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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
More reviews on my blog!
THE SEASON was a wonderful historical fiction to read, filled with suspicious characters and beautiful dresses. I think this is one of my favorite reads of the year and that Alex is one of my favorite literary females. She was strong and had her own opinion of everything. She was determined to be different from other girl of the season and didn't throw herself at men and pretend to someone other than herself. She had learned to handle herself dealing with her three brothers and refused to stifle herself just to acquire a husband. Fortunately, she needn't worry about pretending to get herself a suitor. Gavin or Blackmoor, a long-time family friend is starting to make her confused about her feelings for him. I liked her and Gavin's relationship. Since it started out as friendship for several years, they knew a lot of each other and had a wonderful foundation. I though Gavin was the perfect mix of confident, sweet, and sarcastic. He was the perfect match for Alex and never backed down from her teasing comments. There were times in the book when I wanted to strangle Gavin for being so all obtuse with Alex, but I consider that perhaps he was struggling with his feelings like Alex.
THE SEASON was mostly romance, which I liked, but also included a suspenseful mystery about the death of Gavin's father. It was interesting to follow and the ending is intense and climaxes well. THE SEASON was a lot of a tease. It made me want to wear beautiful dresses and dance with rakes. There were times I put the book down to imagine doing just that. I was very excited to read this book and I know now that the feeling was well warranted.
THE SEASON was a wonderful historical fiction to read, filled with suspicious characters and beautiful dresses. I think this is one of my favorite reads of the year and that Alex is one of my favorite literary females. She was strong and had her own opinion of everything. She was determined to be different from other girl of the season and didn't throw herself at men and pretend to someone other than herself. She had learned to handle herself dealing with her three brothers and refused to stifle herself just to acquire a husband. Fortunately, she needn't worry about pretending to get herself a suitor. Gavin or Blackmoor, a long-time family friend is starting to make her confused about her feelings for him. I liked her and Gavin's relationship. Since it started out as friendship for several years, they knew a lot of each other and had a wonderful foundation. I though Gavin was the perfect mix of confident, sweet, and sarcastic. He was the perfect match for Alex and never backed down from her teasing comments. There were times in the book when I wanted to strangle Gavin for being so all obtuse with Alex, but I consider that perhaps he was struggling with his feelings like Alex.
THE SEASON was mostly romance, which I liked, but also included a suspenseful mystery about the death of Gavin's father. It was interesting to follow and the ending is intense and climaxes well. THE SEASON was a lot of a tease. It made me want to wear beautiful dresses and dance with rakes. There were times I put the book down to imagine doing just that. I was very excited to read this book and I know now that the feeling was well warranted.
1.5 stars
I think it was a wise decision for Sarah MacLean to move to adult novels. This book is just not very good -- I believe some things are historically inaccurate, there are inconsistencies in parts of the plot, etc. I skipped to the end of the book to hear the resolution.
I think it was a wise decision for Sarah MacLean to move to adult novels. This book is just not very good -- I believe some things are historically inaccurate, there are inconsistencies in parts of the plot, etc. I skipped to the end of the book to hear the resolution.
Maybe 3.5? But mostly this was a little underwhelming when compared to [b:Dangerous Alliance: An Austentacious Romance|44244324|Dangerous Alliance An Austentacious Romance|Jennieke Cohen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556029689l/44244324._SY75_.jpg|62012703], which I just read. The Season, despite being on my tbr for so long wasn't as great as I hoped! Compared to Dangerous Alliance, there were too many aspects that were similar that made it easy to say I think I enjoyed Dangerous Alliance more - even with its odd plot holes.
First off, as always, the regency period is one of my favourite historical time periods in fiction. So I've been looking forward to reading this one for a long time!
What I thought (unfortunately, this will be in comparison with Dangerous Alliance which is the most recent Historical YA Regency novel that I've read. I won't and can't even begin to compare this to Georgette Heyer, let alone Jane Austen):
- The plot for this was more solid, even if it was slow. The mystery, while a little on the back burner rather than front, was more simple and direct in comparison to DA. In DA, I had issues with the way the plot went on. There was plenty of intrigue, but it kind of got ridiculously tangled to the point where some loose ends were not tied up.
