I am going to ask a most contentious question:
When you encounter a series, are you inclined to read them as soon as they’re available, or do you want to wait until the series is complete to binge them?
This is contentious because it’s a case of reader preference being at great odds with How Publishing Works. Or “works.”
I have to start by outlining the downside to waiting, a reader habit which I know frustrates authors and publishing folks: if the sales for the early books are low, or decline, the series may not continue. So waiting has its own risks, more for the writer than for the reader.
And I know enough about publishing to curb my Strong Inclination to wait until a story arc is complete before I dive in, but my inclination is always to wait for a complete story arc, even if it’s over three or six or more books.
Why? Because romance, that’s why: I want to know the end is present, that I and the writer know where we’re going, and that I won’t be troubled by cliffhangers (rude). One of my most firm connections to the genre, and genre fiction in general, is that I know the ending is there, that we’re not going on a journey that has no destination in mind. I’ve been burned many times by tv shows, for example, that go off the rails in pursuit of one more season that goes too far beyond the original storyline.
This desire for an ending is part of my other hobbies and projects, too: if I start a quilting project, I like to know who it’s for and where it’s going. One of my favorite methods of planning is “envision where I want to end up, then work backwards.” I’m rather destination-focused.
As I said, I do know this is not optimal for things like publishing sales reports, but this is my preference and I indulge in it or ignore it depending on the circumstances.
For example: There’s a new Nora Roberts out soon, Birth of the Witch, which will be the first of a trilogy. I know Nora has enough fans and publishing history that this trilogy will be completed and I can read one and then anticipate books two and three, or or I can wait for all of them without worry that the later books won’t arrive. They will.
Indie publishing thrives on long-running series, like, REALLY LONG RUNNING SERIES, and some writers craft long story arcs to keep readers engaged. I’ve encountered many readers who are delighted to discover a book and find there are 10+ more of them to deep dive into. Ice Planet Barbarians is like this, and 10 or so years ago, Kristen Ashley’s books were a similar reading experience. A reader would discover them and we’d joke on Twitter, “Ok, bye! See you in a few weeks when you’ve read them all!”
The type of series is important, too – specifically I’m talking about the series that have a larger story arc that requires sequential reading, and not books that operate as somewhat standalone stories in the same world.
The choice to wait for the whole story arc, or read the installments one by one only thrives in a world where writers are equipped with marketing and publicity for all their titles, and alas that isn’t the world we are in.
I asked the SBTB team and got a healthy mix of answers:
Carrie: Binge it!
Amanda: I typically read them as they come out.
Sarah: I’m calling that “Amanda style.”
Elyse: I do Amanda style but if it’s already all out then I’ll binge.
Tara: I wait until it’s done, unless a friend says I must read it asap.
Claudia: Same as Elyse!! If it’s already out there I will show no restraint. lol
Susan: BOTH.
Read as it comes out, get to the last volume and realise that I forgot what happened, reread the whole thing.
OR: buy the whole thing as it’s coming out, meaning to Amanda it, and then get distracted by a shiny rock and binge it when I remember.
Sarah: I relate very much to “I forgot what happened, reread the whole thing.” SO very much.
Shana: I follow Amanda in all things.
Sneezy: I do both as well. With manga and webtoons, I’ve gotten used to reading each chapter as it comes. With books, the stakes for a cliffhanger or unfinished series feels more… dangerous??? Threatening?????? It really makes no sense. It’s not like webtoons and manga are guaranteed to finish (a moment of silence for Nana) and I certainly prefer to have the whole thing before going in with both mediums, but for whatever reason my brain is a lot more precious about books.
Susan: HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW EDITIONS OF NANA.
HAVE YOU HEARD THAT IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GETTING AN DNDING AFTER ALL THIS TIME
Sneezy: the WHAT.
WHAT.
WHERE DID YOU HEAR THIS?????? WHAT DID THE MANGAKA SAY????????
Susan: Nana Manga Finally Returning After 15 Years
Sneezy: Susan, I can’t
I’m not breathing
Are you breathing?
It’s actually happening!!!!
A series having a finale after a 15 year pause?
That’s a long time to wait for a new book. Biggest congratulations to Nana fans!
And speaking of series, what about you?
I’m very curious about your preference: Would you prefer to read a series as they arrive, or would you love to binge-read a completed series from start to end? Do you binge some and not others? What’s your preference?
