Hey Bookworms, I’ve been on a novella kick lately so I want to share 4 fantastic series that are quick reads! These series are mostly made up of novellas, although the odd full-length novel installments are mixed in there. As much as I love sinking my teeth into a long fantasy series, I have grown to appreciate the format of a novella series. It provides that sweet “I just finished a book” rush more often, which, in turn, encourages me to pick up the next book right away and makes the reading experience fly by!
Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire
- Every Heart A Doorway
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones
- Beneath the Sugar Sky
- In an Absent Dream
- Come Tumbling Down
- Across the Green Grass Fields
- Where The Drowned Girls Go
- Lost in the Moment and Found
- Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
Let’s start with maybe an obvious one: The Wayward Children. The 9th book just came out in 2024; excellent timing to get into this series if you ask me! Now I only have to wait for my library hold for Mislaid in Parts Half-Known.
“You’re nobody’s doorway but your own, and the only one who gets to tell you how your story ends is you.”
-Seanan McGuire, Every Heart A Doorway
The series is about children who have travelled to all kinds of fantastical worlds and ended back up in boring ‘ol Earth. Understandably, all these kids want is to return to the various lands they had called home but the magical Doors they travelled through are not so easily found. Luckily, Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children provides these kids with what they need the most: hope that someday they’ll find their Door again.
Read If You Like:
- A large diverse cast of characters with LGBTQIA+ rep
- YA Fantasy with a portal component
- Books that feel like side-quests but contribute to the overall story
- A mixture of whimsy and darkness
Spellbound by Annabel Chase
- Curse the Day
- Doom and Broom
- Spell’s Bells
- Lucky Charm
- Better Than Hex
- Cast Away
- A Touch of Magic
- A Drop in the Potion
- Hemlocked and Loaded
- All Spell Breaks Loose
This next series is completely different, it’s one I found by chance on the Hoopla app and it’s perfect if you’re in the mood for something low-stakes and cozy. Emma Hart is a lawyer, and when she meets Daniel, a literal angel, she accidentally becomes stuck in Spellbound, a hidden supernatural town. Emma then has to juggle her new life as she discovers she’s a witch and gets saddled with the town’s public defender job. A convenient place to be if you’re gonna start solving all kinds of mysteries isn’t it?
“Spellbound was unlike any place I’d ever seen. Imagine every picture postcard European village meshed with a magic-filled theme park and you might be close.”
-Annabel Chase, Curse the Day
Okay hear me out, I know it sounds SO cheesy, and it is but in the best possible way! This whole series was a romp and a half. Each book has Emma solving a new mystery, struggling to use magic, and getting to know the townspeople. The main focus of the series is the personal life of Emma and her friends (the individual mysteries are the secondary plot). It felt like the Halloweentown movies but aged up, and with a dash of Romance—wholesome and fluffy!
Read If You Like:
- Paranormal Cozy Mysteries
- Indie Books
- Embracing the cheese!
- Witches, Vampires, Shifters, Fairies, Angels, Oh my!!
Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews
- Clean Sweep
- Sweep in Peace
- One Fell Sweep
- Sweep of the Blade
- Sweep of the Heart
This next series is one I kept seeing in my circle of Bookstagram and I’m so glad I picked it up right away! Dina DeMille is a regular woman who lives in Texas and runs her inn. She caters to her guests every whim and her priority is their safety. Her guests? Oh yeah, they’re an assortment of intergalactic beings. The Inn, Gertrude Hunt, is actually a secret waystation for aliens traveling through the galaxy and has a symbiotic relationship with Dina.
“Being an innkeeper meant walking a fine line between courtesy and tyranny.”
-Ilona Adrews, Clean Sweep
I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this series, my first by this husband and wife writing team. The world-building is excellent as through the Inn we get to experience cultures and even planets; it’s wacky but it all comes together masterfully. In Clean Sweep Dina meets Sean, the neighbourhood werewolf, and the slow, careful way their relationship evolves and the trust in their teamwork solidifies them as one of my favourite book couples! The series has not finished yet which is so exciting because there are lots of threads we have yet to unravel and I can’t wait for the next installment!
Read If You Like:
- A perfect blend of Sci-fi and Fantasy
- Elegantly orchestrated twists and turns
- A magic system that’s just impossibly advanced technology
- Political SFF, adventure, & a romantic subplot
Penric and Desdemona by Lois McMaster Bujold
- Penric’s Demon
- Penric and the Shaman
- Penric’s Fox
- Masquerade in Lodi
- Penric’s Mission
- Mira’s Last Dance
- The Prisoner of Limnos
- The Orphans of Raspay
- The Physicians of Vilnoc
- The Assassins of Thasalon
- Knot of Shadows
- Demon Daughter
I discovered this last series last year and it quickly became an all-time favorite. Demon Daughter just came out in January 2024 and I need to pick it up soon! Penric is a young man travelling to his wedding when he stumbles across a dying old Temple Divine. Her death entirely changes the course of Penric’s life because the Demon she carries inside of her jumps to Penric. The series follows Pen and Des as they go on missions and learn to live in the same body. As Penric (with Des’ help) grows into a sorcerer, a scholar, and a physician, the various storylines come together into a politically charged confluence of events.
“Do not deny the gods. And they will not deny you. . . Dangerous habit, mind you. Once you start to let Them in through that first crack, They’re worse than mice.”
-Lois McMaster Bujold, Penric and the Shaman
Another series with stunning world-building. I was especially fascinated by the ways religion and death are affected by the 5 gods that exist in this world and exert their influence. Additionally, I am not exaggerating when I say that Pen and Des have my whole heart; I saved the best for last I guess. I’m not the type to collect book boyfriends as I read. That is, except for Penric! I adored watching him grow, team up with Des, fall in love, and get himself in and out of so much trouble! The combination of these two sharing the same body made for scenarios ranging from hilarious to heartwarming, from badass to philosophical, and everything in between.
Read If You Like:
- Two characters sharing one body
- Fantasy with beautiful writing
- Sorcerers learning complicated magic systems
- Incredible banter and interpersonal relationships
Voilà—Those were my 4 fantastic series that are quick reads!
I hope you try them and if you already have, YESS!! If you have any recommendations for other novella series, please leave them in the comments, I’m always looking for more!
Please note a few of the series included also contain short stories or side stories within them but I’ve only listed the core books.
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Thank you for this! I also love my super-long fantasy series, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to read something that isn’t going to take up all my attention for the next six months. And now you’ve given me some new ideas – I’ve heard of the first two you mentioned, but not the others, and I’m looking forward to checking them out!
I am glad I could be helpful to you 🙂 I hope you enjoy them if you do give them a try.
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You already know how much I want to read Penric & Desdemona and I commented on your latest post about the series earlier this morning so I won’t repeat myself. Wayward Children is another series I really want to read though and sounds so magical. I’ve heard so many fantastic things about the author and I love the potential for multiple fantastical worlds. So I have majorly high hopes for that one.
I may check out Spellbound if I’m in the right mood for it one day (once I’ve reduced my high priority TBR). I just loved a cosy series that I read after all. Yet the word cheesy does admittedly make me wary.
I hadn’t heard of the Innkeeper Chronicles either. I might read the authors Kate Daniel books first as I’ve been meaning to check them out for so long. But that one definitely has potential too, particularly as it blends Sci Fi (which I need to get into more) with Fantasy. Plus I love magic systems 😍
I haven’t had a chance to read them yet but a recent review has made me super intrigued about The Singing Hills novella series.
Hhaa Yes I just saw your super in-depth comment about your reactions to my Pen & Des post, Thanks!!
Wayward Children is delightful too and yeah I love all the potential that is has by the very nature of being a portal fantasy. It’s fun to wait and see what the next world they’ll visit is! I got accepted on Netgalley for the next one so I hope to get to it soon-ish but it doesn’t come out til 2025 anyways.
Listen, I don’t blame you at all if you feel like Spellbound may not be for you, I hear the word cheesy and to me that’s a plus but I can see how that could be a potential deterrent haha!! 😂 I listened to these audiobooks all back to back because they perfectly suited my mood and helped me through so many chores so I have such a soft spot in my heart for them lol.
