I am an avid Book Series Finale Procrastinator. Seriously, it needs to be a job position because I would ace it and get a pay raise and everyone would be in awe of my ultimate procrastination abilities. I HAVE TROUBLE LETTING THINGS GO OKAY?? If I don’t finish reading the series — it’s still vaguely going on inside my head. Also BONUS: all my favourite characters haven’t died yet. Ahem.
But book finales have SUCH awful potential to explode in your face. There are several reasons for this, which I’ll kindly list, because I’m just that nice of an overlord. (Sheesh. I need to work on my evillness.)
Reasons Finales Often Are Perilously Not Good
- The author is under a LOT of pressure (especially if the previous books did really well) and is flustered trying to end it right AND please an audience.
- The author is just an EVIL TOOTHY GUAVA BRAINED FIEND and enjoys people crying, ergo ends the series hopelessly sadly.
- The characters have all gone through A LOT — ergo they’ve changed to become different people who make odd decisions…that boggle we readers because THIS ISN’T WHO WE STARTED READING ABOUT.
- The ending is actually FINE. It’s we readers who are the problem and aren’t ready to let go and we turn into picky watermelon seeds.
- The author has used up the HUGEST climactic plot twists too early in the series. So the finale seems like a limpet.
- Ships sinking. I SEE SHIPS SINKING EVERYWHERE. This is usually dissatisfying if the hero goes through soooooooo much and is rewarded with spinach soup for dinner and no one to share their toast with.
- The book is too LONG while trying to wrap up a ton of sub-plots — ergo, it ends up being boring.
- IT ENDED, DANGIT, WE DIDN’T WANT IT TO END. STAHP THIS NONSENSE AND WRITE MORE BOOKS, AUTHOR, PLEASE. PLEASE.
Clearly writing GOOD finales is as tricky as baking a blue cake on raft in the middle of the Pacific with an electric oven and a shark sous chef.
Not impossible. But definitely HARD.
When it comes to series, not all the readers are going to be satisfied. NOT EVER. Someone’s expectations will always collapse.
But I mostly stand by the fact that I think authors DO know what’s best for their characters and do accordingly. Even if it makes the series end sourly. (Well, I mean, there are definitely some series where the finales ruined it for me. SO. I’m a hypocrite of my own statement, buuuuuut….I’m also overlord and queen so. I say what I want.)
ERGO! THis is an awesome moment to discuss the TYPES of series finales! AND I ALSO HAVE A QUIZ FOR YOU. Because quizzes are freakishly fun and we haven’t done one in a while. (What is wrong with my slack dragon secretaries. Seriously. They fail at blogging so often. #ShameOnThem)
FYI YOU CAN GET THIS MUG FROM MY SOCIETY6 STORE
(Click covers to go to Goodreads.)
I also want to point out that 2016 is apparently THE YEAR IT ALL ENDS…because there are SO many series finales out this year. I’m dying. Remember me whilst I wither with feels upon the ground.
(Alrighty, let’s get to the reason we’re ALL here for this post.)
1. THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER
It’s like a happy Christmas package tied up with a nice bow and presented to you lovingly by the author. Happily ever afters are the “fairy tale dream”, naturally, but they’re also for the SATISFYING books. The couple get together. The evil is defeated. The lost queen sits on the throne. The cake is saved. Everyone goes home and has SOUP AND TOAST and probably snuggles a duckling.
PROS: You feel happy that it all turned out.
CONS: Sometimes they’re unrealistic because when does real life end so easily??? And seriously, the heroes all survived????? As if.
2. THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER
Let’s go for the heavy-duty-realism, right? Because war doesn’t play favourites, darlin’. And PEOPLE YOU LOVE WILL DEFINITELY DIE. These finales are heavy on the feels factors. They terrify you. They haunt you in your sleep. They emotionally cripple you so you end up as that puddle of nope in the corner, rocking and crying gently. Even the HEROES aren’t safe here.
PROS: It feels realistic and you also get to be emotionally destroyed. (Somehow that’s a GOOD thing???) Good books make you FEEL!!
CONS: Sometimes it makes the book feel pointless when everyone dies anyway. It can also just make you angry/sad because NOTHING WENT RIGHT. #AllMyFriendsAreDead
3. THE OPEN ENDER BECAUSE WHO NEEDS CLOSURE HA HA HA (CRIES)
When does life ever wrap up in that nice little bow? NEVER. So these kinds of finales make sure to a) not tie everything up, b) leave you with questions, and c) drive you 97.3% insane with QUESTIONS THAT WILL NEVER BE ANSWERED. But at least you get the feeling that the characters’ lives aren’t over. Hurrah! They’re still off adventuring and (hopefully) staying alive.
PROS: Your imagination has room to flap about happily/anxiously/both-together. And it’s very realistic.
