Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Nine Best Sequels Ever

In no particular order…

The Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce (YA)

It’s ten years since royal decree permitted girls to train as knights. No one applied – until now. Keladry of Mindelan is determined to follow in the footsteps of the nation’s greatest legend: Alanna, Lioness of Tortall. She’s in for a nasty surprise.

The royal training master, Lord Wyldon of Cavall, thinks girls should stick to embroidery. He will take her for one year only – on probation. If Keladry doesn’t meet his exacting standards, she’s out.

It seems unfair. Keladry knows she’s equal to any of the boys, but how can she hope to succeed when Lord Wyldon’s mind is already made up?

THE PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL series is an indirect sequel to THE SONG OF THE LIONESS, which is one of my favourite series ever. I really like the way that Pierce continues the story of noble ladies fighting not to be seen as weak, and to become Lady Knights.

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Once an aristocrat in the heady days of pre-revolutionary France, now Lestat is a rock star in the demonic, shimmering 1980s. He rushes through the centuries in search of others like him, seeking answers to the mystery of his terrifying existence.

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT is the second book in THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES. I enjoyed the first book, but I loved hearing Lestat’s voice for the first time in this book. This series (specifically the first three books) helped to cement my love of the vampire genre.

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Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead (YA)

Sydney protects vampire secrets – and human lives.

Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.

But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector.

The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one. . .

I actually read the first book of the BLOODLINES series before I started reading the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series, so it’s a bit of a cheat BUT I became instantly hooked and it made me go back and read the first series. Love the take on vampires.

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire (NA)

Travis Maddox lost his mother when he was very young. Her parting advice? Love hard. . .Fight harder . . .

Travis ‘Mad Dog’ Maddox is an underground fighter, from a family of tough older brothers. The original Bad Boy, he takes a different girl home every night. That is, until he meets Abby Abernathy . . .

Notorious around campus for his reputation with women, it is no surprise when Abby refuses Travis’s advances; the best she will offer him is friendship. However, Travis is determined to fight his way into her heart . . .

I know this series isn’t everyone’s cup of tea BUT I enjoyed reading it. The relationship between Abby and Travis isn’t exactly healthy, but I don’t think it crosses the line (although some people do, and I totally respect that). This series made me try other books in the New Adult genre.

The Malloreon quartet by David Eddings

Warned by the prophecy that a new and greater danger threatens the lands of the west, Garion, Belgarath and Polgara must begin another quest to save the lands from great evil.

Three years have passed since Garion’s killing of the evil god Torak and his marriage to Ce’Nedra. He is now Overlord of the West, slowly learning how to cope with the duties of a king and to overcome the difficulties within his marriage.

When the Orb of Aldur warns Garion to ‘Beware Zandramas!’ the Voice of Prophecy reveals that somewhere in the unknown land of the East the Dark Prophecy still exists and that great new dangers threaten.

While Belgarath and Garion seek to uncover the nature of this threat, Garion’s baby son is kidnapped. All evidence points to the loathsome Bear-cult, which has gained power once more, and Garion leads an army bent on its destruction. But there are even more sinister forces at work, and Garion and his followers must look towards the malign and mysterious evil of Zandramas. Their quest must begin again.

THUS BEGINS BOOK ONE OF THE MALLOREON

The sequel to THE BELGARIAD, this is the second series in a really epic fantasy. I really enjoyed it. I think it was the third series by Eddings I read, and yes he is a tad repetitive but I actually enjoyed that.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (YA)

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – the more sparkly, more fun, more wild – the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood.

When Cricket – a gifted inventor – steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This could be read separately to ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and still enjoyed, and it doesn’t really carry on the story of the first book but I still think of it as a sequel because the two books are linked.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (YA)

I HAVE DONE BAD THINGS. I CAN’T TAKE THEM BACK, AND THEY ARE PART OF WHO I AM.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes even more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever . . . because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

I really enjoyed both DIVERGENT and INSURGENT. I think in this book Roth does a brilliant job of continuing the story and building the tension.

The Iron Fey – Call of The Forgotten by Julie Kagawa (YA)

DON’T LOOK AT THEM
DON’T SPEAK OF THEM
NEVER ENTER THEIR WORLD

Those are the rules that Ethan Chase live by when it comes to the dark fairies that robbed him of his sister.

But they are still on his trail and Ethan can’t fight fate forever.

Now the deadly fey are a his school, colliding with his real life, Ethan will sacrifice everything to keep his mortal friends safe, even if it means becoming entangled in the world he’s spent his whole life trying to deny.

His destiny and birthright are calling.

And now their’s no ESCAPE.

I really like the way that Kagawa builds upon the previous series with this one. It’s kinda cheating because I’ve only read the first book – the second isn’t published yet, I think – but I’m still including it because of how Kagawa utilizes the previous series in this one.

The Darkness Rising by Kelley Armstrong (YA)

Maya Delaney has always felt a close bond with nature. The woods around her home are a much-loved sanctuary – and the pawprint birthmark on her hip feels like a sign that she belongs.

But then strange things begin to happen in the tiny medical-research town of Salmon Creek. A young girl drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Mountain lions appear around Maya’s home, and won’t go away. Her best friend Daniel starts experiencing bad vibes about certain people and things. One of those people is Rafe – the new bad boy in town. What is he hiding – and why is he suddenly so interested in Maya…?

THE DARKEST POWERS and THE DARKNESS RISING are two inter-linking series, though it’s not really explicit until the final book of the second series. They both have two different sets of main characters, but the story arcs end up linking together in an epic climax. Both YA series are set in the same world as Armstrong’s adult series WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD, so in my personal opinion it’s kind of an epic sequel.

Those were my Top Nine Best Sequels Ever. What books would you consider the “best sequels ever”? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.

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