By: Kaelin Jumaa
As an avid reader myself, bookworms believe books are the main source of happiness. Books evoke emotion and creativity, authors who share their imaginations for the world to explore! Bookworms are constantly craving something to read, a new book (or two…maybe three!) to add to their never-ending list. In this week’s article, I will be listing my personal favorite trilogies (because one can barely satisfy their need to read with merely one book) along with my personal review for each. To help you decide which trilogy suits your literature preferences best, I have included a quiz at the end of the article. Now start reading this article so you can get to reading those books!
5. The Camelot Rising Trilogy by Kiersten White
Although this is an unfinished series, the Camelot Rising trilogy has exceeded my expectations thus far! Author of the And I Darken trilogy and the Slayer series, Kiersten White has not failed to impress with her own magical take on Arthurian legend! The book is told from the eyes of a girl named Guinevere (or so you think) who has her own dark secrets about her past that her kingdom cannot know of. Alongside King Arthur, “Guinevere” has a mission to exploit all evil magic within the kingdom of Camelot before magical foes overtake the kingdom. The problem is, though, is that she is living anther girl’s life with no clue as to who she truly is!
Therefore, she must tackle villainous magic in secret while acting out another girl’s destiny as queen of Camelot. The first book in its series, The Guinevere Deception, includes mystery, friendship, and betrayal! The first book introduces the setting through the main character’s eyes, her goal, her struggles, and her secrets. The second book, “The Camelot Betrayal”, focuses more on the tasks of a queen and the recovery and repentance from the events of the first book. “Guinevere” learns to
take her own destiny and fight independently and, most importantly of all, the second novel leaves us on a cliff-hanger! Overall, the books utilise the ever-famous Arthurian legend to weave an original, whimsical story. The third and final novel part of the Camelot Rising trilogy according to “Goodreads” is named The Excalibur Curse (after King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur) and is to be
released in December of this year (2021).
4. The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu (WARNING: spoilers included only in the second paragraph)
For many young readers, dystopian books with major uprisings are definitely worth the read. They are thrilling, mysterious, emotional, and action- packed, the exact definition of the Legend series by the talented writer: Marie Lu, author of Warcross and Wildcard.
The Legend trilogy offers two different perspectives of two young adults on opposite sides of the government. Day, the world’s most wanted criminal with an unknown identity, roams the poorer sectors of the future America. His family believes he has died, and his younger brother was taken from him by the government for military testing. June, on the other hand, is the picture-perfect definition of a fighter in the government’s eyes, born into a wealthy family and raised among the higher ranks of society.
Her brother who also works for the government, dies on a mission to hunt and capture Day.
Struck with grief, June vows to destroy Day and devotes her life to finding him only to
discover that Day was framed. June then realises for herself who the real criminals are.
Their meeting unknowingly sparks a revolutionary war, and June and Day are the
causes, working together to overthrow the government and its corrupt practices.
The whole series was entertaining and inspiring, with plot-twists galore! Not only can you partake in June and Day’s adventures throughout three page-turning books, but you can experience life after the events of the Legend trilogy through Eden’s eyes, Day’s younger brother.
Rebel in itself is an incredible, mind-boggling, and technology-focused novel, one of my favourite books! Marie Lu creatively imagined what life would possibly look like way into the future, with virtual reality infused with everyone’s lives. The world within the novel used virtual reality for much more than gaming: for determining your place in society and how you are meant to live your life! If you are still thirsty for more Legend, then Marie Lu has also written graphic novels of the trilogy, as well as a novel titled: Life Before Legend.
3. The Last Hours Trilogy by Cassandra Clare (WARNING: minor spoilers included only in the second paragraph)
One of the most talented authors I have ever read books from, Cassandra Clare’s newest and incomplete series, The Last Hours trilogy, takes place in the 20 th century in England.
The series takes place after The Infernal Devices trilogy (which also makes an appearance on this list), with the descendants of the main characters from that trilogy. The series is part of a much larger series of books, the Shadowhunter books, where demon slayers hiding amongst our mundane world keep the world safe from demonic activity with their superhuman abilities. The first book (released in March 2020) introduces us to James, Cordelia, Lucy, Matthew, Christopher, Thomas, Anna, amongst several more characters, along with their struggles to fight against an unknown demonic plague targeted at harming Shadowhunters specifically.
Each character, however, has their own personal conundrums. James is being taunted by his powerful grandfather, the demon Belial to turn against his caste, Cordelia, being new to the streets of England, must inquire about her father’s past actions whilst finding approval from the Shadowhunters around her, Lucy is able to see ghosts and tasks herself with resurrecting a newly befriended ghost in secret, while many other characters have their own truths yet to be told!