I’m very much of the “put in on my eyeballs STAT” variety.
But as I write this, I realise that the romance novels I have read so far are mostly standalones, so it hasn’t been much of an issue?
I read series as they come out, and frequently reread the whole series or the most recent books if it’s a very long series in anticipation of a new release.
I usually read the books as they come out—although I must admit I’m kinda jealous of all the people who came to Rachel Reid’s books because of the HEATED RIVALRY tv show and get to binge the entire six books in the Game Changers over the course of a few days, lol. That being said, I find that when I discover a new-to-me series that is already complete, I still have to space out the books so that the tics of the author’s style don’t become too obvious or annoying.
I’ve been debating a similar question for a fantasy series that recently had part two of three(?) released. Do I read it now or wait until closer to book three’s spring release date? I haven’t picked it up yet but it’s on my radar for if I happen to be in the right mood. Counterargument, my Kindle points out that I’ve recently binged some completed series and read the most recent release for a couple of others.
Anyway, I think the answer depends on how many books are involved, how closely they are tied together, and how much it costs. But my inclination is to binge. And introducing the next couple in the epilogue definitely works on me.
As I read each comment I thought, yep, that’s me – except I could never wait for a series to be complete, not if it’s going to be a year or years between books. I do love finding a new-to me series that is complete, or long enough it may never end. I still remember the rush of driving around to different bookstore collecting Lois Bujold’s Vorkosigan books (RIP Borders).
Oh, this is such an interesting question. I think that when I get into a series I’m more interested in spending time in the universe than necessarily finding out how a story resolves itself, and, like other commenters, I’m quite happy to read all N extant books of a series and then go back and read N and N+1 when that comes out. But unless I really, really loved the first N, I’ll probably wait for the sale or the library copy.
That’s one of my favorite SBTB chat transcripts – thank you Sneezy and Susan for a huge empathetic laugh! I completely understand the passion.
If I can, I wait. When I hear good reviews I usually have a few unread series pinned for A Time When I Need Distraction. (Past example: Murderbot and 2020. Current example: I haven’t yet dipped into Deanna Rayburn/Veronica Speedwell.)
This is partly due to the fact that I do a LOT of re-reading. I will easily binge and re-binge. But when a series keeps going and going I’ve gotten book/plot fatigue if I’ve had to wait for a new release, but then can’t connect to the transition to the new book or plot arc. Or if access (budget/long library hold) causes delay. A previously beloved series is the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series (Laurie R. King) which I first discovered in early adulthood. But the books progress on a tight sequential timeline, which started to feel misaligned with my real life timeline. I gave up on that series plus Sebastian St Cyr about 10 years ago – but am hoping to return someday.
It depends on how each book resolves. If I’m aware that there’s a huge cliffhanger at the end I will wait until the series is complete But if the author leaves the characters at a logical stopping point but I know there’s a larger overall plotline I will read them as they’re released. K.J. Charles is a good example of that – her Will Darling Adventures and Magpie Lord series both resolved some issues and left the romances in the HFN stage in each book, but you had to read all three to get the full arc and HEA. (I usually don’t tackle any series longer than 3 or 4 books, J.D. Robb excepted).
I’ve found I can’t read more than two books by an author back-to-back. More than that and I start noticing their writing ticks and I can’t unsee that. Forevermore they will be “That author who only knows one swear word so no matter the character they swear the same way.” or “Pick out the male lead immediately because he always has “ruby red eyes like the fire of passion”.” If I space things out it blunts the impact.
Definitely am a fan of the deep dive when I find a new series – whether it’s complete or not. I’ll usually do a full-on author deep dive to check out other books/series as well. Depending on how much I like the books, or whether they get too formulaic (Ice Planet Barbarians is a good example) I’ll go through all the books and deal with the hangover.
I like to read the books as they come out – so currently I’m suspended mid-story with Maggie from Ilona Andrews’ THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME. I’ve never been so grateful for authors who are faithful at updating their blog – they run a tight ship at House Andrews.
even if it’s over three or six or more books
Are there romance series that take 6+ books to reach an ending? Egads. (My definition of “an ending” for romance is the HFN/HEA for the protagonists’ relationship. Solving the mystery/escaping the doomed planet/dumping your tyrannical immortal father into a pocket universe is just bonus material for me.)
I’m joining club “it depends.”
