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Summers at Castle Auburn

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 4,680 ratings · 361 reviews

As a child, Coriel Halsing spent many glorious summers at Castle Auburn with her half-sister-and fell in love with a handsome prince who could never be hers. But now that she is a young woman, she begins to see the dark side of this magical place...

Paperback, 352 pages

Published April 30th 2002 by Ace (first published April 1st 2001)

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Mar 02, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

As the base-born daughter of a nobleman, Corie, who is fourteen at this book's opening, spends her winters in her grandmother's village learning herb-lore, and her summers at Castle Auburn, where she enjoys a close relationship with her noble half-sister who has been betrothed to the crown prince since birth. Corie has a severe crush on the prince who oh so unfortunately happens to be a selfish cad. As the story unfolds, her eyes are opened not only to his real nature, but to the plans being mad...more

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Apr 28, 2008 piraterie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2008, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is one of those books that makes me wish you could give half stars. I put four, but three and a half is what I would give if I could.

It's not that it's not a totally enjoyable read, because it is. I love Sharon Shinn, and this book is no exception. But it is very predictable (but sort of in a comfortingly familiar way, although I hadn't read it before). And while I like Corie very much at times, at other times she really doesn't click with me. I think less of her for ever thinking well of B...more This is one of those books that makes me wish you could give half stars. I put four, but three and a half is what I would give if I could.

It's not that it's not a totally enjoyable read, because it is. I love Sharon Shinn, and this book is no exception. But it is very predictable (but sort of in a comfortingly familiar way, although I hadn't read it before). And while I like Corie very much at times, at other times she really doesn't click with me. I think less of her for ever thinking well of Bryan; this might be more a problem with how he is written because he's just so obviously horrible from the very first time we meet him, and I don't feel like any amount of hotness would completely blind someone to his many faults, even if she is just 14.

Actually, now that I think of it, Corie's blindness to various things is exactly what annoys me about her. Her blindness to Bryan's faults, her blindness to Kent being in love with her (and being willfully blind here with all the convincing herself he's in love with Elisandra when it's so so obvious that he's not), her blindness - before anyone states a different opinion - to the plight of the aliora. The last annoys me more because, while I can understand her taking them for granted at the beginning and certainly agree with her freeing them at the end, I would have liked to see her change her opinion about them on her own instead of only coming to realize that their slavery was wrong after she found out other people believed that. It just feels like a lot of the time she comes to her opinions based on other people's opinions, and she would be a stronger character if they were based on her experiences. If that makes sense.

I did really love Elisandra though and the delicious moral ambiguity of her actions. Because, dude, I absolutely can't fault her for doing what she could to take care of the problem of Bryan being her husband and being king. On the other hand, she freaking murdered him and - not only that - could have potentially killed a bunch of other people, had the plan gone awry. LOVE IT.(less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Steph Su rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Steph Su by: Rachel Piper

Shelves: best-of-12, comfort-read, favorites, swoonworthy-love-interest

There’s a special shelf in my mental/virtual bookcase. Until now, only Crown Duel resided there, a little proud in being the only one to make it onto that shelf but getting kind of lonely.

AND THEN! ANOTHER BOOK TEARS THROUGH THE LONELINESS AND SPREADS ITS SUNSHINE ON THE SHELF/MY LIFE! It’s SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN! It, too, contains that rare phenomenon where the characters and the romance make me squeak with glee while not skimping on the fantasy world-building!

HURRAH!

I did think about writing...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Amanda Rudd rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have read this book at least ten times now. It's one of several books I read in between heavier things, or when I'm in a bad mood and need something fun and/or romantic to help pick me up again. It is part coming-of-age story, part fantasy, part politic intrigue, and part romance.

The first person narration is spot-on in terms of tone, focus, and pacing. The main character, Coriel, begins as a naive 14 year old girl and ends the story as a brave and intelligent 18 year old woman. Though the rom...more

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Jun 28, 2008 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sff-fantasy

Corie is the illegitimate daughter of a now deceased noble lord. Through an arrangement made while she was young, Corie spends her summers at Castle Auburn, home of her father. She has a great relationship with her legitimate half-sister Elisandra and a not-so-great one with her father's widow. The rest of the time she spends with her maternal grandmother, a wise woman of peasant stock who knows herbal lore and healing.

