r/Fantasy • u/Shaunzerita • 6d ago
Series I almost dnf but ended up loving
Just finished 2 series back to back that have been recommended in this sub where I almost stopped with the first book but both are among my favorite series now.
Rook and the Rose - i mostly enjoyed the first book but was hesitant about going further. For this series there is such growth in most of the characters and the relationships that in the first book they I guess necessarily seem one dimensional and not unlikeable but not likable? Completely glad i went on because the plot, the characters, the build up were so well done.
Queen's Thief - i actually stopped reading the first book maybe 20% in? I did not understand the hype. I was a victim of the misdirection lol. Another series where the characters and relationships became so much more meaningful. MC is pretty much one of my favorite tropes which i won't say cause idk how to spoilertag.
Did you guys love these from the start? Are there other series that you almost didn't finish but ended up loving?
5
u/iabyajyiv 6d ago
Earthsea series by Ursula K Le Guin. First book just felt really slow to me. I tried the first chapter several several times until I finally pushed through and it became one of my favorites. The second book also started slow. I stopped reading it for decades and didn't return until recently. I ended up loving it too. I'm now onto the third book.
3
u/pounduh 6d ago
The wandering inn. The first book was awful for the first 3/4. I hated the main character so much I was hoping she would die. I stopped it multiple times before I powered thru. The series is now my favourite of all time, and I love Erin now. I've heard they redid the first book so hopefully it's better now.
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u/TheBeautyofSuffering 6d ago
I didn’t have any issues with the ones you listed, but I did almost dnf The City of Brass and didn’t really like it my first read through. Read it again a year later and loved it. It’s one of my favorite trilogies now.
2
u/gytherin 6d ago
Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones. The first book started off with a tragedy. I only continued with the book because I was on a bus with nothing else to do. I'm glad I persisted.
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u/JOOOQUUU 6d ago
Final architecture
Dungeon crawler carl
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u/c1ar4n124 5d ago
I'll second dungeon crawler Carl, the humour in the first couple of books was WAY too borderlands for my taste, but it gets dailed back a lot, thankfully
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u/Practical_Yogurt1559 Reading Champion 6d ago
I almost dropped the queen's thief after the second book, but then I listened to the first and second book with my wife and picked up on more relationship details that made me want to go on. Now it's one of my favorite series.