Customer Reviews

Summers at Castle Auburn

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An adult fairy-tale is hard to come by, but Sharon Shinn manages a beautiful one in rare style. It's hard to find the collection of magic, castles, princes and princesses, alongside a hard-hitting plot and strong characters; however, this book fulfils them.

Coriel is the ... daughter of a nobleman and a wise woman (who seduced him with magic) who spends nine months out of every year with her healer grandmother, learning how to be a wise woman as well. But every summer she travels to beautiful Castle Auburn, to be with her uncle Jaxom and lovely half-sister Elisandra. She rapidly falls in crush with the handsome Prince Bryan, unable to yet see what a self-absorbed bratling he is.

A few years pass, and as Cory ages and matures, she sees that all is not sweet and peaceful at Castle Auburn. The elven aliora (who are sweet, gentle, kind, etc) are enslaved by the noblemen as servants, tied to the human world rather than their unspeakably beautiful otherworld. And Bryan is not the wonderful prince she was infatuated with — he is cruel, irresponsible, narcissistic, arrogant, and sires at least one illegitimate baby over the course of the book.

Surrounding Bryan are more mature noblemen who don't want to be ruled by a brat prince, but are not ready to do anything. Jaxom takes sudden and unexpected actions. Elisandra must choose between happiness and duty, and Cory must consult her heart and morals after Bryan takes horrifying action against an aliora servant. Love, death, treachery and political intrigue lace the beautiful prose and entrancing background of "Castle Auburn."

I liked Coriel. Rarely do books have genuinely human heroines, and her overwrought teen thoughts (such as her melodramatic statement when Bryan kisses her forehead) are in tune with infatuation. However, I felt her awakening to the aliora's plight was a bit too quick, and her siding with them a bit too complete (her willingness to see Jaxom as a monster, etc). I wish Jaxom had been a bit more explored, given the mysterious actions going on. Elisandra's rigid road of duty -- and the results -- were pretty emotionally jerky but made sense later on.

Though billed as an adult fantasy, this is perfectly all right to let a teen read. There is some tasteful discussion of sex (in terms of illegitimate offspring and a wedding), not much violence, and no profanity worse than "damn." There is some talk of suicide/murder and moral debates on enslavement, however.

Nevertheless, flaws or not, this book has a magical atmosphere that is worthy of an aliora.

A beautiful story with a fairy tale feel and a bit of romance, this has become one of my favorite books. This tale tells the story of a young woman, Coriel, the bastard child of a now dead nobleman, who is torn between the world of riches and power in the Regent's court and a simple life as the trainee of her grandmother, a small village healer. Every summer she lives as a noble at Castle Auburn with her beautiful and loving half sister, Elisandra, who is affianced to Prince Bryan, the most adored young men in the Kingdom. Bryan, the young orphan prince, is just getting his first tastes of power, and likes it very much.

The story opens with most of the main characters embarking on a hunt for Aliora, a kind of very gentle and kind fairy folk who are used as slaves by the nobles. Coriel is a young 14-year old tomboy suffering from her first hopeless crush--on Bryan, the reckless and dashing young prince. The Prince's cousin, slim and serious Kent, keeps a watchful eye on Corie, and tries to curb his cousin's recklessness. Corie's Uncle Jaxon, the greatest Aliora hunter in the kingdom, herds the youngsters along, and Roderick, a young, handsome guardsman provides security. Only beautiful Elisandra is kept at home by her mother Greta, in order to avoid scandal.

The story follows these innocent children as they change and grow into adults. Some learn wisdom, some fall in love, one learns evil, and one will die, before the tale is told. And we see all this through Corie's eyes, overshadowed by her innocence until the blinders are removed and she finally grows up and sees the reality of life in Castle Auburn.

Shinn moves no mountains with this tale; don't expect an exotically original setting, as her science fiction novels tend toward, or even especially nontraditional characters. Coriel, the protagonist, is the illegitimate child of a nobleman, and consequently is always seeking a firm foothold in both the court (where she spends her summers) and her village. Shinn no doubt knows that the latter would hold little interest--even though it is there that Coriel has an active role as healer and herbalist--and the story concentrates on Coriel's life with the nobility.

