Recipe for a Perfect Novella
Long story short I survived - - - my thoughts on what makes a successful pop-lit novella and what gives them a bad reputation.
I, like many readers I’d presume, have a love hate relationship with novellas. They’re the amuse-bouche of literature. When you get a hankering for a little something sweet, spicy, or spooky, but aren’t craving the full meal or page count of a novel.
A novella is “a short novel or a long short story,” according to Google and the Oxford Language.
I fully endorse you doing a deep dive on the history and debates regarding what constitutes a novella. Here is the wikipedia page I skimmed. But that’s not what I want to write about, so I won’t.
What I want to discuss is what makes a “good” or “enjoyable” novella, and what ruins them in my opinion.
I should further specify this is for pop-lit pieces, and not the more literary endeavors. We’re talking romances and thrillers written for the masses!
I used to avoid novellas because they often left me disappointed with the abundance of insta-love, shallow character development, and unsatisfying plot lines. Then I started to read more and realized how rich they can be (while padding your reading total for the year).
For starters, I would say dip your toe into the novella world with your favorite authors.
I often find I enjoy novellas proportionately to how I enjoy the author’s “full length” works. For instance, I love reading Talia Hibbert’s writing and love stories [even when I don’t love the books]. So I was drawn to her holiday novella Merry Inkmas. And guess what! I enjoyed it!
Similarly I remember listening to The Grownup by Gillian Flynn. If anyone can write a bone-chilling thriller in 65 pages, it’s the queen of the genre herself!
If you want a spicy read, novellas can be great as well! Sometimes you just want the smut and don’t want a mediocre storyline to get in the way, AND THAT’S OKAY! This is where novellas can really come in handy. If you’re reading with a singular objective in mind, and it meets those goals… who’s going to complain about other “weaknesses?” Not I! When She’s Fearless comes to mind. Ruby Dixon is so reliable for healthy and steamy love stories when the men are always head-over-heels for their women. (And she emphasizes consent in a way that is unparalleled.) This smutty little novella gave me exactly what I needed while bored on a long flight when I was stuck in the limbo of being too tired to read and too alert to sleep.
Ruby Dixon is also an author who writes filler novellas in her beloved series. These often serve as bonus epilogues with your favorite characters and allows for stories to continue throughout the saga.
If you have a favorite romance series I highly suggest looking to see if there are any novellas that fall within it. I’ve read several of these, but remember, they rarely hit like the full length novels.
For instance, Devney Perry’s series The Edens has two novellas: a prequel Christmas in Quincy which I really did not enjoy, and a “origin story” about Mama and Papa Quincy’s get-together called The Edens - A Legacy Story that I actually sort of enjoyed. In my review, I even note that I needed the accomplishment of finishing any book while battling a major reading slump, and that this novella was the perfect fix!
Which is another great thing about novellas! They can help pull you out of a reading slump, if you choose wisely.
I think one thing we can all agree on is that holiday romances nine times out of ten, SUCK! So if you want something festive and light to read and don’t want to pull your hair out forcing yourself through a full novel… READ A NOVELLA!
In my experience readers are more forgiving with novellas because we know the limited word-count restricts the potential for deeper stories. Insta-love in a full length novel is an immediate ick but in a novella it can be fun! What grinds my gears is when they go full Bachelor Franchise and end an insta-love/lust connection with grand proclamations and gestures (you don’t get engaged to your holiday fling irl). Sure, maybe it’s the beginning of a grand love-story, but the second you suspend disbelief that far it leaves a sour note in my mouth after a pleasant read.
Having binge-listened to all 11 Amazon Original holiday romance novellas last month (6 for Valentine’s Day and 5 for Christmas) I noticed some patterns in what works best and what doesn’t. The best romances relied on a backstory/previous relationship and were more believable as a result.
Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You was filled with flashbacks that spanned over two decades to set the scene for these characters’ relationships and feelings. Another wise decision on Ali’s part was to have had the characters already have had multiple head-on discussions about their romance potential. This way it was not out of left field and was believable that we are just getting a snippet of when they are finally on the same page with regards to their romantic potential. Then the spice hit hotter because we shared the emotional connection with the characters.
The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren did a similar thing by following the characters for years via anonymous email exchanges. Then when we got to the present day we were allowed a sneak peak into both POVs and understood how they had harbored this crush on each other for so long and why they were even more excited when they discovered each other’s identities. It was funny, charming, and romantic. And again this just set up why they were going to have a really good first date, not why they were going to elope and have seven babies together. It’s also worth noting if this novella were stretched out to a novel, the boring details of their lives before meeting would have been extended, and then one of them would have known who the other was for longer and it would have infuriated me. This way there was enough conflict to justify a story, without building something ridiculous and frustrating.
Alexis Daria’s Only Santa’s In the Building worked because we were able to witness the crushes the main characters harbored for each other and understood why they were excited to have a one-night-stand as a result. And when they decided they wanted more than one night, it was understood, exciting, and believable.
Meanwhile in Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After the hero had her trademark alpha-male, big boy qualities she loves to employ. Unfortunately it also had her insta-love and overly possessive hero signatures which ring extra icky and pervy when there’s not another 200+ pages for him to charm the reader and grovel for the girl.
Top Shelf Tessa Bailey
I was going to write an “Everything I read in July” post, but as of July 29th, the only book I’ve finished this month is The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey. So here is an overshare of my complicated history with Tessa Bailey’s books.
Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory had me at her inclusion of the Oxford Comma on her cover, and then she lost me soon after. Unfortunately I’ve come to accept her writing style doesn’t jive with me that well anymore, and that’s totally fine. However the corny dialogue and inner-monologue was torturous on this one. She tried to establish that the love interests had been harboring crushes on each other for months and now that they’re trapped together after an earthquake they must address their miscommunications and kill time in each other’s arms. However it really felt like 0 to 100. I think it would have been stronger if we got to have his POV as well (and I NEVER say that) or she’d allowed them to develop their relationship a little more before the forced-proximity, but alas the assignment was for a meet-cute. I think even if they only made out and didn’t go straight to bed it would have been better. (I also NEVER ask for less spice.)
I don’t want to overload you with boring details, so I’ll here are the highlights for the other novellas of note in this series. [I will do a post delving into all 6 Valentine’s Day novellas in early February.]
Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne was charming with the appropriate amount of cheese. Yes it is implied that the two main characters will have a happily ever after, and the dialogue was a wee bit saccharine, but the reader is left with the impression that they are going to take it one day at a time.
It was a great idea to make this a meet-cute series because it took the pressure off the EA of the HEAs! We can be happy that these characters are going to live Happily with the possibility of Ever After. (Which is how it works in the real world!)
Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez was chef’s freaking kiss! This was as emotionally developed as I can imagine a 65 page love story can get. I litrally cried. Like what? Excuse me Abigail, how dare you?
Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur was one with charming cheese, and then it went too far. It was quintessential holiday movie: big city girl keeps running into a sexy fireman as she wreaks havoc on a small, coastal town. It was wild to me that she was already considering moving to this town for him when they hadn’t even had a full conversation yet. But he was an acts of service king, which we stan! And I loved that he also was looking at ways to utilize his odd schedule to visit her and didn’t just presume she’d move for him since she works remotely! I loved that so much actually! If every character in every book could problem-solve long distance logistics, half the books would be without a central conflict (and I’d be a lot happier). (Looking at you Book Lovers and a Caught Up.)
tl;dr: I just rambled about some of my novella opinions. I used to think they were all awful, but found what works!
As a reader we are more forgiving because of the word-count restriction, however it still has to have some veritas to be effective.
Do you have a favorite novella? PLEASE tell me in the comments!
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Hyper-fixation du jour: needlepoint
I’ve always wanted to learn to needlepoint since my late Grandma Honey was the master, but I finally did the dang thing! Thanks to my cousin Elizabeth and my soon to be sister-in-law saying “Just do it! We do!”
None of my creations are share-worthy yet (and I just don’t have pictures) but I’ve had so much fun learning, practicing, and watching videos online (and filling many shopping carts).
It’s such an expensive and time-consuming hobby; HOLY SHIT! My grandmother gave us each a needlepoint creation every year for Christmas and I did not appreciate them appropriately at the time. I now cherish those ornaments and pillows for the sentimental reason and because I know how much love and care went in to them.
My current projects are all gifts for people so I don’t want to share anything to spoil the surprises. But I’ve already branched into creating my own designs and cannot wait!
If you want to purchase any of the books mentioned in this article, please consider using my affiliate link with my favorite independent book store, The Ripped Bodice, or using my referral link to libro.fm for an audiobook!