Novik has my number, this book, like her other recent works, hit just right. What is amazing is that this book was just as good as her others but she managed to do it in novella form. I do wish this was full length so we had more time with the characters. Love love love.

This was such a cute little read! I love Novik's fairytale world and while this was short, it was interesting and touching. I wish it were longer!

"The Summer War" felt like a bedtime story you snuggle up and read to your child. Despite the possibly too mature themes in the novella, it was a short story that ends with a happily ever after. Good defeats evil, magic is restored, girl becomes queen. I hope it doesn't sound like sarcasm when I say I really liked the way that this book made me feel, and knowing that it was Naomi Novik that wrote it makes it all the more fantastical.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for allowing me to read this cozy and mysterious short story before its publication, and thank you to Naomi Novik for writing it.

The Summer War was a lovely, whimsical tale of sibling love and camaraderie. It had the same Naomi Novik prose I know and love, with the style of a fairytale.

Celia, Roric, and Argent have such an interesting sibling dynamic, and seeing it change throughout the novella was delightful. What twelve-year-old doesn’t want to curse their sibling? Couldn’t be me 😂

As always, Naomi Novik writes books that delight! Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

More proof of how deserving Novik is of being one of my all-time favorite authors. This short story captures that perfect fairy-tale feeling, fast-paced and focused with an emotional payoff. It reads like Juliet Marillier, Robin McKinley, and Katherine Arden. Loved it!

'Celia took one step and then another back from the edge. She had promised to care, and she would keep her promise. She’d care about Roric, and she’d care about the people of Prosper, and she’d even care about the summerlings, and give them a chance to write new stories of their own.'

A beautiful premise of love, acceptance and care given and returned, The Summer War is the enchanting tale of Celia who wants nothing more than care returned when given, who curses her brother in hate to never have love when she sees he doesn't care for her, and does everything she can including ending a hopeless war to remove this curse.

The novella combines Naomi Novik's multi-dimensional characters always trying to act for the best, and layers of magic where stories, promises and honour have power with her compelling writing. The plot is faerie-tale paced, wherein decades of war and tactics are summarized in a few pages, but every emotion in the inevitable stand described in detail.

The characters and their choices form the core of the story, each tactical decision made by characters to change the way things had been for decades. Celia's character growth was steady, slowly working towards more care in her life, and the redemption arcs towards the end added depth to the story. I would have liked a bit more depth to the magic system and details of the Summer Lands, but the novella as it stands fits in the faerie tale genre.

A light read with a nice concept, the story has some Spinning Silver vibes with summer woods instead of winter snows and especially the weight given to intent and choices behind vows - recommended for Naomi Novik fans and anyone looking to try her writing with a relatively short read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House publishing group for providing an ARC, the review is entirely honest.

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2🌟
[One star for the premise; One star for the characters; 3/4 star for the plot and themes; 3/4 star for the world-building; One star for the writing - 4 1/2 stars in total.]

One of my very favorite things I read last month! I was wishing it was a full length novel because it was so gorgeous! But what Novik did in under 150 pages was remarkable. She built a really well fleshed out world and dropped us into a significant war and yet I felt like I had more than enough information to understand the situation and the stakes. I loved the way threads pulled together and the whimsical, fairy tale quality (happy ending included) of the whole story. Seriously, so good, some of Novik's best work! I want more in this world!

I just finished re-reading Uprooted and wanted to stay in the shimmering faerietale worlds Novik spins, a desire perfectly fulfilled by The Summer War. The only reason I've rated it less than 5 stars is that I want more than a novella from this world.

The Summer War is a short story, brief but lingering. It reads like a classic fairy tale passed down through generations, and feels both familiar and fresh.

The heart of this novella lies with three siblings, and the deep and tangled love between them. This isn’t a romance, though there is love, and this isn’t a quest, though there is sacrifice. It’s something a little… quieter and older? It’s a story of seasons and bargains, and what it means to hold someone’s fate in your hands.