She begins as a girl on a hunt for fey-like creatures: aliora, who are utterly benign even when captured and forced to serve humans. Although the tragedy of their slavery is addressed, it is the men with whom she rides that _Summers at Castle Auburn_ is truly about. She adores Prince Bryan, although he is betrothed to her beloved half-sister, but comes to realize ugly truths about him later on. But her relationships with Kent, the son of the regent, and Roderick, a guardsman, only grow with time.

The story moves fairly predictably toward a satisfactory but uninspiring happy ending. At heart, this book is a court romance, and those who need something more, like the mystery in _Wrapt in Crystal_ or the world-shaking tensions of the Samaria trilogy probably shouldn't seek this one out. It is, however, more complex than _The Shape-changer's Wife_.

Shinn captures the voice of Coriel both as a girl and a woman with her usual deft writing, which is this book's strongest recommendation. I did enjoy reading the rich prose, but those expecting the depth of her other books may be somewhat disappointed. Pick it up in a serene mood, and you'll end in the same.

I'm a glutton for a good romance, not the ones that are basically the pornographic literature that are in essence "smutty" books, but the ones that talk about the everlasting, non-lusty types that I've read from Carla Kelly, Elisabeth Fairchild, Nancy Butler and many others. These authors I've listed are not fantasy authors, but regency romance writers that I love. In my plight to find good romance mingled with great imagination in fantasy tales, I see that it must be a feat to accomplish.

In Summers at Castle Auburn, I wanted there to be one of those fantastical love stories but I didn't quite get it. The story was written wonderfully and Coriel was a great person to hear from for all of the happenings of Castle Auburn. The intrigue and mystery that surrounded everyone involved in this story imposed on the love story that I couldn't see developing, which I think gave the story lesser demensions than it deserved.

But in thinking over the book and all that was encompassed in making this tale, I decided that despite what I selfishly wanted from it, the author knew what she was doing and she did a great job of taking on the persona of a youthful young woman and made this story shine. Besides, even though I didn't think there was enough romance to make me convenced of who was happy with who, some other reader may think it perfect and jusifiable. In essence, I loved this story and it was great to read. And unlike some other reviewer who somehow thought this book smutty, they ought to go back to a dictionary because there wasn't a thing that was smutty in this story. True, there's references to sex and illigetimate babies but not in a coarse way.

Anyone who reads Shinn will likely want this in their collection. As for me, it was my first, not my last. The next book of Shinn's that I hope to read is The Shape-Changer's Wife. I'll review that at a later date and see how it stands up to Summers at Castle Auburn.

My other recommendations are - as always - Sherryl Jordan, Susan Carroll (who blends romance and fantasy effortlessly though I'll admit there's smutty moments...) and Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn for any fanciful young reader who hasn't experienced his realm of imagery before.

Summers at Castle Auburn is a book that one can read over a number of times before catching all the hints in the story line. After reading many of her other books, I found this one refreshing and sly. I guarantee a good read and the inevitable second, or third read as well.

I wouldn't really classify this book as fantasy or romance. The fantasy world is your typical medieval setting with a slight twist (the aliora) and the romance is a bit perfunctory (the author makes it unclear which man the main character is really interested in until near the fairy-tale ending). However, it is a very nice story of a young woman growing up and realizing the world is much more complicated than she realized. She goes from being a rebellious teenager who enjoys being the wild child to a woman who begins to understand the complicated lives and motives of the people around her, and sees her own responsibilities as well as those of others. Not a "Great Novel", but I liked it a lot.

This book reminded me of Jane Austen's heroines, and Lothlorian elves. The uncertainty of romantic feelings brought back memories of "I Capture the Castle," and there is a sense of a disillusioned Cinderella too. As the first book I have read by Sharon Shinn, I am anxious to read more of her work. SO... the tale covers about 5 years of Coriel's life, between summers spent at the royal castle, and the rest of the year in a small village as an apprentice wise woman and healer. Coriel finds she is growing increasingly uncomfortable with both venues as she approaches womanhood. Her enjoyment of castle life dims as she realizes that the fairy tale marriage of her beloved half-sister to the prince is a loveless match. The prince that she has always adored displays increasingly rash behavior that alienates the nobility and threatens to set in motion the dissolution of the kingdom into rival territories.
As the illegitimate daughter of a high ranking nobleman, Coriel always felt insulated from royal intrigues, but as the coronation approaches, she too becomes a pawn in the game to shore up the kingdom. I won't tell you where the elves fit in; you'll have to crack the cover yourself to figure that out. This is a delightful book, with tangible characters and complex loyalties. Highly recommended.

