Immersed in series

I can't believe it's October... that Halloween is this weekend is even scarier. I never posted the books I read/listened to this summer, and fall is halfway gone... I'll start with my favorites, but I haven't read/listened to anything I wouldn't recommend.

I can't remember how I found Reluctant Concubine by Dana Marton, only that I read the first chapter and had to buy it. I was expecting a romance, but this turned out to be a wonderful, engaging fantasy. Plus, the narration by Elizabeth Evans is phenomenal. I bought the second novel, Accidental Sorceress, as soon as I finished the first, and it was even better. I can't wait for the next of the Hardstorm Saga to be published.

The Hattie Davish Mysteries by Anna Loan-Wilsey are one of my favorite historical fiction series, and A Deceptive Homecoming did not disappoint. I'm hoping there will be another book soon.

Another fantasy series I enjoyed was The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. I fell in love with the characters and couldn't put it down. This was the kind of book I wish I had read in middle school. The next book, A World Without Princes, was good, and so was The Last Ever After, but neither had me up past midnight like the first. Maybe I'd have enjoyed them more if I were younger.

I bought Under Different Stars by Amy A. Bartol because I fell in love with the cover and the price plus audio was inexpensive, but the story and characters captivated me enough to buy the second, Sea of Stars. This series is more science fantasy, than science fiction, with quite a bit of romance. The grammarian I've been nurturing since I started writing seriously was a bit jostled by the preference for participial phrases, but Kate Rudd's narration made up for that and the excessive violence in the novel. I don't think I would have gotten halfway through book 1 if I was reading instead of listening. I was going to give up at the end of book 2, but the reviews for book 3, Darken the Stars, convinced me the story changed directions dramatically, and I'm glad I took a chance on the last book--it was well worth it.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is another novel I don't think I would have enjoyed so much if I had read it instead of listening to John Lee's narration. I hope to get to the rest of this series at some point, but now I'm reading Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson (I love her Gaslight Mysteries series) and listening to Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne (narrated by Bianca Amato).

Thanks for stopping by!