If it’s an author whose works I already love, I am reading their new book immediately. Because NEW BOOK. And when is book two of TKWNKM coming out?
If it’s someone indie-pubbing their unnecessarily bloated romantasy in three parts when it could have just been one better-edited book in the first place, then I’ll slap volume one in a wishlist and maybe remember to go back to see if the remaining volumes were ever published and if they constitute an ending. You know what usually happens? Well what usually happens is that I forget to ever go back to that book. But in the cases where I do return to research it, I find the reviews (those “real” but unnecessarily generous 3-star reviews, not the 5-star noise) convince me the book wouldn’t have been worth my time in the first place.
@MelMc The curse word repetition is real. The one that always bugged me the most was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books. Claire keeps says “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ” through the whole series. That has to be the most awkwardly wordy cuss word phrase in history (barring Shakespeare’s insults). I can’t imagine trying to get that whole mouthful out in a moment of stress/pissyness/frustration.
I gravitate to books that are outside the fantasy paranormal scifi mystery and small-town subgenres where long series (even trilogies) seem to congregate.
KJ Charles is one author whose books I have acquired in clumps so I could read all together (since I discovered her well after she started publishing). I buy her books as soon as they come out, usually pre-ordered, and read them immediately. She’s the best plotter of the authors I regularly read, and her recurring subtheme of justice resonates with me, so if a given title is maybe a bit hastily resolved, I forgive. Some other authors who do 30 chapters of angst & conflict, then slap together a HEA conclusion in one chapter (or worse, an epilogue) get a lot less leeway.
There are plenty of authors I enjoy in a pick-and-choose kind of way, meaning I know I generally like their approach to character, so I follow, then when a new title is coming up I read the blurb to see if it seems to be in my sweet spot plot-wise. I don’t feel obligated to read an entire series just because I’ve liked a few things by that author.
In trilogies, I want a three-book through-plot *and* a resolved plot & character arc in each volume. There are some trilogies I’ve read that feel as though the author wrote one really long book and then haphazardly dissected it into three books. Doesn’t mean I liked the characters less or found their overall arc less engaging, but it does mean I mark down for editing discipline and look at future releases more critically.
I don’t at all blame an author for taking a series in a direction that no longer interests me. In fact, I *want* authors to evolve. I continue to follow most such authors in hopes that they’ll produce something more to my taste, outside the series (or trilogy) I abandoned.
I can’t remember the last time I read two books by the same author back to back. I like to switch between genres, writing styles and time periods. And I’m not a loyal reader. I’ll happily cherrypick romance series books that are loosely connected and skip some entirely. I feel no need to start at the beginning of a series by a new-to-me author, but will start with my favourite trope or the best reviewed entry. And I’ll promptly abandon a series that loses its appeal.
I’m definitely a one-at-a-time reader.
I wish I only read books if they were a part of a complete series. I have this problem mostly with fantasy, since Romance tends to be fairly self contained (though not always obviously).
I’ve been burned so many times (like many, with A Song of Fire and Ice…, Patrick Rothfuss, the list goes on), but if a book grabs me I just can’t put it down, and it turns out I can’t delay for the 1-infinity years it may take for the series to complete. The latest for me is The Raven Scholar, book 2 comes out this year and then who knows when book 3 will drop. It’s hard!
In a perfect world, there would only be a few months between book releases. I find if a series is complete, I binge like mad and then I get sick of it and start skimming . That’s a me problem.
I like to get The New Book every year for my birthday/whichever holiday, so I space them out. As someone else mentioned, reading too many of the same author’s works in a row has me overly aware of their ‘voice’ to the point I’m nitpicking it. My only problem with not-complete series is the ones that end up unfinished…
If all the books in a series are available I will read them all even though I know binge eating is punishing and I will be both happier and healthier if I vary my diet. Sometimes I am mature enough/the library book availability conspires with me enough that I can space them out a bit.
I am also painfully aware that if I start a series before it is complete it may wind up added to the uncompleted novel/series pile of unfulfilled anticipation, but I have self control issues – see above – and I never do wait.
Well. I do sometimes keep books for the in emergency break glass situation, or, as it is referred to in my family, for prison. Which is equally disordered, I am aware.
Honestly, and I hate that this is true for me, having them doled out by the publishing industry is probably the most enjoyable reading experience for me, provided I have enough books/series to rotate through that I can distract myself from the wait for any specific one.