Although she is used to spending time with nobles, including the young Prince...more Corie is the illegitimate daughter of a now deceased noble lord. Through an arrangement made while she was young, Corie spends her summers at Castle Auburn, home of her father. She has a great relationship with her legitimate half-sister Elisandra and a not-so-great one with her father's widow. The rest of the time she spends with her maternal grandmother, a wise woman of peasant stock who knows herbal lore and healing.

Although she is used to spending time with nobles, including the young Prince Bryan (a vain young man on whom Corie has a violent crush), the regent's son Kent and even her own sister who is to marry Bryan and become a queen, Corie understands that she is not really of that world. She enjoys her summers but her eventual plans are to become a wise woman in her village, like her grandmother.

But events overtake young Cory. As she grows older she begins to understand a bit more of the world around her. The Regent has plans for her. Although she is illegitimate, she is still of noble lineage and is therefore a valuable commodity on the marriage market. Cory's teenage hero-worship of Bryan also undergoes a change a she is finally made aware of his true nature. Her sister is also aware of Bryan's true nature but is determined to do her family duty and marry him anyway. And then there are the Aliora. Faerie like creatures who are hunted and captured to serve as slaves for the nobility. As a youngster Corie simply understood they were a part of her life but as an adult her eyes are opened to their unhappiness in captivity.

This book almost reads like two books in one. There is the first half of the book that feels like a YA novel. Corie is young girl, off with her uncle to hunt Aliora. She is guiless and has the inner dialogue of a giddy teenager girl who has no sense of higher things around her. I was a bit disturbed. I don't normally read YA books and didn't really want to listen to Corie swoon for chapters on end for a young man who was clearly an ass-hat.

Thankfully, Shinn keeps the story moving along briskly and in no time, Corie has grown up and has also mentally matured. The second half of the book is much, much stronger. It becomes a story of court intrigue, betrayal, and murder. And the Aliora subplot takes a dramatic turn.

There is a strong romance element in this book as I have found with many of Shinn's books. It is obvious that Corie will end up with a love interest, however it isn't obvious who that will be until much later in the book. However, the most intriguing part of the book is the interplay between her uncle Jaxom and the Aliora queen. The relatively smallish passages that deal with Jaxom and his very interesting relationship with Queen Rowena tend to hijack the book a bit for me. In a good way. Honestly, I wish more time was spent on Jaxom and Rowena.

Not the best Shinn work, IMO, but still compulsively readable.(less)

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Apr 18, 2009 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-first-in-09

I actually really enjoyed this book. It's more of a 3.7 star book, but I don't round up, I guess.
Although I hate that she's lovesick with a completely arrogant fool at first, I ended up liking it a lot.
Her sister completely surprised me at the end, but I liked the twist anyway.

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Nov 23, 2008 Jenni rated it 4 of 5 stars

As an illegitimate daughter of a noble, Coriel (Corie) grows up spending just her summers at the Castle Auburn and the rest of the year living as a peasant. This book covers only her summers over the course of her coming of age. She starts out very young and naive. She is infatuated with an arrogant and narcissistic young prince and totally oblivious to the slavery of the Aloria that is happening right under her nose. Corie shares friendships with her half sister Elisandra and the prince's cousi...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Meghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Don't read the back of the book and expect it to tell you anything useful (or truthful) about the story. "And at the castle where she once lived in peace, she now walks in fear for her life". Lies.

More of a political story, about the coming-of-age of a bastard girl living at Castle Auburn. Not my usual cup of tea, but I enjoyed it enough to put off everything else that needed to get done so I could finish it. Normally I like lots of action in my stories. There was just enough it this story to ti...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: girls-who-do-things, good-uns, ya

Originally reviewed here.

I discovered Sharon Shinn through the fabulous Archangel--the first book in her Samaria series. I was instantly smitten and plowed my way through that series quick like a bunny. I'm pretty sure I picked up SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN while waiting for the fifth Samaria book to come out. I knew it was YA and much more traditional fantasy (also no sci fi), but honestly I was just sort of making time, if you will. I wasn't expecting that much. You know how you find a new autho...more Originally reviewed here.

