I'm glad I finally got to reading something by Naomi Novik! Yet another author I've been hearing about for years. I think we've started on a high note.

The Summer War reads like a broader-scoped fairy tale. All the requisite fairy tale ingredients are here: tricky fairies, binding oaths, unlikely heroes. Within this fairy tale scaffolding you'll find resonant themes, complex characters, and just the right amount of worldbuilding. I'd say this skews more YA than adult fiction, but the book isn't any worse off for it. If you find that off-putting (you shouldn't!) you'll get a sense of the tone pretty early on.

The story begins a few years after the Summer War. The humans of Prosper have enjoyed an uneasy peace with the Summer folk—a mercurial and immortal people from a dream-like land. Our point-of-view character, Celia, is the daughter of a baron who came to prominence through brilliance on the battlefield (and a teensy bit of scheming). That cunning and pragmatism which served him well in war did not translate to fatherhood. After Celia’s oldest brother runs off into the Summer Lands—and she accidentally curses him—their father falls apart. It’s left to Celia and her second brother, Roric, to hold the estate together, find their brother, and undo the curse.

At the heart of the book are the relationships between Celia and her brothers. Siblings share a special bond: they might not always get along, but at the end of the day, they're comrades for life. Novik explores a range of themes around acceptance, empathy, and self-confidence through this lens. I have a few siblings of my own, and I found this aspect of the book really touching.

The book's themes are driven home by a cast of well-written, complex characters. They face difficult choices. They make mistakes. They hurt each other. I'm impressed at how many of these characters have satisfying arcs in such a short book.

I also really appreciated the careful worldbuilding. A novella only has so much time to develop the concepts and history needed for a world to feel substantial. This world is fuzzy around the edges in just the right way; it evokes a sense of magic and mystery that really suits the fairy tale tone. One minor gripe here: most of the first ~1/3rd of the book is an info dump on the history of the Summer War. I personally didn't mind the history lesson, but others might find this jarring since it kills the book's early momentum.

My only real complaint is that some things happen without realistic consequences. These characters experience trauma, they make real sacrifices. The contrivances you would find in a real fairy tale feel out of place. This undermines some of the characters' journeys, but it has little impact to the book overall.

Altogether, The Summer War is a thoroughly enjoyable read. There's a good mix here of whimsy and emotional backbone. I'm looking forward to reading more from Naomi Novik!

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC.

This fairy-tale novella follows three siblings: Celia (sorceress), Roric (unwanted, forgotten), and Argent (skilled knight and also gay).

This is a fairy story in the way that a novella's shorter length necessitates quick, fairy-tale storytelling, but also in that it deals with the fae. Celia's home, Prosper, borders the Summer Lands, a magical place inhabited by the fae, who had been fighting an eternal war of vengeance against her people until her father's cleverness ended it. However, the war may not stay in the past forever.

This was very cute in the harsh, raw Naomi Novik style. I am THEEE sucker for sibling dynamics, and I loved all of them here. And I loved how Celia is indeed her father's daughter.

I like novellas or short stories when I am trying to get a feel for an author's writing without investing the time to plunge into a longer novel or series, and although I already know that I enjoy Naomi Novik's stories, I just couldn't resist this novella. The blending of waring kingdoms, magic curses, and dysfunctional family drama in a story that I could get through in a single sitting made it too tempting. And this story delivered on its promise, with a charmingly flawed young girl and her brothers, an unintended curse, centuries-old conflict and all the threads tied up by the end. Anyone who enjoyed the author's past fantasy fables (Uprooted, Spinning Silver) as I did, will likely connect to this story well and for those that aren't familiar with her writing yet, the novella is a great way to test the waters.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This was a quick, fast paced novella. I enjoyed the way the dysfunctional family came together to save one member.

Naomi Novik definitely has a talent for writing lyrical prose that enrich a mythical world while immersing you deeply in the hero's journey. From the very first page, I was consumed by the beautiful world-building and folkloric themes splayed throughout the chapters. The main character stood tall on her own yet kept growing into herself as the story progressed. I could not help, but to keep rooting for her every step of the way. This story is one that I savored for days on end since I did not want it to end. I can't say much else without spoiling the story, but I would still highly recommend this read if you are a long-standing or new fantasy book lover looking for your next favorite read of the year!