Generally speaking I will catch up to the current book and then read as published, although that does carry the risk of forgetting about it entirely. I can think of several series where I read two or three and then never got back around to the series. The one exception I make is series on Amazon Prime–this is currently the Emma Lion series. I don’t keep an ongoing subscription to those platforms, so I will probably catch up whenever I have a good promo price, or when the end of the series arrives, whichever comes first. It doesn’t make financial sense to get a subscription every time a new volume comes out. Hopefully, the author will eventually get a US publishing deal so I can get them from the library as they are published.
I’ve been reading romances a very long time, and I used to buy a whole series when it came out. Lately, I’m finding that I’m just not happy with the complete series, especially the middle books in a trilogy. I do have my auto buy authors that I’m willing to take a chance on, but more cautious about others.
When I see a new book announced as #1 in a series, it’s usually a red flag for me, as if the author is just going to be spinning out the idea. (I do realize publishers pressure authors to do this.) Of course, it’s worse when the #1 is not made plain: I am still annoyed at Robin McKinley’s “Pegasus”.
I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Sarah Lyons Fleming after her Until the End of the World and The City series were completed. I’m a true believer in the library but when the only library via interlibrary loan REFUSED to loan book two (Georgia, I’m looking at you) I said “fuck this” and purchased both series via my independent bookstore. I have volumes 1-4 of her Cascadia series on my shelf, patiently awaiting the final book 5.
However, if it’s a long running series (Orphan X, Joe Pickett, Inspector Gamesh) I’ve got those puppies on reserve before they’re even released.
If it is a series I began before I knew it was a series, I read as published. With respect to a series I haven’t started (but expect to enjoy), or a series I’ve gotten behind on, I definitely binge. But since I’ve learned from SBTB about the problem for authors when early entries don’t sell as expected, I buy the books as they come out, or go on sale as the case may be, and leave them parked on Mt. TBR.
For series still being written I’m on the acquire ASAP side – for my most reliable favorite authors, I’ll preorder any time I can. I usually also read them as soon as I get them, although sometimes if life is being very VERY at the time, they’ll sit and wait. I’ve been disappointed at a series or two that I discovered late and bought everything immediately. There can be sudden drops in quality or an abrupt shift in plot I didn’t like, so I normally only buy 2 or maybe 3 ahead even when they’re all available, unless I think they might not be findable again. I did just recently buy all 4 WVMP books, thanks to Sarah pointing it out in a Rewind episode, but they were used and 4 isn’t a very long series by my standards. I usually only binge on re-reads, and even then I might stop after a few, or restart a long series from just a couple books back before the latest one comes out so I don’t burn out on the style before I reach the new one.
The problem is I read too much fantasy! When I was a kid, my access to books was severely limited, so for the few series I followed, I would read them as they came out AND reread the rest of the series before new ones.
Now as an adult with the Libby app and an extensive Kindle library on my phone, well, it’s a little more difficult. If I know it’s a series, I usually try to wait. But it happens ALL THE TIME (most recently with Ava Reid’s truly excellent INNAMORATA as well as Ilona Andrews’ THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME) that I just didn’t look closely enough to realize it was a series beforehand!
I don’t regret the practice necessarily- both those books are among my top reads for 2026 so far for completely different reasons- but it means that I have a lot of books and series that I keep meaning to get back to and may never do. I also struggle to read series in a row, and rarely make time for rereading now.
TL;DR: my reading habits are chaotic and subject to the whims of books I know too little about for which my library holds come in all at once (I will get to you soon STRENGTH OF THE FEW, I promise!)
I think George R.R. Martin cured a lot of us of reading as they published.
That being said, I’m inclined to read as they publish, especially if I know it’s a series with a definite arc/number of books or is an author I really enjoy so I’m happy to let ramble on for decades getting to the end.
If it’s a sqee author for me I have to read it as it comes out i.e. Ilona Andrews, Martha Wells. Then of course you wait on tenderhooks for the next installment. If this is a word of mouth book or newish author and I KNOW it’s in several installments I wait. Even knowing this hurts the possibility of new books. Why? I have a massive TBR pile and I despise having to re-read a book to ‘refresh’ myself with the plot. I want to re-read because a book is just THAT good (Ilona Andrews!) and I can’t resist it. I am a notorious series quitter. Twilight, Hunger Games, Outlander, Harry Potter, I’ve quit them all without finishing the series. Maybe it’s different for others but for me it seems more like the movie industry where an author is encouraged to drag out a story into a trilogy or more for the sake of built in sales. Authors have to eat after all. This is a risk exactly because of people like me but with a TBR in the hundreds I have no regrets. Do I probably miss out on some great fiction? Definitely so but I discover good fiction all the time. It’s just my personal method.
