Sequels That Are Even CRAZIER Than the First Book

We all love a good sequel, but it’s rare when the sequel is even better than the first book, right? WRONG. At least not in this list! Here is a list of sequels that take the twists and turns of book one and just crank that energy level up to 11! Book one, excellent. Book two – A TRASCENDENT MASTERPIECE. You. Are. Welcome.

Into the Midnight Void

by Mara Fitzgerald

Okay, we all know I love, love, love Beyond the Ruby Veil. And if you didn’t, now you do! It is a wild, blood-soaked thrill ride featuring a main character who is the undeniably charming but absolutely evil villain and a plot with so many twists it’ll make your head spin in the best possible way! Well, if you read Beyond the Ruby Veil and thought to yourself, “well how on earth could this get any crazier?” – prepare to be astounded. Because Miss Mara Fitzgerald said let’s blow the ceiling off this series! Truly, half the joy of this series is not knowing what to expect, so I’ll leave it at that. Go read Beyond the Ruby Veil, and if you already have – prepare yourself for more glorious insanity!

The Hawthorne Legacy

By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I have a confession to make: I was skeptical of The Inheritance Games. Why? Because everyone was hyping it up so hard and I was worried it would not live up. Well, those of you who have read it know that yes, it did live up and MORE! Well, second confession time: I was also worried about The Hawthorne Legacy. I mean how would it even be possible that Jennifer Lynn Barnes could live up to a book as perfect as The Inheritance Games? It simply seemed impossible. And then I read the second book. And when I tell you I was screaming at how mind-blowingly good this book is! I just – I’m in awe. I am in awe of these books. I have been well and thoroughly humbled and I only expect glorious perfection from The Final Gambit.

The Wicked King

By Holly Black

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – this is the only book I have been tempted to throw out a fifth story window at 3 a.m. and that is very much a compliment. I have been a Holly Black fan for quite some time, but she absolutely blew me away with The Cruel Prince. Truly, I read that book twice within 36 hours I loved it so much. But when I read The Wicked King… mess me up, fam. I was demolished, destroyed, devastated. It was so good, SO GOOD. And that cliffhanger had me on the floor.

Kingdom of the Cursed

By Kerri Maniscalco

Kerri Maniscalco understood the assignment, please and thank you! The promise of Kingdom of the Wicked and all its glorious spice was met and then taken to another level! Hell was the dangerous, glittering court of my dreams, the mystery was deepened with more questions that need answering, and WRATH – on god, Wrath was somehow even hotter in this one! Someone needs to tell this Wicked prince that he needs to calm down, my heart cannot handle it! Let alone those scenes (you know the ones. I was BLUSHING)! I would be more congratulatory, but that cliffhanger was simply unfair.

City of the Dead

By James Patterson and Mindy McGinnis

If you’ve read Hawk, you know the return of Maximum Ride is everything we could have hoped for! And if you’ve read City of the Dead, you know the action level has been cranked all the way up! In book one, Hawk and her mother, the legendary Maximum Ride, are finally reunited. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows between the two, as Hawk and Max continue to butt heads. Combine that with a brewing war and something lurking in the woods, and you have yourself a recipe for the perfect dystopian thriller!

Illusionary

By Zoraida Cordova

You thought Incendiary was good? You are not prepared for the glory that is Illusionary! This enemies-to-lovers fantasy is rife with action and TENSION, and the second book has so many steamy kisses – it made me blush so hard! Renata is a memory thief, the most feared and rare of the magical Moria. Used as a child by the Crown to enact a reign of terror across the land, she soon falls in with the Whispers – a group of rebels spies that seek to tear down the throne. No spoilers, but those of you who read book one will know about all those mind-blowing plot twists. Well fear not, because book two has that and more! The past will be uncovered, secrets will be revealed, and THAT ENDING! Ugh! It’s so good, it’s hurting my feelings!

Curtsies & Conspiracies

By Gail Carriger

Charming, fun, and absolutely mad, Etiquette & Espionage is a wonderful steampunk adventure set in a London where werewolves run and sport about, vampires set the fashion trends, and fourteen-year-old Sophronia simply cannot curtsy to save her life. She is sent to Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality in a desperate attempt to turn her into a proper young lady. But this is no simple Finishing School – but a school designed to create some of the best spies in the business. Certainly they will learn the finer points of dancing, dressing, and etiquette, but they will also learn how to deal out death, diversion, and espionage! And book two only ups the ante as we learn more about the secrets and mysteries of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s. And, most importantly, will Sophronia survive the London Season with a full dance card?

The King Slayer

by Virginia Boecker

If you have a love for Elizabethan history and magic, you will absolutely adore this duology! Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice – right up until she is accused of being a witch herself. But when the man she thought was her enemy – Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, saves her from being burned at the stake she is sent on a quest that will change everything. And not to spoil anything, but book two has some jaw-dropping reveals and plot twists that made me scream out loud! So prepare yourself for this one!

Muse of Nightmares

by Laini Taylor

Y’all know I’m obsessed with Laini Taylor! Well, if Strange the Dreamer was the lyrical fantasy novel of my dreams, Muse of Nightmares was the sequel of my dreams (pun thoroughly intended)! Strange the Dreamer was rife with questions, some of which were answered. But like the best books, we got even more questions than we started with! Well, Muse of Nightmares has the answers and if I thought I knew where this duology was going trust me when I say I had absolutely no idea! Never mind that the prose had me catching my breath every few pages! Laini, you’re a genius and I can only bask in your glory!

The Exiled Queen

by Cinda Williams Chima

This Seven Realms is probably the series I have re-read the most out of any, and for good reason! Cinda Williams Chima has created a world so wonderfully fantastic, I just want to live it in, never mind the plot! Because y’all, the plot in these books is so good! It’s got the perfect amount of tension as Hanson Alister, street thief and gang lord, and Raisa ana’Marianna, princess and soon-to-be-queen of the Fells, circle around each other and the truth of who they are. And that’s not even counting the political ramifications as the queendom is threatening to tear itself apart! Ugh, these books are just so good, and they only get better book to book! Seriously, just read them!