Let’s Talk Bookish: how many POVs is too many?

Happy Friday – yes, the weekend is finally here! I have sooo much on my plate for this weekend, but all fun stuff, so it isn’t too bad! To the bookish part: a great topic today that I’m very excited to discuss! Let’s Talk Bookish is as always hosted by Rukky @Eternitybooks, and today’s question is how many point of views are too many!

It really depends – quality over quantity

How many POVs are manageable is really different with every book you read. But what always counts is quality over quantity: I much more prefer to have two point of views with a great and precise finish instead of having four or five sloppy ones.

The dangers

I used to have a real difficulty with many POVs because I didn’t care for many characters, just for the one and that makes the book potentially difficult. I had major difficulties with The Raven Cycle and every POV except Blue and Gansey’s because I didn’t care for Ronan or Adam. Queen of Air and Darkness and also Lord of Shadows were also really difficult – I really LOVED Emma and Julian, but didn’t care for Ty, Kit or Livvy’s POV. I liked them as characters, but not enough to read long chapters…

The other possible danger is that it gets too confusing – different times, plots and characters that have nothing to do with one another. I don’t know – sometime it can be too much.

The great possibilities

When POV’s are handled well, they can add tension, make the book even more gripping and give you everything you ever wanted because you get a chapter for each of your favorite characters! I really loved Six of Crows, Throne of Glass, An Ember in the Ashes and The Lunar Chronicles – and I loved all of these books because they didn’t have many POV just to make the books seem interesting and complex, but because every character was worth looking into and had a story to tell!

Conclusion: 3-5 maximum!

I also love two POVs, two main characters, keeping it short and simple but three to five can be awesome as well. If you have a great crew – fantastic! But more than five makes things overly complicated and confusing, especially after taking a small break from the book!

That’s it for today, have a great weekend! Tell me, what do you think about POVs? Feel free to comment! Happy reading!