Top Ten Tuesday: Stand-alone Books I Wish Had a Sequel

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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It’s been one heck of a week and I’ve been neglecting the blog (whoops) because I’ve been getting back into writing stories of my own after a number of years of hiatus. It feels SO good to be creative again in a different way than blogging.

But I had to come back for TTT, so here’s my take on this week’s topic. Originally it was looking at books I wish had an epilogue, but I can never remember if an author actually wrote an epilogue (or something to that extent) for a book, so I changed it to “Stand-alone books I wished had a sequel or companion novel”.

Have you ever just wished you got to stay with the characters longer? Maybe sometimes there are loose plot lines that could be continued into a second book or enough world building laid out for a companion novel in the same universe.

Either way, it’s something I wish for from time to time so here’s a collection of books that come to mind.

1. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

• Who didn’t fall in love with this cute STEM romance? I know contemporary romances generally wrap up well within one book but I would’ve loved a companion novel at least with others in their science bubbles to star in their own book. That way? We also get a snapshot of their love life and can sigh in happiness from afar.

2. The Song that Moves the Sun by Anna Bright

• I love this book and it hasn’t even come out yet! For a standalone fantasy, it has a great world laid out that has the potential for so many more stories to be told in the magical worlds of the different spheres. And if not focused on new characters, I honestly wouldn’t mind getting more stories on the 4 protagonists we follow in the book.

3. Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross

• Another well-rounded fantasy, I would’ve loved more time with the protagonists in the aftermath of that conclusion even if it’s not for a full-fledged novel. So many revelations occurred yet so little time to process!

4. The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

• After all the angst of the best friends to lovers trope, who doesn’t just want a nice couple of chapters at least (or a whole other book, right?) to see how life is after the big romantic step was taken. I honestly thought at least a companion novel could’ve been written about some of the other goofy football players we are introduced to.

5. The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund

• Similar to #4, the couple gets together in the nick of time at literally the end of the book and I just want a HUGE update on how things go for them. After crushing so hard on this new and edgy bad boy, finding out the perfect guy has always just been under your nose is romance at its best! I NEED MORE.

6. If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

• One of my all-time favourite YA contemporaries, the coupling of the mean girl and the smart guy she once bullied was everything I didn’t know I needed. The angst was PERFECTION and I swear I could read a whole other book about them just facing life together. Someone make it happen, please! Even a little snapshot of their relationship is good.

7. Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

• This was a mystery fantasy set in a wholly unique world ruled by, well, you guessed it, four queens. The different regions all were known for something special and I felt it had such potential for more to be explored in the different people who lived here. It seemed like the perfect setting for a companion novel or something, you know?

8. Avalon High by Meg Cabot

• Camelot-inspired stories have been around for a while although a few more books have been added to this list recently. This one was one of my OG Carmelot-inspired book and it really had some room to dive deeper into the characters and their reincarnations of the people of Camelot.

9. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

• While this fantasy had a fairly happy ending, it was kind of open-ended and felt like there was going to be more? I’m not sure if anyone else who read it felt that way, but I didn’t anticipate this being a standalone novel. Either way, the plot definitely left room for potentially something to occur for a second book but we’ll see.

10. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

• If we’re talking about open ended endings, this book has all the markers of one. I’ve always oscillated between wanting more or being satisfied with what this book has brought. It’s still my all-time favourite book for a reason but occasionally I wished I got to spend more time with these characters I feel I know so well in a world that hasn’t technically resolved its issues.

That’s it from me this week! I gotta get back to writing, but drop a comment below if you’ve ever wondered about any of these books above as worthy for more.