Coranne: The Worst
There are two books that battle for my worst series enders. This first one- oh man, it was so painful to read. I know there are plenty of people out there who love this book, but for me it was a nightmare.
BREAKING DAWN(Twilight series) not only was a horrible book, but it completely ruined the series. I found myself disliking the characters so much- it read like a parody of itself. Now, the last "final battle" was in some small way entertaining, but it really felt to me like the author phoned it in on this last book.
And speaking of series that are supposed to be phenomonal....
MOCKINGJAY(Hunger Games series) was also one of my least favorite series enders. It felt confusing, rushed, and suddenly the characters were acting completely out of their personalities... I loved the Hunger Games series, but this ending was just subpar.
REQUIEM (Delirium Series). Now, let me say- I actually really enjoyed Requiem. And my
reasoning is completely and totally riddled with SPOILERS.
(You really have been warned- last chance!)
Do you remember how the Sopranos ended? It just randomly and suddenly cut off. That is how Requiem ends. There are no loose ends tied up. The book doesn't feel complete. I literally hunted down another copy to make sure my arc wasn't missing a few chapters. Then I had to talk myself down from wanting to rip my hair out. I invested so much time into these characters... to not even find out what happens! Such a good book with such a mean mean ending.
Coranne's Honorable Mention:
THE SWEET FAR THING (Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
HE TURNED INTO A TREE PEOPLE!!!! A TREE!!!!
Sarah: The Worst
I scrolled down and already know that this book is getting a good nod later on, so I'm going to mention it here. Now, I know this is like, Harry Potter fan blasphemy. And, don't get me wrong, even though I had some problems with the series -- like the fact that Snape's entire character gets boiled down to the fact that he was friendzoned and like any true douchebag couldn't get over it -- I LOVE Harry Potter, I am a huge fangirl. I basically ignored life, work, family, etc. in order to read them as soon as possible after I bought them. I waited in line at midnight to get this one wearing headphones so that if anyone accidentally spoiled anything, I wouldn't hear. And I enjoyed the book and the battle and everything, but that stupid, cheesy epilogue made me want to throw the book across the room. Ugh do I ever hate cutesy epilogues.
This is cheating. I know that this is cheating. There are still two more books to go in the series. But seeing as how there was a six-year wait between A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, and the release date of this one kept getting bumped further and further back, I don't anticipate seeing The Winds of Winter any time before I'm 40. Really I just need to angst at this book, which was so chock full of wordy, useless exposition, repetition, storylines that go nowhere, deaths which are pretty clearly fakeouts, and more. I slogged through it, and there were some good moments, but overall I spent most of the time going OH MAN WHY IS THIS STILL GOING ON. GRRM is a creative dude with a mind for brilliant stories, but he definitely needs an editor to rein him back in, because this was ridiculous.
Coranne: The Best
Sarah is going to whack me when she sees that I picked this one.... but it is SO obvious! The Harry Potter series culminated in book 7. It was intense, scary, and all around one of the best books I've ever read. Love, sacrifice, destiny- it is all in there. We lost beloved characters and the rest of our HP family spent the entire book fighting for their lives. AND THEN at the end- the author gives us a glimpse into the future. So so good.
So if you have read this site before- you know I am a HUGE fan of Colleen Houck. She has created one of the most interesting and fantastic series out there- the Tigers Saga. Holy cow is it amazing! I know that Tiger's Destiny isn't technically the last book, but book 5 is actually a collection of sort stories from the minor characters' points of view. I don't think it counts. If you haven't read this series yet- WHAT are you waiting for??
Sarah: The Best
The ending to Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy isn't perfect, but it's close. Like all of her work, it raises some pretty fascinating moral questions, while also giving you lots by way of zombies, conspiracy theories, and shocking deaths. All of our major plot points are wrapped up and while there's still room to play in the sandbox in the future -- Grant has already revisited the universe with one post-series novella -- you get as close to happily ever after as you can in this bleak world.
Kushiel's Avatar wraps up the initial trilogy of books about the always brilliant Phedre, and it's full of all of the things that make Carey's books work so well. Phedre is as headstrong as ever, and goes on her longest journey yet. I know a lot of fans who didn't really like this one -- it is really super dark, no joke -- but I was always drawn in by the extreme sacrifices that Phedre and Joscelin make here. They're past the traditional second book will-they-break-up nonsense and their love keeps them together and carries them across distant lands. We catch glimpses of Phedre and Joscelin again as minor characters in the next trilogy, but overall this one is a fitting send-off for some of my favorite characters.
Fun fact, I read about 50% of The Minority Council before I realized that it was actually the fourth entry in a series. I kept reading despite minor confusion because I was that into the book. Once I realized it was a series, I went back to the beginning and devoured them all. The series ends in a kind of open ended way, and characters from the Matthew Swift series appear in Griffin's newest series of books, but this one did a great job of capturing all that I love about Matthew Swift and the electric blue angels that live inside his dour, wizardly self.
