Hi there! As followers of my posts know, I adore series reads. I love bonding with a character, or set of characters, and following their struggles through adversity.
I don’t think I’m alone in this. In fact, most avid readers I know stick with similar authors and auto-buy, auto-read whatever is next in a series.
But, sometimes, I’m conflicted. I’m afraid to pick up a latest book, unsure that I’ll love the sequel. Do this ever happen to you?
I’ve read the entire Outlander novel series–years ago, before they made it a TV series. Before I started blogging, in fact. And there were two books in the eight volume series that really upset me. That made me want to stop reading. DRAGONFLY IN AMBER and ECHO IN THE BONE. For the former, there was just so much tension and heartbreak, watching Jamie and Claire’s love strengthen and develop and get stomped on time and again. The only reason I came back was the end. The end held so much possibility! ECHO was different. ECHO ended so precipitously that I wanted to throw the book across the room when I got to the final pages.
That’s a danger for series authors–that readers will be so incensed that they will turn away. Another is ennui.
It takes time to write a sophisticated series, one with sufficient plot and character development that it can carry a story over several volumes. Gabaldon has many times stated it takes her “2-3 years to research and write” one of her tomes. For authors, there are so many unexpected challenges to writing such a work. When you only plan a single book, you write shorter arcs and you resolve them in a reasonable time frame. Unresolved plots leave readers unsettled, and frustrated. That was my experience with ECHO. I wanted a clear happy ending, and all the characters (except Ian) seemed to be in disarray. For me, this was unacceptable.
I did love the eighth novel in the series, WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD, and felt the end was sufficient to satisfy me–an avid and grateful fangirl. There’s a collection of novellas coming out in two weeks, SEVEN STONES TO STAND OR FALL, and a ninth novel is planned–GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE. I’m trepidatious, especially about the novel. What an ominous title!!
My fears don’t end at Gabaldon’s Outlander. I have had several sequels languishing on my iPad, waiting for me to turn the first page. SHELTER THE SEA by Heidi Cullinan, sequel to CARRY THE OCEAN, my fave book of 2015, has been burning me for two months now, every time I open my Kindle app. 
And, THICK & THIN by Charlie Cochet! It’s been calling to me since February… And…some sexy rock romances from Olivia Cunning, too! Not to mention the TWO menage romances by JA Huss that I can’t seem to open for fear I’ll love/hate them. My goodness.
I made a pact with myself to clear some of my backlogged books, which means I’m going to reader-up and crack these books! Hopefully, I’ll have some new faves to gush over soon.
Stay tuned..and feel free to tell me what series have you exhilarated/terrified to read on!
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