I read it in 2 sittings, totally absorbed. The pacing is perfect, unhurried with just enough detail to root you into the world without weighing you down with worldbuilding. While I do think this could (and should!) be turned into a full novel, I also admire how fully realized it feels in its current form. There’s so much potential here for deeper worldbuilding, and more complex character story arcs. But I guess there’s also something satisfying about a story that knows its shape.

If I had one wish, it would simply be to wish for more. More time with the characters, more glimpses into the strange, summer world.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for something short, beautiful and a little bit haunting.

The Summer War by Naomi Novik is at its core a fairy tale about broken families learning to love, told in a novella format that moves quickly. I’ve been a huge Naomi Novik fan and have loved everything she’s written, so this is a rare miss for me. Part of it is that the protagonist, Celia, is rather unlikeable. I like her a little better as she grows, but the novella format doesn’t do her any favors. She needed a full-fledged novel to have a complete and satisfying character arc. The older brother that she loves is largely missing from the story and the younger brother barely figures into the plot. I didn’t mind the third act plot twist but the plot resolved largely off-page which sucked tension out of the tale. I wanted to love this, but I liked it enough to finish it. Recommended for those who love fairy tales.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

I loved reading The Summer War by Naomi Novik. Celia, the youngest of three children of the king, unintentionally curses her eldest brother—Argent, her favorite—to a loveless life as he leaves their home. She doesn’t hear from him again for years, only of him, and his tales of greatness in the neighboring fairy land. She takes over the household with her unappreciated middle brother, and they concoct a plan to reconnect with Argent. This plan goes awry in a terrible way that only Argent, it turns out, can help rectify.

The Summer War utterly charmed me, as Naomi Novik and fairy tales are wont to do. I loved Celia’s point of view—Novik completely nails the misery and resolve of being a teen girl shouldering an absurd amount of responsibility. The narration captured me the most: it read so much like a classic fairy tale. Further to the point, the plotting is so tight—each story element returns to contribute to the plot or its resolution. There are no dropped threads, no abandoned players. It’s the shortest of Novik’s works that I’ve read, and in my view she uses it to show off her skill in plotting and pacing. I adored reading The Summer War—I’m already considering a reread. I’d recommend this to readers of T. Kingfisher’s retold fairy tales or fans of Amal E-Mohtar’s The River Has Roots, as well as anyone who’s already enjoyed Novik’s works, particularly those who appreciate the Scholomance trilogy for El’s angst and grit. Thank you to Del Rey and NetGally for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fairy-tale like fantasy novella from a master of the art.
Novak has the skill of being able to weave beautiful stories from politically strong messages, and once again she didn't disappoint. You get gripped right into the story, despite its light fable tone, it knows just what to do to hook you in. And the darker suggestions linger, swirlling around just enough to keep you worried for those characters you really want to love. While nothing truly surprises you as a reader (especially if you read a lot) this story just plays the harp with your heart strings and you totally want to be strung along.
Maybe that will reflect more on me than the story, but as I read, the same lyrics came swirling around my head: "Why do they always send the poor"? Oh yes, war very much is an ugly thing, and there is nothing more ugly than the ones in their golden towers who profit from it.

Celia and her brother Argent have always been close. They love each other more than anyone else in the world. Or so she thought.
Argent decides to leave and Celia realizes that he never loved her. She says terrible things to him as he's leaving.

She doesn't know she's a sorceress, or that she came into her powers at the same moment she said those terrible things.

When her father explains that she is a sorceress, she realizes that while saying those hateful things to her brother, she was in fact cursing him.

I'm not usually a big novella fan, but I love this author so I had to give it a go.
I really enjoyed it! As usual, the writing was great. The characters were great, and the love story as well.

