My first post was a review on the latest Alexandra Hawkins novel in her Lords of Vice series and it got me thinking about serials in general. Romance novels draw us like flies with that one line on the back cover: The first book in an exciting new series by…! I purchase the book and devour it, become excited by the preview for the next book and ultimately depressed when i realize that I must wait a year for the next installment. Of course, the flip side to this is having books to look foward to throughout the series. All off this leads up to my personal pet peeves.
1. The long wait : I don’t claim to understand anything about the world of publishing or the demands on a writer. That being said, why must we the readers wait up to a year for the next book?
2. Forget me, forget me not : So the wait is over, the new book is out and I remember nothing about the previous book. This is a chronic problem I have; worse yet I trade my books in so I no longer have the first book to reread. I must admit this is slowly becoming less of a problem now that I have a kindle. However, the fact remains that I have to reread the previous book(s) in order to know what’s going on.
3. Disappointment abounds : This happens often; the first book was great but the rest seem to be rushed and make little impression on me. Of course, I continue to read the series sometimes unwittingly; because, well I must reach the ending of the series.
4. Missing books, what? : There have been several instances where I really get into a series and it just stops, for no reason that I can tell. For example, the Flambeau Sisters series by Patricia Grasso where she introduced seven sisters; one would expect seven books but no, only three get a story. In fact two of the books are part of the Kasanov series as well. This irritates me, why introduce so many characters when the majority aren’t getting a story of their own.
5. Repeat repeat : I know most plot lines are not that orginal, that doesn’t really bother me too much. However, when a book is basically repeated in the same series I kinda spaz out. Stephanie Laurens does this often in her series, most recently with the Cynster Sisters Trilogy. The first two books are almost identical… the names of the characters and the rout they took changed. However, both books spend the entire time discussing how to get from point A to point B through point C and D. I digress…a future blog perhaps?
And finally 6. The finale aka THE END : After spending sometimes years reading all the books of a series every character has had their 15 minutes of fame. No matter how bad some of the books may be I’m always a little broken hearted. I was desolate when I finished The Hathaways Series by Lisa Kleypass one of my all time favorite series.
So, I think that covers all my pet peeves. The conclusion, for me at least there is no such thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to a series. No matter what may annoy me about them I will always be a sucker for The first in an exciting new series by …!
What are your pet peeves about serials, do you like them or hate them or are you absolutely addicted to them?
Wonderfully Vapid Romance 