I think it's a craft to be able to tell a rich and beautiful story succinctly, even more so if we're talking about a tale in the Fantasy genre. Usually, these worlds are so vast, it's tough to condense it all to its core and not feel like you've left out all the important lore - but Naomi Novik managed it almost perfectly!

I felt immediately immersed in the tale, which was both heartbreaking and absurd at times. It had politics, it had magic, it had intrigue and romance and friendship and family - what more could one ask for?
While there were some parts that felt a bit info-dump-y, I was too eager to find out what happened next to really care. There was definitely potential to expand on the characters and the world more, but I didn't feel like I was lacking anything by the end. I just enjoyed seeing people deeply care for each other!

Fazit: 4.5 stars!

If you've got a sibling or two, then you undoubtedly have known the pure anger that can flare up during a small moment of hurt. What if that anger inflames a curse upon your favourite brother and changes the projection of the world as you know it?

Once again Naomi weaves a delightful array of words into the wonderful world of Celia and her family. Amongst the usual teenage angst comes a complex world of fae and the balance of magic and promises, queer love and family drama.

🗺️ The world building is very basic. Which does not distract from the storyline.

🌶️ There is no spice in this book.

📚 This book is for you if you enjoy a lighter fantasy that isn't overly complex and is a complete story.

✈️ An easy read that's good for those train travel days.

Overall a very enjoyable book that can easily be put down, picked up again and devoured in a day. This is a novella, so if you like me are a huge fan of Naomi's larger works like the Scholomance series just take note!

Thank you to the author, Naomi Novik and Del Ray Random House Worlds for the ARC. an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc.

4 stars.

this was a very lovely little novella, and if it had been longer, i wouldn't have minded. that's not to say i didn't like the shortness of this; it was to the point without much filler, and i liked that. sometimes, it's nice not to have to dive into an 8-book series. i just would have loved to see more of this world, and that's a good thing.

this was my first naomi novik book (even though i've had uprooted sitting on my shelves for years), and it was certainly not the last one!

When it comes to dark tales and family ties, few can match Naomi Novik. I rarely read novellas (unless the title says T. Kingfisher), but when I saw the cover and realized that Ms. Novik was returning to the eerie world of faeries, I couldn't help but be drawn in. Spinning Silver is still one of my favorite books about faeries and sibling relationships, but The Summer War came very close. Yes, I would have liked to see more of Celia and Roric's adventures in their attempt to save their brother, and I wouldn't have refused to see the story through Argent's eyes, but I understand that the essence of this tale is precisely that it is a fairy tale. And fairy tales don't have to be 400 pages long. And Naomi Novik has a real talent as a storyteller. Her characters are alive and understandable, and the story touches the soul and heart. I'm not going to lie - I put the book down a few times because I could barely hold back the tears, and I hate crying! This story touched me deeply, and I know it will stay with me for a long time.

A short story with a fun fairytale premise. A large amount of the story felt like an info dump which took me out of it a bit.

This novella was perfect. I read it in one sitting just completely drawn into the world Novik spun. The world building was effortless and was all necessary and not overbearing. She knew just how to weight the world and the characters so it felt ethereal but also had weighted meaning. I cried at the end because I was so invested in the emotions Novik was eliciting. It was perfect. Highly recommend it.

The Summer War was charming. It used a traditional feeling fairytale framework to work through topics like familial rejection, grief, and ultimately healing. I loved the ingenuity of many of the characters throughout the story as they wrestled with a curse and short-sighted oaths. Many of the stories regarding Celia's father, as well as her solutions to situations she found herself in, were clever in the way of old fairytales and the loopholes left by hasty magic.
This was a quick, classic feeling tale, that I devoured in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunnity to read and review The Summer War.

this was fine i just think it needed to be a bit longer because everything happened so fast but i enjoy this author and i can’t wait to see more from her.

