It seems like the standard book series is three books. Is that enough? Too much or not enough at all? How long should a queer book series be to be good?

• The Prompt
  • About Let’s Talk Bookish
• Bookish Thoughts on the length of queer book series
• The Queer’s Take on the amount of books a queer series needs

The Prompt

This week’s Let’s Talk Bookish prompt is about the length of a (queer) book series and considering a certain sentence of mine in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt, I simply had to participate here as well.

About Let’s Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish is a bookish meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books where bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week each Friday! Now it’s run by Aria @Book Nook Bits. Here are the other prompts for May 2023.

Bookish Thoughts on the length of queer book series

There is no true for all formulare to the length of a book series. There. End of discussion.

Obviously not. But my statement still stands true in my eyes, because one, it depends on the reader, and two, it depends on the type of series as well as the author’s abilities to weave a story.

Let’s take Gregory Ashe for example. I don’t know how he manages to write so many books, in such a short amount of time, and also create so many different stories and characters. But he does and my favourite universe of his is the Somers Hazard one which right now spans 18 books. Let that sink in for a moment because that’s what I had to do when I counted the books. 18 books. And I’m still not satisfied and really hoping for more sequel series.

So in this case, the more the merrier.

Then we’ve got Lila Mina, whose works I also love dearly. The first series I read of hers, Temper, spans five books. The overall story is more or less done with that – even though it kinda lives on in her next series for which I am very happy. I would have loved for Temper to have even more books or a “true” sequel, but I am fine with it being done. For it to have a sequel a new story arc would have to be developed.

And then there are series like Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell. To me, it feels too long. Honestly, I think I would have liked it better of it had been a standalone. I don’t think I have even read the third one, now that I think about it?

I do have to be honest, I don’t enjoy Rainbow Rowell’s books that much, so that’s an obvious bias, obviously.

The Queer’s Take on the amount of books a queer series needs

Still, to me, it feels like apart from my enjoyment of the author’s writing style, the characters, as well as the plot, the optimal length for a queer book series depends on the genre, in a way? A crime or thriller series can feature one case per book and it doesn’t feel like an unnecessary amount of books.

Books who are mostly romance live and die with the relationship. When all is said and done, then it has to be tied. Inventing unrealistic drama just for the sake to write more books isn’t something I enjoy.

There are exceptions to the rule like with a lot of my beloved queer Ice Hockey series. In a way, every book is more or less a standalone, in the sense of concentrating on a set of characters, but letting them live on in the other books. I do have to say, sometimes the in theory standalone book has to have a true sequel book like with Rachel Reid’s Ilya and Shane who have two books in her Game Changers Series.

Do you have a prefered number of books a series has to have for you to enjoy?