The Summer War
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4.5 • 56 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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.
A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nebula Award winner Novik (the Scholomance series) continues her skillful exploration of different fantasy subgenres in this mesmerizing, border ballad–esque novella. The war between the kingdom of Prosper and the bordering Summer Lands, home of the immortal summerlings, began 100 years ago when summerling Princess Eislaing threw herself to her death on the day of her marriage to King Sherdan of Prosper. After the cunning Grand Duke Veris finally puts an end to the fighting, he schemes to become the power behind Prosper's throne through political marriages for at least two of his three children, but his eldest son, Argent, forsakes his family name to seek love in the Summer Lands. Twelve-year-old Celia, furious at what she considers her brother's abandonment, accidentally curses him when she comes into her powers as a witch. Then, at 16, her magic leads the new King of Prosper to marry her off to the King of the Summerlands, and Celia must rely on the brother she cursed as well as their middle brother, Roric, whom she and Argent both ignored, for any hope of escape. Novik's fans will be pleased by the canny twists and turns of the plot, as well as the sweet queer romance between Argent and the Summer Prince at its center. This surprisingly tender paean to love of all kinds is a treat.
Customer Reviews
The summer war
Not as good as her earlier work.