ARC Review: A Modern Fairytale

The Summer War by Naomi Novik

Publication Date: September 16, 2025

Summary from NetGalley:

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 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, 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.

ARC provided by Del Rey via Netgalley for an honest review.

Confession:

This wonderful new fairy tale about familial love and forgiveness was a delight to read and was just short enough to read in one sitting. It is always amazing to me how much an author can pack into a novella. Would I have loved it if it was a full length novel? Of course I would, but I also found it to be perfect at this length too.

Celia is the main narrator of this story and she is quite young when it starts, early teens, but she is such a smart young lady and she certainly grows into quite the young woman by the end. I really enjoyed her perspective of the story. I felt her pain when Argent leaves her, especially as there was no indication that he was planning to say goodbye. And what twelve year old doesn’t want to curse their older brother? She of course regrets it immediately, but there is nothing to be done as he has gone. But she is smart and starts to work on a plan to undo the curse. I also appreciated how she decides that she needs to have more care in her life and how she develops a relationship with the middle son, who has been mostly ignored by the family.

This is very much a story about familial love, forgiveness and empathy. There are knights and quests, betrayals, vengeance and of course magic. It is not specifically said that the Summer People are the Fae, but you very much understand that they are. I loved the description of the summerland and the war was outlined in much detail, without it being boring or an infodump. The war is centered around vengeance for a wrong that happened hundreds of years ago. Celia and her family are caught up in the consequences of this and a lot of responsibility is then put upon Celia to help right the wrong. The ending is quite intense at first but eventually becomes quite heartwarming with a lot of love and acceptance between all.

If you are a fan of this author, this is a must read. If you have yet to experience her stories there would be no better place than to start here. It is a delightful story full of heart and love.