**My Favorite Series: The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare**

As a huge fan of author Cassandra Clare and her Shadowhunter Chronicles series, I am excited to share my personal ranking of my favorite series. For me, there's no doubt that the Mortal Instruments series holds a special place in my heart. This series is not only my absolute favorite, but it also has a very significant impact on my life. I discovered this series during a particularly difficult time as a teenager, and it became my escape and reason for getting out of bed in the morning. The characters, their stories, and the world they inhabit are all so well-crafted that I have developed an attachment to them over the years.

I love how Cassandra Clare weaves together different storylines across multiple series, creating a vast and intricate web of connections between her characters. This aspect of her writing is one of my favorite things as a reader, as it allows me to explore and geek out over these complex relationships and arcs of development. From the massive battles against evil forces to the personal struggles of each character, I am always drawn into this world and its inhabitants. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have become such a big part of my life that I often wonder how I would be without them.

Of course, with four main series – Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, Bane Chronicles, and Last Hours – there is no shortage of exciting stories to explore. Each series offers something unique, from the urban fantasy world of New York City to the darker, more mysterious atmosphere of the 19th century. As I continue to read and enjoy these books, I find myself constantly discovering new connections between them and appreciating the depth of Clare's writing.

For me, the Infernal Devices is my second-favorite series. While it may not be as deeply ingrained in my heart as the Mortal Instruments, I have grown a greater appreciation for this series over time. I love how Cassandra Clare explores the early days of Shadowhunters and their struggles against demons and other supernatural creatures. The world-building and character development are both impressive, making me eager to dive into each new book.

The Last Hours is currently my third-favorite series, although it's still ongoing, and I'm excited to see where the story goes from here. For now, I am torn between this series and the Dark Artifices as to which one will take the top spot. While both have their own unique charms, I find myself drawn to the plot of The Last Hours more than the Infernal Devices.

My least favorite series among these four is still my second-favorite, the Infernal Devices. This may seem strange, given how much I've grown to appreciate this series over time. However, it's simply that the Mortal Instruments holds a special place in my heart, and I feel more connected to its characters and world.

**A Personal Connection to the Series**

One of the reasons I love the Shadowhunter Chronicles so much is because of the personal connection I have to this series. As I mentioned earlier, I discovered The Mortal Instruments during a difficult time in my life, and it became my escape and reason for getting out of bed. This experience has left an indelible mark on me, and I often find myself drawn into these characters' lives as if they were my own.

I also appreciate how Cassandra Clare weaves together her past and previous works with the present series, creating a sense of continuity that makes each book feel like part of a larger whole. This aspect of her writing is one of the things I admire most about her – she has an incredible talent for crafting stories that are both personal and universal.

**The World of Shadowhunters**

One of the aspects of the Shadowhunter Chronicles that I love the most is the world itself. The Shadowhunters, a race of demon hunters tasked with protecting humans from supernatural threats, live in secret among us. This setup allows Clare to explore different cultures, histories, and mythologies in a unique way, creating a rich and immersive world that feels both familiar and exotic.

From the faeries of Irish folklore to the werewolves of Native American legend, each creature is reimagined and reinterpreted through Clare's lens. I love how she draws on these diverse sources to create a world that is both fantastical and grounded in reality. Whether it's the battles against evil forces or the personal struggles of each character, I am always drawn into this world and its inhabitants.

**Favorite Editions and Collecting**

As a fan of Cassandra Clare, I have a hard time resisting collecting all the different editions of her books. There's something special about holding a physical copy in my hands, admiring the cover art, and knowing that I'm getting an exclusive version of one of my favorite stories.

From collector's editions to limited print runs, I love them all – each one offers a unique glimpse into Clare's world and its characters. My collection is still growing, with new books and editions added regularly. When I see my name in print on a bookshelf or watch a video of Cassandra Clare reading from her latest release, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude.

**Conclusion**

For me, the Shadowhunter Chronicles represent more than just a series of books – they are a part of my life, a reflection of who I am as a reader and a fan. Whether it's the Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, Bane Chronicles, or Last Hours, each book offers something unique that draws me in and refuses to let go.

As I continue to explore this vast and intricate world, I know that my love for Cassandra Clare and her Shadowhunter Chronicles will endure for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what's up hello my name is emma and i have not filmed a sit-down video in quite some time so this is a little weird for me hello i have been really busy with school and my internship as this is my last full semester of grad school so i'm so thankful for your support and patience during this very hectic time but i'm very excited because today i'm going to be giving you guys an updated list on my all-time favorite series i first did this video in 2016 and my reading tastes have changed a lot since then i've read so many more new series that i absolutely love and i'm excited to share with you my criteria for considering something a favorite series is it has to have more than one book in the series currently published and i have to have read like the majority of them if i haven't fully finished it so i'm excited to just sit down and talk about some of my favorite books and in the comments below i would absolutely love to hear what your favorite series are but before we dive in i want to give a big thank you to book of the month for sponsoring today's video book of the month is an amazing bookish subscription service i work with them a lot on my channel because i truly love their service and i've read so many books i adore from their choices every month they choose five new and sometimes early adult fiction releases and they can range from genres like historical fiction fantasy and science fiction romance mystery thrillers contemporaries and more so you choose your favorite and it gets delivered to your door for a great price and they also have a risk-free cancellation policy so if you can't afford to get a box that month or you're not interested in any of the choices you can skip it easily and then come back when you want to to show you their options for their march box first we have the lost apothecary by sarah penner this book is set in 18th century and present-day london and it follows the same apothecary that our present character eliza discovers and it seems like it may be related to these unsolved apothecary murders from many years ago then we have in a book club far away by tiff barcelo this story follows three army wives who used to be very close-knit and had their own book club but a betrayal shattered their group entirely and so years later they have to come back together again to help one of the wives support their daughter then for our mystery thriller choice we have too good to be true by kerola lovering this story has three perspectives one is a woman named skye who is crippling ocd but is excited to get married to an older man named burke then we have letters from burke's diary which tell us that he is a happily married man and using sky to his own advantage and finally we have heather whose perspective is set 30 years before as she is trying to break things off with burke but doesn't know if he will continue to be in her future then we have what's mine is yours by neymar koster this story follows two families as a predominantly white school in north carolina is getting an influx of black students and it's all about what happens when these two families intersect what the mothers are willing to do for their children and how their decisions will impact their adult lives to come and lastly we have the final revival of opal and nev by donny walton this story first takes place in the 70s of new york city as a rising black punk musician named opal is living out her dreams she thinks but she discovers the consequences of being a black woman speaking her truth and in 2016 a journalist is writing a piece on her idols so opal and the songwriter who discovered her name neville get together for the first time in decades and start to unravel some of the truth behind their story many years ago so these are the book of the month march choices i think my personal favorites are the lost apothecary what's mine is yours and the final revival of opal and nev but if you are interested in any of these books as well you can get your first book of the month box for only 9.99 using the code bookbud so thank you again to book of the month for sponsoring this video and thank you to you guys for supporting book of the month because doing so really helps support my channel alrighty now let's start talking about some of my all-time favorite series now there is no real order to this i'm not like ranking my favorite series but definitely as we get closer to the end of the video we'll be talking about my absolute favorites first up i have truly devious by maureen johnson and this is a young adult mystery trilogy that takes place in a dual timeline between 1937 and present day vermont in 1936 an eclectic boarding school called ellingham academy is opened and a few short months later the founder's wife and daughter go missing with the only evidence being a letter full of riddles signed truly devious the case was never solved and we fast forward to present day where a young girl named stevie is going to ellingham academy to study true crime with the intention of solving the kidnapping slash disappearance from all those years ago now i can often be pretty critical of why mysteries and thrillers because i find them underwhelming and contrived a lot of the time but truly devious is a series that has truly impressed me through every single book i feel like each installment is like just as good as the last and i think it's very consistent maureen johnson has very meticulously plotted this mystery i could not really guess where the story was going at any point and i just felt that all of the clues and evidence that she leads up to in solving the final mystery was so well constructed it's definitely a series you need to remain invested in to get the payoff because truly devious ends on a cliffhanger the vanishing stair ends on a cliffhanger and we don't really get any answers on the true mystery until the hand on the wall but it was a very satisfying conclusion with all ends tied up in the end so i personally really really loved it and not only is the plot and mystery of this book really well done but i also absolutely adore the characters like with such an interesting school comes very interesting students so they're all very unique and bring a lot to the story and as someone who really doesn't love dual timeline stories or even periodic flashbacks and novels i actually really enjoyed the way that maureen johnson balanced the 1936 timeline with the present day it really is two very different stories that are interconnected and it's super fun to find the common themes and links between them if you are a fan of mysteries i highly recommend checking out truly devious it is just one that i feel really stands on its own and we are actually getting a fourth book in this series called the box in the woods and while it is not directly related to the truly devious mystery it's an entirely different story following the same set of characters and i'm really excited for it next up on my list of all-time favorite series is the shadow game trilogy by amanda foodie this is a fantasy story that starts off with a young girl named n who is traveling to the scandalous city of sin in order to find her mother her only lead happens to be a boy named levi glazier who is one of the street lords of new reigns and also a con man who is currently involved in a ponzi scheme that is going really badly so the two of them team up together to explore new reigns while trying to avoid the gangsters mafia bosses and all of levi's enemies who are catching up with him what i love most about ace of shades is the entire world and especially the very detailed magic system the way it works is that each character has two last names which are attributed to their two family talents and that can be anything from like magic control over others being able to read people's auras or else being like a good dancer or good at accounting the political arc of this story is really fascinating as we have all of these different street gangs and mafia families that are in conflict as well as a rich history about the power and the change in dynamic across new reigns and the story really develops and grows along the series like we get so much more of those magic and politics as the series gets deeper and the character relationships go from really like fun and light-hearted to like super heartbreaking i will say i did not love the last book queen of volts as much as the first two installments i just i read it at a weird time and it just didn't have necessarily the love that i had in the first two novels but i also just love the character so much like