This book genuinely captured the essence of a fairy tale—its magic and its flaws alike. On the bright side, the story felt whole and enchanting, beautifully crafted with a narrative voice that echoed the timeless tales handed down through generations. Yet, it was hard not to feel a tinge of disappointment, as the main characters seemed somewhat underdeveloped, and the female protagonist was largely reliant on her brothers for rescue, leaving her potential somewhat unrealized.

The Summer War is what happens when you mix a fairy tale, a family feud, and a magical temper tantrum then set it all on fire with sibling guilt and immortal drama. Celia accidentally curses her brother (oops), grows up regretting it (double oops), and then sets out to fix it with help from another brother, some ancient summerlings, and a war that’s more emotional than explosive.

It’s short, sharp, and smells faintly of enchanted grass and unresolved feelings. Think: Shrek meets Spinning Silver, but everyone’s got complicated sibling dynamics and nobody’s allowed to hug it out without consequences.

Verdict: Tiny book. Big feelings. Magical mayhem. Would curse again (but like, carefully).

I received an eARC from @NetGalley in exchange for an honest an unbiased opinion.

Somehow I own multiple Naomi Novik books and I’ve never picked one up until now. I must say that is going to change immediately. The Summer War is a fast moving, tense little novella of about 140 pages. I devoured it in two sittings between an annoying need to sleep.

I love stories about siblings and this one was centred on a sister cursing her brother and her desperate quest to undo that curse. The family bonds were fantastic and I loved how much character growth was packed into these pages. I have no idea if this will be a standalone or the start of something new, but it has a very well contained story.

"The Summer War" would be a great novella to read for those who are into classic style fantasy and fairytale-esque stories. It follows a young girl Celia who accidentally curses her brother not to be able to love, and becomes wrapped up in the human fae conflict due to her magic powers. She and her brothers have to use their wit and strengths to outwit the fae and break the curses upon them.

I think this is a quick, easy read that reminds me a lot of fairy tales and quest based fantasy where your main character has to outwit the enemy. However I also felt that I could have skipped this because it wasn't anything unique, and it was so short that it didn't really have enough time to develop the characters. The way the Argent breaks his curse makes literally NO SENSE and that bugs me, and the way that Celia breaks her curse could have happened way earlier but no one was smart enough to think of it. So to me, the novella was fine, not my favorite but not the worst, and kind of a waste of my reading time.

I think if you like T Kingfisher's fairytale retellings, you'd like this because it gave me similar vibes. 3.5/5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC. A lovely novella in the fairy tale tradition. There's a formality of tone that I found very pleasing with the structure of the story. I'm a big fan of Novik's works and this did not disappoint.

The Summer War by Naomi Novik is a little fantasy gem: a standalone novella with a fairytale vibe that, in just over 140 pages, manages to capture magic, family bonds, and the allure of ancient myths. The story follows Celia, a young witch who, in a fit of anger, accidentally curses her older brother Argent, condemning him to a life without love. Trying to undo her mistake, she gets entangled in a conflict with the immortal and merciless Summerlings, finding unexpected support in her middle brother Roric, often overlooked but surprisingly central here.

What I loved most is Novik’s style: her prose is elegant and smooth, with that fairytale atmosphere that makes me want to discover more of her works. The family dynamics are the beating heart of the story—realistic, layered, and deeply emotional, with love, guilt, resentment, and loyalty all tangled together. The worldbuilding, while compact, still paints a vivid and intriguing setting in just a few strokes.

If there’s a flaw, it’s the brevity: I would have loved more time to explore the Summerlings and to give the ending a bit more room, since the resolution comes a little too quickly. Still, it’s a charming, heartfelt, and beautifully written tale, perfect for anyone looking for a short but powerful fantasy read.

For me, it’s a solid 4 out of 5 stars: not an epic or sprawling novel, but an intimate, fairytale-like story that you can read in just a few hours and that leaves you with the feeling of having listened to an old legend told by the fireside.

While I gravitated to this one at first because of its short length, in the end, I believe that's also what made it not work for me. The characters and the situation didn't have time to fully develop for me due to the length. The writing was wonderful and I enjoyed the world (despite me not really being much of a fantasy reader).

[Disclosure: Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing this book for early reading and review consideration.] Novik crafts a unique fantasy tale of a girl who accidentally curses her brother to live a loveless existence. Having read Novik's writing in the past, I know she crafts spellbinding fantasy stories and lifelike characters, though I was left wanting more in this book, perhaps due to its short nature. Novik presents a compelling plot, and the story's emotional resonance lies in Celia's guilt over cursing and missing her elder brother. The section with the Summer Prince and his Summerlings was particularly vibrant, with evocative descriptions and ample action, though I wanted to know more about these characters. I believe the plot simply would have worked better as a full-length novel . . . as readers, we could learn more about the relationships between siblings, the politics and ways of the Summerlings, along with Celia's own kingdom. Novik is a master fantasy storyteller, and her strength shines through in longer works. I was ready to spend a few hundred more pages with these characters, and this perhaps best of all solidifies the story's intrigue.

