I went into The Summer War expecting a typical bite-sized fantasy novella, but what I got was more like… a slow, lyrical gut punch wrapped in fairy-tale language. Naomi Novik somehow manages to cram political conflict, sibling trauma, personal growth, and centuries of war history into under 150 pages—and weirdly, it works.

The story mostly follows Celia, who as a kid accidentally curses her older brother in a moment of anger. Classic younger sibling mistake... except when you’re a witch, it becomes a lifelong, soul-crushing prophecy. What starts as a small family rift spirals into something that feels way bigger, almost like a metaphor for generational wounds and inherited conflict.

I won’t lie: the pacing was slow, and there were moments where the language felt intentionally convoluted—lots of long, winding sentences and dialogue where people talk in riddles more than in plain speech. Definitely not a casual beach read. But at the same time, there’s something addictive about the way Novik writes tension between characters, especially when they’re all too stubborn to just say what they mean.

One thing I really liked: the story isn’t about romantic love. It’s about family loyalty, regret, and how far you’ll go to undo a mistake you made when you didn’t know any better. There’s still magic and battles and ancient grudges, but at its core, it’s just about a girl trying to fix what she broke.

Was it perfect? Not really. Some twists were easy to see coming, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re after fast action or swoony romance. But if you like quiet, slightly melancholic fantasy with layered world-building and complicated sibling dynamics, this will hit the right spot.

In short: Not my favorite Novik, but still beautifully written and emotionally sharp. More of a sit-with-it-and-think story than a page-turner.

The Summer War almost feels like a pitch for a longer novel, but still holds up incredibly well as a short novella. We get a slightly spoiled daughter of a duke who is used as a pawn in the ongoing attempts at peace bewteen fae-esque creatures (the Summerlings) and who accidentally curses her brother to never find love. The climax is a genuinely great blend of knightly battle and bardic showing off and rules lawyering in the best kind of way, and the end is genuinely sweet. Fantastic quick read over the space of a weekend, and a highly recommended read this fall.

I read this in an hour during my lunch break and I was obsessed the entire time. I absolutely devoured it. It's super super good, tight, contained, and packs a punch.

I think that Novik is a good story teller; above average when it comes to novels. For whatever reason her short stories and novella are not very good at all comparatively.

I don’t know why she is focusing her time and energy this way but it does her a disservice. Why spend your hours doing something you aren’t good at rather than the thing you are excellent at?

This is two works in a row that are a mess. More drafts than fleshed out. I will not waste anymore of my time with these shorter pieces. Hopefully her next work is better edited, doesn’t open up pages before the story actually begins and is longer so she can do what she does best.

Naomi Novik has written so brilliantly and with such depth for so few pages and it is just perfect. The characters arcs are truly unique and the world-building has Novik’s handprint all over.
And on top of that you get plot twists, actions, curses, oath, old stories.
I loved this standalone, and I loved the fact that I ended up liking characters that are usually unlikable in these types of tales.
If you like Naomi Novik, you will love this one!

Lovely novella with picturesque world-building and characters that I really cared for. If you enjoy Novik, then you'll like this.

Lovely novella that I truly wish could have been longer. Noviks writing is phenomenal and I enjoyed every second and was immersed deeply into the story.
Even with little time/pages each character is fleshed out and has enough personality and motivation to be relatable. Its a book about family, about curses, about war, about oaths and about love.
I want to go back to the beginning and read it again.

Thanks to netgalley and Del Rey Publishing for providing me with an ARC for this book

Naomi Novik has never disappointed me, and this book is one of my new favorites of hers. Great world building, fun and interesting story, and a compelling storyline. All while being short and easy to digest. I need more authors releasing novellas with fascinating stories. Great read, highly recommend.

I don't love novellas, but I do love Naomi Novik. Did this leave me wishing it was a full novel? Yes. Was I mad about it though? Not at all. What a great little escape into a new land of faery.

Summer War is Naomi Novik’s newest fairy tale, told in a novella of a curse and a quest. When her brother forsakes their family for hope of love, Celia uses her not-yet-known sorcery to curse him to a loveless adventuring life. While she bonds with her middle brother, they cannot track down their older brother who has gone into the summer lands. Celia’s sorcery makes her a prime candidate for wedding the prince and they are betrothed, but when she goes to him at the age of fifteen, she is tricked into marrying the Summer Prince instead who has been waiting to get revenge for his sister who was the victim of human pettiness. Luckily, Celia’s brothers come to the rescue and there is a happy ending all around.

