Customer Reviews

Bewitching Season (Leland Sisters)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like books about magic, princesses, mysteries and devious plots, this book has it all! The twins, Persy and Pen, head to London as they prepare to come out into society. Persy, the shy twin, positively dreads the thought of attending a multitude of social events, while Pen, the outgoing twin, can't wait. To add to Persy's anxiety, her governess disappears, the boy she's had a crush on forever is now a postively gorgeous man (who seems very interested in her sister) and she can't decide if having magic skills is an advantage or a detriment.

Marissa Doyle does a fabulous job of weaving an intricate web of events as the girls try to figure out what happened to their governess. The characters are very real and the writing is so vivid that somewhere along the way you feel as if you've stepped through the pages to join the girls on their quest. Persy shows a tremendous amount of growth and by the time I finished reading Bewitching Season, I definitely wanted more - any chance of a sequel?

This book is listed as a YA book and my twelve year old niece loved it, but it is also a great book for adults who love reading a well crafted story full of intrigue and great characters.

Seventeen-year-old identical twins Persephone "Persy" and Penelope "Pen" Leland are not quite like most upper-class young ladies in Victorian England. The girls were born with the gift of magic, and their governess, Miss Allardyce, or Ally as the girls call her, has educated them in the magical arts along with reading, writing, and history. Now the time has come for the girls' debut in London and their first season, where they will hopefully attract suitable husbands. Pen is eager to make her debut in society, but Persy, who is shy and bookish, wishes she could go against what is proper for a wealthy young lady and become a teacher.

Shortly after their arrival in London, however, more pressing concerns arrive. The twins discover Ally has been kidnapped, and that her captors hope to use her in a plot to gain control of the British throne. Meanwhile, shy Persy is finding herself falling in love with her childhood neighbor, Lochinvar Seton, who shares her love of books, reading, and education. But she doesn't believe he could ever find her attractive over Pen, the outgoing and social twin.

Bewitching Season is an absolutely wonderful debut novel from Marissa Doyle. The writer seamlessly blends magic, romance, and history against a realistic backdrop of 1837 London. I highly recommend this book to teen girls - and older readers - looking for a magical and romantic trip to the past, and I can't wait to read the sequel, which will be released in 2009.

I really loved BEWITCHING SEASON! If I had to vote for Most Charming Debut, this would be it. It was lovely, adorable, fun and drenched in history.

Persephone and Penelope are seventeen-year-old twins about to face their first London Season. Persy is shy and studious and Pen is outgoing and lighthearted. Both are equally lovely, but Percy thinks Pen is the prettier. Percy is also the point-of-view character. They have a younger brother named Charles, who is twelve years old, and a governess whom they call Ally. When Ally vanishes just before they are supposed to make their debut, it's up to the three of them to find her.

Lochinvar, their childhood friend, returns from a long absence very nicely grown-up. It turns out that Persephone has loved Lochinvar since she was thirteen. He pops up in the most unexpected places, and has the most unexpected talents. Their love is delightfully thwarted by their own actions, yet it is not too drawn out.

Another mysterious man, Michael Carrighar, makes a reluctant henchman for a conniving lord. Here's where I had a quibble--Michael appears to be under an onerous debt of some sort, forcing him to do evil deeds when he otherwise would not. However, when the debt was finally revealed, it didn't seem nearly onerous enough to compel such deeds. Michael was the only character whose motivations never quite rang true for me. He was otherwise likable--truly conflicted and a rather dark soul.

The final battle was nicely done. I expected both twins to have to face the nemesis, but one twin had to go it alone. This made it a nice challenge. Having to fight wizards while in a breath-constricting corset is not easy, you know. All plot threads get sewn up satisfactorily, leaving Penelope free to gallivant off into the sequel, which will follow her adventures to Ireland.

It has been a long while since I was so charmed by a novel. In fact, I think you have to go all the way back to You Had Me at Halo by Amanda Ashby. My only complaint is that it was too short. I think Marissa Doyle will attract a legion of fans, both young and old, who will eagerly buy each new installment. I know I will. I loved it.

Persephone and Penelope Leland are about to be thrust into their coming out season! These girls may look alike but that is as far as their likeness goes. They couldn't be more different from each other. While Penelope can't wait to start her season and longs for dancing at wondrous balls, Persephone would rather be reading a book or studying her magic.

But there is much more than their upcoming season that the girls must worry about. It seems that their governess, Ally is missing. They only clue they have to her whereabouts is a note apologizing for her absence. Persy and Pen both realize that something is not right and that Ally's disappearance may be more like a kidnaping!

Bewitching Season is Marissa Doyle's debut novel. I love historical fiction and Bewitching Season moved into one of my top spots! Doyle's writing is smooth and intriguing. Although magic is a key component in the story, her dialogue and cultural references allow the story to maintain it's historical appeal! One of my favorite characters from the story is the twin's younger brother in the story, Charles. I like to think of him as the comic relief, but I think his role in the story goes well beyond that. The plot itself is full of twists and turns and Doyle brilliantly keeps them from unraveling! The ending may have been a little bit predictable, but that didn't bother me at all! I would highly recommend Bewitching Season to historical fiction and fantasy fans! I am truly looking forward to reading her next book!!

Gold Star Award Winner!

Persephone and Penelope Leeland are the twin daughters of a well-known English viscount and are getting ready to be thrown into their first season. While you couldn't tell the girls apart by looking at them, if you talked to them you would know that they are completely different.

All Penelope can talk about is the upcoming balls that the girls are planning on going to and the numerous gowns that she is going to wear. She loves all thoughts that have to do with future dances and possible husbands. Then there is Persephone. She would much rather hunker down and devote her time to magical studies. She really doesn't want anything to do with finding a husband or dancing the night away in a dress that she can hardly breathe in.

