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A review by reddyrat
The Season by Sarah MacLean
4.0
The Season is one of those novels that is delightful if you enjoy it on the surface level, but dig too deep and you will find plenty to complain about. Luckily, I was in the mood for surface level and I found The Season perfectly adorable.
The Season is a mixture of romance, friendship, and mystery all set in aristocratic Regency-era London. Our heroine Alex was born into great wealth. Her role in life, as her mother and society sees it, is to socialize and quickly marry well. Alex doesn't want any of it. She continuously eschews marriage - not that it's inherently bad, but that it's not so important that she should be immediately pushed into it. I liked that Alex didn't go unrealistically outside of her time period in her desires. She wasn't looking for equality in education or treatment that would take another 100 years to even begin to occur. Rather, she wanted to be more than just a horse on the market.
Our hero Gavin grew up with Alex and her brothers. He is like an older brother to her, treating her at times like a child and at times like an attractive young woman. The dialogue between them was fabulous. Witty, somewhat daring, and sarcastic. The characters' familiarity allowed them to speak more comfortably than normally allowed in Regency society. The romantic tension was palpable almost immediately. It grew and grew until neither character could deny it. The Season is one of those romances where you love both characters and their chemistry so much that you can't help but squeal when they finally get together.
Alex's friends Ella and Vivi also add depth to the novel. When I saw the cover with three intimidating looking girls on it, I assumed this was going to be a regency Gossip Girl, full of cattiness and major rule-breaking. Instead, it's a story of three sweet, vivacious friends. Ella and Vivi are nice, loyal girls who have a mind of their own but don't veer too far away from standard social mores.
As you would expect from the title, the "season" is a main feature of the novel. If you love fancy dresses, you're in for a treat, because each one of Alex's ball gowns are vividly described. And there are parties and balls galore. This part of the plot is fun and simple and whisks you off to a different world.
The mystery is somewhat of a dud. It was predictable and rather silly. While it was intended to feature prominently in the story, it felt like an afterthought. I would have enjoyed the story just as much if it hadn't been there. Aside from the mystery, the only big complaint I have is the relationship between Gavin and Alex. While I loved the romance, I did think their freedom was unrealistic. They were frequently together unchaperoned. The story set up that everyone around them views Gavin as a quasi brother to Alex, but I have doubts that society of that time period would have really allowed an unrelated young man to be alone with an unmarried young woman. It worked well as a plot device but it felt like a stretch.
All in all, The Season is a fun romance with spunky, likeable characters. It's not a book you want to think about too much. If you're in the mood for something light, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
The Season is a mixture of romance, friendship, and mystery all set in aristocratic Regency-era London. Our heroine Alex was born into great wealth. Her role in life, as her mother and society sees it, is to socialize and quickly marry well. Alex doesn't want any of it. She continuously eschews marriage - not that it's inherently bad, but that it's not so important that she should be immediately pushed into it. I liked that Alex didn't go unrealistically outside of her time period in her desires. She wasn't looking for equality in education or treatment that would take another 100 years to even begin to occur. Rather, she wanted to be more than just a horse on the market.
Our hero Gavin grew up with Alex and her brothers. He is like an older brother to her, treating her at times like a child and at times like an attractive young woman. The dialogue between them was fabulous. Witty, somewhat daring, and sarcastic. The characters' familiarity allowed them to speak more comfortably than normally allowed in Regency society. The romantic tension was palpable almost immediately. It grew and grew until neither character could deny it. The Season is one of those romances where you love both characters and their chemistry so much that you can't help but squeal when they finally get together.
Alex's friends Ella and Vivi also add depth to the novel. When I saw the cover with three intimidating looking girls on it, I assumed this was going to be a regency Gossip Girl, full of cattiness and major rule-breaking. Instead, it's a story of three sweet, vivacious friends. Ella and Vivi are nice, loyal girls who have a mind of their own but don't veer too far away from standard social mores.
As you would expect from the title, the "season" is a main feature of the novel. If you love fancy dresses, you're in for a treat, because each one of Alex's ball gowns are vividly described. And there are parties and balls galore. This part of the plot is fun and simple and whisks you off to a different world.
The mystery is somewhat of a dud. It was predictable and rather silly. While it was intended to feature prominently in the story, it felt like an afterthought. I would have enjoyed the story just as much if it hadn't been there. Aside from the mystery, the only big complaint I have is the relationship between Gavin and Alex. While I loved the romance, I did think their freedom was unrealistic. They were frequently together unchaperoned. The story set up that everyone around them views Gavin as a quasi brother to Alex, but I have doubts that society of that time period would have really allowed an unrelated young man to be alone with an unmarried young woman. It worked well as a plot device but it felt like a stretch.
All in all, The Season is a fun romance with spunky, likeable characters. It's not a book you want to think about too much. If you're in the mood for something light, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 3.5 / 5