Summer War is a lovely little novella with lessons of forgiveness and the fairy tale mood that Novik is well known for. The tale that started the Summer War is a bit complicated for a novella to do great justice to (especially with the further backstory explanation of Celia’s birth), and the Summer Prince’s repentance feels a bit false when it was cause just by a single tale and the near-death of a favorite knight, but all in all, Summer War was fun to read.

I appreciate the opportunity to review an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Summer War by Naomi Novik. I was provided a free review copy in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

I understand this to be a reimagining of a fairy tale, but I am not familiar with which fairy tale that might be. The Summer War follows the actions of a noble family, struggling in the midst of a protracted war with a fairy realm. The story is told from the perspective of the daughter, Celia. Celia, in a fit of anger with her elder brother, accidently curses him, as he takes his leave of his family over a dispute with their father. The book goes on to talk about how the family struggles in the aftermath of the cursing, while coping with conflict within the kingdom and with the fairy folk with whom they were at war.

The book, at just under 150 pages, reads more like a long story than a short book. Ms. Novik develops a wonderful cast of characters, for whom it is easy to feel empathy as the story develops. The book is an easy read to complete in a day, and is not overly complex, so it can easily be enjoyed by youth or those looking for a quick, indulgent book for a beach or flight read. Despite being a reworking of a fairy tale, the plot was not predictable, and I was surprised by the eventual outcome. While I am not particularly drawn to stories with an LGBTQ+ storyline or character, there are folks looking for stories inclusive of such themes. There is definitely an LGBTQ+ character present, in a very positive light, and the book directly faces the theme of overcoming both social and familial conflict over sexual preferences and how different social groups may differ in their level of acceptance of such preferences. I think Ms. Novik did an incredible job on crafting an enjoyable story that incorporates such themes, with characters set in such a positive light. A reader need not be a specific LGBTQ+ ally to enjoy the story, but for those seeking stories with such themes and how such individuals can overcome familial and societal bias over such issues, this book should be the top of the "To Be Read" pile.

I have been a long-time fan of Naomi Novik and this book did not disappoint, except that I finished it in a day. I guess I'll just have to reread it while I wait for her next book.

Young Celia, reeling from the revelation that she cares about her eldest brother far more than he cares for her, uncovers her magic by cursing him to become an incredible knight but never find a man who will love him. Working to fix this accident, Celia builds relationships with her other brother and works to deal with the political implications of her newly revealed power in a nation still recovering from annual battles with the summerlings.
A short but well-formed story of a teenager working with her resources to better the circumstances of her family and country, aware that her magic is finite, and that family is frail. Celia balances honour, responsibility, and devotion as she navigates unsettling situations in a high-stakes bildungsroman.
Enjoyable to read a very self-aware character who recognises and respects soft/social power and works to wield her own without it feeling forced. The descriptions really set the scene, and the characters' emotions were clear and respected even when not necessarily rational. This novella leans towards Novik's fairytale-esque stories, continuing the idea of a tradition as a starting point while developing beyond a simple retelling. Brief but memorable.

A short story that packs a lot of punch in the usual Novik style. Reading this made me very nostalgic for her long one chapter Witcher fics, as it packs in so many clever twist and turns in such a short amount of words. My only gripe is that it isn't longer! As usual her writing is beautiful, her characters instantly memorable and her world charmingly magical. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Naomi Novik does it again! I really enjoyed reading this novella. I loved the dynamic between Celia and her brothers and the emphasis on familial love. My only complaint is that I wished it was a little longer!

I love Naomi Novik's writing and she's at her best when working with fairy tales. This is an interesting tale of family and watching the 3 siblings interact was fun. I'd love to see more of this world!

The only thing wrong with this novella is that it is too short and I wanted more. Novik has a knack for building fantastic worlds and full-dimensional characters and The Summer War is no exception. The Summerlings, akin to the Faerie or the Fae in many ways, and the humans who live along side them have struggled through war with each other for decade and decades. The heroine of the story and her family must navigate hostile court life, war, family strife and curses. Relatable. Emotional and rich in imagery and atmosphere, I read it in one sitting. A full length novel set in this world would be fantastic.