Terror and guts at one remove

The Summer War felt to me like a diluted version of the characteristic Naomi Novik experience. I have something specific in mind when I say that. The signature Novik "terror and guts" moment is when a powerful character takes on a monster beyond human abilities. In terror and despair and through sheer guts she contacts her inner power and defeats the monster. Think of Neeshka entering the Heart Tree in Uprooted, or El destroying her first maw-mouth in A Deadly Education. Such a moment occurs in The Summer War, I believe. But it is not our point-of-view character that experiences it. Thus we see it at a remove, and it is less powerful.

That point-of-view character is Celia. She is a sort of princess. Her father is not the king de jure of Prosper, but he is more or les the de facto king -- with all the power and not much of the pageantry. He's a jumped up commoner who through military prowess won a place. When I say "prowess," what I mean mostly is cleverness. "Commoner who rises by using their brains" is a common phenotype in Novik -- think of Miryem in Spinning Silver who turns silver into gold by becoming a clever investor and money-lender.

Unlike her father, Celia does in fact have abilities beyond cleverness. She is a sorceress. She discovers this in the worst possible way: a twelve-year-old girl, she curses her beloved brother Argent, and the curse sticks.

But Celia is clever, too. She first shows this in the way she helps her unloved middle brother Roric.

I'm going to leave the plot summary there so as not to spoil. Let's just say that Celia gets into trouble and has to be rescued. Uncharacteristically for a Novik heroine, she is unable to rescue herself.

Although this was a good story, it was less powerful than I have come to expect of Novik. In the end I felt let down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance reader copy of The Summer War. Release date 16-Deptember-2025.

I typically love Naomi Novik's writing, but there was something about The Summer War that just didn't work for me. It felt unfinished? Idk.

Another beautiful novella by Naomi Novik who, when it comes to myths and legends, is one of those authors who manages to make practically anything modern and enjoyable. Once again, we have fairies, witches, curses, and cunning that triumphs over everything, but okay, we can also say love, but I always really like it when women take charge of a situation that seems irretrievably compromised by men. :)

Un'altra bella novella da parte di Naomi Novik che, quando si tratta di parlare di miti e leggende, é una delle autrici che riesce a rendere moderno e piacevole praticamente qualsiasi cosa. Anche stavolta abbiamo le fate, le streghe, le maledizioni e la furbizia che trionfa su tutto, ma ok, possiamo anche dire l'amore, ma a me piace sempre molto quando le donne prendono in mano la situazione che sembra ormai irrimediabilmente compromessa dagli uomini. :)

Less trusting authors who work in the realm of fae and fairytales often flinch from the reality of fae legends, both good and bad, either leaning into the senseless brutality without abandon or sense, or indulging the the magic and whimsy to ignore the undercurrents of darkness within. What I appreciate about Naomi Novik, is that she doesn't flinch.

The Summer War is unapologetic in it's roots and inspirations, intertwining realistic familial dynamics with the complexity of fae laws, something this book runs off of. It is a novella, but it is written like a long lost fairytale with stolen young women, knights in shining armor, scheming royalty, and mercurial fae creatures. But despite of that, or maybe because of it, the novella still sets it's stakes plainly in the real often brutal but loving world. It's not a love story, but there is a lot of love in it. It is not an angry novel, or a revenge story, or a war story, but anger, love, and war are in it.

While I'm more familiar with Naomi Novik's romances, I loved the change of pace here for the novella to focus on the siblings relationship. There are still the Naomi Novik hallmarks, young bitter intelligent heroines, dark deals, and I don't think she can quite resist a fae king love interest (which i ultimately cannot begrudge her for, same) even if it's in a form different to what she usually writes. Her prose remains lyrical with rich description and twisted turns of phrase. The novella is stuffed full to the brim with it's contents, including the rich lore and shockingly intricate plot. I think it could have easily been a full length novel, and maybe even benefited from that in some ways, but I respect art that knows what it wants to set out to do and accomplishes it.

It's hard to describe such a short book without spoiling it's contents, but if I had to assign a "main idea" to The Summer War, I'd say it is a story focused on choice. What does it mean to choose something, whether it'd be thoughtless or thoughtful, what does it to you and your world when you keep choosing it, and what does it look like to choose something else.

I'm glad to continue my slow slow journey through Novik's bibliography with this one.

