Six of One, Half Dozen of Another

A friend of mine is reading the Rogue Angel series by Alex Archer. She bought the first 4 or 5 books a year or two ago, and has been reading the series ever since. Last month, the 11th book came out. When I asked her what she thought of the series, she shrugged and said, "I am not really sure if I like it or not."

Ambivalence about a series is a sad thing for a reader. We get all excited about an author and/or a series and we start collecting all the books, anxiously awaiting the newest release. But sometimes, we continue in a series even when we aren't sure why we are still reading.

Many fans of Laurell K. Hamilton have experienced this with the Anita Blake series. I have been told by many fans of hers how disappointed they have been in the last few books, but they keep reading them because they loved the first books so much. And while I have heard that that series will return to its roots in future books, for some fans, it may be too late.

Reading an iffy book in the middle of a series can be enough to turn even the most ardent fan away. I love the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn, but KITTY TAKES A HOLIDAY was not one of my favorites. I was disappointed in it, but bought the most recent one in the hopes that I would like it better (and I did). However, a friend of mine who reads the series decided after the last one that she wasn't going to read anymore of them because she was so disenchanted with TAKES A HOLIDAY.

Another friend of mine loved the Bridgerton Family series by Julia Quinn, until the last few books. She felt it petered out towards the end of the series, but by the time the 8th and final book came out, she felt like she had to get it because it finished the series. She still hasn't read it.

I don't get upset with the authors when I don't like their books. I realize that I may be the only one to feel that way, or that the book serves a purpose in the series whether I liked it or not. But it's disheartening nonetheless to wonder why you are reading a book you feel ambivalent about - especially when you have a TBR pile that you could be digging into.

Nicole