A woman blessed, or cursed, with a talent for witchcraft returns to Castle Auburn where she spent her childhood in joy-only to find an aura of dread awaiting her.
One of my all time favorite books. A couple of things happen at the end that I did not see coming.
Author
plm
3 years ago
Sharon Shinn is a very thoughtful writer of fantasy and science fiction. Summers at Castle Auburn, set in a fairy tale world of princes, princesses, and fairy-like people. tells the story of Coriel who grows from girl to young woman during the book. I found Coriel very relatable, not being a character who is too perfect or too badass or too all-knowing. She can be stubborn and make mistakes but also has a good heart. What I also like about the book is the way Coriel’s perception of the people and events in her world change as time passes. This makes her growth from passive outsider to hero very believable. The book has mild violence and romance (that is, romance without sex scenes). This book could be enjoyed by teens as well as adults
Author
jrr1
3 years ago
An enjoyable tail to relax to
Author
elysbeths
3 years ago
Sharon Shinn is an awesome writer!
Author
tlb9012
3 years ago
I enjoyed this book. There were many characters that were interesting, and the situations were less predictable than many fantasy books. I really rooted for the main character and I look forward to the next book.
Author
wyndwhyspyr
3 years ago
Absolutely LOVED it. It’s one of those stories that will stick with you for a while.
Author
debpeterson33
3 years ago
Very well written and enjoyable.
Author
frostandut
3 years ago
Like most Sharon Shinn books, this makes you feel. Also makes you think about what is right and moral in a world where everything is messy like reality, but with magic. A coming of age story for anyone, but especially imaginative bookish girls/women.
Author
charlotteeenglish
3 years ago
Solid sister relationships, dreamy fae, a charmingly undramatic romance and about four happily-ever-afters. I adored this.
Author
mcahogarth
3 years ago
I bought this book when it was new in 2001, and I have never sold it away. I love it for many reasons, but I read it over and over again for the relationship between the sisters Corie and Elisandra. It’s so rare to find books that focus on healthy relationships between family members. The two sisters could not be more different from one another, but the love they share for one another forms the core of the book. Their relationship never founders; the author never decides that it would be more realistic, ironic or artsy to have that love sour or be shown to be useless or untrue. Elisandra loves her half-sister at story’s beginning, and at story’s end she and Corie still love one another, and that is a rare and precious thing.
The author describes the villain clearly without becoming lurid or feel voyeuristic; he is cruel and erratic, but we never linger in that knowledge. I also love that the villain never changes throughout the entire book, but how we see him does as our narrator grows wiser and sees more clearly. And I love how the villain’s fate is handled, and what that resolution acknowledges about human nature when faced with evil and pushed to its limit.
I find it amazing that such a gentle story can also be so matter-of-fact. I like that love lives at its core, and for once not a romantic love (though there is romance embroidering its edges). This is coming-of-age mixed with fairy tale fantasy, and I cherish it for being gentle even as it looks fully—calmly, even—into the face of cruelty and evil.
One of my go-to re-reads when I need to be reassured about the world. <3
Author
srodriguez
3 years ago
This fairy tale was original. It had an unpredictable ending.
By sharonshinn
One of my all time favorite books. A couple of things happen at the end that I did not see coming.
Sharon Shinn is a very thoughtful writer of fantasy and science fiction. Summers at Castle Auburn, set in a fairy tale world of princes, princesses, and fairy-like people. tells the story of Coriel who grows from girl to young woman during the book. I found Coriel very relatable, not being a character who is too perfect or too badass or too all-knowing. She can be stubborn and make mistakes but also has a good heart. What I also like about the book is the way Coriel’s perception of the people and events in her world change as time passes. This makes her growth from passive outsider to hero very believable. The book has mild violence and romance (that is, romance without sex scenes). This book could be enjoyed by teens as well as adults
An enjoyable tail to relax to
Sharon Shinn is an awesome writer!
I enjoyed this book. There were many characters that were interesting, and the situations were less predictable than many fantasy books. I really rooted for the main character and I look forward to the next book.
Absolutely LOVED it. It’s one of those stories that will stick with you for a while.
Very well written and enjoyable.
Like most Sharon Shinn books, this makes you feel. Also makes you think about what is right and moral in a world where everything is messy like reality, but with magic. A coming of age story for anyone, but especially imaginative bookish girls/women.
Solid sister relationships, dreamy fae, a charmingly undramatic romance and about four happily-ever-afters. I adored this.
I bought this book when it was new in 2001, and I have never sold it away. I love it for many reasons, but I read it over and over again for the relationship between the sisters Corie and Elisandra. It’s so rare to find books that focus on healthy relationships between family members. The two sisters could not be more different from one another, but the love they share for one another forms the core of the book. Their relationship never founders; the author never decides that it would be more realistic, ironic or artsy to have that love sour or be shown to be useless or untrue. Elisandra loves her half-sister at story’s beginning, and at story’s end she and Corie still love one another, and that is a rare and precious thing.
The author describes the villain clearly without becoming lurid or feel voyeuristic; he is cruel and erratic, but we never linger in that knowledge. I also love that the villain never changes throughout the entire book, but how we see him does as our narrator grows wiser and sees more clearly. And I love how the villain’s fate is handled, and what that resolution acknowledges about human nature when faced with evil and pushed to its limit.
I find it amazing that such a gentle story can also be so matter-of-fact. I like that love lives at its core, and for once not a romantic love (though there is romance embroidering its edges). This is coming-of-age mixed with fairy tale fantasy, and I cherish it for being gentle even as it looks fully—calmly, even—into the face of cruelty and evil.
One of my go-to re-reads when I need to be reassured about the world. <3
This fairy tale was original. It had an unpredictable ending.