We have another Moment post for you in the works, but we are waiting on a couple of people to send their stories in. Luckily, Mod R prepared this quiz prior to taking leave. Yes, Mod R managed to work while on vacation. People sometimes ask why we lock comments on weekend posts. This is why.
From Mod R:
With the release of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me just three months away now (yay!), something very exciting is about to happen.
New readers will find their way here.
I know the BDH will be its usual wonderful self: helpful, enthusiastic, generous with knowledge, and more than ready to recommend favorite scenes and characters, anoint new members to the Metal Rose crew, share info on best harness practice for ferrets and highest quality cask-aged coffee for vampires in distress.
But stepping into a long-established community can feel a little intimidating at first, no matter the welcome.
In order to help the new Hordlings (baby Hordkins?) settle in, I thought we could create a quiz that answer the age-old question: “Which Ilona Andrews series should I start with?” For that, I need your help and feedback.
Below is the first draft of the quiz, The goal here is balance. It needs to be accurate enough to point new readers in the right direction, engaging enough to be fun rather than homework, and simple enough not to overwhelm someone who’s just discovered House Andrews and is staring down a very impressive backlog. For that reason, it can only focus on the main series and has to avoid too much deep lore, inside jokes, or Horde shorthand.
Please comment with your thoughts and suggestions and I will read all of them when I’m back from hols:
- Did this quiz point you toward your favorite series, or the one you’d recommend someone start with?
- Was it engaging enough? What would you change?
- If you were a brand-new Hordlet (curious, excited, and maybe a little overwhelmed), would this feel like a helpful place to start?
Thank you all! Please remember if you’re getting this in the newsletter email that the plugin doesn’t work for that purpose, and you’ll have to click here to come to the blog page and take the quiz.
Did this quiz point you toward your favorite series, or the one you’d recommend someone start with?
It did! I will be honest, I love all the series, but every single one started off with a bit of skepticism reading whatever #1 was of that series. The Innkeeper Chronicles had me hooked from the very beginning though, no skepticism at all!
Was it engaging enough? What would you change?
Yes, I felt like it was engaging enough. I feel like I could take or leave the little pictures at the beginning of each question. Or make them more abstract? I liked the heart for the romance question, but the two knights jousting (I think?) felt a little odd.
If you were a brand-new Hordlet (curious, excited, and maybe a little overwhelmed), would this feel like a helpful place to start?
I definitely feel that this would be helpful if I didn’t know where to start! If I had no knowledge of the Innkeeper series that little blurb would have me hooked!
It sent me to Kate Daniels. Oddly enough, a short story of Kate Daniels is how I originally found Ilona Andrews. I think it might have been the saiman story. At the time, I was intrigued ad then forgot about for a number of years. Years later, I was in a book swap and I had stuck the most recent novel (Magic Breaks) on a to read list. My swap partner got me the first book in the series. More years pass and I realized that was the world building I had fallen in love with in the short story and actually read the whole thing.
These days I would probably recommend hidden legacy or Innkeeper to most people. Few people I know read as much or as quickly as I do. I mean, I tend to reread series when a new book comes out if it’s a book I’m into. Even if that’s a 15 book reread.
It sent me to Kate, just as expected. The world of Kate daniels for me was so intriguing that when I finished, I had to look for other books written by the authors.
No matter which choices I made I never ended up at The Edge, which is the series that drew me in and then I found Kate Daniels and Dina
Innkeeper!
In real life was my introduction to House Andrews. The quiz questions felt awkwardly worded, but led me back to my true starting place. Kudos
Sent me to Kate! My favorite series!
The series I’d recommend someone start with would highly depend on the person so the quiz is a great place to start for a new Hordlet.
Quiz was perfect and made me want to “choose my own adventure” to see where it would take me.
Might want to put a disclaimer there that chalantness is infectious. 😀
oh I love the quiz and I got the Edge series, which is one of my favorites. I admit, I almost hoped I’d get Hidden Legacy but the Edge.. Perfect.
I got Katie Daniel’s! which was my first read in the series. I loved the quiz. I could see how things could fit each book. Great job! This will most definitely help guide those newbies!
my suggestion ended up being my least favourite series that House Andrews has written. but I did very much enjoy the quiz, and it gave some really great descriptions of what can be found in HA books. very well done!! I always suggest Kate, Innkeeper, or Hidden Legacy to start. which is a lot, but each series appeals to different people, so it depends on who I’m talking to!
while I enjoyed Kinsmen I’d recommend the Dina’s Inn as an easier approach to the great Andrews House world.
It sent me right to Kate, my all time recommendation.
It sent me to my favorite series! Innkeeper ❤️
I could somewhat guess which series the answer choices were pointing to (though browser tabs question kept me guessing), but perhaps a link to the descriptions for the other series at the end of the quiz could be helpful for new readers?