Three siblings – a heroic knight cursed to never find love, a young witch who did the cursing, and the forgotten and unloved middle child – must untangle interwoven layers of fae promises, centuries of war, and the dark history that lies between the fae and humankind.
Celia came into her power as a witch at the moment that her brother turned his back on his family. In her heartbreak, she curses him – not realizing that she is magic, and her words have power. Stuck in her father’s dukedom with her other brother, watching as her father comes undone under the weight of his own misery and regret, she dreams of the day that she can undo the damage she has wrought. This family tragedy plays out against the backdrop of a war. Every summer, the fae attack humankind for a centuries-old slight that ended in the death of their own princess; every fall, the cold beats them back into the fae lands for another winter of respite.
Celia is sold to the fae in exchange for peace. The fae prince demands that she replays the same tragedy that started this fight – to be spurned at her wedding feast and throw herself out of the tower. Instead, he is met at first with Celia’s fierce resistance and then by her own knight in shining armor. Her cursed brother, who had made a name for himself roaming the fae lands, comes to defend her life. Her middle brother sneaks in as a wandering minstrel and proves his own cunning. As the fae king makes promise after promise, it seems more and more impossible that Celia will walk away alive. But cleverness, bravery, and familial love may yet see this fairytale through to its own happily ever after.
Novellas are a true test of an author’s talent. The format requires both expansive worldbuilding and concise language. Novik proves that she can pack as much heart, magic, and self-discovery into a novella as her full-length novels. The Summer War is as weighty as it is lighthearted; it is imaginative and fresh, both playing into well-loved fairytale tropes (precisely-worded fae deals and all) and subverting them (the princess does not save herself in this one, but she still retains her own agency and spirit). Novik appeals to all of her readers – both the Temeraire-style-high-fantasy-lovers and those that enjoy the high-spirited female protagonists of Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and the Scholomance Trilogy. This story will also appeal to those who enjoy modern fairytale retellings, as this carries the same flavor of classic-with-a-twist.

Not realizing she possesses magic, Celia inadvertently curses her beloved older brother to a life of loveless wandering on the day he leaves home to seek his fortune. Heartbroken, she struggles to master her magic in the hope that there might be some way to reverse her curse. But before she can she finds herself caught up in her country’s ling simmering war with the Summerlings. Novak masterfully blends traditional fairytale structure and atmosphere with some slyly provocative contemporary perspective. This one is a little gem.

Following Celia, the youngest of three siblings, who curses her eldest brother to live a life without love. With the help of her other brother Celia will try to undo the curse and hopefully heal the lands destroyed by the Summer War.

This was a fun time with some very plot relevant queer rep that I haven’t seen many people mentioning. You can kind of guess where it’s headed as it does have the classic fairy tale feel to it but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment.

This works great as a novella in my opinion, I could easily spend more time with these characters but it doesn’t feel like their story is lacking or incomplete.

Thank you Del Ray and NetGalley for the ARC

The ballad and fae-inspired original story is on trend right now, but Naomi Novik's manages to feel both inevitable and original. So much of a book this short depends on its atmosphere. This is perfectly strange and harsh. A heartless world where people learn to trust their hearts. Novik perfectly threaded between a classic feel and modern nuance to the characters. The pain the felt and the choices that they made because of it felt honest.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good novella! There was enough character development and storyline to hold my interest and was a quick and easy read. I would have definitely read this if it was a full novel. I was hoping for a little more magic from Celia but felt a little like Rapunzel but there was no prince rescuing her.

Celia discovered her talent for magic when her brother, Argent leaves home and she is so furious with him that she lashes out and accidently places a curse on him to live a life without finding love. Argent has now gone to seek fame and glory in place of love while Celia tries to undo the curse she placed.

Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother's curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War.

Beautifully written novella with a fairytale feel that captures your heart and will have you thinking about the story long after you're done.

Rating- 4 stars
(E-ARC)
Many thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray Team for letting me have a E-ARC of this book.
What a lovely novella. I really enjoyed this standalone that was based around Celia who realises that she has magic the day her oldest brother leaves home. It led to a prochey- a outburst at the outrage that her brother is leaving which led her brother to a life without love. While her brother travels the world and only seeks to find fame and glory instead of the love that he desperately should have , Celia sets out to find a end to the curse. But before she can reverse the curse, she has to learn centuries of history between her people and the summerlings. Can Celia reverse the curse? Or will it be too late.

The world building was exquisite throughout. It was whimsical and was such a great fairy tale. I did get Holly Black vibes throughout too. I could have happily sat and read so much. It could have been so much longer than a novella. If you are looking for something short to add to your reading list for September this would be perfect.