Persey, the twin who is the nominal main character of this volume, is in love with a childhood friend but can’t believe that anyone would prefer her to the dazzling and outgoing Pen. The love stories–and let’s face it, this is basically a young adult romance with some unusual flourishes–aren’t wholly satisfying. Nobody tragically throws themselves into a river or anything, thankfully, but I did feel a little self-conscious reading this book as a grown-ass woman. Everybody’s got preposterous names (Pen and Persey’s mother is called Lady Parthenope, the primary love interest is Lochinvar, and the governess is named Melusine Allardyce), and there’s non-stop swooning and intrigue. About halfway through, I realized that it reminded me of the stories Anne Shirley wrote in Anne of Green Gables. When their beloved governess, who tutors them in witchcraft among other more mundane subjects, goes missing, the sisters must use all their wiles to rescue her and prevent a sinister plot against the crown. Twin girls born to a country squire on the cusp of the Victorian era, Persephone and Penelope navigate the London Season while struggling to keep their magical talents hidden. This book and its sequel, both published in 2009, follow the stories of the Leland sisters. Marissa Doyle’s debut novel, Bewitching Season, is a light and frothy confection that (if I’m being honest) wasn’t quite as good as I remember it. Oh wow, I did not know this was a thing, but I LIKE it! When I first discovered historical fantasy (or mannerpunk, or whatever you want to call it), I felt the way I imagine a person does when stumbling upon a hitherto unknown sexual kink. She lives in her native Massachusetts with her family, including a bossy pet rabbit, and loves making quilts, sailing, and antiques.Please visit her at her website, and at NineteenTeen. Three books later a perceptive contest judge told her that her story would make a great young adult book, and she hasn’t looked back since.Her young adult books Bewitching Season, Betraying Season, and Courtship and Curses, all from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers/Macmillan, blend history (remember that archaeology background?) with a dash of magic and a heaping tablespoon of romance, and have won multiple awards and recognition in both the romance and children’s literature worlds. After working in a nursing home, in fundraising, and as a stay-at-home mom, she finally figured out what it was she really should be doing (apart from the mom part), and started writing a romance novel.

Marissa Doyle graduated from Bryn Mawr College and went on to graduate school intending to be an archaeologist but somehow got distracted.

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle