Review: The Summer War by Naomi Novik

The Summer War by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Del Rey Publishing and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was such a rich novella.  At only around 150 pages it packed a complete story.  This follows Cella, the youngest of 3 half siblings.  Being the youngest she has been sheltered from much of the world while her older brother Argent has been trained as a soldier.  Her middle brother Roric is tolerated, but mostly ignored, but when she accidentally curses Argent, she and Roric only have each other and they form an alliance.  Through this alliance they come to genuinely care for one another and come up with plans to break Argents curse.  Cella only found out about her magic when she cursed Argent in a fit of rage, and sorcery has been long dormant in their world.  Given that this is a novella, this isn't explained in great detail or how her magic suddenly came to be.  I would have liked more information about her magic and them magic in general, but the rest of the story is well developed so it gets a pass.

While Argent is off soldering and Cella and Roric are planning, the King, his sone, and the King of the Summerlands are also plotting.  The royals have long been fighting a ware between the humans and the fae, now that Cella has magic she is caught in the center of a new plot.  Unfortunately for the Kings, Cella is strong, smart, and doesn't do as expected.  This has the beautify writing I've come to love from Naomi Novik with a fairy tale atmosphere.  It has lessons to be learned and interesting character dynamics to move the plot forward.  If you are interested in trying Novik's work for the first time, this novella is a great place to start to see if you enjoy her work.

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