Yeah, I’ve been meaning to check out the Kate Daniels series too! I think the Innkeeper Chronicles is shorter than the Kate Daniels world which seems to be extensive, wow! ( just looked up how many books there are in the series and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets haha). Either way I still want to check it out because I want to see what else this author duo has to offer 🙂
oh, that’s the Nghi Vo series with the beautiful and creepy animal covers! I want to read that too, I have heard such good things about it!! I hope we both get to give it a try 🙂
I hope it wasn’t too long 🙈
That’s wonderful to hear, with so many books already I imagine I’ll have lots of fun worlds to explore. And how can anyone resist that. Yay that’s wonderful. I love the cover for that one. And hope you end up loving the story.
I suppose it depends on how cheesy and in what way. Because some soft sweet moments are lovely. Listening to them sounds like a good idea though.
There are a fair few books there 😂 looking at Discworld makes me feel the same. I never know where to even start 🙈
Yes they’re so eye catching. And I love that they involved Asian fantasy. Hopefully we’ll both enjoy them.
No worries at all, I’m never gonna make you feel bad for leaving thoughtful messages on people’s blog posts and I hope nobody else ever does either!
Yes definitely lots of new worlds to visit, a bookworm’s dream! & yes I like the cover for it too, especially the little turtle!
Okay yeah I know what you mean, some cheesiness is better than others lol If it’s cheesy by accident then I usually don’t like it as much.
& oh my gosh that’s the same for me & Discworld too, I’ve only read 1 and I’m supposed to be following along on a Discworld Readathon but have I actually? No 😭 Plus different people give conflicting opinions on where to start so it almost sounds like a free for all !
Yes, I need to read more books including Asian mythologies!
Thanks. And no they haven’t I just panic sometimes when I look back and see the length 🙈
Ooh I somehow missed that one, just saw the central one 😂
Yeah that makes sense as I suppose accidental cheesiness could feel rather cringy.
Aww I hope you get to carry on with the readalong sometime if you still want to. Which book did you read out of interest? I looked again the other day and think I may pick up one of the sub series within the world as it sounded like you could do that 🤔 but yes I saw conflicting information too.
Ooh you should, most of the ones I’ve read so far I’ve adored.
Haha oh well that’s good 🙂 & as long as you don’t mind, I don’t either.
Yeah I want Cheese not Cringe!😂🧀
I only read The Colour of Magic so far because the readathon is going by publication order. I liked it but wouldn’t say I loved it however people say those aren’t the best ones anyways haha. Yes you can definitely pick up a subseries within the would. Which one stands out the most to you as one you wanna try?
That is great and I have no doubt I’d love them too 🙂
Originally that’s where I was going to start because reading it out of order feels weird 😂 but I saw the same thing said. And it doesn’t intrigue me as much of some of the others I’ve looked at. I was leaning towards Witches as the name instantly intrigued me and I like the angle described in the blurb. But I just looked at a few others and I really like the sound of Death too. So probably one of those. One of the others is about the fae though and I saw several recommendations for the one that starts with Guards. But ill still probably go for Witches or Death first. Which do you think you’ll read next?
Honestly maybe that’s why I haven’t continued, maybe going elsewhere in the world will help to make me fall in love with it first! But I agree that reading out of order feels weird. Yess the Witches one sounds so good and it seems to have a lot of fans! Well I have The Light Fantastic so I *should* probably read that one first since I spent money on it and its right there. lol
Well I hope you manage to continue soon then. And it’s good to hear that you’ve seen good things about that series. I had to look up which that was and didn’t realise the first was one of the actual sub series 😂 I hope you enjoy it whenever you read it. Keep me posted over how you get on.
Thanks and I will keep you updated and you too let me know if you read any and what you thought! 🙂
Will do 😊 realistically I think it’ll probably end up being next year that I get to them but I’ll definitely keep you posted.
makes sense, this year is positively flying by! I had all sorts of reading plans that now I don’t think will be do-able by the end of the year lol so I can’t blame you at all!!
Well good luck with those plans anyway. I’m sure you’ll get to them eventually, even if it doesn’t end up being this year.