Shinn wonderfully combines an almost-romance with a number of complicated sub-plots in this book. It starts out with Corie, the illegitimate daughter of a noble, visitng Castle Auburn, home of her sister Elisandra. Corie, along with nearly all the girls in the kindgdom, is infatuated with her sister's betrothed, Prince Bryan...who is in reality an obnoxious, self-centered, spoiled teenager who cares little for others and for the world around him. It's frustrating, yet so realistic, how Corie can't seem to see the his bad qualities through the gleam of his splendour. As Corie grows, her eyes are "opened" to both Bryan's personality, as well as numerous plots being made within the castle walls. Corie finds herself struggling with her two identities - a noble lady of good lineage, despite her illegitimacy, and the apprentice to the wise woman of a small town. Corie's ways with herbs and medicines help her not only aid others, but also give her the opportunities make new friends, no matter how unlikely they seem. For the first time, Corie begins to doubt others and their actions. A constant argument she has within herself concerns the enslavement of the aliora; fey, man-like creatures who live in their own magical land but have been captured and sold for high prices. They are always wanted due to their magic and ability to send a feeling of calm to almost anyone.
Corie, however, does not appear to be the usual female heroin...you know, the one who learns how to fight and stands up for herseslf and proves to the world that she is equal to any man. No, instead, Corie is the type of heroin who influences others, whether its through her friendship, advice, or actions. While she does do things her own way and cares little for what others, especially nobles, think, she does not go out of her way to prove herself equal, which is a reliefe from the normal fantasy books of this sort.
This is an amazing fantasy book. The story is so enveloping, and the ending so satisfying, the second you finish reading it, you feel the urge to pick it up and start from the beginning again. The more times you read it, the more you begin to see all the different subtle hints that lead to the conclusion at the end. You will never get bored of it.

Summers at Castle Auburn begins as the story of the boisterous half-noble Coriel who splits her time between her grandmother, a wise woman, and her adoring & adorable half-sister Elisadora at Auburn. As the title implies, very little attention is given to the winters she spends with her grandmother. The story doesn't lack for that, however; indeed, the characters and developing tension at Castle Auburn are riveting.

The characters are well-drawn, though some don't become three-dimensional until the second of the three parts of the book--and some characters remain more two-dimensional than I would have liked. Angela is someone who becomes more developed as time goes on; Greta, however, doesn't get much development, and is seen as a mean-hearted, though not truly evil, woman.

The growing love relationships are nicely done, as well. From having a childish crush on the petty Bryan, Corie develops friendships with guardsman Roderick and Bryan's cousin Kent, both of whom are interesting young men. Elisadora's impending marriage to Bryan is a growing shadow, and the moral dilemma of slavery rears its ugly head as Corie grows older and gains more insight into the realities of her divided world. Particularly interesting is the subplot involving Corie's uncle, and her changing feelings for him as she finally realizes that we can and must love people in spite of their flaws.

The pacing of the story is good, though at times Corie's slowness to understand things can be frustrating to the reader (I realized by the middle of book two where the love relationships were going, but it took Corie until the last few pages, of course!) The means Shinn took to her ending was an unexpected and interesting twist.

I read this in one sitting, and enjoyed it immensely. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good love/coming of age story.

I devoured this book! The main character, is a girl named Coriel(Corie to her friends and relatives). She is a daughter of a Lord of Halsing,and a witch mother who be spelled the Lord into the coupling. Corie is quite the tomboy, a strong girl who says what she means. She is a sweet, loving, and generous girl and is an excellent example of what a witch should be! But the flaws in her character very much annoyed me. Corie is crushing on prince-to-be Brain, who is obviously a pompous little twerp (and becomes even more dramatically evil as the plot thickens), and is incredibly naive. But, I have to say, it did help to bring suspense to the story.
The story is made even more wonderful by the world that you are introduced to. Its a magical place, with a magical race of people that are very intriguing.
I believe this would be a prefect young adult book. It has wonderful undertones that teach about the horrors of slavery (without being overly gruesome). In some terms it is a romance, but not a sexual kind. It does have some sexual overtones at points, but they are talked about in a tasteful way.