I have a disrespect for continuity that drives some people crazy, Maggie included*.
Perhaps the worst transgression: I started "Lost" in season three, and I still haven't seen the first two seasons.
But sometimes a series doesn't start with the best, so it's hard to recommend a book because it's not number one.
So here are those recommendations that come with a caveat. If you're a stickler for continuity, then start with the first book and keep with it. Or be like me and skip to the good stuff.
The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones: This is the fourth and last book in the Dalemark series and my favorite. It's not exactly a continuous story, but this last one brings a lot of the characters together for a reunion with the reader. The character who connects them all is a girl called Maewen, who is new to this fantasy world. She lives in their future, but is pulled back in time and has to pretend to be a young noblewoman on a quest to become queen of all the factions in Dalemark. Her dad runs a museum, so she knows the woman she's pretending to be never makes it into the history books, which is not good news for Maewen. Do you have to read the first three books before you get to The Crown of Dalemark? It gives it a little more emotional heft, but since a good chunk of the narrative is Maewen in the dark about everyone, then it doesn't hurt if you don't know things like how Mitt got to the North or how Wend got his nickname. -- AK (Save on Goodreads)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: This is technically the first book in a duology, but it follows the events of a trilogy that starts with Shadow and Bone. While the original three books are entertaining, it felt like Bardugo was just using them to practice and set the world for Six of Crows. The characters--a few reappearing from the trilogy--feel much more fleshed out and genuine. Its premise is also way more absorbing: Picture Ocean's 11 meets Russian mythology meets dark magic. I love Six of Crows so much that I'm going to devote one of my days to it, so I won't spoil too much, here. -- MK (Save on Goodreads)
The Soul Mirror by Carol Berg: The second book in a trilogy, but this one, I'd say, can be read as standalone. I know I did. The first book in the series didn't sound as interesting as the second, so I skipped it. It's the only book in the series told from the perspective of Anne, the scholarly heroine. She isn't talented and athletic, like her brother, and she isn't magical and ambitious, like her sister. But it's up to her to save her family when it is torn asunder by her father's treachery. She's forced to the palace, where she starts to unravel the plots around her. Part of the fun is there are the characters who will be heroes in the other books, but she's at odds with them. This is also obviously a world with magic, and through Anne's eyes, science leads the way.
I've tried other books by Berg, including the other two in this series, and none of them captured me as completely as The Soul Mirror. -- AK (Save on Goodreads)
Scarlet by Marisa Meyer: This is the second book in a quadrilogy that's based around futuristic retellings of fairy tales. While the first book, Cinder, is interesting, the overarching story kind of drags until a real sense of danger and urgency is introduced in Scarlet. Violence always improves the plot, right? Each book adds a new heroine, and the real magic comes from all of the girls meeting each other and forming a badass girl gang. -- MK (Save on Goodreads)
Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner: Actually, the first book in this series isn't bad, but if it didn't quite catch you, give books #2 and #3 a try. While The Queen's Thief concentrates on young boy spy Eugenides, it's the expansion of the world to the Queen of Attolia and her court that is my favorite part and steps up the series. There's political intrigue and battles of wit and two people who are destined for great things if they don't kill each other first. But while these kinds of stories tend to look at big picture theatrics, these two books keep an eye on character, which keeps them compelling, even if you know what's coming. -- AK (Save on Goodreads)
*Maggie would like to point out that Annie calls it expanding her mind while Maggie calls it sacrilegious. I mean. Annie. The first two seasons of Lost is where all the mystery still felt like it would have a payoff!
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