Monday, June 01, 2009

The Season



Yes, it is the season for summer reading program (registration starts today!). I'm talking about The Season by Sarah MacLean.

Admittedly, when I saw the cover, I immediately thought, "Luxe knock-off!" And indeed, it does have an enthusiastic blurb from Anna Godbersen. However, if The Luxe made you reach for your smelling salts, The Season should do quite nicely. It's not as....hmmm...racy (!) as The Luxe, for one thing. What it does have are a few breathless kissing scenes, your ubiquitous handsome rake, tons of dukes, earls, and duchesses, a heroine longing to break the bonds of society that strain her, a friendship that threatens to turn to love, and a murder mystery. The raciest things that happen are a few stolen kisses and some talk about a woman's reputation being "ruined" (basically, for being caught unchaperoned with a man, which means that the two must be married immediately! Oh, the drama!). You pretty much know what's going to happen and who is going to end up with who (although it is all very exciting).... meaning that this is a great fun summer read. Meg Cabot fans should love this. If you're looking for (or know a teen who's looking for) a romantic YA book that doesn't have the more "adult" themes of The Luxe or Gossip Girl or adult historical romances, read this one. Hopefully, Sarah MacLean (who wrote an adorable essay about her love of Jane Austen and the Regency period) will turn this into a series (the ending seemed pretty final, though), or at least write more YA fiction.

No comments: