This is a sweet and light little novella; a bit different from Novik’s usual fare.

Celia lives in the land of Prosper with her father and two brothers.  Argent, the oldest, is the apple of everyone’s eye.  Roric is the younger and of no account to anyone.  Celia lives for her glamorous older brother and lived for the time he’d return from the Summer Games at the palace.  Unfortunately, little Celia was unaware of the bad relationship Argent had with their father; Argent was gay and their father was harshly critical.  The two had a falling out with Celia listening around the corner.  And when Argent stated his intention to leave again and never return, little twelve-year-old Celia took it rather personally.  Unfortunately for all concerned, Celia had just started her menses which also started her witchy powers, inherited from her mother.  So when she cursed her brother to never have love, it was a bit more than spite from a child; it was a real curse.

The kingdom had been at war for generations with the Summerlings; faeries who lived in Summerland.  Celia’s father had ended all that so Argent decided to go to Summerland to adventure.  Celia knew what she had done and tried desperately to find her brother so she could figure out how to fix it.  But none of the riders ever found him.  Meanwhile, she and her oft-neglected brother, Roric, find common cause and a new relationship.

Celia grows up and the Crown Prince himself asks for her hand since she is a confirmed sorceress.  This is what Celia expected; a fabulous marriage and potential to be Queen.  Unfortunately for her, this is not what Prince Gorthan had planned.  Unbeknownst to Celia or her father, the Summerlings had been stirring; their King still harbouring an unrequited thirst for vengeance.  And Celia was the prize for continued peace.

Living with the Summerling King who hated her (and was gay, as well) was going to be a long, loveless, and dreary life.  And what the King really wanted was for Celia to throw herself off the tower so he could finally have his revenge against her father.  But Celia just couldn’t give up; especially when she began to believe she might have a chance to find Argent.

Like I said: a sweet little tale. I wonder if Novik just had a little itch and a short story satisfied her.  It does not have the complexity or depth of her other work. The most interesting character, for this reader, was Roric.  He, at least, had some character growth; none of the other characters had much depth.  And the ending was pretty easy to predict.  It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great, either.  ~~  Catherine Book

For more titles by Naomi Novik click here