give up on this series, but I really don't want to. I'm not in it too deep yet, but I enjoy it thus far. I'll leave a review here soon.