2023 Series Wrap-Up

I had planned to post this in December, but alas, life got in the way. I have quite a few end-of-year wrap-up posts planned (in addition to the usual list of best/worst books) but I haven’t gotten the chance to write them yet. So I might be posting this kind of stuff into February… oh well! This is a hobby lol.

Anyway! I wanted to summarize my series progress in 2023 since this was the first year I really tracked it. I don’t tend to have that many open series going because I usually binge read completed series, and I am ruthless in not continuing series when I rate an individual book 3 stars or less. But I’ve had some mixed feelings on my series reading this year. I’ve read some amazing ones, but some others feel more mediocre to me the more time that passes. And there were two series this year where the first book was incredible but the sequel was awfully disappointing. I’ve realized I have a really hard time DNFing sequels to good books, and that a bad sequel can color my impression of the first book. So lately I’ve been wondering if it’s even worth the effort to read 2, 3, 4+ books within the same long storyline when there are so many great books that stand alone.

I don’t plan on giving up on series entirely, but I really do want to be more intentional in the ones that I pick up and commit to. I want to DNF sequels that aren’t as engaging as the first book, and not force myself to continue just to end up even more disappointed (especially if I am eyeball reading, since I don’t have as much time to do that compared to audio reads!).

With that said, here are my stats:

• Started 22 new-to-me series
• Continued 6 series I’d read before 2023

• Finished 5 series
• Decided not to continue 12
• 11 series in progress, including:
  • 7 series I am up-to-date on (I’ve read the latest released book but more are planned)
  • 2 series I plan to continue in the near future
  • 2 series I might read further in eventually (both are companion series, so no rush)

With some charts of course, because I love a good visualization.

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Completed Series

Here are the five series I finished in 2023, in order from my favorite to least favorite (because why not!).

1. The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

I’ve already talked about this series quite a few times on this blog, but man, I am so glad I finally read this! I got sucked into the journey of all of these characters and the truly immersive world they live in. I also read the two prequel novellas not shown above and they were incredible too! I highly recommend this series to all fantasy lovers, especially those who love morally grey characters and highly detailed and realistic world building.

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2. The Books of Ambha by Tasha Suri

I read both of the books in this duology back in January 2023 and still think about them sometimes! This is Suri’s debut fantasy romance series, and each book follows one of two sisters and their personal journey in a Mughal India-inspired world, while they fall in love (with men). They both had some minor issues but I fell in love with all of these characters, especially the two in the second book, Realm of Ash.

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3. Riven Worlds (part of larger series Amaranthe) by G.S. Jennsen

This is a long-running space opera sci-fi series by an indie author that I’ve been reading since 2015. This one is kind of cheating since I’m not 100% sure if this series is completed or not, but based on past series assignments, I think the author will start a new series within the overall larger series next. I have really enjoyed all of these books, and am really impressed with all of the ideas, characters, alien cultures and histories, and plotlines that Jennsen both invented and seamlessly integrated within 18 (!!) books. However, I’ve decided not to continue reading the overall series, so I’m counting this series-within-the-series as completed. I had a fantastic time but eighteen books is just too many, and the last few books have started feeling really repetitive.

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4. The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

So, I really adored this series when I read it. I loved Nahri and Ali so much, both separately and together. I really liked the world, even though it was explained so poorly in the first book and took me forever to understand. I really loved Soneela Nankani’s narration of the audiobooks, which kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. But after reading the Green Bone Saga, these don’t seem as great anymore. They’re not really similar at all, other than being non-European-inspired fantasies, but I feel like GBS did the world building and antagonists SO much better (I am a Dara hater through and through, and while I don’t like Bero, his inclusion in the GBS books felt so much more purposeful and interesting). I don’t regret reading them (unlike the next pick…), but my love for them has faded the more time that passes.

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5. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

This was actually a re-read, but I adored this series back in high school and wanted to revisit it. And sadly, it did not go as planned! It was way more sexist than I remembered, especially the third book. I didn’t like the way religion was portrayed, as it felt more like a lecture without any in-world context behind it (though as someone raised Catholic, I can see how that part would have been mind-blowing as a teen). The first two books were mildly sexist but fun, but I just really disliked the third book and how it felt like it had so much filler and irrelevant plotlines. Kinda wish I had just left this series alone to live in my memories!

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In Progress Series

Here are the 7 series I read up to the latest installment this year:

• Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (1 of 3)
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (2 of 4?)
• Roots of Chaos by Samantha Shannon (2 of ?)
• The Alloy Era by S.B. Divya (1 of ?)
• The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri (2 of 3)
• The Kindom Trilogy by Bethany Jacobs (1 of 3)
• The Murderbot Diaries (7 of 9?)

Of these, I’m most excited to continue the bottom 4. It looks like only The Alloy Era (August 13, 2024) and The Burning Kingdoms (fall 2024) have tentative release dates for their next books, and I am so excited to get to them! I don’t think any of the other series do though (and we all know the next Roots of Chaos book will probably be like 5 years from now), so I probably won’t be making much progress in most of these series in 2024.

The two series I read this year that I plan to read more from in the near future are:

• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan (10 of 11+)
• The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (6 of 10ish, depending on what is considered included)

And lastly, the two series that I might read more in eventually are:

• Discworld by Terry Pratchet (1 of… 41)
• The Universe of Xuya by Aliette de Bodard (1 of 7+)

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Series I’m Not Continuing

And now for the largest category on my list… series I’m not planning on continuing. I added a short explanation on why I don’t plan on continuing, as the reasons vary pretty widely. There’s one I might possibly continue but chances aren’t looking good, so I’m counting it as DNFed here.

• Beloved Trilogy by Tori Morrison (1 of 3)
  • Beloved took a LOT of brain power and while I appreciate it, I don’t feel the need to read more (I didn’t even realize it was a series until after I finished!).
• Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer (2 of ?)
  • I did not like where book 2 took the storyline, as it felt too simplistic with a romance I didn’t like.
• Monstress by Marjorie Liu (1 of 8+)
  • I was really confused during most of volume 1 and didn’t connect with any of the characters.
• Mossa & Pleiti by Malka Older (1 of 2?)
  • I didn’t like the main characters and their dynamic.
• Onyeka by Tọlá Okogwu (1 of 2?)
  • The ending fell flat and while the series seems great for children, as an adult I didn’t feel very invested.
• Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (1 of 2)
  • I really disliked the ending and how the story was framed. Plus, the author blocked me on Instagram (for politely pointing out their hypocrisy on a certain world issue) so I don’t plan to read any more of their work.
• The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett (2 of 3)
  • This was one of the series with a first book I loved and a second book I didn’t. The sequel felt way more plot-focused than I prefer and I didn’t feel the same spark.
• The Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee (2 of 3)
  • This was the other series. I loved the first book, but the sequel threw everything I loved out the window and I still get mad thinking about it!
• The Masquerade by Seth Dickinson (1 of 4)
  • Sorry to everyone that loves this series, but I absolutely hated the first book in pretty much every way.
• The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo (0.5 of 5+)
  • I was so completely confused by the first book that I didn’t even finish it. I don’t think Nghi Vo’s writing style is for me.
• Sworn Soldier by T. Kingfisher (1 of 2?)
  • I found the main character very annoying (this is the one I might possibly continue if reviews are good but I’d rather read Kingfisher’s other books first).
• Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (1 of 2+)
  • The first book felt very long and boring, and I found the ending funny rather than intriguing.

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And that’s everything!

What were your favorite series you read in 2023?

Happy reading!

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