Least Satisfying Series Endings I’ve Read

I’ve noticed that I tend to shove the final books in a series into three categories: Perfect -- 50/50 -- Hated. There might be some overlapping here and there, but for the most part, my final opinions will be pretty close to one of those three categories.

A couple of weeks ago I talked about my most satisfying series conclusions that I’d read to date, and as you can probably guess from the title, today I’m sharing the endings that left me feeling either underwhelmed, disappointed or even worse, completely outraged!

I’m splitting this list into two parts. I’m going to start out with those series that would fit into the 50/50 label. You know the ones, the ‘I LIKED it… but’, or the ‘It was alright… but’ ones. Then I’ll venture into the endings where I’d happily allow the book to wallow in a lovely lava lake and encourage Hades to torture it regularly.

Just a little note: I’m not going into any specifics or spoilers, just a quick overview of my feelings. If I wrote a review for the book, I’ll leave a link if you’d like to find out what I thought about it in more detail. (My reviews are spoiler-free, unless stated!) Also, these are just my opinions and reactions to reading the books I've mentioned, and they’re not meant to offend anyone.

The 50/50 Endings

End of Days by Susan Ee

To this day Angelfall remains one of my all-time favourite books, but the last book in the trilogy? Oooh boy. I liked some stuff, but then some other stuff… ehh, not so much. There was so much potential for a really epic ending, but I did feel really let down by some of the things that happened.

My Reivew.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Okay, this will definitely be a controversial one! See, I LIKED what happens. I really did! It was the journey I wasn’t a fan of. Oh, and the boredom. It’s never a nice feeling when you’re wishing for a book to be over. :/

My Reivew.

Endgame by C.J. Daugherty

The fourth book in this series was my favourite book of 2014, so I had HUGE expectations for the grand finale. It’s the same again, I LIKED the ending… but yeah, okay, alright, I was a bit miffed with a non-ending for a certain character! There were just too many loose ends and it stopped me from being completely satisfied with the outcome.

My Reivew.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

We went through all that… for THAT anti-climactic ending?! When I read it, I had lovely rose-tinted glasses on. (Ahh, the lovely Twilight bubble that got me back reading again!) If I’d read it now, I’d probably have rated it quite a bit lower than I did at the time.

Hades, My Dear, I Have Some Sacrifices For You

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

I know there’s a new continuation trilogy following Yelena and Valek, (and yes, I’ve read the first book in that trilogy, but DNF’d it,) so I’m classing Fire Study as the last book just for simplicity sake. Simply put, Fire Study felt completely pointless. The first two books were awesome, but absolutely nothing happened in Fire Study. It was too drawn out, and I remember it took almost two months to get through.

Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Okay, so it pains me to include this book here. The Lux series used to be one of my favourite series… and then this book came along. I was completely crushed with how half-hearted and cliché the ending turned out to be. It felt like we were just going through the expected motions just to conclude the series. :/

My Reivew.

Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan

The first two books in this trilogy were amazing… but the last one, oh boy. Everything changed, and it was like I’d picked up the third book in a completely new series. The characters were completely unrecognisable!

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

I will confess that this book takes the grand prize for being my most hated series conclusion, ever. Honestly, it was a complete disaster. The horrible thing was I could see it coming, but I was holding out hope that things would turn around. But, alas, they didn’t. What makes it harder to take: it’s a 13 book long series! Actually, I think this makes it hurt twice as much… *sobs*

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

Most Satisfying Series Endings I’ve Read

Final books in a series can be so hit or miss, can’t they? I think we’ve all experienced the bitter disappointment of a less than epic conclusion to a much loved series, and it’s so horrible when it happens. I mean, it’s the last impression we’re left with, and if they don’t manage to tick off the vast majority of those expectations we have they can taint all the memories we have of the previous books, no matter how much we may have loved them. It really can be all about that ending! It’s easier to dwell on the bad things, so I wanted to do the opposite today and create a list of the most satisfying endings to series I’ve read up to now.

As these are the final books in series, I’m not going into specifics. If I wrote a review for the book, I’ve left a link if you’d like to find out what I thought about it in more detail. (My reviews are spoiler-free, unless stated!)

Oblivion by Kelly Creagh

I tried to write a review for this one, but the words to do the book justice just wouldn’t come. I’ve got to tell you something though… just after I finished reading Oblivion, I started jotting down some of my thoughts, and all of a sudden I burst into tears. They were happy tears, but I was also heartbroken that the series was over and I’d never read about these wonderful characters again. Honestly, it was the single most bizarre reaction I’ve ever had to reading a book! (Actually, just thinking about this is making me want to reread the series…)

The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Simply put, The Winner’s Kiss is easily the most satisfying conclusion to a series I’ve ever read. It was perfect. This is the most recent release on my list, so I won't say any more than that. If you've read it, what did you think??

My Review.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Okay, I know this one will be a little controversial! I thought Mockingjay was a brilliant and fitting ending to the series. I can understand why people had issues with Katniss and her narrative, but for me, giving what she had endured over the past few years of her life, I thought it was really realistic and believable. And, the characters stayed within character so that’ll always get a huge thumbs up from me ;)

Ensnared by A.G. Howard

Oooh, I have lots of reasons why I loved this ending! After reading the book I was a little iffy, but as time has gone on, I’m completely satisfied with it.

My Review.

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

I remember having so many worries when I began reading Boundless, but I was so glad that the final book ended the way it did! It doesn’t quite live up to Angelfall, but it’s definitely one of the best angel related series I’ve read.

My Review.

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

I didn’t write a review for any of the books in The Lynburn Legacy series as I couldn’t manage to sum up all of the fabulousness into anything that would make sense. I loved each of the books in the series, but Unmade was my favourite. It definitely was heartbreaking – there’s one moment… oh my goodness, my heart! – yet it was still so satisfying.

Dust to Dust by Karina Halle

Oh, this book killed me. I think I spent about 80% of it in floods of tears! I was a complete wreck by the end, but it was oooh so good.

My Review.

What are some of your most satisfying series endings? Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

Is It Possible to Be a Mood Blogger?!

This question came to mind the other day, and I’d like to talk it through with you. I’m not sure if it’s going to make a load of sense as my own thoughts have been all over the place lately, but, is it really possible to be – or to become – a mood blogger?! I’m a mood reader, so I guess it’s not that hard to think that blogging could follow along in the same vein?

We all have to force ourselves to do things we’re not in the mood to do, but the one thing I can’t force – and believe me, I’ve tried – is being able to write. Anytime I do try it sends my thoughts into overdrive and I manage to think of every single thing I need to do that doesn’t involve writing, and by extension, blogging. All these thoughts come flooding in and they will. Not. Go. Away!

I swear, some days my thoughts really do resemble Jabberjays.

I know that I need to be in specific moods to tackle different blogging tasks. Take review writing. I need to have a completely different mind-set when I sit down to write a review than I would if I’m writing a Top Ten Tuesday post, for example. I feel like I’ve placed this unspoken need to be professional on myself when it comes to reviews, and sometimes I feel like I’m not letting my personality show through enough. It’s always how I’ve written reviews, and in a way, I feel like I’ve begun overthinking how I write them, instead of just writing.

And it’s not just with reviews, but with commenting as well. I’m a naturally shy person, and it takes a lot of inner pep talking for me to get the confidence to comment, comment, comment! I know I should just DO IT, but that’s always a lot easier said than done. Then my overactive brain latches on to the need to leave meaningful comments, and that lovely inner voice insists that every possible comment I could leave completely sucks, and it’s best to not leave one at all and save myself from the eternal embarrassment.

Mood blogger meets crippling anxiety??

The more I force things, the more everything crumbles, and I know I’m most productive when I follow my moods and whims… like, if I want to watch a movie, but force myself to write instead, I’ll get nothing of value done. This has happened WAY more often than I’d care to admit, yet, I still do it in the vain hope that this time I’ll be able to conquer my moods.

Those days when I do get into blog-mode easily are like little gifts from heaven. I get so much done, and I feel all accomplished and stress free. The trouble is they only last a day or two, then my focus shifts to something else and I’m back to square one trying to recapture that wonderful blog-mode that’s so elusive. For the past few weeks I haven’t been in the mood to blog, and I wish I had some other excuse to explain why I’ve been blogging inconsistently, but this is the only thing I’ve been able to come up with to explain why. I’ve fallen so far behind on everyday blogging tasks, and it terrifies me to even begin looking into all I have to do. It doesn’t help that these thoughts trigger my anxiety something fierce.

