I want to talk about novellas today. They seem to be popping up everywhere. Every series seems to have novellas to accompany them. Prequels, in-between books, books from other character's perspectives. Is it getting a little bit ridiculous? I think so.
Here's why I don't typically like novellas (There are always exceptions which I will get to shortly). They are too short to tell a story. No matter how much the author wraps things up, they're too short. Especially if they involve characters that aren't in the actual series. There's not enough time for me to get to know the characters. To form a relationship with them. To care about them.
The story seems rushed. Typically novellas are less than 100 pages. How can you possibly fit a complete story into so few pages? Especially fantasy. The world-building itself takes up much of the pages. I'm always left wanting more.
The money. Novellas range anywhere from $0.99-$2.99. I'm sorry. I don't want to pay $3 for a books that's less than 100 pages when I can spend just a few more dollars and get a book that's over 400 pages. I think that novellas are a rip-off.
All that being said, there are some that I have enjoyed. Destroy Me for example, by Tahereh Mafi. I love Warner and I loved this novella written from his perspective. I loved getting a glimpse into his mind and seeing a different side to him than Juliette saw.
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas. Okay, so I have read this set of novellas yet, but I totally bought them in hardcover because it's SARAH J. MAAS. I'm sure I'll love them. I also recently read Poison Dance by Livia Blackburne, a prequel to her new series Midnight Thief and enjoyed it. (Review to come on that one shortly.)
So obviously there are some great novellas out there. I think they work better if I read them AFTER starting the series and if they're about one of the periphery characters in the book OR from the perspective of someone other than the main character. When we are introduced to new characters in the novellas that aren't in the series, I tend not to enjoy it as much. (Although there are exceptions, of course.)
What do you guys think? Do you like novellas? What about them do you like? What don't you like? What are some novellas that have worked for you?
I feel kind of 'meh' about them generally.... unless it's Sarah J Maas of course. Totally bought that hardcover as well. Maybe that should be our co-review! FUN!
ReplyDeleteOooh good idea! I will email you about it. :)
DeleteI'm not a fan of novellas, for the above mentioned reasons. I completely agree, they're not long enough to satisfy me and too costly for such a short story. I can zip through a 400 page book in a few days, so these stories I finish up in an hour and a half. It's a "that's it?!?" experience every time. Why oh why do I keep buying them? I'm a sucker, I guess. 1 exception: The Shatter Me stories. I absolutely cannot get enough of Ms. Mafi's stories, so a few extra bucks for those novellas are so worth it to me because they helped get over my withdrawal symptoms while waiting for the next book to be released. -Dana
ReplyDeleteI only read Destroy Me because I hate Adam. Lol. BUT I LOVED Destroy Me because Warner!!! And Tahereh Mafi's writing is just so freaking amazing and unique and beautiful.
DeleteI usually skip over these because I can't get them from my library, and I don't pay money for books, especially tiny ones lol. I did make one exception though and that was with the Kate Daniel's series. I HAD to get my hands on all of the Curran novellas, and yes they were amazing :D
ReplyDeleteI usually skip over them just because most of the time I don't feel like they are going to contribute to the series.
DeleteI'm also pretty hesitant about novellas since I don't like how short they are and the price just doesn't make sense. I did buy the Throne of Glass novellas because the cover is pretty :D. But I only read Poison Dance because Livia reached out to me. I enjoyed it for sure, but I still wouldn't have paid $3 for it.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is pretty!!! Lol and I love that that's why you had to have it. No judgment here. I do that all the time. Lol. Same here. If Livia hadn't reached out, I probably wouldn't have read it. And I definitely agree. I wouldn't have paid $3 for it.
DeleteYeah, I'm not a big novella fan either, pretty much for the reasons you mentioned. Too short, which means nothing really happens. But yes, if they are from the perspective of another character (novella from Chaol's POV please!) then that can make it worthwhile. ~Pam
ReplyDeleteI would die of happiness if we got a novella from Chaol's POV.
DeleteIt depends! Usually if I like a series, I'll read the novella, but I don't read ALL of them. I love that Macmillan does a lot of novellas for free on Tor.com! That's SO nice that they do that and readers don't have to pay to read excerpts and additional info on their favorite series.
ReplyDeleteIf I LOVED the series, I will buy the novella. I bought some for the Delirium series and I bought the ones for Under the Never Sky and you know what? UtNS were some of the best I've ever read. Veronica Rossi manages to make even novellas shine and they were great supplemental info!
OH OH also Night of Cake and Puppets to go with Daughter of Smoke and Bone focused on other characters and the story was so stinkin' cute.
So really do I think novellas are exploding and going a bit overboard, almost like people EXPECT novellas? Yes. But I do read a LOT of them, but I pick and choose which ones I pay for (some I can even borrow as ebooks from the library!) and which ones I skip over :)
I didn't know that about Macmillan. I'll have to check that out. I have heard really good things about Veronica Rossi's novellas so maybe I will check those out.
DeleteThat's a good point about borrowing them from the library. Because I really hate paying $3 for a book that I will read in half an hour.