Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Standalone Books that Need a Sequel

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Born from a love of lists and a love of books each week there’s a new topic for bloggers to list their ‘top ten’.

Top Ten Standalone Books that Need a Sequel

It’s rare I read standalones because in the fantasy genre most books tend to be part of series. I guess authors need more than one book to fully develop the characters and the plot when they have to create a new world as well. However there are few standalones that I’ve finished and been desperate for more of, so this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was a good excuse for me to flail a little more over the endings of books which I’m still not over.

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

No one who has been following my blog for more than a few weeks should be surprised to see The Night Circus on my list. It’s my all-time favourite standalone and I’ve been waiting years for another release from Erin Morgenstern. Yes, The Starless Sea is being released this year but I’m always going to be desperate for another book set in the world of The Night Circus so I can go back and explore more of Les Cirque des Reves.

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More Than This by Patrick Ness

That ending. Oh my god that ending. I finished More Than This years ago but I still can’t get that ending out of my head. Part of me understands that if this book had ended any other way it wouldn’t have ‘fit’ with Seth’s overall story, but a much bigger part of me still wants closure from Patrick Ness.

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Heartless by Marissa Meyer

I love Alice in Wonderland and I love Marissa Meyer, so Heartless was always going to be a winning combination for me. As the origin story for the Queen of Hearts there was only one way Heartless could have ended, and it did end that way, but I would still love a sequel continuing Cath’s journey as Queen of Hearts and maybe even seeing Alice through Meyer’s writing.

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What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Another open ending I want to see closed. Granted this one wasn’t as gut wrenching as the way More Than This ended, and I like to think Arthur and Ben eventually got their happily ever after, but I would love to read a sequel following the two of them into their university years and seeing that reunion written by Albertalli and Silvera.

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Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

I mentioned this in my review, it was actually a large part of the reason I rated Empress of All Seasons the way I did, but Mari’s story would have been so much better as a duology. That way we could have witness the main characters journey rather than having a (very) brief overview crammed into the last chapter.

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They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Given how They Both Die at the End ends for both Mateo and Rufus I know getting a sequel is going to be very unlikely, but I would love more stories set in this world. Silvera has created a very intriguing premise, and while we got snapshots of others people’s days alongside Mateo’s and Rufus’s story I’d like to see more.

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All Out by Saundra Mitchell

This is a strange pick for this list, so bear with me. I rarely read anthologies, most times because the stories are so short they always leave me wanting more, and All Out had one short story that I have been unable to stop thinking about because I need more.

Every Shade of Red tells the story of a transgender Robin Hood, and from the beginning I was hooked. I quickly fell in love with Wake’s writing and his characters, and after the way Every Shade of Red ended I need more, I need to know what happens next.

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The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

With all the twists and turns in this book, with everything that is revealed and with how Lauren James ended The Loneliest Girl in the Universe this book is begging for a sequel. Give me more of Romy’s story picking up after that ending, give me her mission ending and her no longer being alone. Just give me a sequel.

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The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

One of the things that caused me to down-rate this book when I was writing my review was that as The Love Interest was only told from Caden’s POV we never got the same character development for Dylan as we did the main character. It’s not a sequel, but I’d love to get a story told from Dylan’s POV just to close that gap a little.

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Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Invictus is a pretty contained story. It’s got a good pace, and it isn’t too open ended so I wasn’t desperate for a sequel to ‘complete’ the story but I’d still love to see more set in this world. Like with They Both Die at the End I feel like there’s so much potential for us to follow more adventures through time with Far and his crew.

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Did you take part in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday?

Are any of these standalones I featured this week books you’d love to see a sequel for. How excited are you for The Starless Sea, and are you still hoping that one day, maybe, we’ll get a sequel to The Night Circus?

What standalone book would you love to see a sequel for? Was it one with an opening ending like in More Than This or What If It’s Us or a rushed ending like Empress of All Seasons?