If you are like me, a break from school, work, and extra-curriculars is a perfect time to find a new book series to binge. With the winter season settling in for a lot of us, I wanted to share some YA series that can hopefully help you carve out some down time as you dive into different worlds and genres!
Summary (for Book 1): Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters, the chimaerae, who form the only family she has ever known.
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This series is an urban fantasy that takes place in the real world and that of Eretz where monstrous creatures live. If you love world building and fast paced fantasy, you will definitely binge this series quickly. Make yourself a warm pot of goulash like Karou and Zuzana and settle in for a world of magic, family, and of course-love.
If you enjoy The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare or the Hibiscus Daughter series by Lana Popovic, check this series out!
Summary (for Book 1):
When Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, begins her first year at a famous private school in Vermont, she sets a plan to solve the cold case involving the kidnapping of the founder's wife and daughter shortly after the school opened.
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Ahh, who doesn't love a good mystery?! This series is very atmospheric with slight dark academia vibes that keeps up with the suspense through each book. If you love your mysteries with an intricate plot and a wide cast of well-developed characters, this will probably be your jam. Bonus: A new book, Nine Liars, is coming out December 2022!
If you have already dived into The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes or enjoyed the Clue Mystery series by Diana Peterfreund then try out this series!
Summary (for Book 1):
Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns sixteen year old girls into gorgeous beauties. Tally realizes that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like.
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Welcome to Uglyville and New Pretty Town! This is a dystopian-science fiction series that is a lot more action packed than you would think (just wait until you read the hoverboard scenes). If you lean more towards fast paced action-packed stories, then Scott Westerfeld is definitely the author for you. What is even better is that Uglies will be coming to Netflix sometime in the future so you can compare the book to the movie.
If you are a dystopian fan who binged the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins or has started the Girls With Sharp Sticks series by Suzanne Young, then absolutely read this series!
Summary (for Book 1):
16-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and he rises to its challenges.
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Calling all romance lovers, this series is for you! This series is realistic fiction that is set in New York City with just the perfect dose of holiday romance if you are looking for it. If your preference is for conversational and engaging storytelling with likeable characters, then you should pick this series up. Even better, you can catch a mini series of the first book on Netflix while making Sugar Cookie Bread to celebrate the holidays.
If you loved the Just One Day duet by Gayle Forman or are a fan of the Bookish Boyfriends series by Tiffany Schmidt, then you will fall in love with Dash & Lily too!
Summary (for Book 1):
Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood. Those with common red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village. This changes when a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own. To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard -- a growing Red rebellion -- even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.
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Travel to the Kingdom of Norta in this action-packed fantasy series! This series creates a world divided by those who have power and superhuman abilities with those who do not. If you like fast paced fantasy series that is filled with resistance and compelling characters, then this would totally be a great pick for you. Plus, if you love novellas outside of the main series, then you will have plenty to fill your reading list. Put on your headphones and travel to Mare's world in Norta! (P.S. You Should See Me in a Crown by Billie Eilish is Mare's theme song, hands down.)
If you enjoyed the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black or the Ravenspire series by C.J. Redwine, then you should check this series out!
Lady Janies Series by Cynthia Hand
Summary (for Book 1):
Edward is the King of England, but he is also dying. This is inconvenient as he's only sixteen and he'd rather be planning his first kiss than who will inherit his crown. Jane, Edward's cousin, is far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately, Edward has arranged to marry her off to Gifford secure the line of succession. And Gifford is, well, a horse. That is, he is an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated) who becomes a chestnut steed every morning, but wakes as a man at dusk, with a mouthful of hay. Very undignified. The plot thickens as the three are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy and have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it's off with their heads?
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Love historical fiction or a strong female protagonist?! Then this off-beat and spirited series will be a great binge worthy pick. This series is a bit different from your typical series. Each book focuses on a different historical figure named Jane (Lady Jane Grey, Jane Eyre, Calamity Jane) to create the series. All the books take place in historical settings so you can travel from Elizabethan England, to Victorian England, and finally to the American West in 1876. Excitingly, there is a new series from the author focusing on historical Marys!
If you read and enjoyed the Bloodleaf series by Crystal Smith or the Jackaby series by William Ritter, then try this series out!
Aurora Cycle Series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Summary (for Book 1):
The year is 2380. The graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams. However, his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch. Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem. That'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth, but she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making. Tyler's squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
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This is a science fiction epic series that features a band of on the run misfits travelling across space. If you enjoy action-packed series with an intricate plot, then this will absolutely fill that spot on your TBR. As an extra bonus, you can explore Amie Kaufman's and Jay Kristoff's other YA science fiction series that are sure to entertain!
If you have explored the sci-fi worlds in the Goddess in the Machine series by Lora Beth Johnson or the Ashfall series by Pittacus Lore, then travel to the library for this series!
Happy Reading!
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