The Intern (Orphan X, #3.5)

by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

This series seems to have its ups and downs, with the downs not being super low, mind you. But I definitely have clear cut favorites, even among the novellas. Despite the fact that I accidentally read them out of order (I'm so ashamed), Buy A Bullet was so much better than The Intern.

If I'm being honest, you can probably skip The Intern all together. I'm not sure what, if anything was gained from it. Granted, novellas don't normally have a huge impact on the overall story of the main installments, but The Intern actually felt like a waste of time. Thank goodness it wasn't very long and it only cost a little over a dollar (definitely not worth a credit). However, I would be willing to eat these words if one or more of the seemingly random characters introduced in it were to show up in the main series.

On the other hand, Buy A Bullet fleshed out the main character enough to feel like it was actually serving a purpose. It tells the story of Evan's first vigilante mission, almost like an origin story. Especially if you think of his life in two parts, before his "pro bono work" and after. Buy A Bullet is the crossroads between those two paths of his life. It was his turning point, so to speak. The events that transpired in Buy A Bullet directed Evan down the path he is on when we first meet him in Orphan X. That's what made it so interesting to me and well worth the $1.87 I paid for it.

So if you're choosing between the two novellas, definitely go with Buy A Bullet.