Comments on: The Magic Number

By: Federico Vansciver

Federico Vansciver — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:15:49 +0000

Hey there, Can I copy this post image and implement it on my private internet log?

By: how to overcome fear, how to overcome fears, how to overcome phobias

how to overcome fear, how to overcome fears, how to overcome phobias — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 05:44:48 +0000

how to overcome fear, how to overcome fears, how to overcome phobias…

[...]The Magic Number « All About Romance’s News & Commentary Blog[...]…

By: astma

astma — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:09:39 +0000

Od dawna szukałem artykułu na temat The Magic Number All About Romance’s News & Commentary Blog . Dzięki

By: izrada sajtova | izrada sajta | sajtova izrada |

izrada sajtova | izrada sajta | sajtova izrada | — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:29:49 +0000

izrada sajtova | izrada sajta | sajtova izrada |... [...]The Magic Number « All About Romance’s News & Commentary Blog[...]...

By: Kyahgirl

Kyahgirl — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:47:32 +0000

I think 3-5 books in a series is usually good for me. Exceptions would be a series like the ‘in-death’ books or the Vorkosigan saga or even the Liaden Universe books because each book is pretty much self contained and doesn’t leave you hanging.

The Cynsters, Rogues, Sookie, and even the Psy/changeling series are all ones that have gotten to a point where its painful. Just end it please!

By: Cris

Cris — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:07:25 +0000

Give me a nice, long series! I absolutely love it when I find out there are more books in a series I’m enjoying. It helps to lessen the sadness of coming to the end of a book–knowing that I have another book to look forward to and may even get to see those characters again (briefly). I like it when each book revolves around different main characters, though.

Some of my favorite series are by Julia Quinn (Bridgertons), Stephanie Laurens (Black Cobra and Cynsters!), and Jude Deveraux (Montgomerys).

By: Gayathri

Gayathri — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:24:50 +0000

I have always liked series – the fact that I know people from another book in my current book feels good. I can go on for longer series in Regency or historicals (like Eloisa James). Somehow I have the belief that all of them moved around in the same society and were in one way or other knew each other. In contemp. I prefer books like JD Robb or trilogies.

By: pop tart

pop tart — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:29:15 +0000

For me the difference especially with romances, comes in whether a series follows one protagonist or if it is a series of related books where the protagonists are related to each other or in the same club/group.

If it’s a series that is following a protagonist and their partner then I think it can go on a bit longer. As long as their is progression in the relationships or in the lives of the characters, I’m interested. But if it’s a series of romances that is connected by the relationships of the characters then the magic number for me is 3. Part of this comes from the fact that after 3 the heroes/heroines can start to be repetitive. And part of this comes from my own skepticism. That there are 3 people who know each other, who are handsome/beautiful, and who find their one true love – that seems at least marginally believable. But when you get into 4, 5, 6, 7, of these pairings – all of whom are handsome/beautiful/smart/successful, etc. – then my ability to go with the flow lessens. And when the author starts stretching to include the 1st hero’s cousin’s sister’s son as her 8th protagonist? I’m gone.

For mystery series what I find is that if the series is cozy/lighter then 3 or 4 books is about my limit. I made it to book 4 of the Evanovich books and haven’t gone back. But if a series is one that carries darker tones then I stick with it for far longer. Dealing with darker issues usually gives an author and their protagonist more scope and character development. Dark and twisty can go on for longer then cute and cozy.

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:07:50 +0000

I forgot to mention that my all-time favorite (as in I broke my “no buying and keeping scads of paperbacks” rule) so far is Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series. So there’s another exception to the rule- 16 books isn’t enough for this series!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:07:56 +0000

Some types of series are easy to “dip” into anywhere, allowing the reader to read only the ones with the best reviews. I pick-and-choose with most of the historical series because they deal with different couples for each book and can stand-alone. (Huxtable, Mallory, Simply, etc). I don’t intend to read this kind of series from start to finish because life is to short to short through the “good” books in order to get to the “great” ones.

As many have already said, mystery and urban fantasy (true UF, not UF that’s actually a romance book hiding out in the SF/Fantasy aisle) are different. You can follow the books for longer because the emphasis is on the story (action, mystery, etc). I’ve happily read all of Dorothy Sayer’s mysteries, as well as most of P.D. James, Elizabeth George, and Martha Grimes. I dropped Evanovich after 7 or 8 books. I find that happens frequently with humorous series. I think the humor gets stale and predictable after a while.

Overall I prefer trilogies or short series (6-8 books). It’s especially nice to come across a well-reviewed trilogy or short series after the last book is written. It feels manageable. Series like the In Death books are daunting to say the least! Usually, unless I can pick and choose the best of a series, I don’t start any long ones. I have too much I want to read to rope myself into a never-ending series by one author.

I have no problems dropping a series when it starts to go downhill. I’m blessed to have no “must finish” tendencies!