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amym84's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on Vampire Book Club
After three years of living in Alba and attending university, it’s time for Sophie and Gray Marshall to head back to London escorting the heiress of Alba, Lucia MacNeill, to meet her betrothed, Prince Roland, Sophie’s brother.
While that first meeting does not go off as planned, Sophie figures out what to do with her time back in London: begin the process of reopening the Lady Morgan College in Oxford whose doors mysteriously closed centuries ago.
However, Sophie’s plans might be put on hold when it’s soon discovered that her stepfather, one Appius Callender, as well as the other men who conspired to poison the King, have escaped. Gray and Sophie will find themselves separated as each pursues a different path in bringing back the fugitives and saving the Kingdom.
I loved that A Season of Spells brought us back to London, as one of my biggest issues with Lady of Magick was not really feeling the setting of Alba. Instead here, we’re in familiar territory and get to revisit many of the characters that were introduced in the first book, but sadly lacking from the second. I also felt more of a connection with this storyline since it’s almost a continuation of things started in The Midnight Queen.
I appreciated the fact that some of the characters introduced in Lady of Magick, namely Lucia MacNeill, were given more page time to develop in A Season of Spells. I found myself liking those characters more as I got to know and understand them better. The betrothal between Lucia and Roland was a great contrast to witness when compared to Sophie and Gray. The way that Lucia and Roland don’t seem compatible at first, but have to work on getting to know one another was nice to watch. In that regard, the romantic relationship between Sophie’s sister Joanna and her friend Gwendolen Pryce was another aspect that I wasn’t sure about in Lady of Magick, having felt like it kind of came out of nowhere, but seeing their steadfastness and devotion to one another in this book and how much they’ve grown, I’d really like to see them get their own adventure some day.
Probably the best thing about A Season of Spells, which I honestly wish was utilized a whole lot more, was the history behind Lady Morgan College. The mystery of its closing and the utter eeriness of the abandoned structure was so fascinating, but I was a little let down when that device kind of turned into a segue for the overarching storyline of trouble within the Kingdom. Again, maybe something that will get its own story expanded upon at another time.
A Season of Spells is the conclusion to the trilogy. The ending seemed to tie everything up, but I felt as though there’s room left for expanding the world should Sylvia Izzo Hunter ever choose to do so, and as I stated above there are certainly some stories I would like to read about. As a whole, I’ve enjoyed this series. It’s a great example of an alternate history fantasy.
After three years of living in Alba and attending university, it’s time for Sophie and Gray Marshall to head back to London escorting the heiress of Alba, Lucia MacNeill, to meet her betrothed, Prince Roland, Sophie’s brother.
While that first meeting does not go off as planned, Sophie figures out what to do with her time back in London: begin the process of reopening the Lady Morgan College in Oxford whose doors mysteriously closed centuries ago.
However, Sophie’s plans might be put on hold when it’s soon discovered that her stepfather, one Appius Callender, as well as the other men who conspired to poison the King, have escaped. Gray and Sophie will find themselves separated as each pursues a different path in bringing back the fugitives and saving the Kingdom.
I loved that A Season of Spells brought us back to London, as one of my biggest issues with Lady of Magick was not really feeling the setting of Alba. Instead here, we’re in familiar territory and get to revisit many of the characters that were introduced in the first book, but sadly lacking from the second. I also felt more of a connection with this storyline since it’s almost a continuation of things started in The Midnight Queen.
I appreciated the fact that some of the characters introduced in Lady of Magick, namely Lucia MacNeill, were given more page time to develop in A Season of Spells. I found myself liking those characters more as I got to know and understand them better. The betrothal between Lucia and Roland was a great contrast to witness when compared to Sophie and Gray. The way that Lucia and Roland don’t seem compatible at first, but have to work on getting to know one another was nice to watch. In that regard, the romantic relationship between Sophie’s sister Joanna and her friend Gwendolen Pryce was another aspect that I wasn’t sure about in Lady of Magick, having felt like it kind of came out of nowhere, but seeing their steadfastness and devotion to one another in this book and how much they’ve grown, I’d really like to see them get their own adventure some day.
Probably the best thing about A Season of Spells, which I honestly wish was utilized a whole lot more, was the history behind Lady Morgan College. The mystery of its closing and the utter eeriness of the abandoned structure was so fascinating, but I was a little let down when that device kind of turned into a segue for the overarching storyline of trouble within the Kingdom. Again, maybe something that will get its own story expanded upon at another time.
A Season of Spells is the conclusion to the trilogy. The ending seemed to tie everything up, but I felt as though there’s room left for expanding the world should Sylvia Izzo Hunter ever choose to do so, and as I stated above there are certainly some stories I would like to read about. As a whole, I’ve enjoyed this series. It’s a great example of an alternate history fantasy.
sarahdelucchi's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book in six days… Mostly because I Was so sad to see these characters go after this one! By far my favorite book in the whole series. I love a good creepy abandoned building and seeing what’s inside so this was really fun to see a whole college that just got abandoned for no explainable reason that they get to discover. Almost bummed that this was only one book, wish it had been two so we could’ve gotten into more detail about the college and the big bad guy and not wrap things up so fast. But I highly recommend this whole series!
hilaryjsc's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful, but made me very aware of the Jonathan-Strange-and-Mr.-Norrell-sequel-shaped hole in my heart.
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I so enjoy these books... this is the third in the series, and I find new things to love about Sophie and Joanna in every book. The light touch, the wit, the quirky dialogue are all consistent elements to enjoy in this series. I hope this series will continue!
claire_michelle18's review against another edition
3.0
This was a bit disappointing compared to the previous two books in the series. The two plotlines - refounding Lady Morgan College and fighting the Emperor of Gaul - seemed a bit disjointed and the finale felt anticlimactic. I love the world-building but this didn't live up to the promise of the first two books in the series.
misskrislm's review against another edition
3.0
A fitting end to this trilogy, though the grand finale was a bit abrupt.
columnclub's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I think my main issue with this instalment was the plotting – different points of conflict were thrown in too late and underused, and it felt like this was to put more tension into the plot when I would happily just have read a book about Sophie reviving Morgan College and Lucia navigating her engagement. Lucia in particular felt criminally underused, becoming a POV character after her introduction in the previous book for the sake of maybe eighty pages overall, and I was hugely disappointed not to really see the development of her relationship with Roland on the page. Like the others, it was still a cosy and charming read with some great character moments, but I'm left wondering whether the book was pushed in the wrong direction during editor stages or if aspects of it just failed to land.
myladyreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
tpanik's review against another edition
3.0
A little slower than the first two, but worth it in the end. The Women's College of Magic, the best part of this adventure, could become its own series.....
herondaleducks's review against another edition
5.0
I really took my time with this because I didn't want it to ever end! What a magnificent trilogy.