Even though I’ve been blogging on The Stacked Shelf for years, I recently realised that some of my favourite book series are ones that I’ve never reviewed here. Even though I might have mentioned them here or there in comparisons or top lists, I’ve never got around to writing full reviews.

From experience, I find it much harder to review books that are part of a series than standalone books. With books that are part of a series, I’ve found that if I’ve missed reviewing the first book it’s much harder to write reviews of the rest. By the time I’ve realised this, it’s almost impossible to go back and review the first one, either because I’ve forgotten the details or because subsequent books have changed my opinion. Plus it’s always so tough to avoid spoilers for earlier books in the series while still writing a full and useful review.

So here are some of my all-time favourite book series that I’ve never reviewed on the Stacked Shelf…

Do you have books that you love but that you’ve never reviewed on your blog? What are they and why haven’t you ever reviewed them?! 

• The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Set during the Spanish civil war, Daniel discovers a hidden library in Barcelona and selects a book by the mysterious Julian Carax. Over the coming years he tries to track down more books by the author, only to find that someone else is systematically destroying every copy of every book the author ever wrote. It’s a dark and gothic love story, and the language is beautiful. I loved learning more about this period of Spanish history and it made me long to visit Barcelona.

First book – The Shadow of the Wind

• The Invisible Library, Genevieve Cogman

Another series that’s based around books! The whole premise of this series revolves around a library that exists between worlds, and the librarians that travel between realms to collect or retrieve rare volumes. It’s not as easy as it sounds. The main character, Irene, spends a great deal of time in a steampunk version of Victorian London with a whole variety of characters determined to disrupt her mission.

First book – The Invisible Library

• The Chronicles of St Mary’s, Jodi Taylor

I’ve talked about this series before a few times, but I always come back to it. It’s a series about a modern institute of historical research with the technology that allows them to physically travel back and observe and record the past. The series doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a really delightful read. Even though much of it is light-hearted and funny, there’s still some great character development and deeper plotlines which tie the whole thing together. Plus it’s really interesting to learn more about different time periods!

First book – Just One Damned Thing After Another

• The Faithful and the Fallen, John Gwynne

There are so many epic fantasy series’ that have been compared to Game of Thrones, but this is one that I’d definitely recommend. I actually much preferred this series to the Game of Thrones books. It has all the elements you’d expect to see – good vs evil, epic world building, multiple POVs, loyal animal sidekicks that are characters in their own right, prophecies and legends… the list goes on. The characters are all really well written and well rounded, and they all have their flaws that make them seem real.

First book – Malice

• The Obsidian Heart, Mark Morris

This is another time travelling series that I’ve mentioned before but I’ll mention again now. It’s an urban fantasy set in London. Reformed criminal Alex Locke gets pulled into an ongoing struggle over a mysterious object, the obsidian heart, in an effort to save his daughters. There’s an element of gothic steampunk, an element of horror and an element of the supernatural – it’s not for everyone but I really enjoyed it!

First book – The Wolves of London