Naomi Novik just doesn't miss. She weaves the threads of her plots together flawlessly, her prose is always lush and imaginative without being overbearing, and she knows how to set the stakes to keep the reader engaged, especially when she's using myths and folklore that, if not properly handled, can feel stale and boring.
I originally found her through the Deadly Education series and later read Spinning Silver, and those have remained in my Top 20 reads for years now. I was hesitant to begin The Summer War because so many of my favorite authors have been publishing flops lately - but The Summer War did not disappoint! This is only a novella, so it's very short compared to Novik's other works, but it is no less grand.

Naomi Novik blesses us once more with a skillfully written fairy tale. Brief and poetic, the Summer War is set in a fantasy world where men are at war with elves-like creatures, the summerlings, who live in an enchanted forest and cross the border to wage war against men - only in summertime. This conflict originates in an ancient act of diplomatic betrayal, whose details have long been lost to the memory of men, but not to that of their immortals enemies.
In this harsh world, Celia is a young lady of the realm of men and must learn to live with her magical abilities. One mishap in her learning process is her involuntary cursing of Argent, her adored brother, who she condemns to a life devoid of love, solely centered on victory and chivalric prowess. The heroine then has to grow in the company of her less adored middle brother, trying to undo her curse. While doing so, she will discover the truth behind the century old war ravaging her land, as well as the meaning of familial love.
Enchanting and refreshing, the Summer War gives a modern spin to an immemorial genre, playing cleverly with the traditional roles of princesses and heroes.

'The Summer War' was a delightful surprise. It felt almost like reading an original fairytale for adults. I love complicated sibling relationships and this story was brimming with those. Overall a beautiful novella, perfect length and great story, though the ending was a bit predictable. It was a fairytale though, so I can somewhat overlook that. 4,5/5

This is, in all honesty, probably the first book I have ever read where ‘fey’ is the main theme/a very prominent theme. I can’t really think of another time where fey have been a minor theme in a book I’ve read. They really aren’t something I gravitate to, mainly because I associate them with romance, which I am not, in truth, the hugest fan of as a genre rather than a subplot. But The Summer War has definitely changed my perspective, because I loved this story.

Now, at no point does Novik refer to the very obviously fey creatures as fey. They are called Summerlings, and they come out in Summer, to wage war on the humans of the south before autumn comes and then winter, when they must retreat to their lands. The Summer Lands. Now, like I said, I’m not an expert on fey, but I think this fits the bill, even if in a roundabout “he who shall not be named” sort of way.

We follow Celia, a lord’s daughter from near the border with the Summer Lands, who gets into a bit of an argument with her elder brother Argent, cursing him in the process with sorcery she did not know existed. Argent is leaving, off to find adventure and make his own life free from his father, but Celia cursed him to never find love no matter what he does, no matter how grand, no matter how storied. And now that Argent is gone, she becomes increasingly more important to her father, and is going to be married off to the Prince of the realm. But she needs to get Argent back first, and plots with her other brother Roric; the black sheep, the forgotten child.

What follows is an adventure through the realm and the Summer Lands full of fanciful stories, amusing summerlings, and the weaving of words and ensnaring traps. Because summerlings never break a promise. Never break a vow. And that is going to be the end of Celia and her little family.

I found the character work very charming, especially regarding Celia and Roric and the whimsy of the summerlings. Though I have not read any fey stories, the summerlings were essentially exactly what I expected them to be (probably from DnD), so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The plot itself was very interesting and well-paced considering this was a relatively short story (~150 pages) that flowed perfectly from beginning to end, and all of a sudden I’m done and wondering when I’m getting more.

Novik’s prose is, as I know from The Scholomance, a joy to read. As is her ability to make a setting sing. To make the world breathe as if it's been lived in for centuries or more, and we can imagine in exacting detail what the character’s are doing and where they are, as well as a hundred other things besides.

My only complaint is I wish this story was longer. I wish the resolution had more to it. More…oomph. I won’t spoil what happens, and while it is satisfying to an extent, it leaves a little bit to be desired for a few of the characters and their conflict resolutions. Everything else was wonderful, and made me want to go wander through a forest with a massive sword and a hundred or more riddles, all of which are stupid and tricks and meaningless at the same time. Except I can’t, so I’ll settle for reading and writing reviews instead.

If you like fey stories or ones that breath like a folktale, I bet this is right up your alley. The Summer War is a tale about family, love, and the trials we go through for them, and is absolutely delightful.