There are lots of things I love doing; yet, blogging is the only thing I’ve ever felt guilty not doing. Like, I enjoy baking but I don’t feel guilty if I don’t bake for a few weeks. (Actually, the scales would thank me if I don’t bake!) If I didn’t blog for a month or two I know I’d be completely crippled with guilt. I don’t know where the pressure to blog stems from, but it’s something I don’t think will ever fully go away, no matter how hard I try to ignore it.

So, I guess, I haven’t really come to an answer for my question. Do I feel like I’m a mood blogger? Yeah, I sort of do. Do I have any idea on how to overcome this? Heck no! But, I’d love to know what you think about this. Do you think it’s possible to be a mood blogger? Is this an anxiety thing? A procrastination thing? An all of the above thing??

I Love These Books, But I Don't Say It Often Enough

I don’t know about you, but when I write up Top Ten Tuesday posts I tend to keep using a similar pool of my favourite books continually. There is a good reason for this: they are genuinely my favourite reads! When the word ‘favourite’ is mentioned, I automatically reach for anything by Sarah J. Maas, or The Hunger Games, or Angelfall, or Pride and Prejudice… but what about the books that don’t quite break into this circle? They get pushed aside, but I still love them, too! So, I wanted to create a list of books that I love, but I don’t highlight that love often enough.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme run by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week is a Freebie topic.

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Ok, so I’ve mentioned my love for this book once or twice, but one more time won’t hurt! Nevermore is the first book in a trilogy that’s inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s works, and as you can guess from the title, Nevermore is inspired by The Raven, and I love this book with all my heart. The story was so hauntingly beautiful, the writing style sublime, and hands down, Nevermore has one of the best slow-burn romances I’ve ever read. It was torture to read, but oh so awesome!

The Devil’s Duology, by Karina Halle

There are hundreds and hundreds of rock-star books floating around these days, but very few of them have managed to make me fall completely in love. But, when you add the 1970’s, journalism, heavy metal, demons, and Karina Halle to the mix, it results in a fabulous story. Both books are definitely worth a read if you love the sound of heavy metal, horror and the Devil colliding!

The Lynburn Legacy Series by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken had been sitting on my to-read shelf for quite a while gathering dust, and after reading it, I really regret overlooking it for so long. I became completely obsessed with this series a couple of months ago – I ordered the second book on The Book Depository literally five minutes after finishing Unspoken. While I was waiting for it to arrive I devoured every novella attached to the series and drove myself crazy overthinking about what could possible happen next. And once Untold arrived I couldn’t begin reading it quick enough. Rinse and repeat with Unmade, and I knew I’d found a new favourite series. This is the first favourite type list I’ve included it on, and I don’t think it’ll be the last!

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

I read Slammed a while after reading Easy by Tammara Webber when I was in the middle of my New Adult phase back in 2013, and this is one of the few NA books I’d love to re-read someday. I’m guilty of overlooking Slammed in favour of Easy, but that doesn’t mean Slammed doesn’t deserve a place on my favourite list, too!

Under the Never Sky Trilogy by Veronica Rossi

I know I’ve talked about and included Perry, Aria and Roar in some of my favourite characters lists in the past, but I don’t remember including the series as a whole in a favourites list. Well, just in case I haven’t, here it is! I loved everything about Under the Never Sky, and I was completely in awe that the second book, Through the Ever Night, was even better.

Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian

There aren’t that many YA books told from a male characters perspective that I enjoyed, but Tunnel Vision is one of those rare gems that I completely fell in love with. Jake is completely adorable, and I loved every single page told from his perspective. Plus, this book has one of the best and sweetest brother-sister relationships I’ve ever read about. Seriously, I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

Say Her Name by James Dawson

Yeah, yeah, I know! I’ve talked about this one quite a few times since I read it, but it needs to get another mention. Horror books rarely scare me, and Say Her Name managed to do this spectacularly well. I’ll never be able to think about the Bloody Mary tale again without remembering this book!

The Unearthly Trilogy by Cynthia Hand

The Unearthly trilogy always takes a back seat to Angelfall when I think of books exploring angels and demons, and it’s not really fair on these awesome books. The Unearthly series takes a more traditional approach to angel lore, and let’s not forget the most awesome part: Tucker! Love him so much!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Reading!

7 Sequels I Wish I Loved More... And Why I Didn't Love Them

I love a good standalone book, but there is something about series that suits me better as a reader. I love getting to know the same characters over the course of a series or trilogy. I love seeing how they grow and develop in each book, and how their relationships and friendships evolve over time. That kind of really detailed development rarely happens in a standalone, and it’s why series and trilogies appeal to me so much.