I’ve long been a fan of series (both interconnected series with a different couple in each book, and series that follow the same couple throughout). Because of changes to my reading tastes over my 5+ decades, I’ve discovered lots of series that weren’t my “thing” when they originally came out, but now I can binge them all through the library (and thankfully, most don’t have long hold lists because they’re not new releases). There are also series that I have on auto-buy to read as soon as the next title is released. It just really depends on my mood and budget (one series started as self-published and was then picked up by a traditional publisher, almost tripling the cost of each ebook. Now, I have to patiently wait for my library hold to arrive). One of the hardest things about series is when the author disappears (Laura Kaye, Maya Banks and Tessa Dare all have unfinished series that I’ve mourned the loss of). I also hate knowing that a series is coming to an end. I have a few series-enders that I can’t bring myself to read, yet, to push off the sense of finality.
I don’t often read series at this point – I’ve been burned too many times (looking at YOU, Laurell K. Hamilton and Maria Snyder). Other times I’ve read series and it got too repetitive because they were clearly written in a way to refresh your memory after having to wait since the last book and that just stacks up too much if you’re reading 7 books in a row (Gin Blanco series).
I’ve been picking up manga series as they go – current favorites are “The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today” and “She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat”.
For book series, it just depends on when I discover them. Some things are too good not to put in my eyes immediately, and others I have high interest in but am waiting on because I have too many other things first in line. I forget what I’ve read too much and I don’t want to go back and re-read or just never finish a series because I had to wait a year+ for the next book after devouring the first (“Queen of the Tearling”).
This reminds me of a conversation I had, ages ago, with a coworker who was explaining to me that he NEVER, EVER started a (fantasy, sci-fi) book series, until the final book was out and he had ALL of them in hand. His reasoning was that he was worried that the series would end up unfinished – either due to publishing issues, lack of sales, or – “if the author dies before they finish writing the books”
And then proceeded to tell me that he had JUST started reading book 1 of Robert Jordan’s “Eye of the World” series, because book 6 had come out!
I hated to burst his bubble, but I had to let him know that book 6 was…nowhere near the last book in the series?
As it turned out – the series ended up being 14 books long, AND the author did die before completing it – but he was able to write copious notes and the series was completed after his death, by another author who was a big fan of the series.
For me, I would never invest that kind of time/money into a new author – my coworker had been buying all the books and letting them sit on his shelf, unread! Without me knowing for sure that I am going to like them, I wouldn’t buy a whole series before reading the first volume at least!
And, there is something really awesome about occasionally finding out that you *haven’t* read all the books in a beloved series – it’s a little unexpected gift! I’ve had that happen a couple of times where a new book comes out, and I decide to re-read the first books in the series before the new one – and end up realizing that I actually had TWO or THREE “new” books because I hadn’t been keeping up!
My favorite series (Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books and CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner novels) comprise 20+ books, so waiting around for the finish is impracticable and I generally pick each volume up as it comes out. The exception is books I know to have cliffhangers. I held off of reading Naomi Novik’s The Last Graduate (Scholomance book 2) until a few weeks before book 3 was released but the wait was excruciating anyway. An additional issue with beloved series is that each new book sends me back to read all my favorite bits in its predecessors again.
So I suppose the answer is: it depends.
I tend to read them as soon as they are available but I reserve the right to re-read the previous one(s) if the new ones come out more than a few months later.
I read as soon as I get it.
For books and tv shows I tend to wait until everything is out OR the last book/show is releasing and then I dive in. I’ll binge shows but books I like to rotate genres so I still read them close together but not right after the other. I hate cliffhangers and I tend to forget what happens.
When it’s a series in that the books are set in the same universe with the same characters, but the individual books stand alone, I’ll read as they’re released. Most of Bujold falls in this category, as do a lot of romance series of the “couple 1’s story; couple 2’s story; couple 3’s story” format. There’s some Courtney Milan series in my library that may never be finished, but I’m not frustrated because the books we have are standalones.
