I read 101 books in 2023. Within those 101, I finished ten books series. I had a good year in terms of finishing series and I hope to keep that momentum going into 2024. This year was mostly the year of J. Bree (six of the ten slots on this list are for her). I would say largely it was a good year for series, but not as productive as I would have hoped in regards to my backlist series TBR. Let's go ahead and dive in!
The first series I finished this year was Hannaford Prep by J. Bree, the first series in the Mounts Bay world. However, not only did I read this once this year, I read it twice. Two of the ten spots on this list belong to this series and it truly deserved taking so many spots on my 2023 reading list. It's truly become a comfort series at this point and I'm so glad that I discovered it last year. It's not an example of peak literature by any means but it's super fun, addicting, and the characters have wormed their way into my heart. You can find my original series review here.
Then I continued with my Mounts Bay read-through with the Queen Crow trilogy by J. Bree. This trilogy follows side characters from Hannaford Prep after the fallout of the final book. This series is just as addicting, though I definitely still prefer HP if I had to choose. The romance is incredibly different and the plot stakes have changed. Mostly, it was just fun getting to experience more of this world and spend more time with the characters. You can find my review here.
My last series of the Mounts Bay read-through was the Butcher of the Bay duet by J. Bree. This is a prequel duet set before the events of Hannaford Prep and center two characters we love dearly. The duet is their origin story and how their romance came to be. This duet is very dark and graphic in ways I won't go into here. However, it's also about romance and healing and dealing with trauma. I loved getting to know the history behind these two characters as they've been such a staple on page in the other series. You can find my review here.
I finally finished the Bonds that Tie series by J. Bree this year. I then also reread it in October, putting it as the second series I read twice this year. I enjoyed it a lot on the first read through but I did think the last few books weren't as good as the first few. However, on my reread, I loved every moment and felt I came out of it loving it more than the first time. It's just an addicting series and this year was truly the year of J. Bree. You can find my original review here.
Then I reread the Mindf*ck series by S.T. Abby. This is a super dark serial killer romance series and it's so addicting. It's popular on booktok and I discovered it in 2022. I read it in one sitting that year and fell in love with Lana. Mindf*ck is one of those series where you actually root for the villain to succeed. It's not for the faint of heart though and if you're anticipating reading it I would recommend looking at all the trigger warnings in advance. You can find my original review here.
In the back half of the year I read WITSEC by Ashley N. Rostek. This is a why choose romance series about a girl in witness protection who moves somewhere new and falls for her new neighbors. Did I read this series in 24 hours? Yes. But were they good? Mhm I'm not sure. They were addicting but I think they were only good on the surface level. When you actually dive into an analysis of the series it doesn't stand up. I honestly have also forgotten most of it by now but you can find my review here.
Then I read the Pacific Prep series by R.A. Smyth. This is a why choose bully romance/organized crime series in the same sort of genre as Hannaford Prep. I was looking for something to fill that void from HP and I ended up finding this one. It was alright? Like with WITSEC, on the surface level it was good but wouldn't hold up under a deeper analysis. I was a bit disappointed by the end for sure. You can find my review here.
The last series I read this year was a reread of the entire Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. This is one of my favorite series and one that is truly a staple in my reading journey. It had been five years since I read the series for the release of Kingdom of Ash and I realized how much I was missing it. That combined with the upcoming SJM release made me want to reread it ASAP. So I just sat down and did it. It was truly such a fun experience reading these again and I'm already looking forward to revisiting them in the future.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren
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