I’ve really missed doing Friday Favorites, and since no one was currently hosting it, Cait @ Functionally Fictional decided to jump into the gap. Each week, she provides a prompt, and I get to talk about my favorite books that fit the topic. Feel free to join in – the more the merrier!

This week’s topic is sequels. Lots of books fall into the trap where the second book falls short of the expectations left over from the first, but then we find these books where the second book just keeps on with the momentum of the first and surpasses any expectations. Here are some of my favorite sequels:

1. Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern #2). This book delved deeper into the vulnerable side of Alex, the MC, and pushed all the major players in the story to develop this weird new relationship dynamic. It was fantastic and I couldn’t put it down.
2. The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart (The Drowning Empire #2). This one took the story from book one and just ran with it. Everything felt like it was rushing toward a huge battle, yet there were still these clashes, so it never felt like we were missing out on anything.
3. Golden Son by Pierce Brown (Red Rising Saga #2). After reading Red Rising, I didn’t think anything was going to come close to beating that book. Until I picked up Golden Son, and it absolutely blew my mind. 
4. The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (The Scholomance #2). I enjoyed this book so much more than the first, simply because I was already used to El and her quirks, had already seen her grow and change, and was familiar with the complex way the world works, so I was ready to just sit back and love this book.
5. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #2). This one was just better than the first because he was already involved in the magical unit of the Met Police, and working with Nightingale to learn magic as well as solve crimes. 
6. The Wicked King by Holly Black (Folk of the Air #2). I mean, I was already hooked by The Cruel Prince, but this one was seriously intense and got me even more hooked if that’s even possible?
7. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #2). While The Hunger Games was intense, in the sequel, Katniss and Peeta are off on a tour of all of the districts. They kick off a revolution and it’s a really cool look at the wider world of Panem.
8. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle #2). This one expanded the world that’s being overlaid on the real-world setting, and there’s even more going on in the plot that makes it super exciting in a way the first wasn’t quite.
9. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns #2). Don’t sleep on this series—it’s dark and gritty and surprising and masterfully written. And while book 1 is good, this one is even better.
10. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #2). Thank goodness that ToG wasn’t the first SJM book that I read, or I might not have continued reading. And while I didn’t love book 1 in the series, I’m so glad that book 2 was way better, because honestly? Each book in the series got better and better until I was absolutely floored by the way the story was plotted throughout the series. 

What are some of your favorite sequels that are better than the original?