4 Fantastic Series That Are Quick Reads

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

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.

Spellbound by Annabel Chase

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!

Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews

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!

Penric and Desdemona by Lois McMaster Bujold

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.

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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