When there’s an overarching series plot that isn’t resolved, but the individual book’s story is complete, I’ll read as they’re released. Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series falls in this category. (For now. The overarching romance plotline is approaching the point where I’m going “look, wrap this up, will you?”, but the individual books are still enjoyable reads.)
When the series really is one very long story and the individual books don’t stand alone? That’s when I’ll wait.
It comes down to. if the author stopped writing and I knew the series was never going to be finished, would I be sad or would I be frustrated? Sad — I’ll read as they come out. Frustrated — I’ll wait until there’s a complete series.
I would rather read a great book, even if the series is not resolved, then miss out. Even if Lynch doesn’t finish the series, THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA is a perfect book. Same with Ilona Andrews’ Iron Covenant first book (SO GOOD – please write the rest of the series, but thank you for everything you guys write). I was very upset when Stephen King was hit by a van in the middle of the Gunslinger series (his best books, in my opinion)not just for him, but for purely selfish reasons. So thankful he was able to finish and write so much more.
That being said, I will be pissed at Patrick Rothfuss for the rest of my life. He wrote all three books, and has been rewriting them, and just can’t finish the last one. Get some help, dude – there’s no shame in needing help. It’s just cruel to your readers at this point. I try not to judge, but I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO KVOTHE.
@MelMC I feel your pain. While I don’t expect authors to reinvent the wheel, I definitely find myself bothered by whatever tics and quirks exist in their writing if I read more than three in a row. I’ll go back later and pick up the series again without fail if I enjoyed it enough to read three of them. And by series, I’m talking about books that follow the same family or friends. I never ever read a book that I know doesn’t have a firm resolution. I’m not interested in the prolonged ups and downs of a relationship. You’d have to threaten me with ice cream (or wine) deprivation to get me to read something like Outlander.
You could probably do a fiendish quiz based on different authors’ ticks! A phrase from one author that for me automatically accompanies itself with flashing lights is “he/she/it/they inhaled the stew/soup”., partly because inhaling food is an incredibly unhealthy thing to do.
My main issue is my crappy memory, which means that I forget half the details of ongoing plots/characters, so unless they’re released in very quick succession, reading each book as it’s released *also* means re-reading the whole series to refresh my memory with each new release (and I am too obsessive and detail-oriented with both books and TV for a brief recap/overview to suffice for catch up, alas). So if I’m going to read each new one as it’s released, I have to love the series enough to tolerate not only waiting but to invest enough time for multiple rereads.
(Outlander is one I liked well enough but just gave up on. Read/skimmed through the first 4-5 books but at the time there were only 5 or 6 books out and there’s SO long between each book and SO much detail and plot that the time investment required to catch up/remember what’s going on when a new one does come out *dramatically* outweighs my moderate enjoyment of the series. Sometimes I still re-read/skim the good bits of the first few, but just kind of decided that I enjoy the story up through about Drums of Autumn and can’t be bothered about everything after that.)
I do have a harder time when it’s one character/couple’s story/romance stretched over multiple books. If it’s a romance series with related but self-contained stories with their own happy endings I’ll usually read as they come out, but if it’s the same character and relationship, I’m *much* more likely to hold off till the whole story is available. Or, if the first one ends reasonably happily and then I learn the story/romance continues into future books, I end up very reluctant to read later ones, even if I adore the setting/characters (*especially* if it’s not romance but fantasy or something less centered around happy endings). I guess the uncertainty puts me off – I’d rather stick with the happy ending I already have rather than keep going and maybe end up less satisfied.
The author tics thing is so true though, lol. Julie Ann Long’s Palace of Rogues series is maybe my all time favorite ever. I’ve binged it so much I don’t *have* to reread to refresh my memory, but usually when a new one comes out and sends me back to that world I just want to stay there so end up rereading the previous ones anyway. However, while I adore them and generally find the writing to be some of the best I’ve read in romance, when I binge them back to back I can’t help but notice how often characters laugh mordantly or are mordantly amused, and repeated use of the awkward phrase “he filled his hands with her breasts.”
I usually wait. I didn’t start the Kate Daniels series until Magic Triumphs had been announced. And I haven’t read the last few Nalini Singh books, as much as I love her stories, because I usually read her books ten at a time. I’m preparing myself for a complete Guild Hunter read because I haven’t read the last four and now it’s finished.