As expected of Naomi Novik this is an absolute delight filled with adventure, fantasy, dragons, and magic. In this collection of short stories you’ll find old favorites such as the Scholomance and Temeraire worlds revisited as well as a peek of something new to come.

For me returning to the world of the Scholomance was a big draw and it was so great to be able to jump back into that world . After Hours, is a story about a new group of students at the Scholomance that takes place after the book trilogy. This story could be a standalone but if you a haven’t read that series and would like to, it may be good to hold off on just this story however.

This collection also has two stories set in the Temeraire universe and these require no knowledge of those books and work well as standalone stories. The dragons and settings were delightful taking place in a Pride and Prejudice and a Roman setting and it made me want to read that series as I haven’t had the chance to yet. I also found the short version of Spinning Silver to be a really surprising and interesting addition.

The Long Way Round gives us a taste of what to look forward to in a new upcoming novel and the story and characters were definitely intriguing and compelling. I’m really excited for it! Some of my other Favorites were the dark and mysterious Castle Coeurlieu and Common Places, a story featuring the character of Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes novels. I also found Novik’s take on Sci-fi to be unexpected and poignant.

This is a must read for Naomi Novik fans and a really good introduction to her work and style for those interested in giving her writing a try. It’s a perfect cozy autumn read! 

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.