No matter how we wish to love every book in a series, it doesn’t always happen. After waiting for months and months to read the next installment, there is nothing more soul destroying that not enjoying that book. There mightn’t even be anything technically wrong with it... maybe the vibe isn’t the same, or the spark that made you LOVED in the first book disappears.

It’s even harder when it’s the LAST book in a series! I completely get and respect that it’s the authors’ vision and ultimate decision about what happens, and 9.99 times out of 10 I completely agree with it. But, as a reader that loves the characters the author created, I have lots of hopes about what I’d love to happen. I can’t help it! I want what’s best for those little darlings I care about! It’s unrealistic to expect every little hope and whim to be met, but I usually have one main hope that consistently stays the same: I hope each character gets the ending that makes sense to their personality and that stays fairly consistent with the storyline that’s been established in the previous book(s). If that happens, I’ll be happy. (Ok, it might take a lot of time for me to get to that state… I usually go through denial, crying, ranting, hating the universe and rejecting the outcome first... but after all that, I’ll be fine!)

And please note, these are just my opinions, and it’s not my intention to offend anyone with this list.

Sequels

Divergent - Insurgent

I loved the pure adrenaline vibe I got when I read Divergent. It was awesome and so much fun to read, and I completely glossed over my feelings that very little of the overall world-building made sense to me. Then I read Insurgent, and I had the complete opposite reaction to Divergent. It was boring! I was gutted! Where’s the action, the adrenaline, the DANGER?! And this may be extreme unpopular opinion time… but I began to severely dislike both Tris and Tobias. They didn’t communicate, and I didn’t believe any of the feelings they're meant to have have for each other. I had planned to read Allegiant eventually, but when an author I was following on Twitter at the time spoiled a certain twist that happens in that book, I chose not to read it.

Nevermore - Enshadowed

I read Nevermore at the beginning of 2014, and I instantly fell in love. I loved the atmosphere, the world building, the characters, the writing, the plot… everything. I couldn’t wait to read the sequel, but I knew the final book in the trilogy was delayed by a year, so I decided to keep Enshadowed until closer to Oblivion’s release date. Since it’s scheduled to be released this summer, I read Enshadowed a couple of months ago, and I felt so… deflated. Honestly, at times it felt like Nevermore-Lite. The atmosphere I loved so much didn’t appear until the end of the book, and I was so disappointed. If only what happened in the last 80-100 pages occurred for the entire book, then it would have been epic! I hate saying it, but it’s made me a little wary about the last book… my expectations won’t be so high! I love Varen and Isobel so much, and I really hope the middle book was a little blip and the conclusion will be fabulous. *Fingers crossed!!*

The Iron King - The Iron Daughter

I’m a character focused reader, and sometimes it’s very obvious what the endgame will be really early in a series. When a love-triangle is handled well, they can be so entertaining to read, but when they’re added just for drama and conflict… they’re not much fun at all! I feel this is exactly happened when I read The Iron Daughter. I love a certain character beginning with the letter P, and to see how he was treated… Yeah, I wasn’t impressed. At freaking ALL! With the decisions that Meghan made, I lost all respect for her and I honestly would love to ask her what the heck was she thinking?!

Conclusions

The Lux Series

It pains me to include this series in my list, but, I was SO DISAPPOINTED with how mild the ending was. I loved all four of the previous books, and I was gutted that Opposition felt rushed and anti-climactic. Daemon and Katy are two of my favourite characters, and they felt like shells of their former selves. Unfortunately, the last book has tainted my overall love for the Lux series. Honestly, I wish I could go back in time and skip reading Opposition, and hold onto the love I had when I finished reading Origin.

The Consequences Trilogy

This series was one of the biggest mind-fucks I’ve ever read. It’s not explicit, but you can fill in all the fade to black scenes, and holy crap, it’s not pretty. The first two books left me reeling with some of the things that happened. It’s shocking, creepy and just plain INSANE at times! Conviced was following down the same awesomely crazy route… until the ending happened. For how messed up this series was, things sort of felt a little too… happy. It’s not a bad ending; it sort of… fizzled out.

