10. The "Zodiac Academy" series | The Odyssey Online
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10 Books And Series On My Summer Reading List

Of the millions of books I plan to buy and read, these are just 10 I plan to read this summer.

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10 Books And Series On My Summer Reading List
Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

Here are some books and series I'm looking forward to reading, inspired by TikTok.

1. "Shadow and Bone" series

Leigh Bardugo / Instagram

Half of the inspiration behind the new hit show "Shadow and Bone" on Netflix, I am dying to read this series.

For the "Shadow and Bone" novel, Goodreads says,

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

The Grishaverse is definitely something to get into.

2. "It Ends With Us"

Kalisa Reads / Instagram

After reading Colleen Hoover's "Hopeless" in high school, I am hooked to her as an author. I found this book on BookTok, and I already know it's going to make me an emotional wreck when I read it. According to Goodreads,

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn't hurt. Lily can't get him out of her head. But Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his "no dating" rule, she can't help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

3. "A Curse So Dark and Lonely" series

Starlight Book Tales / Instagram

"A Curse So Dark and Lonely" automatically makes me think of "Beauty and the Beast". According to Goodreads for the first book,

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she's pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin."

I am dying to read this modern-day "Beauty and the Beast.

4. "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series

Zoe Reads / Instagram

This is one of the series I am most excited to read. Sarah J Maas is one of my favorite authors, and she is blowing up on BookTok for several of her amazing novels and series. For the first novel, Goodreads says,

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator, and killing something so precious comes at a price...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jeweled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

I am beyond excited to dive right into this series.

5. "Throne of Glass" series

Sips of Fiction / Instagram

Another amazing series by Sarah J Maas that I can't wait to dive right into. The eight-book series is going to be addicting to say the least. For the first novel of the series, Sarah J. Maas says,

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

6. "Crave" series

Tracy Wolff / Instagram

This four-book series gives me major "Twilight" vibes but has its own uniqueness. According to Goodreads for the first novel,

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can't decide which of these warring factions I belong to if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there's Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn't felt anything for a hundred years. But there's something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what's broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I'm wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

7. "After" series

Anna Todd / Instagram

A series on the spicey side of the young adult category, these books inspired the movie series available on Netflix. The series was originally and still able to be found on Wattpad. According to Goodreads,

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She's got direction, ambition, and a mother who's intent on keeping her that way.

But she's barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she's used to.

But he's also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she's never known before.

He'll call her beautiful, then insist he isn't the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin's prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless…could this be love?

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd's After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet's most talked-about book for yourself!

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there's everything AFTER...Life will never be the same.

I cannot wait to read the novels behind the movies, because I already love Hardin Scott and Tessa.

8. "The Iron King" series

Books and Chocolate Frogs / Instagram

Another BookTok recommendation, I am very interested in this series. According to Goodreads,

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face, and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

As you can tell, I am very much in love with fantasy books.

9. "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue"

V. E. Schwab / Instagram

I have heard nothing but good things about this book on BookTok. According to Goodreads,

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

It gives me very strong "Age of Adaline" vibes.

10. The "Zodiac Academy" series

mcrs books / Instagram

Last, but surely not least, the "Zodiac Academy" series. I am beyond excited to read this series, and it's taken everything I have not to buy them off Amazon. According to Goodreads,

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

If you're one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently, it's in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings have outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo. Which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them until we arrived. And it hasn't made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals are ever known, we're already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we've been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today's horoscope: totally screwed.

I am pretty sure this series is everything I have wanted in a book. I love magical books mixed with a magic school setting.

I definitely recommend these 10 books and series, and if you haven't checked them out already, you definitely need to. I also recommend checking out BookTok, for several book recommendations. Some of these books may not be up your alley, but BookTok has several recommendations from several genres.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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