CONS: The questions literally kill 9 of your braincells and you eat a brick wall with WANTING TO KNOW. It can also feel like cheating and/or pointless because nothing is solved.
4. THE STRESS FEST
Let’s just have battles! Plot twists! Chases! Escapes! Explosions! ALL OF THE TIME. These finales are ultimately exhausting and you only need to nap for 58 years to recover. Nothing seems to go right and everyone is CONSTANTLY in peril. But you end up feeling really exited and energised with that feeling you just read an amazing book.
PROS: It’s epic! No snivelling around! Let’s just SMITE ALL THE THINGS and stretch everyone to their limits! Also they’re very hard to put down.
CONS: They can be SO stressful that you don’t want to read. Especially not knowing if it’s going to end in mass-calamity. Also the action/plot-twists can get over the top and feel try-hard.
5. THE RUNAWAYS TO A NEW SERIES
This just involves the characters solving a FEW of their problems, but ultimately running away in to the sunset — or darkness. It has feelings of “YAY THEY ESCAPED” or “OMG RUN AND DON’T GET CAUGHT AGAIN”. You get the feeling that their adventure is so not over. It has closure in that the plot DID wrap up. But you can definitely envision them having another series. And oftentimes they DO get another series!
PROS: You get another series to look forward to and promises that you don’t have to say goodbye yet.
CONS: It’s potentially unsatisfactory and can also feel like it’s being spun into unnecessary books. You want answers, but, dangit, do you have to read like TEN MORE BOOKS to get them???
Can my gloriously intelligent quiz predict what kind of series finales YOU like best???? Be sure to let me know in the comments if it was right or waaaay off!!
As a reader, I love numbers 2 and 3 of your little quiz, Cait. Because seriously Closure is for LOSERS!! and DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ARE MY LIFEBLOOD!!!!
Ahem …. so yes, I would totally choose those two.
As an author …. I CHOOSE DEATH!!!! Because you can never have enough death and destruction while writing. and I feel kinda obligated to let people know that: FLUFFINESS IS OUT PEOPLE!!!! BLOOD AND DEATH IS THE NEW NORM!! Now you all get on that train of thought ….. I have cookies … and cake for you, Cait! *shoves cookies and cake at everyone*
YUUUUUS. ME TOO. I 100000% AGREE. Who wants to be calm and relaxed while reading anyway? Pffft. (And omg I ALWAYS write tragic endings?! It’s nearly a problem, but I love it so much. #mybad 😂)
AWWWW CAKE FOR ME? YOU ARE OFFICIALLY THE BEST CLEARLY.
That is so interesting!! I never knew this kind of app/quiz thing existed.
I didn’t know there are so many series ending this year! I need to read at least one of them…. (Haven’t read a new series since Divergent. SHAME ON ME.)
I think I’m a combination of type 1 and 2. I like happy endings, but like you said, they’re sometimes not realistic! But then mass murders leave me broken and empty. Perhaps a happy epilogue can make up for it??
I got the open ending type which is not me at all! Hahaha I don’t know what went wrong. Requiem by Lauren Oliver slightly pissed me off. I didn’t read those 3 books for an indecisive ending!
Well I did make the quiz, but YES! Playbuzz is awesome for making up quizzes. Definitely check it out if you like that sort of thing *nods* And ZOMG I know right?!? ALL THESE SERIES. *flaps about* I’ve only read a handful so far, but it feels like EVERYTHING is ending this year and the emotional trauma is huge. 😂
Omg quiz fail though, eh?! hehe. I kiiiind of like open endings?! It makes me imagine things! But TOO many questions just is frustrating.
Love this post, Cait! I took the quiz and turns out I like Stress Festy finales XD
Eeeep!! THANKS FOR READING! 😀 And I’m glad the quiz worked for you?! 😉
SOMEHOW I got the Stress Fest. IDEK. It’s probably true though. I like intense finales where you go like WTF IS GOING ON I CAN’T STOP READING WHO NEEDS FOOD AND SLEEP ANYWAYS WHAAHHH.
SAME!! I took the quiz (which is kind of hard since I MADE it so I know where all the answers lead?!?) and got the Stress Fest too. 😂 WHICH IS TRUE. But I also don’t mind it when everyone dies. I’m so morbid. 😂 😂
I got the THE STRESS FEST too 😀
Thank you for making the awesome quiz 😀
I am the HEA type mostly… and according to the quiz. XDDD
OMG YAY QUIZ WIN!! *collapses in relief*
APPARENTLY I LIKE THE STRESS FEST??? this explains so much about why it takes me so long to read books actually…
this was a GREAT POST CAIT, thanks. I’ve never thought about the different types of finales – I’ve definitely come across most of them, and I think when handled well, any of them can work. It just needs to fit the story type – do not give me a unrealistic happy ever after for a dystopian tale please – and be written well.
also please never give me a cliffhanger at the end of a series i might actually hunt down the author and force them to sit and write me a proper ending…
YAYYY I’M GLAD THE QUIZ WORKED. 😂 (Quizzes are seriously hard to make sometimes, haha, ahem.) But omg VERY true about needing-a-finale-to-fit-the-genre. Like you wouldn’t expect a Happily Ever After at the end of a dystopian for sure…or even like a massive sci-fi battle or whatever. It has to FIT.