Like have the recommended series description pop up like it already does, but maybe also have a small prompt at the bottom to either take the quiz again if people feel like experimenting with answers, or a direct link to an overview of the other series in case people want a quick reference sheet?
Kate. Which is not surprising because it’s my most recommended urban fantasy series to anyone who asks 🙂
It was easy to use and sent me to the series I always recommend to people to start first.
Depends on their primary interest:
Science Fiction – Kinsmen
Fantasy – The Edge
Urban Fantasy – Kate Daniels
Fantasy SciFi – Inkeeper
Thanks for creating this fun quiz, Mod R! It’s a great idea to help new readers navigate the amazing (and extensive) Ilona Andrews universe. I took it myself, and it was fun to see if it would recommend my personal favorite.
I noticed a common theme in the comments about potentially adding a ‘No romance’ or ‘Romance is not important to me’ option to that question. The current answers all assume romance is a given, and I think that’s a great point for making the quiz even more welcoming to all types of readers.
My question is about the results: When someone takes the quiz and gets a result (like “Innkeeper Chronicles”), will there be a short, non-spoilery blurb that explains why that series was recommended for them, based on their answers? I think that extra bit of context would be incredibly helpful and reassuring for a new “Hordlet” wondering if they should trust the quiz’s advice.
Great work on putting this together!
Hello,
After doing the quizz, while being equally entertained and anxious about « getting things right », here are my answers:
1/The quizz did point me to my favorite séries (as i did the quizz for myself).
2/I found it engaging as I pondered over the nuances in each choice.
3/ About suggestion of changes: I was surprised I wasn’t more appealed to the choices that would have led me to the Innkeeper (whereas I could more or less see which were pointed at the Edge or Hidden Legacy) Might be something to fine-tune?
4/ If I had been a brand-new Hordpup (oh the joy, as I would have so many delicious reading in front of me!), I think it would have definitely helped me.
I hope this has been helpful… if not, forgive my rambling!
And as always, thank you House Andrews and ModR for the joy you bring!
I got the Innkeeper Series and I agree it is a great way to start the wonderful journeys with Ilona Andrews. There are so many! But Innkeeper is welcoming, mysterious, funny, complicated but simple. A beautiful way to find out what awesome writers Ilona and Gordon are.
On the other hand, (heehee) I cannot seem to stop rereading The Inheritance!
It sent me to Kinsmen, which I don’t know that I personally would recommend as starting place. Maybe because I don’t reread it compulsively like I do some others? I discovered HA via Andrea’s Cerberus story which I tried to replicate when taking the quiz.
The quiz questions are evocative and I can see what they are pointing to, but they’re not what I’ve asked when suggesting books for friends. I usually start with the following criteria:
-acceptable levels of violence (ex: off page torture is fine, but any eye stuff is not)
-acceptable levels of romance in the plot (ex: none at all or the biggest barn doors you’ve ever seen are wide open)
-Fantasy or Sci-fi
-what level of series commitment are they looking for
-maybe how deep/complex they want the worldbuilding/magic system to be
From there, I might get into family dynamics, tropes, or themes. But, even if someone LOVED a marriage of convenience trope, I wouldn’t recommend Hugh to them if guts in a plastic bag was a violence deal breaker.
It sent me to Innkeeper, which is my favorite (eagerly awaiting the next one). It is the one I recommend most often because it has a good balance of the warm and fuzzies, humor, action, and mystery.
Took me to Clean Sweep, which is the series I suggested my daughter start with. She loves the series and is eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I thought the questions had enough detail to help someone find an option that might really fit them. Nice job!!
A follow on question of who’s your favorite love interest archetype with the same response options as the protagonist question would be great.
This gave me Kate Daniels which is my second favorite series. My favorite is Hidden Legacy because it’s not as dark. In Kate Daniels it feels like most people are closer to the edge of life and death than in Hidden Legacy. I’m not sure how you’d capture weighting aspects of the quiz differently though.
It worked for me.
The quiz sent me to Innkeeper. The House Andrews books I started with and still turn to when I need comfort reading. Huzzah! It is also the series I tell others about the most frequently 🙂 The quiz made me look at my relationships with characters differently, probably more deeply and was just short enough to stay interesting but long enough to give a deep answer. Thanks!!
Spot on! The quiz works very well. Great starting point for new Hordlings.
I was aiming for kate daniels series but the quiz gave me the edge. the mortal/tech vs magic threw me off i guess. love both series though
It sent me to Innkeeper, which I would also advise for new readers. That or Kinsmen. I probably would Not start with Kate – which could be a little overwhelming…
Sent me to edge series which is funny cuz I started with that series from library years ago then found Kate! I loved the quiz one of the questions was a little vague for me but think that’s just my mood at moment lol. Merry Xmas all!!
