Novellas and Companion Books: Are They Really Necessary?

I just recently realized that apparently, I rarely read novellas. Which is kind of weird, considering I’m always asking for MORE from the series I love. Naturally, novella should be the answers, shouldn’t it? No? Let’s break it down.

1. They provide MORE of our favorite series. More back stories, more revelations, more from characters we all love. Considering we’re always asking and begging for more, this should be the answer.
2. They provide different perspectives and answers to our unanswered questions.
3. They’re short! There’s really nothing to lose and even better, most novellas are available free on ebooks so we DON’T HAVE TO PAY! 😛
4. They keep you occupied while waiting for the next book in the series. This one’s good, actually, since the wait for the next book in the series is ALWAYS insufferable!

Weirdly, I’m not a fan of novellas. There are some that I love because they enrich the stories. Here are some of them that I actually enjoyed.

Well apparently there are only a few that I love and they all seem to come from the past 😛

Some other times, a novella doesn’t add anything to the story. Most of them even only feel like a filler instead of an actual story. I also feel like lately every series has 0.5,1.5, 2.1, 3.4, 4.8….I mean, it’s kind of ridiculous don’t you think? Do the publishers force the authors to write a novella? Also lately, novellas are getting shorter and shorter! There was the time when I read The Crown and the Arrow by Renee Ahdieh, expecting an alternate POV to TWATD only to find myself disappointed that it only had 9 PAGES! I should have checked before.

I definitely think that not every series need novellas. But, there are certain times and conditions in which the existence of novellas would be perfect.

1. When the series are told from 1st person POV and there is actually a story to be told from the other guy. If executed right, novellas told from an alternate POV would be SO HELPFUL. They let the readers know how the other person thinks and feels and would really explain why he/she does the things he/she does. But it should be more than just a change of POV, it should tell us more and advance the stories at the same time. I think we should have a Harry Potter novella told from Severus Snape’s POV.
2. When we have some very INTERESTING and SWOON WORTHY side characters. Yes please!! There are always the time when we love side characters as much as we love the MC (or even more). This would be the time for a juicy novella! I love Night of Cake and Puppets because it provided the stories of my favorite secondary couple ♥ Sarah J Maas should definitely write a novella about all of Rhys’ inner circle, I swear I would be the first to get a copy!
3. When we have some established conditions that are crucial to the story but haven’t been explained to the readers. This kind of novella really helps readers gain insight to what happened before. It also makes us understand the reasons behind why things happen. Roar and Liv gave me the insight to both Roar’s character and his relationship with Liv, both of which are very vital to the whole series. That’s why I really want to read The Assassin’s Blade and Stars Above.

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How do you feel about novellas? Do you love them, hate them, or somewhat indifferent? What are your favorite novellas and what novellas you wish to exist? Drop some comments and let me know what you think 🙂 

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