Sequels that are Equal or Surpass the first book in a Series!

Many times, while reading a series, duology or a trilogy, often the first book is better than the rest of the books written after! Same goes for a movie series or a tv series the first season is best! However, once in a blue moon there are sequels that either just as good as the first book or wait for it… Better than the first book! Gasp! I know! In this mini list, I’m going to talk about books in a series that are either equal or surpass the first book! Some of these books have been out for quite some time, others are books that have recently come out this year!

Torment by Lauren Kate author of the Fallen Series

The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate consists of 4 books and this is the order they come in Fallen, Torment, Passion, & Rapture. The series tells the love story of Lucinda Price & Daniel Grigori, who is a fallen angel! Their love has been cursed. Every seventeen years after they kiss Lucinda dies and is reincarnated seventeen years later each century. The two must figure out a way to break the curse & defeat their enemies. Out of all 4 books in the main series, Torment was my favorite! The story picks up and Luce is hidden at a boarding school in California while Daniel goes out to stop the Outcasts a certain sect of fallen angels who want to kill Luce. At this boarding school there’s new friends to be made both Nephilim & not and more questions are answered!

Tokyo Noir by Jake Adelstein

Tokyo Noir by Jake Adelstein is the sequel to Tokyo Vice. While the two came out fifteen years apart, Tokyo Noir picks up right after the events of Tokyo Vice. Jake had his enemy Goto Tadamasa banished from the Yakuza & has one less enemy to fight for now. Though maybe that’s not entirely true, hardship is about to hit Jake like a bus when Jake has one enemy to fight, himself. What makes Tokyo Noir better than Tokyo Vice is we see Jake cover TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), The Fukishima Meltdown, the Olympic Committee having yakuza ties & Jake getting very personal about the hardships in his own life. I had the water works reading about Jake suffering with liver cancer, bad choices he made & the death of a very special woman Michel. Saigo, from The Last Yakuza was back & gave Jake great advice. I’m thinking Wow! Never did I think I would agree with an ex-yakuza on anything! I had to pray several rosaries to get through those sad parts. But not all of it was sad. I still can’t get over that Beni had to tell him what BFF stands for that made me chuckle! My favorite quote from the book is If you don’t really want to know the answer, don’t ask the question. Many people think they want the truth, or ought to know the truth, but when you tell it to them, they act as though you’ve personally assaulted them. There’s such wisdom in that quote because we all have someone or several people in our lives who say they want the truth or think they are always right, but once you tell them they get upset. If you enjoy true crime, memoirs, Tokyo Vice, what are you waiting for? Check out Tokyo Noir which is available now!

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni

The Puzzle Box is the sequel to The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni! What I like is even though the same character as Mike Brink is in both novels, you don’t have to read the first book before reading the second! Both novels standalone which are always exciting! It is the year of the wood dragon and Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo Japan to open the legendary Dragon Box. The Dragon Box is a mysterious box created in the 19^th century that has remained unopened & unsolved for 150 years. Many have tried to open the box over the years, unfortunately the tricks, booby traps and poisons had gotten to them first. While the idea of him possibly dying and facing off against a faction from a disgraced samurai family working with an old enemy of course makes him nervous, he doesn’t let any of this deter him from solving this puzzle. I love that this story takes place in Japan filled with a mystery that is like an intricate puzzle (pun intended 😉).

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

While there are 13 novels in the popular children’s series about the misfortunate adventures of the Baudalaire orphans Violet, Klaus & Sunny and the evil Count Olaf who wants to kill them for their fortune. In the first novel, the children live with him after their parents died in a terrible fire and Olaf even tried to marry Violet who’s a 14-year-old girl! Most of the novels are either equal or better than the first. My favorite book in that series is book 2 The Reptile Room. The children live with their Uncle Monty who has a house full of reptiles, one reptile, the Incredible Deadly Viper is friendly to all three children and the name is a misnomer. It would be that viper that would help the children foil Count Olaf in the end.  Out of all the guardians the children have, Monty is the best one.

The Hush Hush Series by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick is another romantic tale of a human Nora and the romance with her fallen angel boyfriend Patch Cipriano. Patch initially starts off wanting to kill her so he can be human, but obviously he doesn’t fall through with his plan, and they fall in love. I think each book in the series is equally good as we read about their journey! Its action packed and romance and a war with the Nephilim that needs to be foiled before it’s too late! We see Nora & Patch go through rough patches (pun intended 😉) & come out stronger for it! I feel as though each book in the series is uniquely great. Theres not a book in that series that I didn’t like. Each book in the series kept you on your toes!

More Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa translated by Eric Ozawa

More Days At The Morisaki Bookshop is the sequel to Days At The Morisaki Bookshop. If you enjoy books that take place in bookstores & Japan especially the real life Jimbocho Book District in Japan, you will enjoy both books! What makes this sequel better than the first? We see Takako grow more as a person. With the help of her Aunt Momoko she opens to her boyfriend Akira Wada about her feelings for him instead of being closed off. That is a scary thing revealing your feelings for someone because you never know how the other person will react. There are some parts where you tear up too. One scene was where Aunt Momoko told Takako to let the tears fall and that it’s okay to cry. I can relate to Takako when it comes to this. We were both made to feel uncomfortable letting others see us cry because either we would get scolded for doing it and we were told it would make others uncomfortable. It takes some of our family members to tell us that its okay to cry and it doesn’t make us crazy for doing so. In fact, crying at books, movies, tv and any art form means we are alive & we’re reminded that we aren’t alone. When Takako’s Uncle is upset Takako helps him. I can’t wait to read more adventures that take place in the Morisaki Bookshop.