- The main romance? I loved it more in DA than this one! Both books have a romance between the main character and someone they've known most of their life, a family friend/a neighbouring Lord's son. But the romance in DA was more organic than it was in this one. In both, they've been friends for a long time. But in DA, they haven't seen each other for years, while in the Season, t's only been months. Although in the Season, Alex and Gavin work well together, I just loved Vicky and Tom more in DA!
- The cast - all great, all interesting in both books. But we know more about the supporting cast in The Season than we do in DA.
- The Love Interest? While Gavin is great and smouldery in the Season, Tom is much more natural in DA. He came across as genuinely attractive - he is attractive, but he's written well enough that you just admire him and respect his choices and feel for his struggles. It helps that we had Tom's pov as well. But we don't have Gavin's in the Season, we only see him through Alex's eyes. And she becomes enamoured with him, and therefore we should too.
- The choices of the characters. One thing that bothered me a little about the Season was that Alex is the one that unreservedly solved all the problems and that no one else was capable of doing so. I just rolled my eyes a little at that part. In DA, we get the sense that there's a lot more that needed to be understood, and that the characters were grappling with the mystery piece by piece. It never felt like the Vicky show. However, the Season does feel like the Alex show.
- The pacing. If you're looking for a focus on the mystery that was hinted in the blurb of the Season, then you'll be waiting at least 200 pages. The first half is fully focussed on contextualising the main relationship. So it was both a bit tiresome and slow. But if you're there for the romance, it's not a bad build up. DA however, gets right to the mystery. It's there from the first page, all the way to the last.
- The jealousy. One thing about the Season that annoys me is that Alex and her friends make a few spiteful comments about another girl, but we're only told about their past, and you have her complaining to Gavin about it, and evidently this a show of her jealousy. But it's something you forget the minute the girl she's jealous about stops being mentioned. It's pushed way back and presented as not really all that important, when...honestly, I was interested to see how Alex might grow from that. In DA, it's a little different. There's a lot more spiteful comments made by the men, and although for a few characters it was a little annoying, because of the main focus of the mystery, these comments built mystery and doubt in the characters that said it, thus having an actual point to the story.
- The writing style. As with several YA regency historicals, they sometimes sound more like contemporaries than historical regencies. In saying that, both these novels did acceptably in giving a historical feel.
- The narrative progress. Although both novels focus on a romance, the Season is more romance focussed than DA. DA puts a lot of focus on the mystery and intrigue, and the romance comes along for the ride. It's prevalent, but not the first and main point. The Season however, is romance focussed. Everything is about the romance, hence the weird pacing.
Overall, I did also enjoy reading the Season. It was cute in its own way. And now I'm off to read another YA historical regency.
First off, as always, the regency period is one of my favourite historical time periods in fiction. So I've been looking forward to reading this one for a long time!
What I thought (unfortunately, this will be in comparison with Dangerous Alliance which is the most recent Historical YA Regency novel that I've read. I won't and can't even begin to compare this to Georgette Heyer, let alone Jane Austen):
- The plot for this was more solid, even if it was slow. The mystery, while a little on the back burner rather than front, was more simple and direct in comparison to DA. In DA, I had issues with the way the plot went on. There was plenty of intrigue, but it kind of got ridiculously tangled to the point where some loose ends were not tied up.
- The main romance? I loved it more in DA than this one! Both books have a romance between the main character and someone they've known most of their life, a family friend/a neighbouring Lord's son. But the romance in DA was more organic than it was in this one. In both, they've been friends for a long time. But in DA, they haven't seen each other for years, while in the Season, t's only been months. Although in the Season, Alex and Gavin work well together, I just loved Vicky and Tom more in DA!
- The cast - all great, all interesting in both books. But we know more about the supporting cast in The Season than we do in DA.
- The Love Interest? While Gavin is great and smouldery in the Season, Tom is much more natural in DA. He came across as genuinely attractive - he is attractive, but he's written well enough that you just admire him and respect his choices and feel for his struggles. It helps that we had Tom's pov as well. But we don't have Gavin's in the Season, we only see him through Alex's eyes. And she becomes enamoured with him, and therefore we should too.