n is this prim and proper finishing school girl who has this really edgy feisty side and we have levi who is just sort of like this big macho gang leader but he is also a really vulnerable young boy and the characters they surround themselves with their friends and supporters it just makes for a really well-rounded like found family story so despite that i didn't love the last book as much i consider the ace of shades series one of my favorites i love amanda foody's books i think she's an incredible author and just deserves more hype so if you love fantasy and young adult books i highly recommend checking out the shadow game series next up on my list of favorite series of all time we have serpent and dove by shelby maheran and this is a trilogy where the last book is coming out this year but i've read the first two books in the series and i just can't imagine this not being a favorite fantasy series of mine this book is a historical 15th century france inspired setting where witches are to be feared and killed we follow louise leblanc who is a witch in hiding and on the run from her coven and a witch hunter soldier named reed and so the two of them sort of get into this really ridiculous situation where the only way for them to save reed's reputation as a high-ranking soldier is for the two of them to be married the issue of course is that reed does not know that lou is a witch this is a very romantic beautiful world with a lot of darkness in it and it's another series where i find the magic system just so unique and fascinating white witches draw their power from the land whereas red witches draw their power from their blood and in this world magic has a price in order to keep the world in balance so you will often see lou do something like break her finger or relinquish a memory in order to use her magic louis leblanc is fiery quick-witted and sharp-tongued she's one of my atmosphere all-time favorite y heroines and then we have reid who is like a little kind and soft-hearted and really focused on doing good so the combination of the characters are just total opposites but they complement each other so well i am a very plot-based reader especially with fantasy so when i go into a book i'm looking for the action the adventure like what is this journey that they're gonna go on and i just feel like serpent and dove fully fulfilled me in that way there are so many plot twists and surprises that you will not be able to guess and that was a really fun point in reading serpentine dove for me blood and honey was a really satisfying sequel to me it is definitely much darker as the characters have undergone a lot of trauma from the end of the first book and it's all about them trying to deal with that while also being chased by an evil force so i'm really excited for gods and monsters to come out this year and to finish off the series but if you love y fantasy like i know that some people don't love serpent and dove but for me it's just like a no-brainer that this book is an amazing series so i highly recommend you pick it up switching it up from all the y a i've been talking about i have a middle grade series that i just adore to my core and that is nevermoor by jessica thousand this is a middle grade fantasy series that the first three books are currently out but it is set to be a nine book series so i am very very excited to spend the next few years just waiting for each installment and kind of watching morrigan grow up the story starts with a young girl named morrigan crow who is believed to be cursed and like the cause of all problems in her community and on her 11th birthday she has always been set to die so when that day comes she is being chased by these shadowy figures and she is rescued by a man named jupiter north who takes her to the wondrous world of nevermore in order to secure a spot in the wondrous society and build a completely different life for herself morgan has to compete alongside other children in four different tasks using their magical powers called necks but morrigan does not have one the word i love to describe the nevermoor series is whimsical like it is just a very fun vibrant colorful fantasy story full of so much magic and wonder jessica tauzen is a fantastic world builder and storyteller i am just enchanted every time i read or think about this series and their characters and i just it's one of those books that i had trouble like verbalizing my thoughts about but i have nothing but wonderful positive feelings about it and even though we are only three books in the series has already developed so much i think hollow pox the third book is currently my favorite because it really has a different level of maturity and sophistication compared to the first two books which i felt were just really light-hearted and fun it's really just a masterpiece in my opinion i feel that any reader if you like fantasy regardless of your age range would really enjoy nevermoor it's just the perfect comforting book to cozy up with and get lost in a world different from your own i have a lot of friends that love nevermoor which i love because i can talk about this wonderful series with them but i feel like it deserves so much more widespread hype so if you love fantasy if you're looking for a new series to get invested in and like hang on to for the long run i highly highly could not recommend nevermore enough also the audiobooks of this series are fantastic the narrator does so many different voices and just really brings a story to life so if you love audiobooks like nevermoor is one to pick up next up on my list of all time favorite series we have the arc of a scythe trilogy by neil schusterman now everyone like every one of my comments is like emma when are you gonna read the toll and i don't know the thing is i have tried reading the toll twice one physically and one through the audiobook which is how i read the first two books and i loved the audiobooks and i just feel that it's a combination of just not being in the right mind space to read this like twisted futuristic sci-fi and also that i can tell that the toll is not going to be my favorite in the series which is fine but i am blown away and absolutely obsessed with the first two books in this series so that's what i'm gonna talk about so this book takes place in a future to our own where sort of every negative aspect of life has been eradicated through science and technology so there's no disease there's no hunger and even people are immortal so in order to control the population growth and also instill like the value of life onto people there is this organization of people called scythes who have the ability to glean or essentially kill people and end their lifespans so where the story starts is with two teenagers named citra and rowan who both end up becoming the apprentice to a scythe to try and become scythes themselves and along the way it sort of becomes this competition between the two of them where only one will become a side and the other will be their first glean so despite my blockage to finish this series i definitely consider it one of my favorites because i just think it is so complex well written and very thought provoking i love how this book explores themes of morality and mortality because it is very different from the world that we live in today i actually have spoiler filled reviews of both side and thunderhead if you're interested in getting my more in-depth thoughts on this series but the world is really what draws me to this book it has so many different layers and each one is more interesting than the last i also really love the main characters citra and rowan because they are also very different citra's another like all-time favorite way heroin of mine she's just so intelligent and clever whereas rowan has this really interesting character development where he becomes sort of morally gray and doesn't represent the same things that citra does going back to my status as a plot-based reader this book has so many incredible plot twists that i i have so many memories of just like yelling and screaming because i thought i had this book figured out and i i did not the only thing i don't love about the arc besides series is the romances i just don't feel the chemistry between any of the characters who are supposed to be romantically involved and that is something i have felt throughout like all of the neil shusterman books that i have read but the characters themselves are fascinating so yes the arc of a scythe series is one that just constantly impresses me there is just so much to talk about in this very complex world that neil shusterman created and i just feel like it is so inherently good one of these days i will finish the toll i promise you i will finish it i will let