But omg I have read series that ended with cliffhangers and I’M STILL EMOTIONALLY SCARRED. 😂
Haha! Loved the quiz! My result? The mass deaths of everything of ever. That was spot on in my opinon so good work! =D
OMG QUIZ WIN!!!!! HUZZAH!!! *awards self cake for effort*
*shares cake with you because is nice*
😂
(You made a statement about working on your evilness…NO. JUST NO. YOU’RE EVIL ENOUGH. STOP ALL THE DEATH, PAIN AND MURDER OF FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. Just let me be happy and eat my cupcakes. Please. I’m too scared to even read your blog posts sometimes, in fear that YOU’LL KILL SOMEONE I LOVE ps: totally not over the ending of The Dead Boy and the Paper Cut)
I loved thia quiz! I got open ender because i live the pain? *sobs*
Also, I’m terrified of series finales because SO MUCH CAN GO WRONG and SO MANY CHARACTERS CAN DIE and SO MANY SHIPS CAN BE SUNK and MY FEELINGS WILL EXPLODE AND GET ON EVERYTHING.
(Omg that was like one of my most FLUFFY books, Kat. How are you going survive my next one?!?!??? SERIOUSLY. IT IS 100000% WORSE. Ahem.)
AHHH I’M GLAD THE QUIZ WORKED FOR YOU THEN. 😂 I always get worried about my quizzes omg (but they are fun to make!!) And I hear ya with the terror. *pats shoulder* *feeds you cake* I have a zillion series I’ve never finished because I am a nervous grape sometimes.
I got the stress fest. Accurate. I like endings to keep my blood pumping. I mean, it’s the climax, right? Supposed to be exciting, yes? Give me no breaks. And, let’s face it, endings where at least one person doesn’t die? Not exciting enough.
AND OF COURSE I AM A DRAGON. HOW COULD YOU QUESTION THAT?
I TOTALLY AGREE: SOMEONE HAS GOT TO DIE. Especially in fantasies/action-adventures. Like it’s just UNREALISTIC if everyone scrapes through, right!? I wanna have my feels shredded. (Um…there is totally something wrong with me. Ahem. IT’S THE BOOKWORM WAY, THO, RIGHT?!)
There is totally something wrong with us all. Yes, it is our way. And we shall never abandon it. Bookworms are a murderous lot. *deranged laughter*
WINNER’S KISS IS MY FOREVER FAVOURITE. *ahem* Anyway, if you couldn’t tell by my previous statement, the Winner’s Kiss finished off the series so well, and I am still in book hang-over from it. I love how it ended SO MUCH.
I got ‘stress-fest’ on the quiz, which is fairly accurate because it seems like some kind of necessary obligation for every fantasy book to have a billion battles and make me wonder how the bad guys are like, everywhere. Sometimes I swear they have mastered the art of teleporting. Or stalking. Oh, and I love your quiz <3
Amazing post! 🙂
I READ THE WINNER’S KISS RECENTLY TOO AND JAFDKSALFD IT WAS BEYOND PERFECT. *sobs happily* I’m just so so pleased with the direction it went in. <3 That's DEFINITELY how series finales should be done *nods*
Yayyy and thank you!! I'm glad the quiz worked!!
The stress-fest. Okay, I admit, that’s probably true. I HATE happy endings where everything is wrapped up with a bow – where’s the sacrifice? The characters shouldn’t win without sacrificing something (or someone…).
DUDE YES. ABSOLUTELY. I feel cheated if everyone scrapes through to the finale, kind of? We need blood. *cackles evilly* *attempts to regain control and look normal*
I got the Stress Fest. Interesting, since I THINK I prefer (I’m not 100% certain, but pretty sure) that my favourite series endings are THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER and the THE OPEN ENDER. But I haven’t read a series finale in a long time, so I could be wrong. Anyway, loved your post! I wonder what sorts of series finales I’ll end up writing in the future…
ME TOO. 😂 I mean, I MADE the quiz so taking it was kind of a problem, but I honestly looooove open endings SO MUCH or ones where everyone dies. <3 It feels more real?! And it always sticks with me the longest. Eeeeep. (As a writer, I'm definitely guilty of writing everyone dead. hahaha. Ahem. #mybad)
I’m a Book Series Finale Procrastinator too! I can take one week to read the first two books in a trilogy, and take two more weeks to finish the last book because I don’t want it to end.
Based on the quiz, I’m a Stress Fest reader apparently. Looking at the series finales I loved, this is actually very, very accurate. I feel like I’ve discovered something new about myself. Thanks for letting me know. Haha. Is there any series in this category you would recommend?
I can take YEARs to finish a series because I don’t want it to end. 😂 I’m sooo bad, eep. (But sort of trying to get better at this?!? Ahem.) AHH BUT I’M SO GLAD THE QUIZ WON! YAY. Have you ever read the Red Rising trilogy?! Muchly stress. Muchly glorious.
I haven’t read Red Rising yet. I have the first two books already. Just need to find some time and hunt down that last book. Thanks for the recommendation!
MY FAVOURITE TYPE OF ENDING IS THE STRESS FEST! WHAT? AND OF COURSE I’M A DRAGON.
but seriously, i suck at reading series, especially the second book when everything is just long sometimes.
anyway, beautiful post as always <3
Aww, thank you! 😂 AND YAY FOR DRAGONNESS. I AM A DRAGON CLEARLY TOO. DRAGONS ARE THE BEST.
I do like things a leetle open ended, so I declare this quiz ACCURATE. I do feel sad when I have to read series finales, but I also want to know what’s going to happen. I just read The Rose and the Dagger and I LOVED it a lot. (as in, I’ve spent a lot of time this morning making quote fanart.)I also finished The Crown this morning, and I liked it best out of all the Selection books. (but I dearly hope it’ll be the last one.) Dreams of Gods and Monsters wasn’t as good as it could have been compared to the first two books I think, same with Trickster’s Queen (but they were like 3-stars. just not as good as the predecessors). Yay, this post is awesome. (though I think that every year people decide this is the year of every series ever ending– I remember the same thing last year and in 2013. anyway)
YAYY FOR ACCURATE QUIZ WIN! I AM SO GLAD. (Relieved actually. 😂 Ahem.) AHHHH I need to read TR&TD. Guess what? I’m procrastinating it. *buries self* I wasn’t such a fan of Dreams of Gods and Monsters though? I feel like a huge minority there, but I kind of lost the plot after the first book. 😂 The writing WAS beautiful, but sometimes confusing? Ahem.
I just hope I fall in love with a bunch of new series this year!! BECAUSE I NEED MORE BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO DESTROYING ME. (agh, next year will be the end of Illuminae and THAT is going to hurt. I 100% know it.)
I got the Happily Ever After ending on the quiz, which is absolutely right. I like it when all the plot threads are tied into a neat bow . . . or at least a mostly neat bow. If the ends are a little ragged or the loops not quite even (e.g. if a character died or if not everything is *perfect*), that’s fine . . . but there’s closure and there’s the promise of hope and happiness and I can sit back and be happy.
That being said, the ending that spins off into a new series . . . well, I’m certainly not opposed to it. 😀 I mean, more books. What’s not to like, as long as they don’t ruin the originals? (One of my favorite authors, Bryan Davis, successfully spun his first series into not just one but two successive ones- and he probably could’ve pulled off a prequel series too if he really wanted to.)
I do NOT like the “everyone dies” ending or the “open-ended” ending . . . or at least not if it’s super-open ended? I need closure. Like, really super much.
I agree, I really need closure when I finish a series, or even a standalone. I’m okay with a few people dying… but not everyone. And I do like Happily Ever Afters, but I really like the Stress Fest type, since I really like the stakes being high. 😀
@Sarah: Yayyy for a quiz win! *collapses in relief* 😂 It’s being a bit hit or miss I’ve noticed ahem. I do like closure too? But I kiiind of seriously love not having answers as well. I DON’T KNOW WHY. APPARENTLY I LIKE THE PAIN?!? I have problems. Ahem.
Yup, I was right, Stress Fest. I figured, mostly because I loooove books with more action. Feels are okay, but I want loooots of plot. 😀
Plot is good! I like plot! I LOVE PLOT. 😂 I do like it when characters develop a lot in finales though. :’)
I got The Stress Fest in the quiz! Pretty spot on 🙂 I LOVE books/finales that I cannot put down.
And usually, I do not procrastinate reading finales, on contrary. I need all anwers as soon as finale is released.
And this year, as far as series finales go, I absolutely loved Moning Star. However, The Winner’s Kiss was a bit of disappointment for me because as you mentioned, I don’t like when characters became completely different people as their were before (especially if such change does not feel realistic or believable). Now I am curious how I will feel about Raven King (I am in the middle of The Dream Thieves right now) and Crooked Kingdom!
YAYYY FOR A QUIZ WIN!! It’s been pretty hit or miss so far. 😂 hehe. AHEM. BUT ANYWAY. I’m glad you don’t procrastinate them! You’re much wiser than me. XD
Morning Star was AMAAAAAZING OMG. Although I’m opposite to you for The Winner’s Kiss and I adored it. <3 hehe
Great post Cait! Nothing is worse than a bad ending – and I always get so angry with myself when I put it off for so long and the anticipation then makes the fact the series is ending even worse 😫 You just can’t win.
One of my all time favourites of the PAINFULLY HORRIBLE endings was Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series. Urghhh that woman and her endings. She’s a massive fan of leaving her readers dying of lack of closure *wails*
And I totally just got the KILL ALL THE CHARACTERS ending for the quiz. I’m clearly a terrible person – just gotta love a traumatic character death. *flash backs to Harry Potter* *collapses*
Also, stop flaunting those beautiful mugs at me, dang flabbit. I’m going to be broke if I keep buying them 😰
AGH. IT IS TRUE PAIN. No one can say the bookworm life isn’t rife with agony. And another person mentioned Delirium’s open ending…ahhhh, I haven’t read that series yet. BUT NOW I’M SCARED. (Actually, I’m like 99% more intrigued because I secretly LOVe open endings.) 😂
Also I’m all for finales of mass destruction. :’) If *I* can never read more books in the series…THEN EVERYONE MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD.
#sorrynotsorry about the mugs 😂
I got the Stress Fest! Which, well … I guess. Yes, actually, it’s pretty accurate. 🙂
As for series finales, my favorite is probably Omega Dragon by Bryan Davis (which was the ending to three different series with 12 bks total that were all right after another), and I had been reading the books for YEARS. Like, I started reading them when I was maybe 8/9 (wow! I was young!), and the finale was last year (when I was 13). OHMYGOODNESS, bittersweet. BUT! The dragons, deaths, and guns!!!!!!
Least favorite? Um, I HONESTLY DON’T READ SERIES FINALES ALL TOO OFTEN. Not because I’m nervous about them, but because I’m reading SO MANY books right now! Gah! So … maybe The Blood of Olympus? For some reason, I just didn’t enjoy it all too much. I felt that Rick Riordan could’ve stopped at Percy Jackson bk 5, TBH. *shrugs* I dunno. What do I know? Dangit, Cait, you’re making me doubt myself! *eats cake*
AHHH what can go wrong with dragons, death and guns?! That sounds ENTIRELY epic. <3 (Although reading series ove ra long period of time is SO bittersweet, I Agree! That was me for Ranger's Apprentice. I started them when I was 15 and like the spin-off book came out last year so ahhhh it's never over. <3)
So many people have said they don't love Blood of Olympus! I actually way prefer the 2nd series to the first. 😂 But I AGREE that BoO was a bit underwhelming.
THERE THERE. DON'T DOUBT YOURSELF. *sprinkles cake in your hair*
Are you telling me that Six of Crows is only going to be a duology 😱 Nooooooo, I need way more of Kaz and his gang! Also I definitely took a wrong turn in your quiz haha. I got the open ender even though I dislike those haha. I love it when there’s an epilogue that tells me everything turned out good for the survivors 😉 like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. I need that closure after all those feeeeeels
YES I KNOW. I’M REALLY SAD TOO. 🙁 I though it’d AT LEAST be a trilogy?! But noooooo. Leigh Bardugo is being cruel to us. *sobs* I could read a gazillion books about Kaz & Co.
When I tried to take the quiz, it opened up to lots and lots of HTML.😭
I don’t really mind series finales, but after I finish it, I always find myself thinking no, that can’t be it! There must be more books!
I just finished The Crown, and it was amazing! While there is still romance like the rest of the series, it really focused on a power play from a former ally to get the throne, and it felt very realistic, until the last ten pages, where even though it wasn’t set up for a HEA, that was how it ended. But despite that, AMAZING!
I also read Stars Above, but who doesn’t like The Lunar Chronicles?
I haven’t read The Mirror King, and I’m not going to. The Orphan Queen had a perfect and satisfying ending until the last two paragraphs, as if the author thought, But I want to write two books! just before she finished it.
I don’t usually procrastinate books. I’m one of those people that will go to the bookstore and buy it the day it comes out! And if the bookstore doesn’t have it, then I get it on Kindle because I am such an impatient reader!
OMG I’M SORRY AND SAD. *glare at computer* I should’ve done a direct link but I forgot.
(I’m with you though. 😂 I almost ALWAYS want more… Dangit authors, can’t you write infinite books for us?! *puppy dog eyes*)
I’m pretty sure the Lunar Chronicles is universally loved, right?! 😂 I NEED TO READ STARS ABOVE. I just don’t want it to be over!! (Winter was amazing though!)
OMG. THE ORPHAN QUEEN WAS SO CRUEL. *flops onto the floor with a howl* It was abrupt…now that I think about it… 😂 But I will climb a mountain to get to The Mirror King, omg. I need answers.
I wasn’t really sure what my favorite was, but the quiz declares “open ender,” and the quiz doesn’t lie! Although maybe not for series endings, I do like open ended, erm, endings for standalones. Ambiguity is not a bad thing if it’s done right.
Basically my series finale criteria is 1. Pain, and lots of it 2. A few casualties, if necessary 3. Bad guy = defeated 4. MY SHIPS WILL SAIL INTO THE SUNSET, DANGIT 5. Probably tears that 6. Will cause a book hangover.
So my favorite series finales have been Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Winter. But Allegiant? Ummm . . . *sounds of me flopping over in despair in the distance because whyyyyyy* It could’ve been better. Like a lot.
BUT YES, I PROCRASTINATE SO MUCH. I’ve had Stars Above for like three months and I’ve read mayyyybe two stories because I don’t want that world to end!!
OF COURSE THE QUIZ DOESN’T LIE.
I AM PERFECT.ahem. But yes! I mean, I’m a huge fan of open endings…as my writing usually shows. 😂 But I need SOME questions answered or omg it just plays on my brain and I combust. Very messy. Not so good.SHIPS SAILING IS REALLY GOOD, OMG. And I find they usually sail?! Which is a relief for my delicate emotions. <3
I still stand by Allegiant being good. 😂 But I think the plot could've been a bit more INTENSE...
The series finales. They never end. I have mixed feelings about finales because I don’t want the book to be over, but I do want it to be over, so everybody can live happily ever after forever. If I could pick a few finales of my own if I were going to write another novel (Camp Nanowrimo for example :D,) I would have to have a runaway to a new series or the happily ever after. 😀
Oh, the quiz was AMAZING! Yes, I am a dragon in disguise. 😀 My result of the quiz was the open ender because who needs closure? *inserts the ha ha ha’s here* Anyway, have a great day Cait and I hope you read plenty of books!
Maddie c:
Oh oh I so get that! I’m the same! I want to KNOW but I don’t want it to be over…and I end up procrastinating horribly. 😂 DRAGONS IN DISGUISE FTW THOUGH. *shares dragon cakes with you*
*laughs* I got the THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER!
I don’t mind the death of characters if it fits in the story–like Joeffery finally biting it in GoT. Ned’s death took me by surprise, but 3 books in I understand it was necessary to the story as a whole.
And Hazel and Augustus…can you imagine the story if either of them was miraculously healed? That would have been weird!
YES! Ned’s death was definitely needed as a catalyst? Or else things wouldn’t really have kept going…but it was pretty startling :O
And also agreed *nods* about Hazel and Gus…although I could’ve handled if the book ended JUST before death?! SAVE ME SOME TEARS. 😂
My favorite series ending was possibly The Death Cure. Even though it SHATTERED ME. But Blood Of Olympus is my least favorite series ending. It wasn’t bad, per say, but it was underwhelming.
I’M SO SCARED TO READ THE CROWN. IS AMERICA GOING TO DIE? WILL IT BE SAD? WILL I GRIEVE THIS BOOK FOREVER AFTER?!!!!!!!!! Ahem.
Needless to say, my favorite kind of ending is the one that makes me cry and sob. *coughAllegiantisagoodexamplecough*
OMGGGG IT’S SO NICE TO FIND ANOTHER FAN OF THE MAZE RUNNER! *shrieks and flails with you* I am DEFINITELY still damaged from The Death Cure *howls* I didn’t expect most of those deaths. (And while I loved BoO…yeah, it was a bit underwhelming. I think someone should’ve died tbh. :/ Yes, I am just that mean.)
THE MAZE RUNNER IS AMAZING. I don’t understand why so many people dislike it :/
AND YES I THINK SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE DIED IN BoO. Although that would have broken my heart.
I got the mass character death ever xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Not sure if it’s acurrated
AHHH QUIZ FAIL THEN. 😂 Blame the dragon secretaries. Not me, of course.
I’m always innocent of all failings.I have different prefference when i’m reading, like when I read fantasy/dystopia I like everything ends well with a few characters die (but not too much and please not my baby [but duh usually my babies die so who am I kidding]), but when I read contemporary… I LOVE it when it has sad ending. I’m not a sociopath, I promise, it’s just happy ending is too over rated for contemporary! And if I read thrillers, open endings are the best! Let me go mad trying to guess what actually happened and how it actually ends! (I get the open ending one from your quiz, so all is well!) I dislike Allegiant not because of the death of certain character, but how many characters that had to die for nothing! It’s really pointless and serves nothing for the plot. I do love the ending of Legend trilogy. It’s bittersweet, and it’s a bit open ending that it drives me crazy what happens next! (but I love love it!)
(Why do the best characters always die though?! *shakes fist at authors*) Ahem. 😂 BUT I TOTALLY GET IT! I like sad endings too for some reason!? Like I am ALL for endings of mass destruction. Totally. :’) And I agree that it depends on the genre. Like open endings are more often for things like thrillers…or contemporaries too? Because real life doesn’t wrap up in that nice little parcel like it can for an epic fantasy adventure. *nods*
I loved Allegiant. <3 But I felt like it needed more of a concrete plot. 🙁 It almost felt like the only "interesting" thing happening was waiting to see who'd e killed off next... :/
Apparently I like the stress fest the best, according to your awesome quiz. Most of the time I’m so anxious to read finales. I have such mixed feelings about finales, because a part of me wants to read them SO BAD so that I know how everything turns out and I JUST NEED MORE BOOKS BY THAT AUTHOR, and then another part of me wants to CRY because who gave the authors permission to stop writing their addicting and absolutely incredible book series????
I don’t want it to end! But wait, yes I do! Except, no I don’t! That’s basically my brain speaking its opinion freely. BUT, I can always read the whole series again and again, which is one of my favorite things to do. I kind of dread humongous endings, though, because I don’t want the end to be dragged out. I felt like Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor was a kind of really loooonnnnggg ending to her series (even though it was beautiful and I love it). I didn’t even finish it the first time I was reading it because it was so exhausting thinking about how long it was going to take for me to read it. And knowing me there was probably another book that I would rather have been reading at that time. Like right now all I want to read is The Raven King. *sigh*
I’m always anxious about finales. *howls* The more I love the series, the more I DO NOT want to read the ending. It’s a problem tbh. 😂 AUTHORS JUST LIVE TO TORMENT US BASICALLY GAHHHH. And I’m the same! I want to know the ending, but I don’t want it to BE the ending. YA GET ME?! *cries piteously*
THE RAVEN KING GAVE ME ALL KINDS OF ANXIETY LEADING UP TO ITS RELEASE. But it’s like the first finale I didn’t procrastinate. 😂 I started it as SOON as I got my clammy paws on it. :’)
mine is definitely happily ever afters. I am a hopeless romantic. Also I like books on robbery where the villain escapes (I cant think of books about that. But surely those movies! Sigh!!). And I have one very very VERY important question for you. Listen carefully and answer carefully. (hear in a whiny screaming voice) How do you buy sooo many books? Tell me your secret!! I am broke
Yay for HEAs! They are quite satisfying. :’) (Although I’m a mass-destruction lover myself. 😂)
Okay, so I DON’T buy a lot of books! I use my library and get ARCs for about 80% of my reading. And I freelance for book vouchers, which ends up with me being 3 or so books per month. But that’s all the books I buy! 😛
That is awesome. I did not know we could freelance for book vouchers. That was new to me Cait. 😛
If you find a blog or bookstore willing to pay or hire, it’s awesome! 🙂
I got the Stress Fest, which sounds about right. And I procrastinate. So much. However! I am reading the Raven King right now. I’m loving and dreading every minute of it!
AHHHHH infinite Raven King feels! *HOWLS* I LOVED THAT BOOK SO MUCH But omg so much anxiety. 😂 It’s like the first series finale I actually didn’t procrastinate though! I started listening to the audio on the very day it came out. <3
From what I can tell, all of theses basically end with a reader destroyed from feels and a cackling author. Especially the ones that end in mass deaths, because HOW ARE THEY ALL DEAD, and I’VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS SERIES FOR YEARS and THIS ISN’T FAIR. And then I cry a lot and attempt to find good fanfiction where they are all alive. Maybe not all happy, but I’d settle of all alive.
YES THERE IS A BIT OF A THEME LIKE THAT GOING ON, ISN’T THERE?! Well, except for HEA’s. They’re usually ending with everyone having squishy happy feels. (“Usually” being the key word here…ahem.)
When you said that “war doesn’t play favorites”, that reminded me of when Pierce Brown said that he FREAKING PULLED A NAME OUT OF A HAT to decide one of the people who were going to die exactly because “war doesn’t play favorites”. And apparently, that’s the type of sudden deaths that I like, because I got “THE MASS DEATHS OF EVERYTHING OF EVER”. Perfect. XD
And this year truly does seem like the series finale of all books. Though, do you ever have those books that end, and two years later you refuse to believe that they’re over? DENIAL IS A WONDERFUL THING.
WHAHAHHAHAHT. Did he seriously do that?!? *HOWLS* I was actually really surprised the death toll wasn’t higher in in Morning Star tbh. 😂 That as a REALLY good ending. *shrieks* (Although, while I’m relieved, I actually don’t mind tons of deaths because…it’s realistic. And totally mangles my feels which is somehow a good thing?!?)
I got the Happily Ever After … which is about right… as long as it makes sense. 🙂
I totally get that!! HEA’s are really awesome and satisfying, as long as they don’t sacrifice realisticness. 😂
I got The Stress Fest, and it TOTALLY fits me. I love an action-packed, ALL THE FEELS, stress-tastic finale. But I too am so afraid of them. I have a tendency to put them off. There is just so much riding on them, and you want the characters have completed story arcs. I want everything to be okay, and everything to BURN at the same time. So they are intense.
I think some of my favorites are Quintana of Charyn, The Last Olympian, The Raven King and Endure (Need #4 by Carrie Jones). I don’t know if there are many finales that I outright don’t like; I think there are just ones that I’m a little disappointed with–too high of expectations and all that jazz.
YAYYY FOR QUIZ WIN!! (Well semi-win?! hehe) And I totally get the “I love it but I’m scared of it” feeling. That’s ME and series finales in general. 😂 It’s a HARD LIFE wanting everyone to die, but also have good endings. >_>
AFJDKSALD TO THE RAVEN KING. <3333 SO MUCH LOVE I NEARLY EXPLODED. (And also had anxiety over that book for months. 😂 AT LEAST IT WAS WORTH IT.)
SOOOO TRUEEEE! But uuuh… I always forget what I need to say after coming all the way through.. Oh wait wait…I remember a bit, yes we anticipate the last book for so long but when it finally comes out… I remember reading a series final after 6-7 months of delaying because I did not want it to finish and also because you can read it only for the first time. I mean you can reread it but first time comes only once. Also I’m a sucker for HEA! So… yeah after all those troubles, if the main character ends up dead, I turn into a dragon! Because that’s unacceptable to me! And also because I’ll be forever scarred! So yeah, a bit of realistic and HEA makes me veeeery happy!
Great post Cait!
YES –> the first time comes only once. *cries* Sometimes I really wish I could have a memory wipe so I could read books again for the first time, eheh. BUT THEN…re-reading is great, too, because you can sometimes read the finale calmer because you know how it’ll go? So there’s good parts. 😂
I don’t mind being forever scarred by a book personally…YEAH, I KNOW. I’M THE WEIRDEST. 😂
One series finale I liked and one I disliked… hmmm. Okay.
I did like Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, even through the last book (which is rare for me). There were some unanswered questions, but most things got tied up. There was death and destruction and possibly the end of the world… but the author managed to handle all these things in a way that didn’t seem cheap.
I did not like Kelley Armstrong’s The Darkest Powers trilogy. The final book was just… well, nothing. Nothing happened, nothing was resolved, and it just spun the readers into the next trilogy. I really didn’t like that. I want a series to be able to stand on its own.
I do think series SHOULD stand on their own *nods* Like it’s great if they get spin-off series, I think?! But I still think the original series should complete itself. Like I was SUPER happy with how the Red Rising trilogy finished (!!) even though I know there’s going to be a spin-off series.
LAINI TAYLOR WRITES SUCH BEAUTIFUL WORDS I WANT TO EAT THEM.
That quiz was so fun! I got Stress Fest. I think that’s be quite accurate, but with the last few chapters wrapping up into a semi-fairytale-like ending. Not TOO perfect – just moderately good for all the main characters and/or there’s hope on the horizon for a better life after the series is over. I GET SO SAD WHEN THINGS END SADLY FOR PEOPLE I LOVE. But the characters I dislike?? GIVE THEM ALL THE PAIN AND LET THEM DIE ALONE.
Wow I didn’t realize how vicious I was until now lmao.
Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality
BAHAHAH. You are a vicious little pineapple frond now there, aren’t you? 😉 BUT FAIR ENOUGH. If I hate the villain, omg, I want them to come to PAIN. (Although I tend to be a bit of a soft piece of popcorn when it come to villains and I want them to become better people. <3 😂)
Yes so true about endings!!! I agree us readers can be pretty picky about the ending. The worst is when your ship sinks though. 🙁 I’m headed to check out your quiz now! 😀
Omg I got the stress fest!! SO TRUE THAT IS ME! I like to be amped up at the end and I want characters to actually be in danger and maybe someone actually dies or something. I like to put down the book and be like WOW and have so many feels. Lol. Great quiz, that was fun. 🙂
AHHH QUIZ WIN!! *awards self with cake*
*shares a few crumbs with you too because am so nice*
Ahem.
I REALLY want high stakes in a finale, especially if the books have all been super action-y so far. I hate it when a series is mega-action-y and then the finale isn’t. SAY WUT.
I received “The Stress Fest” after I took your quiz. I think that is pretty accurate, as I LOVE it when you are overwhelmed while reading the climax of a book (or series) and then you don’t know what to do with yourself after you finish it. I applaud authors who are so good at what they that they make me sit there doing nothing for a good two hours after I finish their wonderful creation.
YES. Those authors that give us book-hangovers are to be applauded. And screamed at? 😂 JUST KIDDING. We love having our feels stomped on.