BEWITCHING SEASON by Marissa Doyle

*Isn't this a gorgeous cover?*
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This novel debuted last year and was reviewed all over the Blogosphere. The author's next book, BETRAYING SEASON, will be out soon and the ARC on the way to me.

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If you're not a Regency Romance fan, this story may start slow for you, as it did for me. Hang in there, though, 'cause it's worth it later on. On the face of it, BEWITCHING SEASON, is a Regency Romance novel for teens, but there's a kicker, well, a couple of kickers actually. First of all, there are two heroines and they are twins. Second and most significantly, they are also novice witches. And the Regency era wasn't exactly the best time to go public about one's alternate religion. Sure, a non-Anglican Christian didn't have to worry about being burned at the stake, but when you're born into high society like Persephone and Penelope conforming to expectations is all-important.

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Persy and Pen are seventeen-going-on-eighteen and preparing for their 'coming out.' That means, they will instantly go from childhood status to adults, ready for marriage. And when you're a High Society girl in Regency England, marrying well is what the game is all about.

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Throughout their teens, Persy and Pen have been tutored at home by a governess. In case you don't already know, a governess is both caregiver and teacher, an educated woman who instructs young people in their home. To put it in modern terms, Persy and Pen are homeschooled. While we work hard to make sure our own homeschooled brood have social opportunities as children, these girls are purposely isolated. In Regency England, you gotta be a virgin if you want to snag a wealthy, titled husband. Of course, the potential husband can mess around as much as he wants, both before and after the wedding. Anyway, I'm digressing here, as you won't encounter a whole lot of that in this book anyway. Suffice it to say, the mother of Percy and Pen obsesses over the perfect gloves and proper hats for them like I obsess over finding the perfect math curriculum for my own daughters.

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Like Percy and Pen, however, the governess, whom they affectionally call 'Ally,' is not all she seems either. In fact, she's a rather powerful witch and took the job to properly train them, because their parents haven't any idea. Sure, Ally teaches them how to curtsy properly, but she also teaches them how to cast binding spells, using their little brother, Charles, as the guinea pig. He thinks it's all pretty silly, of course, but a lot more fun than being bored out of his mind at boarding school.

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Just before their 'coming out,' Percy and Pen meet up with an old childhood friend, Lochinvar, only he's not such an annoying little boy anymore. He's grown into a handsome young man. While Pen thinks he's cute enough, she's wrapped up in the 'coming out' preparations and can't wait to be presented to the Queen. Meanwhile, Percy's so twitterpated she can hardly speak in the same geographic location!

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And so off to London they go. Not long after they arrive, they receive an odd note from Ally. She says she can't be there for them because she's been called away to help sick family. However, the note tingles with magic and the girls know their governess well enough to realize something is amiss and Ally would never just drop them with only a note to explain. Then, they also start having nightmares. Naturally, they want to track her down, but the social constraints of the time make it rather difficult.

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They meet up with Lochnivar again and Persy, alone, finds it baffling that he wants to talk to her about books and where to find a good bookstore so much. Of course, Pen gets it, but Persy's tongue-tied and I'm talkin' about mashing face either. Regardless, Pen and Persy hit upon the idea of using Lochnivar's interest as an excuse to visit Ally's family's bookstore. Once there, they discover Ally's family received a note saying Ally was too busy with the girls to visit. Ally's family is all magical and are as worried as the girls she was kidnapped by a wizard.

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During all this, Persy is determined to keep Lochnivar from discovering they're witches because his mother was believed killed by a witch's curse.

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Meanwhile, on the social scene, the girls learn there's a conspiracy swirling around the seventeen year old Crown Princess Victoria, soon to be the legendary Queen Victoria. Several ambitious people are bent on manipulating her, not the least of which is her own mother. Worse than that, at least one or two also seem to be connected to Ally's disappearance too.

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This is a fun, adventurous tale for a lazy afternoon between boyfriends, a boring study hall when your friends are in more interesting classes elsewhere, or for waiting in the doctor's office for your next prenatal exam (Note to Self: Transfer medical records from midwife to doctor.) If you're up to your gills in 'Dark & Gritty' and you just can't take it anymore, get BETWITCHING SEASON and have a little fun again. You can pop over to the author's website to learn more. http://marissadoyle.com/index.php She's involved with several blogs and always quick to respond to emails too.

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If you can't afford to buy this book, it's probably been out long enough to be available for check-out at any decent sized library. In this economy, the most important thing is to just keep reading the stories you love!

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If you like BEWITCHING SEASON by Marissa Doyle, you might also like THE RED QUEEN'S DAUGHTER by Jacqueline Kolosov http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/2008/05/red-queens-daughter-by-jacqueline.html It's another YA Fantasy Historical, but set in Elizabethen England.