Notes from the Shelf

There’s something magical about getting lost in a great book series. With each page, the characters become friends, the world feels like a second home, and the storylines weave into your imagination long after you’ve closed the book. When the next book comes out in the series, I’m excited like a kid on Christmas. Once the series is over, it’s a little bittersweet and leaves a longing that is waiting to be filled by another great series.

Whether it’s the richly built worlds, unforgettable characters, or twists that keep me on the edge of my seat, these five book series have stood out as my all-time favorites. I’m only including completed series that have more than three books, so you can dive deeply into the worlds without worrying about waiting for the next book.

1. The Invisible Library series

The Invisible Library series is an eight-book series by Genevieve Cogman that follows main character Irene as she works as a spy for the mysterious Library, tasked to collect rare books from different realities to make the Library stronger. Irene can traverse through these different realities through the Library doors and does so often to complete her missions. Each world Irene visits is balanced somewhere between Chaos and Order, with Fae typically living in the Chaos worlds and Dragons living in the Orderly worlds.

The series is filled with magic, secret societies and literary references. It’s mostly set in a steampunk Victorian England with added magic and technology. I really loved reading this series with its magic and different worlds. I also felt sympathy for Irene and think she’s a very likeable character. She tries to follow the plan the Library has set for her, but she is constantly going off script to make what she thinks are the best decisions for the worlds and her friends. She was very relatable to me, and I enjoyed seeing her character evolve over the series.

The chaotic and orderly worlds were fascinating to read about, and how they would clash. I really liked the different character types; I never considered dragons to be orderly before, but it worked so well in this series, and having the fae as a counterpoint made a lot of sense to me, and Irene is often caught in the middle of the two sides.

I recommend this series be read in order because there are some references in the later books that won’t make much sense without reading the first ones, although I don’t think you would be completely lost if you didn’t read them in order.

2. Seven Deadly Wonders series

The Seven Deadly Wonders series is a seven-book series by Matthew Reilly. It’s an adventure/thriller fiction with some military fiction sprinkled in. It reminds me a lot of Indiana Jones as well as The DaVinci Code. Matthew Reilly also has a military fiction series (the Scarecrow series), and the main character from that series eventually pops up in this series as well, so that was neat!

Centered around Jack West, Jr. is an ex-military operative turned archeologist living in the Australian Outback, the series takes readers on quests to uncover ancient secrets, solve complex problems, and prevent apocalyptic events. Each book is packed with heart-pounding chases, complex traps, and larger-than-life stakes. Jack, along with his diverse team of loyal allies including his daughter Lily, must battle shadowy enemies, powerful organizations, and mythical challenges, all while racing against time to save humanity.

This is probably the top series I’ve ever read. I read the first one, Seven Deadly Wonders, probably only a few years after it came out, which was in 2005, so I literally grew up reading this series. I remember anxiously waiting for each new book to come out.

Each book in the series raises the stakes until they’re so high that it makes your heart race. Also, each book is unputdownable; I raced through them all. It is so well written, often leaving you with cliff-hangers at the end of chapters, so you can’t help but read the next chapter. There’s also diagrams and maps to help you visualize the areas that Jack is exploring, which I loved. I’m very visual so it was nice to have an understanding of the space when they were trying to solve riddles.

This series absolutely needs to be read in order. Each book piggy-backs off the last and raises the stakes each time. There are compounding effects in later books that won’t make any sense without the context of the previous books.

3. A League of Extraordinary Women series

A League of Extraordinary Women series is a four-book historical romance series by Evie Dunmore set in late 19th century Victorian England. Each book in the series is focused on a different woman who is a part of the Oxford Rebels, a women’s suffrage movement, and tells the story of each woman’s struggle to balance working for the cause while falling in love.

I found this series to be very compelling because it highlights women’s struggles but also women’s choices to continue participating in a society that is not made for them. Life continues on: people fall in love and get married and have children, even while fighting for a better way of life. It doesn’t diminish the cause to continue living your life the way you choose to.

Each character struggled with this dichotomy, some more deeply than others, and it felt very real to me the way Evie Dunmore wrote about it. I could see this being an internal struggle for some people even today, and each character navigates it in her own way and comes up with the way she wants to live. It was a beautiful story to read, and gives hope that things will end up okay. It’s also a great reminder that things take the time they take, and you cannot speed up the process.

This series I think could be read out of order. Each book mostly focuses on different characters and could be stand-alones on their own, although the main characters of each book are in the other three books, so there may be a few references you don’t understand if read out of order. However, I think each book explained the previous characters’ relationships and such to the point that you won’t be totally lost if you read it out of order.

4. The Dread Penny Society series

The Dread Penny Society series by Sarah M. Eden is also a historical romance series set in Victorian England. This is a five-book series for the main story, and also has a bonus collector’s edition book of the penny dreadful stories in featured in each book.

The main narrative of each book is interwoven with short stories present as “penny dreadfuls,” which was a popular type of Victorian fiction in which each chapter of the story came out as a weekly serial. Unlike Evie Dunmore’s series, each book for this series is set in London’s underworld.

The “Dread Penny Society” is a secret fraternity of penny dreadful authors who use their profits, influence, and street smarts to protect the poor and vulnerable. The main characters of each book are either already involved in the Dread Penny Society or slowly become entangled in the Society some way or another.

This series at times had higher stakes than I was expecting, which made it a very thrilling read. Also, the romance balanced that out quite well. Even if romance isn’t your typical read, I believe anyone could find something they like within each book, since there was a sense of thrill and danger not often found in typical romances.

I think this series could maybe be read out of order, but some of the characters become bigger parts of the Society in later books, so it might be helpful to have that context.

5. Winterville series

The Winterville series by Carrie Elks is a six-book romance series set in the town of Winterville, the stereotypical small town seen in Hallmark movies. Each book focuses on someone from the Winter family, who’s matriarch was an actress. Upon retiring, she opened a town that is Christmas year-round.

This series is a classic winter romance read, with happily ever afters for everyone and low stakes. Sure, there’s some conflict, but it’s the predictable romance formula that many people find comforting. I think it’s the perfect series to read in the dreary winter, when you just want to believe in magical moments and that love always wins.

I think this series can be read out of order as well; I actually did read them out of order before I knew it was a series! I don’t think it detracted from my reading experience of the series at all. Each book seems more like a stand-alone, and you do not need to know the previous couples to find enjoyment in each book. Also, each time other characters are introduced, there’s some backstory on them so you aren’t lost at all to who these people are to the main characters.

You can read my full review of each book in the Winterville series here.

These five series have shaped my love for reading over the years. Drop your recommendations for series that have captured your heart and imagination in the comments—I’d love to add your favorites to my TBR!

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