Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

This one, out of all six Dresden Files books I have read so far, is my favourite! I will tell you exactly why:

First off, this one involves the Fae/Sidhe. Now, the book community, especially the YA/NA readers are OBSESSED with the Fae but that’s only because of the popularity of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses as well as The Cruel Prince. Now, keep in mind that I refuse to read either book and especially refuse to read SJM (I did start The Book of Night by Holly Black but wasn’t feeling it to be honest). I am very picky when it comes to books that have mythology vibes or fairytale/folklore creatures. If you know me, you’d know that I am very picky especially when it comes to books with Greek mythology (retellings or just the vibes) and also when it comes to books with Russian fairytales or folklore. This one, however, doesn’t relate to either because it follows the Fae. Now, the Fae aren’t commonly known to appear in Russian fairytales/folklore nor are they in Greek mythology either, however, I do really love when the Fae are represented as these terrifying creatures that are powerful and majestic instead of…well, instead of someone with a tail (iykyk).

Secondly, I really loved the Lady, Queen and Mother set-up (for lack of a better word) when it comes to the hierarchy of the Fae and their magical powers. There are three representatives for Summer and Winter: the Summer Lady and Winter Lady, The Summer Queen and Winter Queen, and the Summer Mother and Winter Mother. This setup made me think of the Goddess Hecate from Greek mythology. Simply put, she is the goddess of magic and she is often represented by 3 women or three forms, so to speak and it is the Maiden (the Lady), the Mother (Queen), and the Crone (in this case, called the Mother). I was really happy to have made that connection and this made me more excited and interested in continuing the book.

Thirdly, a lot of the titles for the Dresden Files are either a play on words (Fool Moon - Full Moon, werewolves involved) or something that is commonly related to the supernatural creature/bad guy that is the focus of the book (Blood Rites - Vamps are back, they’re known to feed on blood) and at first, I thought the title of this one, Summer Knight, was a play-on-words for “Summer Night” a.k.a something related to the Summer Solstice (because I’m a nerd and I know the significance of the Summer Solstice beyond the scientific explanation of it being the longest day of the year) and frankly, I wasn’t wrong! However, the title did involve a Summer Knight, basically, the right-hand man person of the Summer Queen (the Winter Queen has a Winter Knight) and Harry Dresden basically has to figure out who killed the Summer Knight and clear the Winter Queen’s name.

I think this was one of the best books by Jim Butcher that I’ve read so far however, I see the criticism of this series and these books and 100% agree and no, it wasn’t enjoyable to read the misogynistic and sexist remarks made by one Mr. Harry Dresden but hey, he’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to women (lol).

I enjoyed this one greatly and truly think this was a step-up from the first three books!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Love,

Mila