you know when i finish it the time is not now but i do really love this series and i'm excited to see how things wrap up in the end next up on my list of all-time favorite series we have the diviners by libba bray and this is a four book young adult supernatural paranormal series that is set in 1920s new york city this series has a huge cast of characters but the first installment mostly focuses on a girl named evie o'neill who is sort of sent away from her town in ohio to live with her uncle in new york and at the time there are all of these different murders happening in new york with no leads or ways to catch the killer as the story goes on we find out that many of the characters are hiding a similar secret that they have supernatural powers so we have different abilities like being able to read a person's memories from an object of theirs being able to create fire or heal others and it follows these characters as they grow within their own friendship to defeat different types of evil forces now i know a lot of people have like kind of been intimidated by the diviner series because people say it's like ooh super super scary and especially because all of the books are like this big they're all gigantic but this is one of those series where everything that happens is super important and they're very long because they go super in depth about each of these different characters past histories what is going on in their present and the many different character dynamics and relationships among them i absolutely adore the 1920 setting of this series it just feels very well researched and authentic to the time period i think my favorite thing about the diviners has to be the characters and their relationships like in the first installment you're just getting to know all of the different characters and they develop their own like small little pods but as a series goes on they really work together as a group and you see some different relationships surface that you might not have expected and it's just so wonderful and makes my heart so happy and the cast of characters is just so diverse and i feel like for being a historical y.a novel it does not get enough credit for that many of the characters come from very different ethnic backgrounds there's varieties of different sexual orientations or level of ability there's so many different topics and themes explored in this novel like racism immigration and just focusing on a lot of america's wrongdoings which i think it has great commentary on it's a fabulous fabulous series with breathtaking writing amazing lovable characters that will just secure a permanent place in your heart a lot of like deep dark magic for those of us who are fantasy lovers and it is just an all-time favorite of mine i cannot recommend it enough if you have not picked up the diviners yet this is your call to do so next up we have another classic emma books favorite and that is the renegades trilogy by marissa meyer oh my gosh like how do i describe renegades it has been a minute in this world a selection of the population has developed super powers so we have the superheroes known as the renegades and they are the ones in charge of handling justice in gatlin city and sort of stopping all wrongdoing and evil and then we have the anarchists who are hell-bent on stopping the reign of renegades and returning this world to a time of anarchy after people with superpowers were heavily oppressed so we have two main characters our first being adrian who is the son of two of the main renegades and he has the ability to draw whatever he likes into existence but he has also been having this sort of secret identity as the sentinel so he is able to stop crime in a way that he sees fit and then we have nova who is an anarchist who has the ability to put people to sleep and she decides to go undercover and join the renegades to bring them down from within so i am someone who is not a big superhero fan like i never got super into marvel or dc or any of those movies or comics but despite that i love renegades so much the different types of superpowers in this world are super interesting and the characters are again really lovable and diverse nova and adrian are both people of color adrian has two dads we have a disabled superhero like there's just a lot of attention to incorporating people with different backgrounds into this fictional story and i absolutely love the romance in this series it is just like the best type of a slow burn romance but it also has this twist of like enemies to lovers because adrian and nova have these secret identities that the other person does not know about this is another series that is full of twists and turns marissa meyer is one of my favorite y authors and she just does not disappoint me and it's super fun and engaging while having these other themes of politics and deciding between what is right and wrong and it really forces you to like think outside of your black and white morality box to see like who's really the superhero here and who's really the super villain renegades is definitely not the most sophisticated ya series i've ever read so i definitely understand why it might not be everyone's cup of tea but i personally love it i find this series exhilarating engaging entertaining all these words that start with e i have like nothing but great memories attached to renegades it's the story that i feel i will always want to revert back to for just how much fun and joy it brings me so again like all of these if you have not read renegades yet i definitely recommend picking it up next up i have a series that this list would not be complete without and that is harry potter by jk rowling listen harry potter is a loaded topic right now and so i feel that it is necessary for me that when i do talk about harry potter i mention the fact that i do not support jk rowling's statements regarding the trans community i find them very harmful and therefore that impacts my desire to support her and her works even if one of them is my favorite series of all time if you disagree with me that's fine i don't care you're not gonna change my mind but i feel that i have a responsibility as someone in this community with a really large platform and also as someone who like really cares about the trans community and does not want to further harm against them that i feel it's necessary for me to talk about when i do talk about harry potter that said it's really complicated because i do love harry potter i can't pretend that i'm not and jk rowling's statements and actions in recent years does not tarnish how i have felt about this series for most of my life harry potter changed my life as a young kid it gave me so much hope and comfort and transformed me into the reader i am today i would not be sitting in front of you making videos about books for my job if it was not for harry potter first i personally think it is a brilliantly crafted series not without its flaws like any other book but this series has completely transformed the world of fiction from here to the long far future these characters are incredible i love them so dearly they bring me so much light happiness and hope and growing up alongside of them i have just learned so much from who they are and what they do in this series this series has shaped not only who i am as a reader but who i am as a person and i am so forever grateful for that i would not change it at all i know that so many readers like myself are going through this similar conflict right now and the kind of attitude online is like don't ever talk about harry potter anymore or you're cancelled but pretending like this series isn't important to me is not authentic to me and that's not something i'm willing to compromise about myself so the way that i see it is i'm very intentional now about how and when i talk about harry potter and i will be going forward i see it in a different way and that causes me to love it in a different way and i'm okay with that but nothing on this earth can change what harry potter has meant to me and what it will continue to mean to me for the rest of my life so i definitely do consider it still one of my all-time favorite series and so finishing off my list of my all-time favorite series i decided to combine a few of my all-time favorite series to the one main spot and that is the shadowhunter chronicles by cassandra clare it is just not fair to give them four individual spots on this list we all know cassandra clare is my favorite author of all time the world instruments is my favorite series of all time this is just a fact if you have not heard of the shadowhunter chronicles before you must be new here hi i'm emma this is my reason for living the shadowhunter chronicles is a collection of four