The second and freshly released (on March 2nd, 2021) Chain of Iron continues the problematic events from the Chain of Gold, which will then lead to the appearance of the last book titled:
Chain of Thorns. Cassandra Clare stated that this trilogy would be even more emotional than The Infernal Devices, which, after reading The Infernal Devices, is inconceivable to me! The posh characters and exquisite plot make for an enjoyably lengthy read for any reader out there, millions of readers worldwide certainly agree! The books give an insight to the lifestyle of the 1900’s with a cunningly magical perspective, full of romance (yes, the kind that made me gag), mystery, intrigue, heartbreak, and disguise! I recommend reading The Infernal Devices series to provide more of an insight to this fictional world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, as well as ALL the Shadowhunter books that come before this series. According to the author, the trilogy was inspired by Great Expectations, a popular book amongst readers.
2. The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare (WARNING: spoilers included only in the second paragraph)
The trilogy which occurs before The Last Hours trilogy, The Infernal Devices is a series abundant
with drama, romance (again, EW), criminal masterminds, and excitement. My personal favourite series of all the Shadowhunters books, this trilogy takes place in the late 1800’s in England.
Tessa Grey, and American arriving in England for the first time, is kidnapped and tortured by users of dark magic for her unexplained ability to shapeshift and wear any persona with ease. The Shadowhunters of England, William Herondale, Jem Carstairs, Charlotte Branwell, Henry Branwell, and Sophie Collins among other characters, were tasked with her rescue and the exploitation of dark magic. Upon her rescue, Tessa is introduced to the magic behind the streets of England and partakes in the Shadowhunter’s mission to rid villainous activity from the county. She then gets caught in a love triangle between Jem and Will, while aiming to uncover the truth behind her undisclosed power. Throughout the books, the explanations for Will’s rough behavior and Jem’s sickly state and how the issues are addressed by Tessa, all the while fighting off human-like automatons aiming to attack the Shadowhunters of the country. The automatons, possessed killing machines, attack the Shadowhunters every chance they get without reason. Tessa, Jem, and Will uncover through Tessa’s ability that the automatons are controlled by a wealthy, devious man with a desire to harm the Shadowhunters with one weapon: Tessa Grey. We learn of Jem Carstairs’ fight to survive and the strengthening friendship between Will and Jem. We read of Charlotte’s struggle to earn a position amongst the higher-governing ranks of Shadowhunters because of her sex and the ways in which women were seen within the time period, and of the true ancestry of Tessa Grey, who once believed she was mundane. Tessa, the bookish, reasonable girl who is portrayed as any regular strong female today, as said by Cassandra Clare herself, resolves each puzzle with quick-thinking, and with what she once thought was her shapeshifting curse. As you read the novels, you are transported to the world of Shadowhunters in an older time period and observe the grief and joys each character experiences within the story. Jem Carstairs, the peaceful character who would never resort to violence, is slowly dying with only a few years of his life left to live and is heavily dependent on an extremely rare drug. William Herondale is often portrayed with a vile demeanor, yet that is the only way he allows himself to act for the safety of the people around him, a curse to never love or be loved by a soul. Tessa, wielding her ability to her advantage to aid the newly introduced Shadowhunters, hopes to ease the pain the two boys suffer through. These books take on strong female leads (in a time where that was frowned upon) with cunning solutions, with new characters and the loss of old ones, with cliff-hangers that make you itch for the next book! This series struck me with grief, joy, and shock, three emotions rarely brought forth through three consecutive novels! Each character conveys such strong feelings, each one uniquely crafted to fabricate a romantic and mysterious story! The Infernal Devices trilogy introduces the characters that will once be the parents of the teens from The Last Hours series, and the ancestors of many more of the Shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare. Each scenario from the novels is perfectly crafted to relate to another period in time by future Shadowhunters. A carefully crafted and ingenious timeline that is tedious to master with the perfect end result for any naturel-born reader! For a trilogy set in the Victorian era, this is definitely a series you cannot turn down.
1. The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth
The first series I ever fell in love with, the Divergent trilogy is a young adult science fiction series involving action, mystery, division, secrecy and surprise, and the perfect trilogy to finish-off this list! In this universe, everyone is separated by their faction: Erudite for the intelligent, Candor for the honest, Abnegation for the selfless, Dauntless for the brave, and Amity for the kind-hearted.
Each group is sectioned off into their own territory, living completely different lives than other factions, never to intermingle. “Faction before blood”, as the saying goes! Once every teen reaches the age of sixteen, they partake in the Choosing Ceremony, where they decide which faction they would like to be part of for the rest of their lives. Before the Choosing Ceremony, however, each teen takes the aptitude test which is a virtual reality simulation of situations they
must solve to determine which faction suits them best.
