Bewitching Season
by Marissa Doyle

    BEWITCHING SEASON by Marissa Doyle
    Category:  Historical
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  4/29/08
    Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.
    Reviewed by:  Tasha
    Rating:  5 Stars


    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 throughout 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.