We've all experienced the devastation of finishing a truly excellent book; a book hangover, if you will. It's easy to drink in a story with characters you root for, vibrant settings, and naturally, closing the back cover feels like saying goodbye to a friend. Perhaps this is why readers are drawn to series, as when reading an enjoyable first installment the promise of more to come is just as sweet. This booklist features mixed genres and first installments of fiction for adults, where each title will have at the very least a part two (and in some cases, many other installments as well); while we can't guarantee that the end will be any easier, you at least get to put off that book hangover for a while. Completed runs marked by a * in the notes; other entries are series in progress and/or awaiting publication of final installments. Selected and curated by SJPL Librarians.
Science Fiction, Humor, Book 1 of 7+ in the Dungeon Crawler Carl Series. "The apocalypse will be televised! A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on…
Urban Fantasy, Book 1 of 2+ in the Summoner's Circle. "The day David Aristarkhov's occultist father died, he bought himself an Audi, drank every drop of liquor in the house, and abandoned his life as a teen psychic prodigy. Now pushing…
Romantasy, Book 1 of 3 in the Faebound Series. "As a warrior in the elven army, Yeeran has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future. When…
Space Opera, Book 1 of 3 in The Captive’s War Series. "The Carryx - part empire, part hive - have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy.…
Fae Romantasy, Book 1 of 3 in the Fair Folk Series. "In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen's daughter and retreated behind the locked gates of…
Dark Space Opera, Book 1 of 7 in the Sun Eater Series. "It was not his war.
On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe started down a path that could only end in fire. The galaxy remembers him as a the…
Fantasy, Mystery, Book 1 of 3 in the Shadow of the Leviathan Series. "In Daretana's most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead--killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton…
Time Travel Fantasy, Book 1 of 3 in The Library Trilogy. "Two strangers find themselves connected by a vast and mysterious library containing many wonders and still more secrets, in this powerfully moving first book in a new series from…
Epic Fantasy, Murder Mysery, Book 1 of 3+ in the Hierarchy Series. "At the elite Catenan Academy, where students are prepared as the future leaders of the Hierarchy empire, the curriculum reveals a layered set of mysteries which turn…
*Cozy Mystery, Book 1 of 2 in the Castle Knoll Files Series. "A dual narrative, feel good mystery in which a woman, Frances, spends a lifetime trying to prevent her murder as predicted by a fortune teller at a country fair when she was…
High Fantasy, Book 1 of 2 in the Rising World Series. "After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness…
Dark Thriller Romance, Book 1 of 3 in The Ruinous Love Trilogy. "A friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice, unlike anything you've heard before. Every serial killer needs a friend. Every game must have a…
Cozy Historical Fantasy, Book 1 of 4 in the Whimbrel House Series. "Rhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been…
*Gothic Fantasy, Book 1 of 2 in the Shepherd King Series. "Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her. Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder--she needs a monster. She calls…
*Norse Fantasy, Book 1 of 3 in the Bloodsworn Saga. "After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters…
Japanese Literature, Book 1 of 5 in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series. "In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its…
*Historical Fiction, Book 0 of 4 in the Kingsbridge Series. "It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will,…
Contemporary, Book 1 of 5 in the Amgash Series. "Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy's…
*Science fiction, Apocalyptic fiction. Book 1 of 3 in the Comet Cycle. "At first, people gazed in wonder at the radiant tear in the sky. A year later, the celestial marvel became a planetary crisis when Earth spun through the comet's…
*Psychological fiction, Literary fiction. Book 1 of 5 in the Frank Bascombe Series. "As a sportswriter, Frank Bascombe makes his living studying people--men, mostly--who live entirely within themselves. This is a condition that Frank…
