Best of 2012: Completed Series

A lot of series ended this year, series that I really enjoyed. It's hard to judge a concluding book without taking the entire series into account, so when I went to put a couple of lists together, I found that I gave more weight to the final book than I might have if it had only been the second or first in the series.  Because of that, I decided to create my Completed Series list.  Now this won't include any stand alone books, which technically are the last (and first) book in their series. It also won't include any books from former lists, which means no Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima or Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, and these books won't appear in any upcoming lists.

Now, presenting in no particular order, my top 5 favorite concluding books of 2012.

1. Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late? Quoted from Goodreads

2. Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?

Ethan Wate always dreamed of leaving the stifling Southern town of Gatlin.

But he never dreamt that finding love with Lena Duchannes would drive him away. Lena is a Caster girl whose supernatural powers unveiled a secretive and cursed side of Gatlin, so powerful it forced him to make a terrible sacrifice.

Now Ethan must find a way to return to Lena - and Gatlin - as she vows to do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means trusting old enemies or risking their loved ones' lives.

Can Ethan and Lena rewrite their fate and their spellbinding love story in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series? Quoted from Goodreads

3. Tiger's Destiny by Collen Houck
With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestsellingTiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. A smart  phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website. Quoted from Goodreads

4. Endlessly by Kiersten White
Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands. Quoted from Goodreads


5. Reached by Ally Condie
After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without. Quoted from Goodreads

Most of these books are great in their own right, but I'll admit, a few I put on here because they had an earlier book that was absolutely amazing or I especially enjoyed for some reason. There were a lot of other series that ended this year that barely didn't make the list, such as The Savage Grace by Bree Despain and Jessica Day George's Princess of the Silver Wood. All in all, these books represent amazing series that I was sad to see end.  Most of the authors have new projects, though, so I'm looking forward to see what other worlds they create and what what they do next. If you're looking for a good series that is finished, you should check out these books/authors.  Just remember, these are the last books, not the first.