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The Summer War

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The Summer War

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Ella Lynch
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In this enchanting, poignant novella from the Sunday 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 discovers her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother Argent leaves home. Furious at being left behind, she lashes out, not realising her childish, angry words will 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. Yet she cannot find the solution – until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her people and the summerlings, the immortal beings holding a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbours.

With the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to undo her eldest brother’s curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War. But what price will she have to pay?

© Naomi Novik 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Dark Fantasy Epic Family Life Fantasy Genre Fiction War Magic Magic Users

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Naomi Novik is a firm favourite of mine. Her fairy tale style is once again employed with this short and sweet novella about family, desire, and the dangers of holding grudges. I will always be astounded by how much story Novik can tell with just a couple of paragraphs. The audiobook is voiced expertly by Lynch, who handles each character with style and effortless distinction. Her subtle, often breathy tones capture the sickly sweet sorrow of the story aptly. The characters are brought to believable and vibrant life, while the background narration is infused with emotion and passion. A rare perfect sybiosis of author and narrator.

Short and sweet

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a great short fantasy story felt like a classic fairytale but updated, the narrator was excellent and every character had a unique and different voice.

Another excellent fantasy short story

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Naomi Novik always delivers a good story and I devoured this one. The story starts off lacking likable characters but the heroine grows up a lot and I was rooting for her by the end of the book. The narration was spot on too.

My only complaint is that it was over so soon after the anticipation of a new Novik story. A nice fat tome next time, please!

No drippy heroines in sight

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