Day 4: Favorite Book of Your Favorite Series

I'm taking part of the 30 Day Book Challenge.  Click the link to do it too (and add your blog to my meme)! 

Yesterday I told you about two of my favorite series.  Today I get to tell you about my favorite books within those series.

My first fave series was Harry Potter.  C'mon--who doesn't love HP?  My favorite book in the series has to be:

Book 6 is my favorite.  In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince everything starts to really heat up and come to a head.  Rowling finally does more than hint at the romances we've all been hoping for since book 3.  Harry finally figures out he can depend on Hermione and Ron.  This is just an exciting book.  It was also the first book I got to go to a Harry Potter midnight release party and actually enjoy it.  Every previous book I was working (at a major bookstore) during those parties, so I didn't actually get to enjoy them. 

The second series I lauded (because who can pick just one series?) was Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. 

The first book in this series, Outlander, is my favorite.  The other books are wonderful too, but this book really gets you wrapped up in the characters.  This is also the first 'grown up' book my grandmother allowed me to read.  Of course it wasn't the first 'grown up' book I actually read, but we won't tell her that now will we?