and in the future five series that all take place in the same world through many different generations and it focuses on a race of demon hunters called shadowhunters and all of their adventures and journeys in fighting demons and interacting with different creatures like werewolves vampires fairies and warlocks i think i want to give a personal ranking of where i stand with each series as of now so we all know that the top spot my absolute favorite is the mortal instrument series then i'm kind of stuck between the dark artifices and the last hours because the last hours is still ongoing and i haven't even finished chain of iron yet but i'm not sure which one will prevail but these will definitely be the second and third spots i love them for very different reasons i love the dark artifices for the plot and i love the last hours for the characters so it's really hard to compare the two and my least favorite of the group but still my favorite series of mine is the dark artifices did i just fucking say the dark artifices referring to the infernal devices for the zillionth time why am i incapable of saying the infernal devices i've just never had the deep attachment to it that many other fans do but after reading it a few times since i was a teen each time i definitely grow a greater appreciation for it i think cassandra clare is an immensely talented beautiful writer it has been such a journey to watch her craft develop over 15 years of consistently writing novels and i feel like the work that she puts out now is some of the best writing ever the mortal instruments is absolutely my favorite and holds a super unique place in my heart because i discovered it at a really dark time as a teenager where this series and these characters were like my escape and my reason for getting out of bed in the morning and there is just something about that attachment i have to it that no other book can possibly interrupt i absolutely adore all of these different casts of characters and their stories throughout history i love how cassie clear is always creating links between her past and previous and sometimes future series for us to explore and just geek out over and it's one of my favorite things as a reader who loves this series i love this whole world of characters they are similar but different and wholly unique i love seeing the massive arc of development that they all go through in their respective series and the same goes for their relationships like there are some incredibly strong bonds and dedication in these books that is hard to find elsewhere i just feel such a sense of home when i read these books it's like these books were put out into the world and i was born in the time to discover them and read them for a reason and they just bring me so much love and happiness and joy and i don't know where i would be in the world without the shadowhunter chronicles i get that they're super intimidating because like oh my god there's like 15 to 20 books that all intersect and are connected so i do have a fairly recent video on the different ways that you can read the shadowhunter chronicles if you have never tried and want to get invested all my videos relevant to any of the books and series that i talked about today are in the description if you want to know more but it's just incredibly rewarding to be a part of these characters lives and to witness their stories and i just think they're fun and entertaining and incredibly well written so yes the shadowhunter chronicles are absolutely my favorite series of all time i love collecting all of the many different editions of these books and cassie claire is an author that i've gotten to know pretty well and she's just been an amazing light in my life and i just wouldn't change the way that these books have impacted me for anything alrighty so that is my updated list on my favorite series of all time i love these series so much and i would love to see more people reading them and talking about them because i really think they deserve it in the comments below definitely let me know what your favorite series are or what you think of my favorite series and if there are any other favorites videos you'd like to see from me like if you want an updated favorite standalones of all time or maybe like favorite contemporaries favorite mystery thrillers i'm definitely interested in doing more of these list videos but that is it thank you guys so much for watching and i'll see you soon for a new video byehey what's up hello my name is emma and i have not filmed a sit-down video in quite some time so this is a little weird for me hello i have been really busy with school and my internship as this is my last full semester of grad school so i'm so thankful for your support and patience during this very hectic time but i'm very excited because today i'm going to be giving you guys an updated list on my all-time favorite series i first did this video in 2016 and my reading tastes have changed a lot since then i've read so many more new series that i absolutely love and i'm excited to share with you my criteria for considering something a favorite series is it has to have more than one book in the series currently published and i have to have read like the majority of them if i haven't fully finished it so i'm excited to just sit down and talk about some of my favorite books and in the comments below i would absolutely love to hear what your favorite series are but before we dive in i want to give a big thank you to book of the month for sponsoring today's video book of the month is an amazing bookish subscription service i work with them a lot on my channel because i truly love their service and i've read so many books i adore from their choices every month they choose five new and sometimes early adult fiction releases and they can range from genres like historical fiction fantasy and science fiction romance mystery thrillers contemporaries and more so you choose your favorite and it gets delivered to your door for a great price and they also have a risk-free cancellation policy so if you can't afford to get a box that month or you're not interested in any of the choices you can skip it easily and then come back when you want to to show you their options for their march box first we have the lost apothecary by sarah penner this book is set in 18th century and present-day london and it follows the same apothecary that our present character eliza discovers and it seems like it may be related to these unsolved apothecary murders from many years ago then we have in a book club far away by tiff barcelo this story follows three army wives who used to be very close-knit and had their own book club but a betrayal shattered their group entirely and so years later they have to come back together again to help one of the wives support their daughter then for our mystery thriller choice we have too good to be true by kerola lovering this story has three perspectives one is a woman named skye who is crippling ocd but is excited to get married to an older man named burke then we have letters from burke's diary which tell us that he is a happily married man and using sky to his own advantage and finally we have heather whose perspective is set 30 years before as she is trying to break things off with burke but doesn't know if he will continue to be in her future then we have what's mine is yours by neymar koster this story follows two families as a predominantly white school in north carolina is getting an influx of black students and it's all about what happens when these two families intersect what the mothers are willing to do for their children and how their decisions will impact their adult lives to come and lastly we have the final revival of opal and nev by donny walton this story first takes place in the 70s of new york city as a rising black punk musician named opal is living out her dreams she thinks but she discovers the consequences of being a black woman speaking her truth and in 2016 a journalist is writing a piece on her idols so opal and the songwriter who discovered her name neville get together for the first time in decades and start to unravel some of the truth behind their story many years ago so these are the book of the month march choices i think my personal favorites are the lost apothecary what's mine is yours and the final revival of opal and nev but if you are interested in any of these books as well you can get your first book of the month box for only 9.99 using the code bookbud so thank you again to book of the month for sponsoring this video and thank you to you guys for supporting book of the month because doing so really helps support my channel alrighty now let's start talking about some of my all-time favorite series now there is no real order to this i'm not like ranking my favorite series but definitely as we get closer to the end of the video we'll be talking about my absolute favorites first up i have truly devious by maureen johnson and this is a young adult mystery trilogy that takes place in a dual timeline between 1937 and present day vermont in 1936 an eclectic boarding school called ellingham academy is opened and a few short months later the founder's wife and daughter go missing with the only evidence being a letter full of riddles signed truly devious the case was never solved and we fast forward to present day where a young girl named stevie is going to ellingham academy to study true crime with the intention of solving the kidnapping slash disappearance from all those years ago now i can often be pretty critical of why mysteries and thrillers because i find them underwhelming and contrived a lot of the time but truly devious is a series that has truly impressed me through every single book i feel like each installment is like just as good as the last and i think it's very consistent maureen johnson has very meticulously plotted this mystery i could not really guess where the story was going at any point and i just felt that all of the clues and evidence that she leads up to in solving the final mystery was so well constructed it's definitely a series you need to remain invested in to get the payoff because truly devious ends on a cliffhanger the vanishing stair ends on a cliffhanger and we don't really get any answers on the true mystery until the hand on the wall but it was a very satisfying conclusion with all ends tied up in the end so i personally really really loved it and not only is the plot and mystery of this book really well done but i also absolutely adore the characters like with such an interesting school comes very interesting students so they're all very unique and bring a lot to the story and as someone who really doesn't love dual timeline stories or even periodic flashbacks and novels i actually really enjoyed the way that maureen johnson balanced the 1936 timeline with the present day it really is two very different stories that are interconnected and it's super fun to find the common themes and links between them if you are a fan of mysteries i highly recommend checking out truly devious it is just one that i feel really stands on its own and we are actually getting a fourth book in this series called the box in the woods and while it is not directly related to the truly devious mystery it's an entirely different story following the same set of characters and i'm really excited for it next up on my list of all-time favorite series is the shadow game trilogy by amanda foodie this is a fantasy story that starts off with a young girl named n who is traveling to the scandalous city of sin in order to find her mother her only lead happens to be a boy named levi glazier who is one of the street lords of new reigns and also a con man who is currently involved in a ponzi scheme that is going really badly so the two of them team up together to explore new reigns while trying to avoid the gangsters mafia bosses and all of levi's enemies who are catching up with him what i love most about ace of shades is the entire world and especially the very detailed magic system the way it works is that each character has two last names which are attributed to their two family talents and that can be anything from like magic control over others being able to read people's auras or else being like a good dancer or good at accounting the political arc of this story is really fascinating as we have all of these different street gangs and mafia families that are in conflict as well as a rich history about the power and the change in dynamic across new reigns and the story really develops and grows along the series like we get so much more of those magic and politics as the series gets deeper and the character relationships go from really like fun and light-hearted to like super heartbreaking i will say i did not love the last book queen of volts as much as the first two installments i just i read it at a weird time and it just didn't have necessarily the love that i had in the first two novels but i also just love the character so much like n is this prim and proper finishing school girl who has this really edgy feisty side and we have levi who is just sort of like this big macho gang leader but he is also a really vulnerable young boy and the characters they surround themselves with their friends and supporters it just makes for a really well-rounded like found family story so despite that i didn't love the last book as much i consider the ace of shades series one of my favorites i love amanda foody's books i think she's an incredible author and just deserves more hype so if you love fantasy and young adult books i highly recommend checking out the shadow game series next up on my list of favorite series of all time we have serpent and dove by shelby maheran and this is a trilogy where the last book is coming out this year but i've read the first two books in the series and i just can't imagine this not being a favorite fantasy series of mine this book is a historical 15th century france inspired setting where witches are to be feared and killed we follow louise leblanc who is a witch in hiding and on the run from her coven and a witch hunter soldier named reed and so the two of them sort of get into this really ridiculous situation where the only way for them to save reed's reputation as a high-ranking soldier is for the two of them to be married the issue of course is that reed does not know that lou is a witch this is a very romantic beautiful world with a lot of darkness in it and it's another series where i find the magic system just so unique and fascinating white witches draw their power from the land whereas red witches draw their power from their blood and in this world magic has a price in order to keep the world in balance so you will often see lou do something like break her finger or relinquish a memory in order to use her magic louis leblanc is fiery quick-witted and sharp-tongued she's one of my atmosphere all-time favorite y heroines and then we have reid who is like a little kind and soft-hearted and really focused on doing good so the combination of the characters are just total opposites but they complement each other so well i am a very plot-based reader especially with fantasy so when i go into a book i'm looking for the action the adventure like what is this journey that they're gonna go on and i just feel like serpent and dove fully fulfilled me in that way there are so many plot twists and surprises that you will not be able to guess and that was a really fun point in reading serpentine dove for me blood and honey was a really satisfying sequel to me it is definitely much darker as the characters have undergone a lot of trauma from the end of the first book and it's all about them trying to deal with that while also being chased by an evil force so i'm really excited for gods and monsters to come out this year and to finish off the series but if you love y fantasy like i know that some people don't love serpent and dove but for me it's just like a no-brainer that this book is an amazing series so i highly recommend you pick it up switching it up from all the y a i've been talking about i have a middle grade series that i just adore to my core and that is nevermoor by jessica thousand this is a middle grade fantasy series that the first three books are currently out but it is set to be a nine book series so i am very very excited to spend the next few years just waiting for each installment and kind of watching morrigan grow up the story starts with a young girl named morrigan crow who is believed to be cursed and like the cause of all problems in her community and on her 11th birthday she has always been set to die so when that day comes she is being chased by these shadowy figures and she is rescued by a man named jupiter north who takes her to the wondrous world of nevermore in order to secure a spot in the wondrous society and build a completely different life for herself morgan has to compete alongside other children in four different tasks using their magical powers called necks but morrigan does not have one the word i love to describe the nevermoor series is whimsical like it is just a very fun vibrant colorful fantasy story full of so much magic and wonder jessica tauzen is a fantastic world builder and storyteller i am just enchanted every time i read or think about this series and their characters and i just it's one of those books that i had trouble like verbalizing my thoughts about but i have nothing but wonderful positive feelings about it and even though we are only three books in the series has already developed so much i think hollow pox the third book is currently my favorite because it really has a different level of maturity and sophistication compared to the first two books which i felt were just really light-hearted and fun it's really just a masterpiece in my opinion i feel that any reader if you like fantasy regardless of your age range would really enjoy nevermoor it's just the perfect comforting book to cozy up with and get lost in a world different from your own i have a lot of friends that love nevermoor which i love because i can talk about this wonderful series with them but i feel like it deserves so much more widespread hype so if you love fantasy if you're looking for a new series to get invested in and like hang on to for the long run i highly highly could not recommend nevermore enough also the audiobooks of this series are fantastic the narrator does so many different voices and just really brings a story to life so if you love audiobooks like nevermoor is one to pick up next up on my list of all time favorite series we have the arc of a scythe trilogy by neil schusterman now everyone like every one of my comments is like emma when are you gonna read the toll and i don't know the thing is i have tried reading the toll twice one physically and one through the audiobook which is how i read the first two books and i loved the audiobooks and i just feel that it's a combination of just not being in the right mind space to read this like twisted futuristic sci-fi and also that i can tell that the toll is not going to be my favorite in the series which is fine but i am blown away and absolutely obsessed with the first two books in this series so that's what i'm gonna talk about so this book takes place in a future to our own where sort of every negative aspect of life has been eradicated through science and technology so there's no disease there's no hunger and even people are immortal so in order to control the population growth and also instill like the value of life onto people there is this organization of people called scythes who have the ability to glean or essentially kill people and end their lifespans so where the story starts is with two teenagers named citra and rowan who both end up becoming the apprentice to a scythe to try and become scythes themselves and along the way it sort of becomes this competition between the two of them where only one will become a side and the other will be their first glean so despite my blockage to finish this series i definitely consider it one of my favorites because i just think it is so complex well written and very thought provoking i love how this book explores themes of morality and mortality because it is very different from the world that we live in today i actually have spoiler filled reviews of both side and thunderhead if you're interested in getting my more in-depth thoughts on this series but the world is really what draws me to this book it has so many different layers and each one is more interesting than the last i also really love the main characters citra and rowan because they are also very different citra's another like all-time favorite way heroin of mine she's just so intelligent and clever whereas rowan has this really interesting character development where he becomes sort of morally gray and doesn't represent the same things that citra does going back to my status as a plot-based reader this book has so many incredible plot twists that i i have so many memories of just like yelling and screaming because i thought i had this book figured out and i i did not the only thing i don't love about the arc besides series is the romances i just don't feel the chemistry between any of the characters who are supposed to be romantically involved and that is something i have felt throughout like all of the neil shusterman books that i have read but the characters themselves are fascinating so yes the arc of a scythe series is one that just constantly impresses me there is just so much to talk about in this very complex world that neil shusterman created and i just feel like it is so inherently good one of these days i will finish the toll i promise you i will finish it i will let you know when i finish it the time is not now but i do really love this series and i'm excited to see how things wrap up in the end next up on my list of all-time favorite series we have the diviners by libba bray and this is a four book young adult supernatural paranormal series that is set in 1920s new york city this series has a huge cast of characters but the first installment mostly focuses on a girl named evie o'neill who is sort of sent away from her town in ohio to live with her uncle in new york and at the time there are all of these different murders happening in new york with no leads or ways to catch the killer as the story goes on we find out that many of the characters are hiding a similar secret that they have supernatural powers so we have different abilities like being able to read a person's memories from an object of theirs being able to create fire or heal others and it follows these characters as they grow within their own friendship to defeat different types of evil forces now i know a lot of people have like kind of been intimidated by the diviner series because people say it's like ooh super super scary and especially because all of the books are like this big they're all gigantic but this is one of those series where everything that happens is super important and they're very long because they go super in depth about each of these different characters past histories what is going on in their present and the many different character dynamics and relationships among them i absolutely adore the 1920 setting of this series it just feels very well researched and authentic to the time period i think my favorite thing about the diviners has to be the characters and their relationships like in the first installment you're just getting to know all of the different characters and they develop their own like small little pods but as a series goes on they really work together as a group and you see some different relationships surface that you might not have expected and it's just so wonderful and makes my heart so happy and the cast of characters is just so diverse and i feel like for being a historical y.a novel it does not get enough credit for that many of the characters come from very different ethnic backgrounds there's varieties of different sexual orientations or level of ability there's so many different topics and themes explored in this novel like racism immigration and just focusing on a lot of america's wrongdoings which i think it has great commentary on it's a fabulous fabulous series with breathtaking writing amazing lovable characters that will just secure a permanent place in your heart a lot of like deep dark magic for those of us who are fantasy lovers and it is just an all-time favorite of mine i cannot recommend it enough if you have not picked up the diviners yet this is your call to do so next up we have another classic emma books favorite and that is the renegades trilogy by marissa meyer oh my gosh like how do i describe renegades it has been a minute in this world a selection of the population has developed super powers so we have the superheroes known as the renegades and they are the ones in charge of handling justice in gatlin city and sort of stopping all wrongdoing and evil and then we have the anarchists who are hell-bent on stopping the reign of renegades and returning this world to a time of anarchy after people with superpowers were heavily oppressed so we have two main characters our first being adrian who is the son of two of the main renegades and he has the ability to draw whatever he likes into existence but he has also been having this sort of secret identity as the sentinel so he is able to stop crime in a way that he sees fit and then we have nova who is an anarchist who has the ability to put people to sleep and she decides to go undercover and join the renegades to bring them down from within so i am someone who is not a big superhero fan like i never got super into marvel or dc or any of those movies or comics but despite that i love renegades so much the different types of superpowers in this world are super interesting and the characters are again really lovable and diverse nova and adrian are both people of color adrian has two dads we have a disabled superhero like there's just a lot of attention to incorporating people with different backgrounds into this fictional story and i absolutely love the romance in this series it is just like the best type of a slow