I discovered Sharon Shinn through the fabulous Archangel--the first book in her Samaria series. I was instantly smitten and plowed my way through that series quick like a bunny. I'm pretty sure I picked up SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN while waiting for the fifth Samaria book to come out. I knew it was YA and much more traditional fantasy (also no sci fi), but honestly I was just sort of making time, if you will. I wasn't expecting that much. You know how you find a new author via a series that just steals your heart, and after devouring it in its entirety you're simultaneously dying for more but so afraid the author's other books won't hold the same shine that those first ones do? Sometimes your fears bear out. But sometimes you end up eating humble pie, quite happily and deservedly so. That was the case here. That is to say nothing, of course, of the prejudice I am occasionally guilty of when it comes to one of my favorite adult authors crossing over and writing YA. So often I feel like they come off as just lite versions of themselves, and I'm left longing for the depth and emotional intensity of their adult titles. Thankfully, SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN is a gem of an exception--a beautifully told coming of age tale set in a deceptively idyllic fantasy realm.

Corie inhabits a fairly unorthodox space in her world. The illegitimate daughter of a deceased lord, she spends the majority of the year learning how to be a village healer with her grandmother. But she spends summers at Castle Auburn. Her father's brother, Lord Jaxon, convinced her grandmother to let him foster Corie at Auburn just for the summers, so that she can get to know her half sister Elisandra and learn to be a lady in the hopes that she might make a good marriage one day and rise from the obscurity her father's dying left her in. Jaxon is hearty and hale and full of life and fourteen-year-old Corie loves her summers at his home. She also loves her beautiful half sister Elisandra who is betrothed to the debonair Prince Bryan. Corie harbors something of a crush on Prince Bryan, secretly hoping he will notice her one of these summers, even though she knows he will eventually wed Elisandra. As Corie grows up, however, she begins to understand the darker machinations at work behind these lovely facades. Bryan is more than he appears to be. Elisandra is not as calm and quiescent as she seems. And the fabled Aliora, the fey creatures who are hunted and forced into slavery to the nobility, are far more complex than Corie has been led to believe. She must decide who she will be and what she will do with her new-found knowledge.

Corie is very much an impressionable young girl at the novel's start. Her goals and crushes and ambitions are small ones, shaped by her limited experience and perception of the world and the people that surround her. Initially, I wondered how far Ms. Shinn would take her as such. But this is one of those wonderful stories where the characters evolve and reveal their depth--all of them--and the reader is privileged to witness their various and sundry transformations. The fascinating bit is that the world undergoes the same unveiling process. At first glance, it's prettily medieval, full of charming hunts, dashing young men, and mystical faery beings. But the gloves come off, so to speak, as the scales fall from Corie's eyes. Even Uncle Jaxon has things he'd rather keep hidden. Themes of despair, doubt, and disillusionment run like ribbons throughout the story. But they are balanced by a cautiously and skillfully written love story, which even I didn't see coming and which isn't fully revealed until Corie has accepted herself and made her decisions about her world and her place in it. I love how her voice changes as she matures. I love how several characters managed to surprise me. And I love where things end. Always retaining that fairy tale feel, SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN reminds me of the novels of the wonderful Patricia McKillip, especially The Book of Atrix Wolfe. When you find yourself in need of something new, I suggest tracking down a copy of SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN. It's sweet and comfortable, with a surprisingly dark and gooey center. In other words, one of the ones I can (and do) hand anyone.(less)

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Apr 04, 2012 Minli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adorable, book-soulmate, favourites, young-adult

Oh book, how I love thee, let me count the ways. Summers at Castle Auburn is a romantic fantasy court story, not unlike Crown Duel. There is some political intrigue, but it's less about the politics and entanglements of governing than it is about Corie's journey.

Structured somewhat oddly, this aptly named book is about Coriel's summers at the royal castle. She starts off on a trip to hunt Aliora, essentially fae that the humans enslave, along with her uncle, the crown prince, and his cousin. Her...more Oh book, how I love thee, let me count the ways. Summers at Castle Auburn is a romantic fantasy court story, not unlike Crown Duel. There is some political intrigue, but it's less about the politics and entanglements of governing than it is about Corie's journey.

Structured somewhat oddly, this aptly named book is about Coriel's summers at the royal castle. She starts off on a trip to hunt Aliora, essentially fae that the humans enslave, along with her uncle, the crown prince, and his cousin. Here we see Corie naive and silly, charmed by Prince Bryan's antics even though I could tell right off the bat that he was a tit. There are several unpleasant characters in this novel--from stiff Lady Greta to scheming Lord Matthew and the countless shallow nobles, but Bryan is the only one that is truly cruel. Shinn didn't even give him a single redeeming quality. Beauty, perhaps. And yet I still believed it--how entitlement and excessive praise can poison a person.

For the other nine months of the year, Corie trains to be a wise woman alongside her grandmother in a small village, where she learns about herbs and potions and medicines. As the bastard child of a high-ranking nobleman, she's half-sisters with Elisandra, the king's betrothed. As a bastard, she's in the liminal space between the high court and the common villagers, feeling more comfortable in the latter. Corie is therefore in at the vantage point--she can see and empathize with all sides, and her unique compassion leads her to make a crucial rescue in the novel.

Here're the things I like about this book. It is told from Corie's point of view, but she's still only a single agent in the grander scheme of things. Yet she isn't a pawn, there's just… more stuff going on. I freaking love Corie. She's resourceful and strong and has a trade. She wants to make something of her life. And I just love how she grows and evolves and begins seeing injustice (I feel that way all too often) and then DOES something about it.

I think Corie's unique situation--a widely accepted bastard child who can do magic and mingle with both villagers and courtiers with equal ease--is something out of fantasy, but that's not a mark against the book. I loved escaping to Castle Auburn. I loved reading about KENT and RODERICK omg, instant book boyfriends. I loved how Elisandra surprised me. And I definitely felt a heart-tugging as I was reading the swoony bit.
(less)

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Sep 13, 2011 Brie rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I loved most about this book is the writing. I've read a couple of books from Shinn's Samaria series in the past and have admired her lyrical prose. While not as prominent here, she does a wonderful job at describing the ethereal Aliora in a way that is nothing short of enchanting. The book as a whole is immersing and easy to get lost in. I read for hours without realizing how much time had passed. Any book that can sweep me into its pages so completely is a winner for me. I also loved Cori...more

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May 02, 2011 Merrilee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Sharon Shinn has a reputation for writing light SF and fantasy-romance, and Summers at Castle Auburn is a perfect example of her style. Don’t go into this book expecting a complex political situation and devious plotting. This is a character story.

Coriel is a bastard daughter of house Halsing, and also the daughter of a witch. Her sister Elisandra is betrothed to the wild and wicked Prince Bryan of Auburn, daring hero of all the courtly ladies’ dreams. Coriel, too, is being groomed for an advant...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Tressa (Tressa's Wishful Endings) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I really enjoyed this book. It has some good tension and sadness, but also good deeds and happiness.

Corie was born out of wedlock to a local witch (more specifically a herb healer) after an affair with a married lord. After the death of her father, who she never met, her uncle shows up at her grandmother's, where she has lived all her life. Then begins her summers at Castle Auburn, where the royalty live and where court is held. More importantly, that is where her half-sister, Elisandra, and Eli...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, chick-lit, coming-of-age, fantasy, teen, young-adult, women-s-interest

Corie is the illegitimate child of a powerful noble who divides her time between her peasant life, learning herb-lore, and a life at court wearing beautiful gowns and learning heraldry. She is meant to be a pawn, moved about at the Regent's will. Her half-sister, the legitimate daughter of her father, is betrothed to the crown prince - which should be a good thing, but is not. As Corie comes to learn more about the politics and intrigues of the Auburn Court, the slavery of the fae race, and her...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just loved, loved, loved this book; not in a heart pounding, gripping, page turning kind of way, but in more of a lovely, lose yourself, relaxing kind of read. A lovely mix of coming of age story, romance and fairy tale all mixed in one.
Corrie is the illegitimate child of a Lord who spend most of her time with her grandmother in a small village learning herb lore. But she lives for the summers she spends at Castle Auburn with her adventerous uncle, her half-sister who she loves and her father'...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

I generally like Sharon Shinn, but didn't care for this book. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I generally don't care for books in the first person (exceptions being works such as Jane Eyre), and I think that was part of why I didn't care for the book. Mostly, though, I found Corie a bit thick. This time around I had very little tolerance for the crushes of a fourteen year old. [some spoilers from minor to major](view spoiler)...more

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Jun 21, 2009 Purpledolphin789 rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was actually a really good book desite the fact that I gave it 3 stars. I just didn't think it deserved 4 stars but it came quite close. I would classify it as fantasy. The main character is a girl named Corie (Coriel). She is the illegitimate child of a lord and for most of the year, she lives in her grandmother's cottage, studying herbal lore. But she really lives for her summers spent at Castle Auburn. There she has her sister, Elisandra, whom she loves more than anything.
Corie grows up...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Darla rated it 3 of 5 stars

(Genre:Fantasy) 3 1/2 stars. I quite enjoyed this story and the world that it is set in. The main character, Coriel, is the illegitimate daughter of a deceased lord, who spends her summers visiting Castle Auburn, where her half sister Elisandra is being raised in the company of the crown prince to whom she is betrothed. Coriel spends the rest of the year living with her grandmother in much more simple and humble circumstances. Her grandmother is a local witch/wise woman who is the village healer...more

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May 16, 2012 Alicia Hansen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just genuinely like this book. I found the closer I got to the ending, the less I wanted it to end. It's so subtle, but so wondrous. You find yourself entirely entangled in the world that Sharon Shinn has presented you with without realizing it before it's much too late and you are deeply invested in the well-being and happiness of the characters, and completely won. One review that I read of this book compared Shinn's writing to that of Robin McKinley's. I have loved Robin McKinley's books fo...more

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May 28, 2011 Leigh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: good, magic, romance, supernatural

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well. I really enjoyed this book. It was a relief to read for the clear writing style and talent behind the author felt fresher than the previous novels i've been reading. I thought both the plot, and the characters were crisp and well rationed out.
However, Coriel's tendancy to shower people with herbs for a variety or reasons left me cynical and i began to doubt that they actually had an effect on whoever had the pleasre of her craft. It may have made her feel better to know she played some pa...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Jeri rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it, quite a bit, though I was unsatisfied with the romance part of it. It's one of those where there are more than one prospective love interest and you don't know which one is "the one" until almost the very end. It's always my feeling that if the big mystery is "which one is the right one" then I don't get much emotional satisfaction from the HEA anyway.

I like the way the story is told in the first person, beginning with a rather naive girl who will have to learn some hard truths as...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Mikka rated it 5 of 5 stars

I finished this one sitting, yesterday. Years later, it was still really good, an enjoyable read.
However, I'm sad to say maybe I've outgrown it. When I first read it, I chugged along reading and only seeing Corie's perspective. Reading it a second time (with much older, hopefully more mature eyes), I realized how obvious everything had become (except for the bit about Kentley). Maybe I shouldn't have read it twice, maybe I should have turned my brain off and enjoyed the ride rather than racing a...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Kiersten added it

A little bit slow to begin, but once the action and intrigue start to pick up, it's almost riveting. Shinn's dialogue especially caught my attention - it was engaging and believable, and her prose, as well, was appealing and effective. She used evocative diction and interesting turns of phrase without ever crossing the line into cliché or boring. I really enjoyed Shinn's balanced use of foreshadowing - some twists, like the one at the very end, she let us see coming for miles; others I never ant...more

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Feb 27, 2009 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy

Corie is the illigitimate daughter of a Lord at the Castle Auburn. She is taken to the castle during her summers by her Uncle, in order to give her some of the life she would otherwise miss. She is foolishly in love with the Prince, who grows paranoid, rash, and cruel as he grows up. Shinn carefully tells the story of Corie's disillusion of the castle, the rulers, and the enslavement of the magical beings that ensure the prosperity of the castle, as well as their way of life. She goes on to prov...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Jenna St Hilaire rated it 4 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars, really.

