Despite my mountainous TBR pile, I’m always on the look out for new series to read. Series have a different appeal than standalone novels. If they’re good, you know that they’ll become a part of your life for a while, you’ll get to know the people and you’ll find yourself reflecting on where the story arc has been and where it’s going and looking forward to the next book.

This week, I’m trying out the first book in three series. One of the authors is Canadian, one is English and one is American. Two of them I’ve read and enjoyed before. One is new to me.

I hope that all three series with fly but I’ll be happy if one of them gives me that ‘I must read this series’ feeling.

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‘Omens’ by Kelley Armstrong (2013)

I usually enjoy Kelley Armstrong’s books. I’ve read most of her Women Of Otherworld series (I love the werewolves but am less fond of the witches). I’ve read and enjoyed the first two of her ‘Rockton’ books. Her ‘Cursed Luck’ series didn’t work for me – the humour felt off. My favourite series so far has been her Nadia Stafford books, especially the second book, ‘Made To Be Broken’.

Although the Cainsville series is now ten years old, I haven’t tried it yet. The basic concept seems intriguing and the series ran to five books plus a few novellas so if I like it, I have plenty to look forward to.

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‘Never The Bride’ by Paul Magrs (2006)

Paul Magrs is a first-time read for me. The premise sounds off-beat and could turn out to be wonderful. It’s set in Whitby, which I’ve visited several times, so I should be able to visualise the action. Best of all, my wife has already read it and enjoyed it.

There are seven Brenda and Effie mysteries, published between 2006 and 2017, so there may be a lot of good reading to look forward to.

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‘A Sense Of Danger’ by Jennifer Estep (2020)

My first experience of Jennifer Estep was with her Elemental Assassin series. I enjoyed the first book, ‘Spider’s Bite’. Gin Blanco, the Elemental Assassin, was refreshingly amoral and Lauren Fortgang’s narration brought the book alive. After the second book, ‘Web Of Lies’, I almost gave up. The story was fine but the writing and editing seemed lazy to me. I read the next book ‘Venom’ and it was fine but there wasn’t enough there to make the rest of the series call to me.

I tried again with Jennifer Estep’s Crown Of Shards series and was much more impressed. ‘Kill The Queen’ worked well. I loved the idea of a kick-ass fairytale princess who holds a sword in one hand and lightning in the other. I have the next two books in the series in my TBR but haven’t gotten to them yet.

Why am I reading the first book in another Jennifer Estep book rather the reading ‘Protect The Prince‘ the second Crown Of Shards book? Well, it’s partly the siren call of the new and partly curiosity about how Jennifer Estep will hand this sort of Federal Bureau of Magic tale.