burn romance but it also has this twist of like enemies to lovers because adrian and nova have these secret identities that the other person does not know about this is another series that is full of twists and turns marissa meyer is one of my favorite y authors and she just does not disappoint me and it's super fun and engaging while having these other themes of politics and deciding between what is right and wrong and it really forces you to like think outside of your black and white morality box to see like who's really the superhero here and who's really the super villain renegades is definitely not the most sophisticated ya series i've ever read so i definitely understand why it might not be everyone's cup of tea but i personally love it i find this series exhilarating engaging entertaining all these words that start with e i have like nothing but great memories attached to renegades it's the story that i feel i will always want to revert back to for just how much fun and joy it brings me so again like all of these if you have not read renegades yet i definitely recommend picking it up next up i have a series that this list would not be complete without and that is harry potter by jk rowling listen harry potter is a loaded topic right now and so i feel that it is necessary for me that when i do talk about harry potter i mention the fact that i do not support jk rowling's statements regarding the trans community i find them very harmful and therefore that impacts my desire to support her and her works even if one of them is my favorite series of all time if you disagree with me that's fine i don't care you're not gonna change my mind but i feel that i have a responsibility as someone in this community with a really large platform and also as someone who like really cares about the trans community and does not want to further harm against them that i feel it's necessary for me to talk about when i do talk about harry potter that said it's really complicated because i do love harry potter i can't pretend that i'm not and jk rowling's statements and actions in recent years does not tarnish how i have felt about this series for most of my life harry potter changed my life as a young kid it gave me so much hope and comfort and transformed me into the reader i am today i would not be sitting in front of you making videos about books for my job if it was not for harry potter first i personally think it is a brilliantly crafted series not without its flaws like any other book but this series has completely transformed the world of fiction from here to the long far future these characters are incredible i love them so dearly they bring me so much light happiness and hope and growing up alongside of them i have just learned so much from who they are and what they do in this series this series has shaped not only who i am as a reader but who i am as a person and i am so forever grateful for that i would not change it at all i know that so many readers like myself are going through this similar conflict right now and the kind of attitude online is like don't ever talk about harry potter anymore or you're cancelled but pretending like this series isn't important to me is not authentic to me and that's not something i'm willing to compromise about myself so the way that i see it is i'm very intentional now about how and when i talk about harry potter and i will be going forward i see it in a different way and that causes me to love it in a different way and i'm okay with that but nothing on this earth can change what harry potter has meant to me and what it will continue to mean to me for the rest of my life so i definitely do consider it still one of my all-time favorite series and so finishing off my list of my all-time favorite series i decided to combine a few of my all-time favorite series to the one main spot and that is the shadowhunter chronicles by cassandra clare it is just not fair to give them four individual spots on this list we all know cassandra clare is my favorite author of all time the world instruments is my favorite series of all time this is just a fact if you have not heard of the shadowhunter chronicles before you must be new here hi i'm emma this is my reason for living the shadowhunter chronicles is a collection of four and in the future five series that all take place in the same world through many different generations and it focuses on a race of demon hunters called shadowhunters and all of their adventures and journeys in fighting demons and interacting with different creatures like werewolves vampires fairies and warlocks i think i want to give a personal ranking of where i stand with each series as of now so we all know that the top spot my absolute favorite is the mortal instrument series then i'm kind of stuck between the dark artifices and the last hours because the last hours is still ongoing and i haven't even finished chain of iron yet but i'm not sure which one will prevail but these will definitely be the second and third spots i love them for very different reasons i love the dark artifices for the plot and i love the last hours for the characters so it's really hard to compare the two and my least favorite of the group but still my favorite series of mine is the dark artifices did i just fucking say the dark artifices referring to the infernal devices for the zillionth time why am i incapable of saying the infernal devices i've just never had the deep attachment to it that many other fans do but after reading it a few times since i was a teen each time i definitely grow a greater appreciation for it i think cassandra clare is an immensely talented beautiful writer it has been such a journey to watch her craft develop over 15 years of consistently writing novels and i feel like the work that she puts out now is some of the best writing ever the mortal instruments is absolutely my favorite and holds a super unique place in my heart because i discovered it at a really dark time as a teenager where this series and these characters were like my escape and my reason for getting out of bed in the morning and there is just something about that attachment i have to it that no other book can possibly interrupt i absolutely adore all of these different casts of characters and their stories throughout history i love how cassie clear is always creating links between her past and previous and sometimes future series for us to explore and just geek out over and it's one of my favorite things as a reader who loves this series i love this whole world of characters they are similar but different and wholly unique i love seeing the massive arc of development that they all go through in their respective series and the same goes for their relationships like there are some incredibly strong bonds and dedication in these books that is hard to find elsewhere i just feel such a sense of home when i read these books it's like these books were put out into the world and i was born in the time to discover them and read them for a reason and they just bring me so much love and happiness and joy and i don't know where i would be in the world without the shadowhunter chronicles i get that they're super intimidating because like oh my god there's like 15 to 20 books that all intersect and are connected so i do have a fairly recent video on the different ways that you can read the shadowhunter chronicles if you have never tried and want to get invested all my videos relevant to any of the books and series that i talked about today are in the description if you want to know more but it's just incredibly rewarding to be a part of these characters lives and to witness their stories and i just think they're fun and entertaining and incredibly well written so yes the shadowhunter chronicles are absolutely my favorite series of all time i love collecting all of the many different editions of these books and cassie claire is an author that i've gotten to know pretty well and she's just been an amazing light in my life and i just wouldn't change the way that these books have impacted me for anything alrighty so that is my updated list on my favorite series of all time i love these series so much and i would love to see more people reading them and talking about them because i really think they deserve it in the comments below definitely let me know what your favorite series are or what you think of my favorite series and if there are any other favorites videos you'd like to see from me like if you want an updated favorite standalones of all time or maybe like favorite contemporaries favorite mystery thrillers i'm definitely interested in doing more of these list videos but that is it thank you guys so much for watching and i'll see you soon for a new video bye\n"