Good worldbuilding is supposedly the high point of fantasy, and it’s still one of my favorite discoveries to make in a new author or book. Shinn’s quasi-medieval Auburn is not particularly expansive or inventive, but, through narrator Corie’s eyes, it’s beautifully realized. The fairylike aliora, the plethora of (as far as I can discover, imaginary) herbs, the layers of politics, and the little details of Corie’s upstairs-downstairs life are endlessly interesting an...more Four and a half stars, really.

Good worldbuilding is supposedly the high point of fantasy, and it’s still one of my favorite discoveries to make in a new author or book. Shinn’s quasi-medieval Auburn is not particularly expansive or inventive, but, through narrator Corie’s eyes, it’s beautifully realized. The fairylike aliora, the plethora of (as far as I can discover, imaginary) herbs, the layers of politics, and the little details of Corie’s upstairs-downstairs life are endlessly interesting and well-drawn.

Possibly better even than the worldbuilding, however, is Shinn’s rare capability for character advancement through plot and time, age and revelation. Corie’s perception—and therefore the reader’s—of various characters develops and changes throughout the book. The reader will see and anticipate more than Corie does, but the developments were well done, sometimes surprising, and in a couple of cases, downright creepy.

Corie fascinates as heroine; a shade too flawless in her fantasy herbalist role, perhaps, but human enough to go through that absurd crush on charismatic bad news that nearly all of us seem to get at some point in our youth. She holds the odd mix of morals more likely to belong to today’s neopaganism lite than to an actual medieval: strong distaste for slavery, cruelty, and mistreatment of women, but irregular convictions toward sex and lies, and no qualms whatsoever about meddling. The latter makes her weirdly unsympathetic at moments, but only moments; her bravery and openness keep her favorable overall.

Her ability to talk on free and equal terms with regent’s son and apothecary, guardsmen and lords alike, lets her fill out the plot with a dual perspective that’s just plain fun to read. She's also generally smart. The reader will spend half the book begging her to do one important work—scruples over meddling be damned, in this case—but she thinks it through and handles it wisely, although that storyline did involve the plot’s most obvious resort to herbalist ex machina.

While I rarely predict more than the basic ending of a book, I’m also rarely so confounded at every attempt to discern how things might resolve. Of Corie's two potential lovers, either seemed equally likely to become her final choice; either would have been acceptable, too, though I did wind up with a clear favorite. (Kent, if you must know. There stands a hero and a man.) As for the Elisandra plot thread, I saw none of those payoffs coming, though some were fairly obvious in retrospect.

The fact that Corie never figured out her own heart till she was asked for it made the romance feel a little underdeveloped from her side, but she gets the ending that’s right for her. And as one might expect from a book where the fairylike beings were shamelessly ethereal and the wise woman’s knowledge was shamelessly infallible, the ending was shamelessly cheerful. I certainly enjoyed it without shame. In fact, I’m anxious to track down some other Sharon Shinn works and read them, too.(less)

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Jan 07, 2012 David Phipps rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, stand-alone, fantasy, own

I took a break from the library books to quickly read this comfortable book that I have read a handful of times already. This is a simple YA fantasy book with no quests, no battles, a peaceful kingdom, and almost no fighting. It is about a royal bastard girl who spends the summers at court with her sister and the rest of her year training to be an apothecary in a village. So she is kind of caught between the world of nobles and the world of commoners. This book focuses on opening her eyes to way...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Alyssa Archambo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, romance, coming-of-age

I almost wish I had read this when I was younger, because I think I would have been absolutely enchanted with this story. Coriel is an illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking noble, spending nine months out of the year learning herblore and healing with her grandmother, and spending the three months of summer in a castle with her half-sister and the other nobles of the realm. Summers at Castle Auburn is a story about Coriel growing up and realizing what she wants out of life, while at the same t...more I almost wish I had read this when I was younger, because I think I would have been absolutely enchanted with this story. Coriel is an illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking noble, spending nine months out of the year learning herblore and healing with her grandmother, and spending the three months of summer in a castle with her half-sister and the other nobles of the realm. Summers at Castle Auburn is a story about Coriel growing up and realizing what she wants out of life, while at the same time making realizations about the people she has known since she was a child. While she loved castle life at the beginning of the story, she comes to see the horrific things that go on around her.

