Happy May!  This seems to have been my month for continuing and/or completing series, with a lot of books falling into that category.  I’ve been trying to stay on top of series and read them without too long a gap between books (because I forget too much, or lose track of the series entirely!) so I’ve been focusing some reading there lately.

I finished the last book in Martha Wells’ Raksura series, The Harbors of the Sun.  I’ve loved this series, so it’s kind of a shame to get to the end!  Books Two and Three were probably the best but I enjoyed this installment very much as well, and we got to see some new angles and aspects to the world.

I also finished the Janie series by Caroline B. Cooney with Janie Face to Face.  It was…odd.  The entire series was about the aftermath of a long ago kidnapping, and this book finally brings in the point of view of the kidnapper – in fact, alternating chapters are from her point of view.  Which was fascinating, but she seemed very different from how she was portrayed (by report) in the other books.  Meanwhile most of Janie’s story in this book focuses on her romance with on-and-off boyfriend Reeve, and introduced SO MANY new issues in their relationship that were…never resolved at all.  The book also seemed to be hurtling us towards a more dramatic, more thrilleresque ending finally, but ultimately never really went there.  So, I don’t know – it was all kind of odd!

I had more fun with a Terry Pratchett read, Sourcery. I’m trying to fill in the holes in my reading of Discworld – there are only six left now that I haven’t read.  Most, like Sourcery, focus on Rincewind, who was never my favorite lead character.  Sourcery was very amusing though, and a good read if not a new favorite in the series.

I also caught up on another series, reading The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder, sequel to The Bone Spindle that I read last month.  This was an excellent continuation of the story, with more depth on the characters and relationships, and some exciting twists.  It ended with everything gone terribly wrong, and now I have to wait until next year for the final book in the series.

And finally, a non-series book – I read The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, which was a really delightful found family fantasy story.  It reminded me a bit of The House in the Cerulean Sea in premise and feel – not quite as brilliant or funny, though I think I liked the romance here better.  Definitely recommended!

I think I’m caught up on most series for the moment, but I have some new books to explore coming up – so we’ll see what comes next!