The story revolves around Beatrice Prior, a sixteen-year-old girl in the Abnegation sector who feels as though she does not belong. The first novel, Divergent, begins with Beatrice waiting to take
her aptitude test. She gets the injection and is transported to a virtual palace inside her mind, where she must decide how to act for each situation. Beatrice, however, decides to not play by the rules and receives an abnormal result. The woman administering her test, Tori, warns her not to tell anyone of her real results and instead pretend she received Abnegation. On her Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice decides to depart from her faction and join Dauntless, where everyone lives each day like it is their last. Later, she realises what her true results meant and why they had to have been hidden from the world: she was Divergent, someone who did not belong within the delicate system and-in the government’s eyes-had to be eliminated at all costs. She then uncovers the corruption within her city and-with another equally special character-aims to expose the government and establish a judicial system that can thrive.
The second book in the trilogy, Insurgent, follows the adventures of Tris and her plan to bring about fairness for all types of people. The last (and my personal favourite) book, Allegiant, uncovers the true meaning behind the delicate system upheld in her town and the people in control, and her final mission to end the amoral goals of her city. Veronica Roth has also written Four: A Divergent Collection where you read about the main events of Divergent through one character’s eyes, and as well as We Can Be Mended, which takes place after the events of Allegiant (and the Divergent trilogy in general).
The reasoning as to why I adore this trilogy is because of the ingenious plot and thought-provoking ideas Roth demonstrated within her books, proving how easy it is to construct our lives based on lies fed by more powerful classes of society in hopes to conceal the truth for their advantage. The novels take place in a time-period more relatable to this era, and each character has a different upbringing that somehow makes them reconcilable with each other. The series involves a plethora of surprises, as well as wicked-cool action! These books are truly one-of-a-kind, and my absolute favourite with a PHENOMENAL ending! (P.S. The books are WAY better than the movies).
QUIZ: Which Trilogy Suits Your Reading Preferences?
How To Play
This quiz will be multiple choice. Each choice will be worth a certain amount of points. Count
the points you collect throughout the quiz, and when finished, read the description with the
total points you collected. To receive the most accurate result, you can only choose one option
per question. Please choose the option most suitable. This quiz is meant to help you decide
which trilogy listed above you would find most enjoyable.
1. How long would your book be?
On the shorter side (approx. 300 pages)...3 points
Medium-length (approx. 400 pages)…6 points
As long as can be! (approx. 600 pages)…9 points
2. I like books set in…
The medieval era… 3 points
The present-day era/21 st century… 6 points
The future…6 points
The Victorian era… 9 points
3. I prefer…
Dystopian novels… 3 points
Sci-fi novels… 6 points
Fantasy novels… 9 points
4. I like books with more…
Fantasy/magic…3 points
Action…6 points
Mystery…6 points
Romance…9 points
5. How many main characters?
Just the one, it makes the series more straightforward…3 points
Two is good, it just gets too confusing after that…6 points
The more the merrier!...9 points
6. What point of view do you prefer?
First-person, it makes the story more intimate when I know what is happening
from the character’s perspective…4 points
Third-person, I prefer to have a narrator…9 points
7. Do you mind when books switch from different points of view (one character to the
other)?
No, not at all!...4 points
YES, it is so annoying!... 7 points
Results:
Less than 38 points-The Camelot Rising Trilogy
You most likely prefer fantasy books set in the medieval period where kings and queen
sat in divided kingdoms. You may like books on the shorter side, and love stories with fantasy,
mythical beings, and magic! This trilogy by Kiersten White is based on Arthurian legend with the
author’s own twist for young adults, a series I enjoyed greatly. The last novel has yet to be
released.
38-60 points-The Divergent or The Legend Trilogy
You probably like sci-fi books with lots of action and puzzle-solving. You most likely
prefer dystopian novels set in today’s world or the future and like to read from the character’s
perspective while they pursue their target. I personally recommend the Divergent trilogy first,
due to its ingenious thinking and wicked stunts and INCREDIBLE ending!
61 points-The Infernal Devices or The Last Hours Trilogy
You may prefer books on the longer side with plenty of detail and story. You like the
narrator to do the talking and adore books set in the Victorian period. Fantasy and romance are
what you are all about, and The Infernal Devices as well as The Last Hours trilogies are perfect
for your taste! If you do plan on reading the series, however, I strongly recommend you read
The Infernal Devices series before starting The Last Hours series since that trilogy takes place
right before The Last Hours, using the same characters and theme within the books.
References:
1. “The Excalibur Curse (Camelot Rising, #3) by Kiersten White.” Goodreads, Goodreads,
www.goodreads.com/book/show/43908064-the-excalibur-curse.
2. “All Books.” Marie Lu's One True Portal, marielu.com/books.
3. “The Last Hours.” Cassandra Clare, www.cassandraclare.com/series/the-last-hours/.
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