This is a lovely little novella that has all the charm and lyrical prose of a classic fairytale, I just wish it did a little more with the core ideas. Celia is a sweet protagonist and I love the idea of her as sorceress inheriting all this power and status from a long-dead ancestor, but then she literally never gets to use her magic. Argent seems like he could be a compelling exploration of the war between love and duty and family expectations for queer people, but that thread doesn’t really get explored. Roric is sweet and there could be great commentary around being the “spare” or invisible child and how that affects someone, but it’s just never happens. Overall I enjoyed this read but I really think it could have been more powerful as a longer work that actually did something with the concepts it touches on.

This novella was lovely to read. It hit some important themes that aren’t done as frequently anymore while still being done in a fairytale setting. Wonderful to read.

A gorgeous novella full of kings, fairies, smart princesses. I wanted more and yet the short nature gave the story a sparse, haunting feel. Celia is a young princess with two brothers. She is mostly ignored until she displays powers of sorcery and then becomes ensnared in the battle between fae and the king.

This heartwarming fairytale is made up of complex pieces with lush scenarios populated by fae, witches, kings, and queens, but its message is simple: having someone to love who loved you back is everything. It could be a mother or a father and their child, or siblings, or a romantic interest, or even one’s fellow countrymen. The point was, caring and being cared for - *mattering* to someone - made life worth living.

Celia was 12 when her favorite brother Argent left home, and furious over being abandoned, she cursed him to live a life without love. She didn’t know that the very same day, her powers as a sorceress came into full fruition, and that her childish outburst would become prophecy; her beloved brother was cursed to live an empty life devoid of love for the rest of his days.

She determined to find Argent who was somewhere in the Fae Summer Lands, and reverse the prophecy if she could, but there was a catch: her father had promised her in marriage to Crown Prince Gorthan, so her time on her own was limited. She had tried to get the marriage date delayed, but when she was 15, the King wrote that it was time; Prince Gorthan was 29, and needed offspring. But something was off about his pressure. By the time her family figured out what was really going on, it was too late, and now Celia, her brother Roric, and her father needed all their wits and guile to undo the damage, or none of them would be saved.

Naomi Novik is such a creative fantasy writer - each book or series she writes is radically new and different than the rest, and yet there are common elements: generational hatreds that need to be dealt with and overcome if possible; “standard” systems of magic that may have folkloric elements; and the enduring magic of love.

Although only a novella, Novik managed to create memorable characters whose *human-ness* shines through in spite of not all of the characters being strictly defined as such.

All in all, a lovely story.

This reads like a fairy tale. It's a very short story about three siblings and two kingdoms. It has a bit of a Holly Black feeling to it.
It's a good novella, probably my favorite from Naomi Novik.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC.

Naomi Novik’s The Summer War swept me into a world of magic, family, and ancient grudges, and I truly enjoyed every moment of it. This novella has the depth and richness of a full-length novel, but still manages to feel like a bite-sized epic. It reminded me a little of an "ACOTAR lite"—with its magical lore, emotional stakes, and fae-like Summerlings—while still standing on its own with Novik’s distinct storytelling style.

One of the highlights for me was the story of Celia’s father. The way he cleverly outwits the Summerlings in various battles was completely enthralling—I could’ve read an entire novel just about him. Those parts really anchored the worldbuilding for me and gave the narrative a weight that made the curse and its consequences feel even more dire.

Celia’s emotional arc is touching—starting with her accidentally cursing her brother in a moment of childish rage, and growing into a woman determined to undo what she’s done. The bond between siblings, especially with the unwanted middle brother stepping up, was refreshing and heartfelt. I appreciated how the story flowed smoothly from moment to moment, keeping me engaged the whole way through.

That said, I do think this novella has room to grow. There’s so much promise in the world Novik created here—I’d happily read an expanded version with more time to explore the politics, the history of the war, and the emotional consequences of magic used in anger. Novik is clearly working with something special, and I hope she revisits this world in the future.

All in all, The Summer War is a beautifully written, emotionally satisfying story with strong ACOTAR vibes, clever worldbuilding, and a poignant exploration of sibling love, regret, and redemption. I thoroughly enjoyed this journey and would absolutely read more set in this world.

A perfect novella for those who are looking for a quick but meaningful and emotional read!
Every character has a place and they fit perfectly.