Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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...

Jillian’s Review:

This was a fun, wonderfully descriptive read. Cori, the main character, has a great personally with plenty of room to grow, and she does just that through the novel. I loved that she was blind to the vises of the boy she crushes on, just like we usually are at fourteen (or any age for that matter!), and then as she grows older her eyes are opened more and more.

There were many great, realistic side-characters who easily feel like friends—or villains, depending on who we’re talking about. Even the “villains” weren’t all bad, which made them all the more realistic.

I couldn’t decide who I liked best between the two boys that were obviously the ones Cori would choose between and I felt the way it all ended up was a bit rushed. Too many pages were used up on unimportant content that could have been cut, leaving room for a less hurried, more realistic ending. But at least this one had an ending and a happy one at that.

A fun, clean read for girls 10 and up (though there are a few cuss words that felt completely out of place from the rest of the novel).