It’s been years since a literary series took the world by storm. Harry Potter concluded in 2007, a year before the final installment of the Twilight saga. Two years later, the Hunger Games trilogy gave fans an epilogue they still argue about. While it’s not yet over, book six in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series won’t be out until sometime next year.
But now that the semester is ending, what’s a reader to do?
For your holiday break enjoyment, the Daily Lobo presents three underrated books series, all of which are totally complete, absolutely amazing and easily finished before the spring semester begins.
The 100 follows the futuristic story of – you guessed it – 100 teens who are sent from their space station home to Earth, to see if the planet is hospitable after a historic nuclear war. The story is told through the perspectives of four characters as the teens explore and then fight for the Earth and their right to remain on their ancestral homeworld.
The 100 is such an amazing series that it was turned into a television show on the CW. However, the book and TV series are different enough that each is plenty delightful in its own ways.
Book 1: “The 100”
Book 2: “Day 21”
Book 3: “Homecoming”
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Cedar McLeod is an emotionally wrecked single mom whose one bright spot is her daughter, Eden. But when Cedar learns that her daughter has magical powers and is a member of an ancient race called the Tuatha de’Danann, she must find a way to save Eden, the Tuatha de’Danann and the Earth armed only with her wits and a few loyal friends.
McIsaac’s series is a well-balanced light read that blends the best parts of legend, fantasy and action.
Book 1: “Through the Door”
Book 2: “Into the Fire”
Book 3: “Among the Unseen”
Bonus novella: “Beyond the Pale”
Ven is not a person. She was grown in a lab, the clone of another woman she has studied closely but never met. Ven’s role in life is to take the place of her Actual in times of danger. In fact, that’s the role of every clone living in the vast underground lab Ven calls home. Most are never called upon, and instead spend their whole lives waiting. But when Ven’s Actual is kidnapped, she’s whisked into a world of cloak-and-dagger dangers and sci-fi action.
The three-part series is a fun, easy read, albeit with some heavy-handed romance scenes toward the end.
Book 1: “Imitation”
Book 2: “Deviation”
Book 3: “Generation”
The series follows the adventures of Amy Gumm, a lackluster girl from Kansas who is whisked away by tornado to a magical land called Oz to stop the wicked witch ... Dorothy Gale. Page’s new twist on L. Frank Baum’s classic is well-written, engaging and admirably well-researched.
OK, this series isn’t technically finished, but author Danielle Page does an incredible job of releasing novellas frequently enough that fans get a satisfying read every few months.
Book 1: “Dorothy Must Die”
Novella 1: “No Place Like Oz”
Novella 2: “The Witch Must Burn”
Novella 3: “The Wizard Returns”
Book 2: “The Wicked Will Rise”
Novella 4: “Heart of Tin”
Novella 5: “The Straw King”
Novella 6: “Ruler of Beasts” (2016)
Book 3: “The Yellow Brick War” (2016)
Jyllian Roach is editor-in-chief at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Jyllian_R.