- The choices of the characters. One thing that bothered me a little about the Season was that Alex is the one that unreservedly solved all the problems and that no one else was capable of doing so. I just rolled my eyes a little at that part. In DA, we get the sense that there's a lot more that needed to be understood, and that the characters were grappling with the mystery piece by piece. It never felt like the Vicky show. However, the Season does feel like the Alex show.
- The pacing. If you're looking for a focus on the mystery that was hinted in the blurb of the Season, then you'll be waiting at least 200 pages. The first half is fully focussed on contextualising the main relationship. So it was both a bit tiresome and slow. But if you're there for the romance, it's not a bad build up. DA however, gets right to the mystery. It's there from the first page, all the way to the last.
- The jealousy. One thing about the Season that annoys me is that Alex and her friends make a few spiteful comments about another girl, but we're only told about their past, and you have her complaining to Gavin about it, and evidently this a show of her jealousy. But it's something you forget the minute the girl she's jealous about stops being mentioned. It's pushed way back and presented as not really all that important, when...honestly, I was interested to see how Alex might grow from that. In DA, it's a little different. There's a lot more spiteful comments made by the men, and although for a few characters it was a little annoying, because of the main focus of the mystery, these comments built mystery and doubt in the characters that said it, thus having an actual point to the story.
- The writing style. As with several YA regency historicals, they sometimes sound more like contemporaries than historical regencies. In saying that, both these novels did acceptably in giving a historical feel.
- The narrative progress. Although both novels focus on a romance, the Season is more romance focussed than DA. DA puts a lot of focus on the mystery and intrigue, and the romance comes along for the ride. It's prevalent, but not the first and main point. The Season however, is romance focussed. Everything is about the romance, hence the weird pacing.
Overall, I did also enjoy reading the Season. It was cute in its own way. And now I'm off to read another YA historical regency.
I think I'll have to stick with MacLean's adult characters. I found these teens a bit insufferable and smug.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Best friends Alexandra (Alex), Eleanor (Ella), and Vivian (Vivi) are about to experience their first Season, but none of them is terribly eager for matrimony just yet. Neither are Alex's three older brothers and their close friend Gavin, who have been pressed into service as escorts to a variety of society functions. Still, they are teenagers, and flirting is inevitable, as are misunderstandings, jealousies, hurt feelings, and, of course, True Love.
Gavin is still trying to adjust to his new role as the Earl of Blackmoor, and he is unconvinced that his father's death was really an accident. Vivi and Alex think Ella is being overly dramatic when she tells them of a clandestine conversation she overheard in a garden, but then when they learn Gavin's house has been burglarized, they start to wonder whether someone is indeed spying for the French to aid Napoleon, and whether Gavin might actually be in danger.
This YA novel was her first published book, and it's pretty good for a debut novel, although I did wish an editor had cut the excess descriptions of how someone laughed, smirked, etc. Sometimes the dialogue can really just stand on its own! "Impishly smirking" and whatnot is overkill.
For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Lots of kissing and angst, but no actual sex. I think there might have been a couple of swear words.
Gavin is still trying to adjust to his new role as the Earl of Blackmoor, and he is unconvinced that his father's death was really an accident. Vivi and Alex think Ella is being overly dramatic when she tells them of a clandestine conversation she overheard in a garden, but then when they learn Gavin's house has been burglarized, they start to wonder whether someone is indeed spying for the French to aid Napoleon, and whether Gavin might actually be in danger.
This YA novel was her first published book, and it's pretty good for a debut novel, although I did wish an editor had cut the excess descriptions of how someone laughed, smirked, etc. Sometimes the dialogue can really just stand on its own! "Impishly smirking" and whatnot is overkill.
For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. Lots of kissing and angst, but no actual sex. I think there might have been a couple of swear words.
adventurous
medium-paced
Quite cute, although Gavin could be exasperating.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this is marketed as a mystery. calling it a mystery is a lot like saying an apple is a kind of fish. and telling me i'm about to have a fish dinner and then serving me a single apple is not doing anyone any favors here - not the people who like fish dinners, and not the people who like apples. this metaphor is getting out of hand so i'll stop now.
I'll try to get around to writing a review for this, but let's just say for now it was AMAZING. (: