So I hate second books. I prepare myself anytime I start a second book to just hate it and suffer through so I can continue with a series I know I’m going to love. Don’t get me wrong. I love series. Some of my favorite stories are book series, but second books always seem to be a struggle for me. Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Unhinged, The Selection; all of them I was on the struggle bus for at least a third if not more of the book. There is just something about the character and story development that makes second books difficult for me. I think that it’s because second books do seem to be more character driven, and I like a balance between that and action in my books. First books are setting up the action and who the characters are, and where they have to go and what the problem they need to solve is. Second books seem to be all about how the relationships cause a problem along the way.
While I would love to skip second books, I will read them once because they’ve got important info and it’s too difficult to fill in the blank if you skip it. Not to mention I occasionally do like a second book, but the only one’s I can think of that I’ve liked is Catching Fire and The Glass Magician.