I’ve been reading some AWESOME books lately that also has some great novella/companion stories. I don’t really write full reviews for novellas, so here’s a quick round up of what I thought and if they’re worth your time!
Title: The Little Android (The Lunar Chronicles #2.5)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Completed: January 27, 2014
Source: I read it for free on Wattpad and you can too! [The Little Android]
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Related Posts: Cinder (#1) || Scarlet (#2) || Glitches & The Queen’s Army: Novella Reviews || My Latest Bookish Addiction: The Lunar Chronicles || Quiz: Which Lunar Chronicles Character Are You? || Cress (#3)
The Little Android is an adaptation of The Little Mermaid and can be read out of sequence/in any order/independently of the rest of the books in The Lunar Chronicles series.
WHAT I LIKED
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The Little Mermaid parallels. Definitely interesting and fun to spot!
- The characters. They definitely caught my attention and kept me on my toes!
- The ending. I really appreciated what Marissa Meyer did with the end of this short story. I think not a lot of people were expecting that! (Or were they? I wasn’t.)
WHAT I WAS MISSING
As most short stories for me go, it was a just a little short. Whereas with the other Meyer shorts, I was dazzled and impressed, this one didn’t QUITE grip me as much… Maybe because I was coming down off of CRESS which is quite a tough act to follow! Anyway… Loved the adaptation of The Little Mermaid and just the ticket to hold you over until you can get your hands on WINTER!
Title: Bridge of Snow (The Winner’s Curse #0.5)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Completed: February 20th, 2014
Source: I read it for free on Tor.com and you can too! [Bridge of Snow]
Genre: Fantasy
Bridge of Snow is a short prequel/tie-in to THE WINNER’S CURSE. It can be read before or after the full-length novel. The story covers Arin (one of the main characters in THE WINNER’S CURSE) as a child, being told a bedtime story of the legends and mythology of their culture.
WHAT I LIKED
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I love stories that come up with their own mythology/gods/creation history. I think it’s incredibly fascinating and just adds a real layer of depth for the entire world-building aspect.
- Seeing Arin’s history. You don’t have to read this book before THE WINNER’S CURSE but I like to read the novellas after the main story. Why? I just like getting to know the characters in the full-length novel first and then seeing more about their past and history in the novellas. I feel like reading the novella first and getting that kind of history is easily lost on me because I don’t get to know the character well enough in such a short period of time. Just a personal preference!
- It’s not afraid to be dark. Yes, this is a bedtime story to a child, but it does have a certain darkness to it. The story itself felt very reminiscent of The Tale of the Three Brothers in Harry Potter!
WHAT I WAS MISSING
Really not a lot. I thought this was beautifully done and so impressive! I loved almost everything about it and I highly encourage readers of THE WINNER’S CURSE to read it!
Title: Warm Up (Vicious #0.5)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Completed: February 22, 2014
Source: I read it for free on Tor.com and you can too! [Warm Up]
Genre: Sci-Fi, Paranormal (Adult)
Related Posts: On the Same Page features Vicious
Warm Up is a short story connected to VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab. It can be read independently or in any sequence but personally, I think it makes much more sense if you read VICIOUS first! It follows the story of David, a man with an unexpected new power that he obtained after a life-threatening accident.
WHAT I LIKED
- The ability. One of my favorite things about VICIOUS was getting to know all of the different abilities! I find it incredibly interesting as well as how that ability ties into the life-threatening event.
- David. I really felt for him! I liked his character a lot and felt really bad for him and his situation.
- Cameos from VICIOUS main characters. I don’t really want to say too much about it but it DOES tie into the main story!
WHAT I WAS MISSING
I loved it! Wasn’t missing much. It was short, dark, and held my interest. If you’re unsure about reading VICIOUS, this short story lets you test out the waters because the feeling was exactly the same.
7 thoughts on “Novella Mini-Reviews: The Little Android, Bridge of Snow, Warm Up”
The Little Android is supposed to be the third book to be read in order to get the story, since *SPOILER ALERT!* young Cinder Linh and her workshop with Iko is featured in this short story. Anyway, I can’t wait to read this after I read Scarlet, Cress, Fairest and Winter along with the other eight stories in Stars Above.
Yep, I agree! I’m pretty sure I had it listed as #2.5 in this review, so to come after Cinder and Scarlet (although I’d say you could read Glitches and The Queen’s Army in between these as well). I always like to read these in order of publication because I love those little tidbits that Marissa throws in there from previous books! So enjoyable to catch them!
Yay, hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
I would be all over reading novellas if they were made available for free online or something. But I refuse to pay half the cost of an eBook, for a quarter of the content.
I’d be tempted to read Warm Up though. I’ve been on the fence about Vicious, so it would be nice to get a taste of the writing/atmosphere!
Well the good news is that all of these are free and really most (all?) of the ones that accompany Macmillan books are available to read for free on Tor.com! That’s really where I read most novellas. I actually don’t buy too many. I’ve also read a few online through my local library’s elibrary instead of purchasing them! 🙂
I have a mostly meh relationship with novellas. But I’m going to give The Bridge of Snow a try.
I actually liked The Little Android more than some of the other Lunar Chronicles novellas. I read the Thorne novella that is in the Cress copies sold in Target (I read it in a Target), and it was great.
I didn’t love The Little Android as much as you but I LOVED Bridge of Snow! If her full length novel is as beautiful as Bridge of Snow then boy am I going to kick myself when I finally get around to reading it!! It was comparable to The Tale of Three Brothers, you’re right! I loved the darkness. Obvs. Love your mini reviews!