Top Ten Tuesday: Series I’m thankful for

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and The Bookish, and this weeks theme is:

Thanksgiving freebie — tell us what you are thankful for! Books you are thankful for!

This week, rather than individual books, I’m going to talk about series that I’m thankful for, because if a series has three or four books and I enjoy them all I often find it difficult to choose between them. So let’s just dive in!

1. The Darker Shade of Magic trilogy

Where do I even begin with how thankful I am for this series? V. E. Schwab blessed us with a unique story about magic and multiple Londons with wonderful characters (Kell and Rhy and Lila, my babies) and villains that are actually worthy of their good counterparts (because seriously there’s nothing worse than a tepid, half-baked villain).

Although the third book doesn’t come out until February 2017, and I haven’t actually read the second book yet (what?! Shh, it’s on my December TBR), I’m incredibly thankful that this series exists. The characters are diverse and have intricate, interesting personalities, and the world is just fundamentally brilliant. Schwab has taken a simply idea (having more than one version of London) and built a masterful story from it.

2. The Graceling series

I called this a ‘series’ rather than a trilogy, because each of these books, while set in the same world, follow different protagonists and do not continue on from one another. But in this case, it works really well for the series. Although I would have loved to read more about Katsa and Po from Graceling, Fire was a great character, and I’m looking forward to reading Bitterblue in the new year too. The writing and world-building are both captivating and the magic systems had me from the first chapter.

3. The Black Magician trilogy

I read this trilogy years ago but I still remember how much it entranced me. The fast-paced plot running through the three books was exciting and tense, and Sonea was an easy MC to get behind; I couldn’t help but want her to triumph over every adversity she faced.

4. The Game of Thrones series

Although this series is incredibly long, and I’m only up to A Storm of Swords part one, I’m thankful for the incredibly detailed world-building and huge variety of different characters. The multiple POVs per book make each one a dense and captivating read.

My main problem with this series comes in the form of George R. R. Martin’s treatment of women; often he builds them up to be brilliant tacticians, warriors and politicians, other times he treats them as plot devices and sexual objects. I’ll not go into too much detail (because I have enough thoughts to probably write an entirely separate post on this) but I’m critical of his portrayal of women, while still being thankful of other aspects of the series (world, narrative, character interaction, subtle hints of magic/other-worldly abilities).

5. The Throne of Glass series

I couldn’t do a post about series I’m thankful for without including the Throne of Glass series. There have been few other books that have thrilled me as much as these have with their magic and battles for justice. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed investing my time in the lives and adventures of these characters and on more than one occasion have wished I could dive into their world with them.

6. The ACOTAR series

Even though I haven’t read this series yet, I’m thankful for these books because I know I’m going to read and love them. I’ve brought both books with me to Japan and I’m so full of anticipation to read them because I’ve heard nothing but good things about both. Plus, it’s another SJMaas series, and I am a big fan of  her writing.

The title for the third ACOTAR book got released this week, and I feel excited for it, despite not having read the first two. You know that you’re doing pretty well as an author when you can make a reader feel like that.

7. The Raven Cycle

I’m thankful for this series because it gave us the Gangsey and showed us that friendship isn’t always sunshine and flowers, but despite arguments, messy feelings and fighting the occasional big bad, it draws people together when they need each other most. For me this was a series all about characters, and their rich, complex natures.

8. The Harry Potter series

It goes without saying that I’m thankful for the Harry Potter series. How could I not be? It shaped a lot of my reading when I was younger because I began reading the books with my Dad when I was a child and ended reading them myself as a teenager. The themes and ideas in each book taught me a lot as I was growing up.

9. The Six of Crows Duology

Again, this is another series that I (shamefully) haven’t read yet, but have brought both books to Japan with me. I’m thankful that I can get stuck into them while I’m here, as I’m a fan of the Grisha world, and the characters and plot of these two books sound brilliant.

10. The Rebel of the Sands series

And the final series I’m thankful for is the Rebel of the Sands. I know we currently only have one book out so far, but I honestly loved it so much. I thought the character and development of a magic system was excellent and I can’t wait for the sequel, which will be released in February 2017. The UK cover was revealed recently and I think it looks great! It’s different in colour and yet matches the first one so well.

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So those are the top ten series I’m currently most thankful for! Which books or series are you thankful for? Are any of them on this list? As always, link me to your TTTs down below!