The Breathing Trilogy

The first two books in this trilogy are fabulous! I liked Reason to Breathe, but I loved Barely Breathing, and I was hoping for an epic conclusion to the trilogy. I don’t read a lot of contemporary, and to LOVE a book… this is a rare thing for me! I was so happy! I could find a favourite contemp series! Then, I read Out of Breath, and everything fell apart. The characters were completely unrecognisable, the vibe of the previous books didn’t exist anymore, and in honesty, it felt like it was written by a different person. It was such a horrible chalk and cheese feeling, and I ended up hating every character by the time I finished the book – and that’s definitely NOT the way I hope to end a series!

The Southern Vampire Series

I may have ranted about the ending of this series a few times… and ok, twist my arm, I’ll rant again. I’ve never been so disappointed with how a series ends before or since reading the conclusion to the Sookie Stackhouse series. It’s a thirteen book series, and I still really like the first nine or ten books – basically, when Eric was Eric – but the final few were, quite honestly, terrible. It hurts when you’ve invested so much time into reading and waiting for the next book in the series and then all of a sudden, everything that happened in an earlier book is rewritten within the space of a paragraph! It felt like the conclusion was being twisted, changed and forced into the final two books, and it didn’t sit well with me at all. I could eventually get over the ending… particularly if it was hinted at consistently through the entire series, but it’s very difficult to accept considering the manner in which it was done. I don’t like feeling cheated, and that’s exactly how I feel with this series. (I mean, why on Earth would the series be called the Southern VAMPIRE series when a VAMPIRE doesn't WIN?!?! Uughh!!)

I’m really curious: Have you been disappointed with a sequel to a book you love, and why did it disappoint? Are you character driven (like me!) or more plot-focused? And how do you feel about endings that don’t quite live up to your hopes?

Thanks for stopping by!

Life of a Blogger: Astrology

Life Of A Blogger is hosted each week by Novel Heartbeat. It gives us a chance to chat about our lives outside of blogging, so everyone can get to know a bit more about us!

When I was younger, I was completely obsessed with Astrology! It started back in my early teen years when I’d read my horoscope in magazines and newspapers. They were always really vague, but a lot of fun to read.

Then, naturally, I became curious.

There had to be more to this Astrology thing… something personal. By accident, I stumbled across a book in the library one day: Parkers' Astrology: The Definitive Guide to Using Astrology in Every Aspect of Your Life. And this was where my obsession really began. I like a challenge, so I decided to teach myself how to calculate natal charts, and to do basic interpretations! My general maths skills aren’t exactly stellar without a calculator, but I’m OK at geometry… so calculating natal charts came quite naturally to me. I got more and more interested in the subject and I ended up buying a copy of the book… and 5 or 6 other books on Astrology!

Fun Fact: Star signs don’t really exist.

When we look up our horoscope in a magazine, we’re actually referring to our Sun sign! It’s the sign (or more importantly, the degree) the Sun was occupying at the exact moment of birth. Plus, our personalities are not just represented by our Sun sign’s traits... everyone has a Moon sign, too. It’ll tell lots about your emotions. And Mercury usually indicates what your communication style is… (I could ramble on for a long time about this! I’d love to do some posts on basic Astrology if anyone would be interested in reading them. A little outside the box, but could be fun! :))

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a Sagittarian, and yep, I do share some of your typical Sagittarian traits. But, I also have a huge Capricorn presence in my chart, which keeps my inner Sagittarian on a very tight leash (bloody typical!) Ok, best way to describe this… Sagittarius is free spirited, no limits, always on the go, learning new things, laughing, having fun and getting into mischief. Capricorn created all the rules, structures, boundaries, and every other limitation you can think of, and they keep things in perfectly calculated balance; they’re usually kind of shy, disciplined, detail oriented and meticulous… basically, everything Sagittarius isn’t. Now, imagine combining them together into one person, and you end up with a battle on your hands and a severe headache!

Do I believe everything Astrology says? Hell, no! It’s a great conversation starter, and can be quite accurate about some things… but put it this way, I won’t be planning who I’m going to marry or be friends with based on their Sun sign or what’s in their charts! It's fun on an entertainment level, but planning your life around it... nah. I love spontaneity way too much!

What are your opinions on Astrology? And!! You know this question is coming… What Sun sign are you?? Any fellow Sagittarian’s?

And Happy Easter weekend! Don’t forget to eat plenty of chocolate! It becomes the most important food group over Easter. *nods* =)