🌅Naomi Novik’s The Summer War reads like stepping into a dream spun of mist, fire, and fragile promises—a novella that carries the weight of an epic while still feeling intimate and personal. At its heart is Celia, the daughter of a war hero, whose childish outburst sets off a chain of events that tie her family’s fate to the immortal Summerlings. What begins as the story of a sheltered young girl grows into a tale of sibling loyalty, betrayal, and the terrible costs of pride, played out against a backdrop where songs can kill, oaths have teeth, and war lingers like a curse.

I am a HUGE fan of Novik. What I loved most is how she puts family at the center of her fairy-tale tapestry. While other fantasies lean on star-crossed romance, this story shines in its messy, tender sibling bonds—Celia’s devotion to her brothers feels more moving than any hurried romance the novella attempts. Novik’s world is lush and strange: the Summer Lands shimmer with beauty and menace, their inhabitants equal parts haunting and absurd, like living fragments of myth who’ve taken their code of honor too literally. Her prose, lyrical yet sharp, often catches you off guard with a line that lingers long after you’ve closed the book: “She had promised to care, and she would keep her promise.”

That said, the book isn’t flawless. Celia’s perspective doesn’t always ring true to her age—she sees and understands too much for a girl on the edge of adolescence, which sometimes makes her feel less like a twelve-year-old and more like a fully formed heroine trapped in a child’s body. Similarly, a rushed romantic subplot pulls focus from the stronger sibling storyline, and the Fae, while wonderfully alien, occasionally slip into caricature. As a novella, it also skims across wars and centuries with the brevity of a ballad; part of me longed for a full-length novel to let the story breathe and the characters deepen.

Still, I was completely immersed. The compact form works, giving the tale the cadence of an oral legend—fleeting, tragic, and haunting. I polished it off in one sitting, but it continues to linger in my mind 24 hours later.

The Summer War is a jewel of a story—flawed, yes, but faceted with enough brilliance to catch the light. Readers who love the eerie beauty of fairy tales, the familial complexity of A Song of Ice and Fire, or the sharp edge of Novik’s own Spinning Silver will find much to savor here. I’d happily read another 500 pages in this world, but as it stands, the novella still feels like a complete and satisfying tale. A great big thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased, honest review. I truly appreciate this opportunity!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

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Celia discovers she is a sorceress when she accidentally curses her brother to never find love. She desperately wants to put things right, but instead ends up caught in a web of ambition, trickery, and magically binding oaths.

The Summer War is a lovely novella! It’s a story of (complicated) sibling relationships, empathy, and whimsical magic. The pacing is perfect, Novik’s prose is great, and once I started I couldn’t stop reading! While it isn’t based on a specific fairytale (as far as I’m aware), the story feels like a fairytale, so if you’re a fan of that kind of story I think you’ll love this!

While this novella is great, I wish it was just a bit longer. I love the world building and characters, but I feel if they had been developed a bit more, this could’ve been an even more awesome book. That being said, Novik was still able to craft a great story in only ~140 pages and I highly recommend this novella!

Thank you Netgalley and DelRey for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

*The Summer War* by Naomi Novik, has always had a gift for weaving folklore, atmosphere, and deeply human themes into her storytelling, and *The Summer War* is no exception. Though brief, this novella is a gorgeously written tale of magic, family, and healing old wounds.

The story follows Celia, who in a heated moment curses her brother without realizing the power in her words. That single act sets off a chain of events that ripple across her family and kingdom. With her father broken by loss, Celia must shoulder responsibility alongside her neglected younger brother. When political pressure pushes her toward a royal marriage and the fragile peace with the Summerlings begins to unravel, the siblings are forced to confront not only external threats but also the harm they’ve done to one another.

The world-building here is lush and evocative, especially for a novella of this length. The folkloric atmosphere, layered with fairy bargains and the looming shadow of an age-old war, created a sense of timelessness. What resonated most for me, however, was the family at the center of it all. The way these siblings worked through resentment, betrayal, and pain to ultimately choose love over bitterness was deeply moving. The theme of breaking cycles of generational trauma and learning to forgive one another gave the story its emotional heart.

That said, I do wish this had been expanded into a full-length novel. At times it felt more like the condensed outline of something larger, and I wanted more room to sit with the characters and their choices. For much of the first half, I found myself unsure of what direction the story was taking, and it left me reading with some frustration. Yet, by the end, Novik pulled the threads together into a satisfying conclusion that left me glad I stuck with it.

Overall, *The Summer War* is a short but powerful tale that will especially appeal to readers who love folkloric fantasy, tricky fae bargains, and stories centered on family bonds. While I longed for more depth, the lyrical writing and emotional core made this a rewarding read.

I loved the folkloric atmosphere of this story, along with all the tricky fairy bargaining, and especially how the family at the center of this story all came together to save each other and break a generational curse/trauma/heal old wounds they'd given each other and choose love instead. It was absolutely beautiful. I almost wish it could have been a full-length novel so it all could have been more fleshed out—it almost felt like the summary of a novel and I didn't get to quite be IN it like I wanted. But still, the writing was gorgeous and the theme was so meaningful and lovely.

