1. Double Jeopardy: This was such a big change in the status quo. The girls meet their mother for the first time which I appreciate how the authors made it realistic in that it is not all happy and easy. The gils are uneasy with her and actually are more focused on their foster family as Dylan has gone missing. The high speed chase and surprising assistance of Thantos leaves them off balanced. Just as Ileana is with the truth of her father. It is filled with emotional renosance and with Karsh’s death. . . a true tragic, emotional end that changes the game for them forever.

2. Don’t Think Twice: This could be considered a part 1 to the above as it focuses on Cam and Alex’s mission to find their mother. This is where the overarching drama really starts as the allies and anatgonists are more clear to the wins and they knoew a bit more about their past. It also has the trial of the century where Ileana finds out about her own parentage which was a shocking revelation to her though the forshadowing was there all along for a good payoff. Yes, it is a little PSA-esque with its dangers of anorexia but the aformentioned lore and the cliffhanger is worth it.

3. Split Decision: I almost consider this the real ending while book 10 was like an epilogue of sorts. This is because Split Decision deals with the more weighty flaws and challenges the girls have been facing. Alex deals with her continued loss of Sara as well as processing how much she has changed from just a year ago. Camryn also deals with bio family woes and connecting with heritage as well as her romantic troubles that coincide with her eternal struggle between being a witch and being a normal girl. Additionally, Miranda, Thantos and Ileana finally have the big confrontation with their tangled histories and feelings and other minor antagonists are sorted out too. So it feels very full circle, wrapping up these big threads. Plus it has the Coventry Guide which I always find fun to read.

4. Power of Two: This was an excellent first book to a series, cementing the two leads and their different personalities, creating a shocking flip of a dime situation where they meet for the first time and a compelling mystery. Not just the one they’re trying to solve of the mystery of bubblegum pop singer, Marleigh Cooper but the girl’s heritage as things are very shadowy in the first book. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s my sentimentality, but reading it is always like reading it for the first time. Full of newness and potential and excitment.

5. Seeing is Believing: One of the first nascent adventures of the girls as they take more control of their powers, this one got to the top five because of its relative importance. Not only does it cement the girl’s do-gooding tendency and the running theme of juggling normal problems like Cam’s BFF issues with Beth and magical danger but it introduces reoccuring antagonist hottie, Shane, hinting to the girls that fighting their whack uncle won’t be easy as they think as his supporters lurk to undermine them.