Just as the season is about to begin, the girls' governess disappears. It's up to the girls to figure out what happened. Along the way the girls will discover that the kidnapping has much to do with the plot to take away Princess Victoria's power. Encountering many interesting people, including a mysterious Irish wizard and a boy who might just be husband-worthy, the girls set off to solve the mystery.

I am a huge historical fiction fan as well as love books that include magic. Putting the two together created an amazing book that I instantly fell in love with. I thought that the story was completely original and absolutely spellbinding. I was highly impressed with Marissa Doyle's ability to captivate my attention throughout the entire book. I don't think I actually put the book down once - which is a big thing for me! I thought it was really neat that the main characters were twins who really didn't have much in common. The girls' differences thoughout made the book so interesting and it was really evident that they depended on each other for different strengths.

Another really special thing about this book is that the story sticks. The story keeps ringing through my head and I'm still loving it! I was really impressed with Ms. Doyle's debut novel and absolutely cannot wait for the sequel which will be out sometime next year (why oh why does it have to be that far away?!). It has definitely become a new favorite of mine, and if you haven't had the opportunity to read BEWITCHING SEASON I highly suggest you run out and get it now.

Reviewed by: Tasha

Persephone and Penelope Leland are twins in early nineteenth century London. To the rest of the world, they are beautiful young women who are about to make their debut into society and then search for suitable husbands. But what most people don't know is that the women of the Leland family are known for their magical abilities. The twins study magic under the careful tutorage of their governess Ally.

While they are usually very close, Persephone and Penelope start to have secrets from each other. Penelope is extremely excited about making her debut into London society, but Persephone would rather continue studying magic. But one day, Ally suddenly disappears. The twins get repeated nightmares about their governess, which leads them to think Ally is in grave danger. So, with the help of their younger brother Charles and also Ally's family, they try to devise a plan to find out Ally's whereabouts.

Now, I don't want to start gushing in an overenthusiastic way, but I have to say that Bewitching Season had everything I was looking for in a book. The characters were very realistic, and so was the description of London society. The magical aspect of the book never seemed phony, which was refreshing. I enjoyed reading the story which was primarily told from Persephone's perspective, and the romantic twist was the cherry on top of a delicious read. What I particularly enjoyed was that the storyline was never too predictable; I have read so many books now that I can often guess what will happen next in the story. But Bewitching Season truly kept me guessing, and I loved how the ending was not what I expected.

I highly recommend this novel, especially for fans of the A Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray and The Luxe by Anna Godbersen. I also cannot wait until the continuation of the story.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

When I heard about this book's general plot on a writers' listserv, I was intrigued. It did not disappoint. In fact, it kept me up late a few nights in a row, which is saying a lot since I'm not the prescribed audience. The writer has a super fun voice and style, and the plot was intriguing. I also liked the fact that the teen main characters made believable, smart decisions. The tone of voice and type of story was reminiscent of Marion Chesney regencies, which I love, and there's a touch of Georgette Heyer, especially in the humor. A totally fun read. Am looking forward to her next book!

Persephone and Penelope Leland hide their talent with magic from everyone, including their parents. Now their governess Melusine Allardyce has disappeared, leaving only a note saturated with her fear. Persy must take action if she wants rescue Ally - and Princess Victoria. A political faction seeks to control the soon to be eighteen-years-old princess in order to keep control once she becomes queen. But finding Ally might put Persy and Pen in the faction's power.

BEWITCHING SEASON is a light-fantasy historical adventure. The only thing that ruins the atmosphere is Persy and Pen's almost complete disregard for keeping their powers secret. They use them in front of a number of maids and young men. One of these young men is Lochinvar Seton, Persy's love interest. Lochinvar is well-read and liked by Persy's family, and paid attention to her before she became an attractive and desired young lady. For some reason obstacles to their romance keep cropping up.

I'm serious. Ridiculous obstacle after obstacle that looks less ridiculous in comparison to the new obstacle. I would have preferred it if Doyle simply let Lochinvar and Persy acknowledge their feelings, become a couple, and let the book's romantic plot focus on them maturing their relationship and getting to know each other past, "You like books? I like books too." Instead, she squanders their chemistry by keeping them separate for increasingly ludicrous reasons. (See, I dislike the handling of the romance so much I'm becoming redundant.)

In the end, the mishandling of the pace of the romance does not bog BEWITCHING SEASON too much. I'm glad Doyle is already contracted for a sequel to be released in 2009.

Excerpted from In Bed With Books.

On the whole a likeable and readable novel though the plot rationale was a little thin, and the period detail could have been better researched, especially language-wise: the constant intrusions of modern idiom and American English, e.g. people 'pop in', have 'crushes', the use of 'gotten' etc. all jar slightly. Would a kidnapped governess have been familiarly addressing her kidnapper as 'Michael'? A lad of the early C19th go 'Aw' to his sister? The editor ought to have been more rigorous. However, Bewitching Season is good enough that one will certainly lend it to friends and wait to see what the author next comes out with.

Doyle seamlessly combines magic, Regency drama, romance, and kidnapping in this upbeat story about two magical sisters making their debut into society while also trying to discretely search for their missing governess. The characters were good and the story was fun, though I would have liked just a bit more romance. My only complaint is that the sisters and the author were repeatedly distracted from the plight of the kidnapped governess by courtly balls and dress shopping. Luckily these distractions, while odd for characters who should be wracked with worry, were equally distracting to this reader. While irrelevant, the cover is also really gorgeous. There is a sequel, but this book stands on its own just fine. I hope the author writes another sequel about the sisters' brother--he was a real scene-stealer. Recommended.