Maybe I am cursed to only ever love the "Scholomance" by this author and feel indifferent about all her other works. I didn't hate "The Summer War" and in the end it even came to be a solid tale, but for the longest time I didn't know what this story wanted to be. You could see me reading this with a frown on my face at all times.

Speaking of curses: the whole story begins when 12-year-old Celia accidentally curses her brother to never find love again. She unexpectedly turns out to be a sorceress, which also makes her an appropriate wife for the crown prince of the kingdom apparently. She is supposed to marry him when she's older and in the meantime she wants to break her brother's curse. She has to find him first though, because he was too gay for their father's household and he left home to become a famous knight. He's known across the mortal kingdom as well as in the realm of the summerlings (read as: fae) – two countries that have a long history of war with each other. The concept of the summer war was intriguing for it spanned over a hundred years but only ever took place in the summer season. Celia's father was majorly responsible for ending the war some 20 years ago and that part was written out as a story within a story, which was rather unusual for a novella. It was good that the backstory was provided, but it also created a weird pacing for the entire story. The first half was structured in such a messy way that it was truly not enjoyable to read; first introducing the characters, then adding a backstory that takes place before these characters were even born and then skipping ahead for three more years. But my biggest problem was how inconsistent literally everything in this first half was. A fact is mentioned or a situation is explained and 10 pages later it's all entirely different already. Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean:

- Celia's brother Roric is unimportant to the family and nobody cares for him (it's literally written out like that) but then he suddenly leads the household without problem.
- The summer war is over, but maybe not actually.
- Celia is supposed to marry at age 12, then at age 18, at age 16 and finally age 15 is old enough.
- And first she is supposed to marry a duke and then the crown prince and then that also doesn't happen as planned.

I know that these examples are partly connected to the deceiving nature of some of the characters, but it really felt like everything I read was exchanged for something else a few pages later. Maybe it was only so noticeable to me because the book was so short, though. It did get better in the second half. At first I was scared because dramatic vows were spoken and I was sure that they'd be thrown out of the window in no time, but the story gladly took a different route. The second half takes place in the summer lands where multiple very stubborn people try to deal with an oath that no one really wants to keep anymore. It was basically about getting out of a faerie bargain and it kinda read like a silly medieval tale. I enjoyed that part of the story a lot and the ending was great too. I don't know why there needed to be a scene with a 15-year-old at a faerie orgy, but ok. I must also say that the sibling relationship was not very credible to me. There wasn't a lot of character work in general and it was incredibly hard to actually care. And maybe that's also how I would summarize this novella: there is a good story somewhere in here, but it was really hard to actually care.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I really loved this. The story sucked me right in, was easy to read, had excellent world-building, and engaging characters.

The story follows Celia. When Celia finds out her brother is leaving home for good, she lashes out in anger cursing him to the life of a hero who will never know love. Little does she know her magic blooms at that same moment doing her brother irreparable harm. With her father broken by the leaving of his eldest son, it is left to Celia and the youngest brother (who has long been neglected in the household) to run the estate. However, when Celia is cornered into marriage with the king's sons, all of the siblings will have to come together to keep the kingdom together.

This has lush world building for such a small novella. The kingdom here is ruled by a centuries-old war between the Summerlings and Celia's home country. They are in a truce right now, but once Celia finds out the truth behind the truce, everything starts to unravel.

The characters are incredible engaging and easy to relate to. They are complex and come across as completely human; they make mistakes but not on purpose, and they are trying to fix things. This is the story of both a kingdom and a family in turmoil. Celia's family may be able to make everything right if they can pull together and beat the curse. I was really drawn in to the story and pulling for them the whole time.

This was so incredibly easy to read. Novik is an amazing writer and I always enjoy her books.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this. I always enjoy Novik's books, and this was no exception. It is tough to put a whole fantasy world, amazing characters, and an engaging story into such a small page space and have it work, but Novik did just that. I loved the world in an uneasy truce, the characters trying their best to be good but messing things up, and the way everyone pulls together to make things better. I read this in one sitting and couldn't put it down. I am excited to see what Novik writes next.

Absolutely stunning prose from Novik in here. The atmosphere felt so romantic. Celia's journey to get her brother back and his ability to love had lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed their character development and growth felt poignant at a point in the story and the romance was fantastic.

This book had beautiful, mystical writing and a detached sort of narrative voice that made it feel like reading a classic fairy tale. For a novella under 200 pages, the author was able to do a phenomenal job establishing the world, its politics, and its magic, while still keeping it interesting. This was a quick but really captivating novella.