Title: The Summer War
Author: Naomi Novik
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Length: 131 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library
Rating:

In this poignant, heartfelt novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Spinning Silver and the Scholomance Trilogy, a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.

Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother Argent left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would suddenly become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love.

While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution—until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, the immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors.

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.

In this fairy tale novella, a younger sister’s hurt feelings lead her to cast a terrible curse. At age twelve, Celia’s beloved oldest brother informs the family that’s he’s leaving for good. In her fury, she wishes upon him a life without love… and realizes too late that her sorceress powers have awakened, turning her childish wish into a spell with power.

As she grows up, Celia becomes a pawn in her father’s schemes within their kingdom, threatening the hard-won peace that ended the hundred-year Summer War between the mortals and the summerlings. When a betrayal leaves her in the hands of the kingdom’s enemy, the love between Celia and her brothers may be the only thing that can save her and her people.

The Summer War is at its best when we see the world around Celia, her experiences within her family, and the ways in which love and expectations can have lasting consequences. The writing can be truly lovely, casting a magical spell of sorts as we follow the story of revenge and magical consequences and betrayals.

I especially liked learning about the dynamics between Celia and her brothers, but felt less interested in the history of the Summer War. When the plot takes us into the Summer Lands, there’s an added edge of enchantment and danger, and the stakes become very high for Celia and everyone she cares about — and her actions can determine whether the peace between the kingdoms will be shattered once again.

The ending didn’t feel especially clear to me. The dramatic events are compelling, yet I didn’t quite see how the curse was broken, and we don’t really get to see Celia’s sorcery in action. The resolution seems muddled, but perhaps this is due to the novella length. The Summer War feels like a story that could have used a bit more breathing space. Maybe a fuller-length novel could have expanded the action and helped it make better sense. As a novella, it all seems a bit too condensed.

Overall, I enjoyed The Summer War and I’m glad I read it, even though I was left feeling like a bit more storytelling was needed to tie all the pieces together.

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