The story starts off with a hunt. Coriel's uncle takes her and a group of boys to hunt for the aliora, who are magical creatures that live in the forest and live in a peaceful, harmonious society. Using base metals, nobles trap them to turn them into slaves. Even after they are made slaves, however, the aliora are peaceful and even loving. Coriel often marvels at how Cressida, her aliora servant at the castle, can care for her so much even though Cressida is an unwilling slave.

I was a little annoyed with Coriel at the beginning. She was just too much of an airhead, I felt. Too obsessed with boys and too clueless about some things. A little way into the novel, she grows up and stops being this way, thank goodness, so I didn't mind it so much. I think it's actually needed to show how much she grows as a person by the end of a novel. In fact, Shinn does a great job with the development of all the characters, even the minor ends. By the end, all of them have changed and grown, which is something I really love to see in a story.

The best part about Summers at Castle Auburn is how Shinn adds in a great deal of darkness without completely horrifying the reader. She definitely does not go for shock value; instead, the bad stuff is subtly weaved into story. Like much of what she writes, there are a lot of topics covered for something that is incredibly entertaining and hopeful. Slavery, women's rights, and issues of responsibility are all main subjects. And like I said, the reader isn't beat over the head with the message. The message isn't directly stated; rather, the reader is left to themselves as to what they want to get out of it.

Aside from all that, however, this is simply a good story. There is a good balance of everything in here. It has suspense, humor, mystery, romance, and generally everything I want in a story. The characters surprised me sometimes, and I find myself growing along with Coriel, opening my eyes to the real events taking place in the castle. The romance is perfect. As is usual with Shinn's books, the couplings are a bit predictable, but they're predictable in a satisfying way (if that makes sense), so it's all good. Lovers of young adult fantasy will love Summers at Castle Auburn. It's yet another of Shinn's brilliant novels.
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For more of my reviews, visit my blog, Reader's Refuge.(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Kimberly Moeller rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, romance

Beautiful writing, loveable (and despicable) characters, and an overarching plot that made for an extremely enjoyable read. Corie begins this novel as a young 14 year-old girl who is the base-born daughter of a deceased nobleman, brought back to her father's estate and court life every summer. For the majority of the year she is raised and taught about herbs and medicine by her strict but steadfast grandmother, allowing her to become the self confident woman that she is by the time she reaches 1...more

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Dec 29, 2009 Patti rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Female readers of fantasy

Recommended to Patti by: List: Best Books for Young Adults

Shelves: fantasy, patti-s-favorites-of-2009, read-in-2009, young-adult-reads

This was a wonderful story!!! I found this book on the YALSA 2002 Best Books for Young Adults list, and it was a great find!

Summers at Castle Auburn is the story of Coriel, illegitimate child of nobility, who visits her legitimate sister, both of the House of Halsing, every summer at Castle Auburn. What Coriel learns over these summers is that marriage to her and to her sister is a valuable commodity. Her sister is to marry Prince Bryan, who is to become king, as the royalty always marries into...more

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May 19, 2011 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

This book is fun, but I'm beginning to be fed up with feminism, particularly when it is applied in unlikely ways. In this book, for example, there is a point where Corie, our heroine, is talking to one of the male characters who assumes she cooks and she corrects him, saying that she does not in fact know how, as she's never had the interest.

What? The setting feels fairly medieval, she's the granddaughter/apprentice to a witch woman who uses herbs to cure people, and although she is part-royalt...more

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About Sharon Shinn

I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative w...more I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.

I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.

I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")

I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.

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Quotes from Summers at Castle Auburn

“Do you love me?" he asked.
I fell silent.
"For the rest of it is glitter and noise," he said. "At the heart of it all is love. You make that choice, and you go forward from there.” — 62 people liked it

“Sometimes we become what we see. Sometimes we take what we see and make it the model for what we refuse to become.” — 28 people liked it

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