The Honorables Miss Penelope "Pen" and Miss Persephone "Persy" Leland, twins who happen to have been born on Princess Victoria's birthday, are more than looking forward to their presentation at court. They've been prepped for this day for years - even if part of the time their education has been somewhat unconventional. Their governess (Ally), along with teaching them etiquette, Latin, and literature, has been secretly tutoring them in magic for many years. Not exactly something you advertise at court. Persy has always been a bit more bookish of the two and can't help but imagine herself as a failure compared to her poised and self assured sister Pen. But both girls are sure they will be fine as long as the trusted Ally is never far. That is, until she mysteriously disappears.Both Persy and Pen are convinced something sinister has occurred to their beloved governess - and friend - and begin to discreetly make inquiries as to her whereabouts. They are joined by their little brother Charles, aka Chuckles, who is always up for an adventure and home from school with a broken arm. Chuckles is far too observant and protective for his tender years and happens to be my favorite character by far.This was such a light, fanciful waltz through time. The Leland family is lovable - with the exception of Persy's constant feelings of inadequacy. The action is nicely distributed against descriptions of dresses, parties, court politics, and even a little romance. The magic portion seemed to almost be an afterthought, but still an interesting addition. A fun, engaging read for any day. ( )

Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

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. ( )

I was looking for a light and distracting read after a long week, so this was exactly what I needed. It's a YA historical romance/fantasy: Twins Persephone and Penelope have spent their childhoods being tutored in magic, among other things, by their governess Ally, but it's time to go to London for their first season. Penelope (Pen) is looking forward to it, while Persephone (Persy) wishes she could stay at home and study forever. Meanwhile, Ally has mysteriously disappeared....

The plot of this book was entirely predictable (complete with one bad-horror-movie urge to shout at the silly characters not to go that way), but I still read it in one sitting and came away satisfied. Persy, with her love of books and learning, was an easy character to relate to (and only occasionally did really dumb things), and Pen was much more likeable than I'd expected; it would have been easy for the more social twin to seem flat and stereotyped, but that wasn't the case. Plus there were some great minor characters. So, while this wasn't great literature, I enjoyed it for what it was, and I may even read the sequel eventually. ( )

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 favorite 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! ( )

A light (post-)Regency romance in a world where magic works. If this description sounds like Wrede and Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecilia, there's good reason for that. It's lighter and less witty than S&C, but with its own charm.

The heroine is a shy, bookish young woman who would rather be learning Greek than making her debut. Her twin sister is much more vivacious and sociable. Together, they must negotiate the shoals of society, deal with suitors both wanted and un-, and investigate the disappearance of their governess, who taught them magic.

The copy I read is labeled Young Adult, presumably because the protagonists are still teens, but it's no more inherently YA than any of the light Regency romances from Signet or Zebra. (It's set in 1837, after the Regency but before the reign of Victoria--who is exactly the same age as the twins--but it reads like a series Regency.)

If you like Regency romances and don't mind a bit of fantasy, or if you like historical fiction with magic and don't mind a romance plot, I recommend this book. ( )

I loved the beginning of Bewitching Season and the premise behind it but I ended up hating Persy and her constant self-deprecating attitude. By the end of the book I didn't care what happened or which characters would get their happy endings, I was skimming just to be done with it. Which probably isn't being very fair because I loved the younger brother Charles and Lorrie. I hope the author has more in store for them in future books.

If you are looking for a well-written historical YA novel with magic, romance and likable characters throughout, I highly recommend Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer instead. ( )

This book was a good meld of debutante society, love, magic and adventure. The characters were interesting even if the main plot was lacking a little at times. I would have liked to see more action, but it was a good read. I was a little disappointed by how it ended. Not the ending she chose, but really the last page of the book - the last few paragraphs. I don't feel like it was wrapped up real well. ( )

Bewitching Season
By: Marissa Doyle

Persephone and Penelope Leland are young witches learning magic and trying to find their future husbands. But when their governess (her name is Ally) goes missing, the sisters and their eleven year old brother search for Ally in 1837 London. But when they encounter Sir John Conroy and Princess Sophia they fall into even greater danger (though they were in danger already). Along the way Persephone and her sister will go to dances, Tea, and meet Princess Victoria. They have to stick together to find Ally and with help of a close friend, they just may be able to defeat the bad guys.

Bewitching Season was very well written. For Marissa Doyle’s first novel it was fantastic. I loved that Persephone was a 18 year old girl that reads and enjoys books better than going to balls and to tea.
I didn’t dislike anything in this book, I loved every single page. Bewitching Season was one of those books that you had to keep on reading even if your favorite TV show was on or that it one o’clock in the morning.
It was an absolute page turner. I can’t wait until the next book comes out. I would recommend this book to girls that are 12 and up that love history and magic. ( )

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. ( )

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 in Maiden Voyage. Look for Bewitching Season on shelves in April.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com ( )

A light (post-)Regency romance in a world where magic works. If this description sounds like Wrede and Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecilia, there's good reason for that. It's lighter and less witty than S&C, but with its own charm.

The heroine is a shy, bookish young woman who would rather be learning Greek than making her debut. Her twin sister is much more vivacious and sociable. Together, they must negotiate the shoals of society, deal with suitors both wanted and un-, and investigate the disappearance of their governess, who taught them magic.

The copy I read is labeled Young Adult, presumably because the protagonists are still teens, but it's no more inherently YA than any of the light Regency romances from Signet or Zebra. (It's set in 1837, after the Regency but before the reign of Victoria--who is exactly the same age as the twins--but it reads like a series Regency.)

If you like Regency romances and don't mind a bit of fantasy, or if you like historical fiction with magic and don't mind a romance plot, I recommend this book. ( )