My results came back Hidden Legacy as an entry point, which was interesting and not what I expected. That series was initially a non-starter that I went back to later and then burned through as quickly as I could. As others have stated there were questions that I could have answered differently on a different day – I’m definitely a “mood reader.” I started out with Kate Daniels when the series first began, but would also recommend someone could dive in with the Innkeeper world. Perhaps having a question or two with series art to represent the setting choices or some of the world elements would be helpful. I’m very visual and like quizzes where that’s a component.
Well done. My result was the Innkeeper Chronicles, which is realistically my favorite and most re-read series. I would say this quiz works brilliantly.
Sent me to Kate, which is where I actually began, so I think the quiz was perfect for me. I do tend to recommend Hidden Legacy to new readers, though, because there are fewer books in that series and I think it’s more doable for someone new.
I thought this quiz worked out well, and led me to my favorite re-readable series.
Mind you, it is kind of annoying that I can’t pick all the answers I want. Sometimes it is yes to everything! LOL.
Yes, the quiz picked my favorite series. But, I have several high ranking favorites, it could have gone either way.
As a fan, I could tell which answers leaned which way (mostly), which made this feel very accurate as a predictor. I think it would help pick where to start amongst many good choices if one hadn’t read anything yet.
Either way, I plan on trying it again, to see if I’m consistent, or to try a different choice, some were so evenly matched!
Nice job, as always
The quiz gave me the Kate Daniels books, which – fittingly enough – was the series that started me on this love affair with your works. ♥
I’ll have to send it to my friend and let her take it next~ I’ve been trying to get her to read your stuff for years, but she always squirrels, lmao.
1. Yes it did send me to my favorite comfort series. Bravo. (Dina and Sean 4eva)
2. It was engaging although I did think some of the answers could be simplified. I found the family question and answers to be a little clunky.
3. I think this would actually be a huge help. When you’ve found a new author that you think you could love it is SO hard to know where to start. This is such a great idea, all authors should do it 🙂
Thank you as always for the interesting and engaging blog. We appreciate you, even if we do be devouring the books 😉
Pointed me to Kate. Which I love completely- but starting a series with that many books can be daunting to some. I’d recommend the Edge (where I first started) followed by Inn Keeper then Hidden Legacy if they’d like more humor or Kate if they like mythology with snark.
It sent me to hidden legacy but I could also see how some of the questions would have sent me to innkeeper or Kate, which I also love.
I agree with some of the comments that the questions were a little too long. The first one especially, I had a hard time following that one.
As someone else pointed out, I wouldn’t label all of them as romance. I think Kate is a fantasy novel with a romance subplot, HL is a romantasy, and innkeeper is a sci-fi fantasy with a romance subplot. This is how I explain them to my friends who are new readers getting into the genre.
I can’t speak for the edge series, it was the only one I couldn’t quite get past the first book.
Enjoyed the quiz though and can’t wait for Kingdom!
Sent me to Kate, the series that brought me to House Andrews (even before we were named Horde 😜) and which I expected according to my answers. So: I think the quiz works – and it‘s a cool idea to give the newbies, erm Hordlings, orientation without to much fuzz.
I thought the quiz was great, and it did point me towards my favorite series. But even if it generated random results, there are no wrong answers IMHO! 😁
The quiz sent me to Kate, who is absolutely my favorite and the series I recommend people start with, mostly because I love it so much. 😉 I thought the questions were well written and the concept of a quiz to find a starting point is really fun!
Sent me to edge series which is a great series but I also thought my answers were leading more towards innkeeper so that’s interesting. But I guess edge series leads into inkeeper chronicles anyway 🤣
Did point me to my favorite series.
Very engaging.
It sent me to the Edge, which is actually where I started it all!
My only feedback is that sometimes I don’t overthink what I want when looking for a book, I don’t decide that I want particular tropes or environments. To that end I think there’s could be scope for an option along the lines of “stabby stabby the bad guy!!” “No head wreaking plot holes here!!!” “Internal Magic system work good” “B plot consistency across books!”and just have all of them lead back to Kate. It’s a great series that serves almost everything without any of the pitfalls I get annoyed at in long series.
Thanks Mod R!!
I was trying to get Kate Daniels and I did get Kate Daniels 😁 I’ve loved that series since 2016 I can’t remember how many times I’ve reread it
I keep coming back to this post because I keep wanting to have a place to say Either of these 2 but definitely not that one. I’m going to reanswer the quizz twice more. I’ll pick my second choice one time and my Not this one the next and see what series I get.
I got the Edge. I love the Kate Daniel’s books but the edge are my favorite. William being my favorite, followed by Ming the merciless.
As for the post, well we bought Kate first and snapped up the edge because of it, and no regrets. If I had started with those, I’d have snapped up everything else too. Ilona Andrew’s never disappoints.