Since it’s Official Sequel Month, this November, I am bringing you some awesome posts about sequels, whether it’s discussions, specific sequel reviews, or book tags.  It is a fun month so far, especially since last week we got to celebrate the release of Winter by Marissa Meyer, the fourth in the Lunar Chronicles series.  Can’t wait to dive into that one!

Today, while I am knee deep in completing series for the end of the month, I thought I would bring up a discussion some of my reader friends and I had a while back.  Thoughts on recaps, anyone? 

Recaps can either break or make the sequel.  For some, recaps are awesome.  For others, recaps totally suck. And for the unsure, recaps depend on a few things.

Recaps in sequels can be pretty cool.  If you read the first one years ago and just don’t have time to read a whole book, the recap is there to make your life much easier.  You open the sequel and they start naming characters you have no clue, you're like:

You may be one to love recaps but sometimes the author wants to get into the meat before you even remember half of the first book.  That’s where recaps from other sources comes in handy.  If you’re super into recaps, there is even a site for recaps—in case, the author doesn’t do a good enough job on the recap in the sequel. 

Let’s talk TV shows.  I think TV shows definitely need a recap before each episode.  After all, if you are watching as the show releases, you’ll need to remember what happened a week ago.  However, do we really need recaps when we are binge watching? And what about binge reading?

Some recaps can span pages and even whole chapters.  Who has time to read all of the little details of book one? We just want to get back to the good stuff—we came for the sequel, not the previous book. 

When you’re binge reading, it is the worst.  You definitely remember everything that happened in the first one because you had your nose in it five minutes ago. 

As for me, I can sway either way depending on the read.  Sometimes I love recaps because I truly don’t remember anything of the first book but my patience weighs a bit thin when the recap continues for a whole chapter.  Like, no, thank you.

What about you? 

What sort of recaps do you love?  What recaps do you hate?