Betraying Season

by Marissa Doyle

Overview

Penelope Leland has come to Ireland to study magic and prove to herself that she is as good a witch as her twin sister, Persy. But when the dashing Niall Keating begins to court her, Pen can't help being distracted from her studies. Little does Pen know, Niall is acting upon orders from his sorceress mother. And although it starts as a sham, Niall actually falls deeply in love with Pen, and she with him. Even if he halts his mother's evil plan, will Pen be able to forgive him for trying to seduce her into a plot?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781429981781
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	09/29/2009
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	577 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

MARISSA DOYLE is fascinated by the past and lives in Massachusetts, where she is surrounded by history. Betraying Season is the follow up to her first novel, Bewitching Season.

Marissa Doyle graduated from Bryn Mawr College intending to be an archaeologist, but she somehow got distracted. When not writing historical YA and fantasy for adults and kids, she's sailing on Cape Cod, quilting, or collecting 19th century fashion prints. She lives in her native Massachusetts with her family, an alarming number of research books, and a highly opinionated fourteen-pound lop-eared rabbit who shares her fondness for coffee and dark chocolate. She is the author of the young adult historical fantasies Bewitching Season, Betraying Season, and Courtship and Curses.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7–10—This sequel to Bewitching Season (Holt, 2008) finds Penelope Leland, an 18-year-old witch, visiting her now-married ex-governess/magic teacher in 1838 Ireland. A foreboding encounter puts Pen, literally, in the path of manipulative Irish sorceress Lady Keating. Duped by her attention and praise, Pen ignores her gut and guidance and unwittingly (once again) is embroiled in a plot endangering her friend, the young Queen Victoria. Encouraged to fall for Lady Keating's handsome son Niall (both pawn and ultimate benefactor in his mother's plot), Pen loses her heart despite reservations. For Niall, what started as mock affection becomes genuine love. He's faced with confessing his duplicity or seducing Pen (rendering her useless to his mother). Not the intense, layered world of Libba Bray's "Gemma Doyle" novels (Delacorte), this is a clean teen romance that's primarily concerned with Pen and Niall escaping Lady Keating's deadly ambitions and finding happiness together. Readers may lose patience with these pliable, repeatedly clueless romantic leads. Niall's "honorable" intention to "save" Pen by relieving her of her virginity is obviously ridiculous, yet believable of Niall. Secondary characters add color, particularly Niall's caustic sister Doireann and cheeky clurichaune Corkwobble. Convenient magic and its rules drive the conflict, but this title feels more like historical romance than fantasy. Give it to fans of ever-popular paranormal romance.—Danielle Serra, Cliffside Park Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

Doyle's sequel to Bewitching Season (2008) gives Penelope (Pen) Leland center stage. Now that her twin Persephone and governess Ally are preoccupied with their happy marriages, Pen travels to Ireland to further her study of magic. Feeling lonely without Persy, Pen welcomes the attention of Lady Keating and her handsome son, Niall. Pen's studies begin to suffer when Niall comes courting, unaware he is acting on orders from his mother, a powerful sorceress. Lady Keating needs Pen's virginity and magical powers to carry out her plan to kill Queen Victoria and thereby further Niall's position in society. Will Pen be able to work with the now-besotted Niall to thwart his mother's plan? Similar in tone and pacing to its predecessor (Pen must again save the young queen), there is enough back story to make this tale stand alone. Missing, however, is the humorous repartee between the twins and their younger brother Charles. The mixture of historical detail and magic makes this bodice-ripper another page-turner, if one that's a bit on the subdued side. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

As in the previous book, this is a full-bodied story that wonderfully combines elements of romance, fantasy, and history. . . . Whether Doyle is describing the Irish countryside, a magical incantation, or a lover's kiss, her writing is compelling, and it will be hard for readers not to be swept away by this invigorating story.” —Booklist

“The mixture of historical detail and magic makes this bodice-ripper another page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher